Northern District of Iowa

A New Mexico man who possessed over 640 rounds of ammunition was sentenced today to two years in federal prison.  

Chase Smith Walker, age 41, from Carlsbad, New Mexico, received the prison term after a March 9, 2026, guilty plea to one count of possession of ammunition by a felon.  

In a plea agreement, Walker admitted that, on October 6, 2023, at approximately 1:40 a.m., he was driving while intoxicated in Tama County, Iowa.  During a traffic stop and his booking at the local jail, Walker was extremely defiant and disrespectful towards officers.  After his arrest, officers searched his truck, and they located over 640 rounds of ammunition.  Walker was prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition because he had previously been convicted of a drug‑trafficking felony.  

Walker was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Walker was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment and fined $1,500.  He must also serve a two‑year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Walker is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.  

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dillan Edwards and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Meskwaki Nation Police Department.  

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

 The case file number is 25‑CR‑00015‑LTS.

Two men with lengthy criminal histories were sentenced today to a combined 45 years in federal prison for their roles in the disappearance of an 18-year-old Nebraska woman. Floyd Clifford Coates, Jr., and Dennis Lawson, former brothers-in-law, were convicted by a jury of drug and obstruction-of-justice charges on November 25, 2025, after an eleven-day trial.

Coates, a.k.a. Cliff Coates, age 48, from St. Francis, Kansas, and Strubel, Iowa, was convicted of six counts, including drug trafficking, unlawful possession of firearms, and obstruction of justice. He was acquitted of two obstruction-of-justice charges related to allegations involving threatening witnesses.

Lawson, age 60, from Whiting, Iowa, was convicted of one obstruction-of-justice charge for threatening a witness. He was acquitted of drug-trafficking and other obstruction-of-justice charges.

Evidence at trial showed that in the spring of 2019, Coates was a member of a drug-trafficking organization that funneled pounds of methamphetamine from Colorado to multiple locations, including Iowa. Coates possessed firearms to protect his illegal drug operation. 

On Easter weekend 2019, Coates arranged to make a drug resupply run to Kansas City, Missouri. He convinced an Iowa woman to drive from Sioux City, Iowa, and meet him in Blair, Nebraska, to help him with the drug run. She was then supposed to drive him to Kansas City and back. Coates traveled to Blair from Trenton, Nebraska, with another woman, 18-year-old Sunny Sramek. Coates and Sramek left Trenton in his wife’s white Ford Explorer. Sramek told friends and family that she was going to be on a day trip to Omaha with Coates and made no mention of going to Kansas City. 

Coates and Sramek arrived in Blair. Coates left the Explorer and went into a home, but Sramek did not. Coates’ driver arrived at the home from Sioux City. Coates said nothing to her about Sramek. As the driver and Coates left the home, the driver saw Sramek’s motionless body in the Explorer. Sramek looked to the driver as if she had overdosed: fluids were coming out of her mouth and running down the center console, her bare foot was on the dashboard, and the front window was broken as if Sramek had kicked it violently as she died. Coates told the driver that he had given Sramek metham­phetamine and that Sramek must have overdosed. 

Coates abandoned his plan to make a drug run to Kansas City. He told the Sioux City driver to go to the home of his brother-in-law Dennis Lawson near Whiting, Iowa, on the banks of the Missouri River. The pair drove the apparently dead Sramek to Lawson’s home. The driver testified that after they arrived at Lawson’s residence, Lawson and Coates disappeared for a time. When they returned, Sramek’s body was gone. The driver testified that she and Coates then cleaned out the car, and that Lawson threatened her, saying that if she told anyone, “it would be her funeral.”

Coates later told other individuals that Sramek had overdosed. While detained awaiting trial, he told cellmates he that he had killed Sramek after raping her. In both versions, however, he told people he had thrown Sramek’s body into the Missouri River to conceal evidence of his crimes. Coates told one person “no body, no case” and asked another “you can’t get charged with murder if there is no body, can you?”

Law-enforcement officers immediately gathered evidence tying Coates to Sramek’s disappearance. He had been the last to see her alive. Forensic analysis of the Ford Explorer revealed that it contained Sramek’s DNA. The analysis also suggested that she had struggled in that car. An FBI geologist testified the window had been broken from the inside by three blunt-force impacts, consistent with a foot kicking it. A medical examiner testified that such convulsions were consistent with a person dying from a methamphetamine overdose. There was also evidence that someone, possibly Sramek, had bled in the Explorer. Further, the story Coates told to law enforcement about his movement that day was contradicted by other evidence. For example, he said that Sramek abandoned him while they were at the casino in Carter Lake, Iowa, but cell-phone location information showed he hadn’t been there. 

Coates had previously been convicted of multiple crimes including burglary, false imprisonment, assault by a confined person, distribution of a controlled substance, possession of a deadly weapon by a felon, and witness intimidation. Lawson had previously been convicted of multiple crimes including domestic abuse assault, aggravated domestic abuse assault, and robbing the Onawa, Iowa, Pizza Hut.

Coates and Lawson were sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Coates was sentenced to 420 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term. 

Lawson was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.

“Seven years and three months ago after Sunny Sramek left home, a thuggish coward and a cowardly thug are going to prison for their roles in her death,” said United States Attorney Leif Olson. “The agents, officers, and deputies who investigated this case never stopped their efforts to find the truth. Their patience and dedication built a case that allowed us to call more than four dozen witnesses and introduce dozens and dozens of exhibits. Thanks to their work, Sunny’s family and the communities that these criminals abused have finally received a measure of justice.”

“The sentences imposed on Coates and Lawson today are a direct result of the tenacity and relentlessness of the FBI agents, law enforcement officers, and prosecutors who led the search for Sunny and the effort to apprehend those responsible for her death,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel. “The trafficking of drugs into our communities is not a victimless crime. It has a destructive effect on our neighborhoods and families. The efforts by Coates and Lawson to conceal their actions never broke our resolve to investigate this horrific crime. Although today’s sentencings will not bring Sunny back, we hope they will bring some measure of comfort and closure to everyone who knew and loved Sunny.”  

Coates and Lawson remain in the United States Marshal’s custody until they can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was investigated by a number of federal, state, and local law-enforcement agencies:

• Department of Justice (DOJ) Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives;
• DOJ Federal Bureau of Investigation;
• Goodland, Kansas, Police Department; 
• Hitchcock County, Nebraska, Sheriff’s Office; 
• Iowa Department of Natural Resources; 
• Iowa Department of Public Safety (DPS) Division of Criminal Investigation; 
• Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner;
• Nebraska State Patrol; 
• O’Brien County, Iowa, Sheriff’s Office;
• Plymouth County, Iowa, Sheriff’s Office; and
• Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, which consists of personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DOJ); Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement (DPS); Iowa National Guard; Nebraska State Patrol; Sioux City Police Department; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; United States Marshals Service; United States Homeland Security Investigations; Woodbury County, Iowa, Attorney’s Office; and Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/​‌login.pl. The case number is 24-4021.

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A man who distributed controlled substances and who unlawfully possessed a gun was sentenced today to two years in federal prison.

Delmargo Dushawn Bruce, age 35, from Chicago, Illinois, received the prison term after a February 5, 2026, guilty plea to one count of distribution of a controlled substance and one count of possession of a firearm by a person convicted of domestic violence.

In a plea agreement, Bruce admitted he distributed controlled substances.  On July 1, 2024, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Bruce sold approximately 5.93 grams of a mixture or substance containing heroin.  On July 19, 2024, Bruce sold approximately 9.76 grams of a mixture or substance containing fentanyl.  On August 1, 2024, officers searched Bruce’s home in Cedar Rapids.  During the search, officers found a loaded handgun.  Bruce was prohibited from possessing firearms because of a prior conviction for a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence from 2015 in the Iowa District Court for Johnson County.  

Bruce was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Bruce was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

Bruce is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam J. Vander Stoep and investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Task Force consisting of the DEA; the Linn County Sheriff's Office; the Cedar Rapids Police Department; the Marion Police Department; and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 25-CR-63.

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There will be a press conference held on July 20, 2026, at 4:00 p.m. at the offices of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa located at the Ho-Chunk Building in Sioux City, Iowa.  United States Attorney Leif Olson will announce the results of the sentencings of Floyd Clifford Coates and Dennis Lawson that will occur earlier that afternoon.  Coates and Lawson were linked to the death and disappearance of Sunny Sramek.  Coates was convicted of various offenses related to drug trafficking, firearms, and obstruction of justice in federal court in November 2025 following an eleven-day trial.  Lawson was convicted of threatening a witness.

Mr. Olson will be joined by representatives of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Hitchcock County, Nebraska, Sheriff’s Office, the Goodland, Kansas, Police Department, and other agencies who contributed to the investigation and prosecution.

Event Details

When:           Monday, July20, 2026

Where:         Ho-Chunk Building, Suite 670, 600 4th Street, Sioux City, Iowa

Time:            4:00 p.m. (Note: Start time could be delayed by court proceedings.)

A press release will be provided and interview opportunities will be available.  

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A man who trafficked methamphetamine on multiple occasions in the Webster County, Iowa, area was sentenced July 16, 2026, to 13 years in federal prison.

Tyler Mattingly, age 31, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, received the prison term after a March 18, 2026, guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and three counts of distribution of methamphetamine.

At the hearings, Mattingly admitted that in late 2024, he sold methamphetamine in the Webster County, Iowa, area to individuals cooperating with law enforcement on three separate occasions.  On December 24, 2024, law enforcement officers attempted to on car driven by Mattingly in Carroll County, Iowa.  Mattingly failed to stop and led officers on a pursuit, reaching speeds in excess of 100 miles per hour on gravel roads.  Mattingly also had a passenger in the car.  Officers deployed stop sticks and Mattingly struck them, disabling his car.  Law enforcement officers found drug distribution items in the car.  Along the route of the pursuit, officers found approximately 145 grams of discarded methamphetamine.  As part of their investigation, law enforcement officers  obtained evidence of Mattingly receiving methamphetamine from his source of supply and providing it to others.    

Mattingly was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Mattingly was sentenced to 156 months’ imprisonment for each count to run concurrently.  He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison terms.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Mattingly is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Webster County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Dodge Police Department, Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, Calhoun County Sheriff’s Office, Sac County Sheriff’s Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 25-CR-03056.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine pled guilty July 15, 2026, in federal court in Sioux City.

Damian Havens, 52, from Sioux City, Iowa, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.

At the plea hearing, Havens admitted that between March and May 2026, he and others conspired to distribute methamphetamine in Sioux City.  Evidence showed that in those two months Havens was involved in the distribution of more than 1 ½ pounds of methamphetamine.  On May 7, 2026, law enforcement was called to check on a suspicious person (and oddly parked vehicle), later identified as Havens.  Officers seized about ¼ pound of methamphetamine and an airsoft pistol in Havens’ backpack.  Havens admitted he planned to distribute the methamphetamine.            

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Havens remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Havens faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa, that consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City, Iowa, Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa National Guard; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and Woodbury County Attorney’s Office.   

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 26-4026.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine pled guilty on July 15, 2026, in federal court in Sioux City.

Tanner Thomas Rokes, age 36, from Manson, Iowa, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine.  

At the plea hearing, Rokes admitted that from 2021 to July, 2025, in Webster County, Iowa, he was involved in distributing over five pounds of methamphetamine.  In May 2025 law enforcement officers received information that Rokes was a pound-level distributor of methamphetamine.  Law enforcement officers then made multiple controlled purchases of methamphetamine from Rokes.   

On July 15, 2025, officers stopped Rokes while he was driving without a valid driver’s license.  Prior to stopping his car, officers observed Rokes throw 80 grams of methamphetamine out the car’s window.  Rokes ultimately stopped the car and officers found additional methamphetamine inside the car.  Officers also found the discarded methamphetamine.  

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Rokes remains free on bond previously set.  Rokes faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years’ and up to life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Fort Dodge Police Department, the Webster County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa State Patrol.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 25-CR-03059.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

Clayton Brown, age 34, from Lake City, Iowa, was sentenced in federal court in Sioux City, on July 16, 2026, to 210 months’ imprisonment.  Brown pled guilty on March 18, 2026, to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of felon in possession of a firearm.  Brown has seven prior felony convictions that prohibited him from possessing guns, including three for drugs and two high-speed eludings. 

Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that Brown was involved in a conspiracy that distributed at least four pounds of methamphetamine in about eight-months in 2025.  Twice in October 2025, Brown distributed over 80 grams of pure methamphetamine to an individual cooperating with law enforcement.  During a search of Brown’s home, officers seized a Glock handgun, methamphetamine, marijuana, over $2,000 in cash, and other items related to drug distribution.   

United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced Brown to 210 months’ imprisonment along with a five-year term of supervised release.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Brown remains in custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa DCI Laboratory, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 25-3057.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

An illegal alien who reentered the United States from Guatemala was sentenced July 14, 2026, to six months in federal prison.

Rogelio Morales-Ramos, age 36, from Guatemala, who had been living in Sioux Center, Iowa, received the prison term after a May 21, 2026, guilty plea to one count of illegal reentry.

At the plea hearing, Morales-Ramos admitted he illegally reentered the United States without permission after having been previously removed from the United States on June 13, 2019.  On April 1, 2026, law enforcement officers in Sioux County attempted to stop a car that Morales-Ramos was driving for speeding.  He initially failed to stop.  After he eventually stopped, Morales-Ramos ran from officers.  Law enforcement officers found an open alcohol bottle, additional alcohol, and a fictitious international driver’s license in the car.  On April 4, 2026, law enforcement officers found Morales-Ramos at his home in Sioux Center.  He again tried to flee from officers before being caught.  Officers found more fake documents in the house.  Once Morales-Ramos was in custody, officials determined he was a citizen of Guatemala and had previously been deported from the United States three times.  

Morales-Ramos was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Morales-Ramos was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a one-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 26-CR-04014.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

A woman who conspired to distribute methamphetamine was sentenced today to more than 12 years in federal prison.

Sally Marie Green, age 52, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, received the prison term after a March 11, 2026, guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute over 500 grams of methamphetamine.

At the plea hearing, Green admitted that from January 2024 through April 2025, she was involved in the distribution of approximately 30 pounds of methamphetamine.  In April 2025, a cooperating individual told law enforcement officers that Green was a pound-level distributor of methamphetamine in the Fort Dodge area.  On April 1, 2025, law enforcement officers purchased approximately a quarter pound of methamphetamine from Green.  That same day, officers searched her house and found an unloaded .45 ACP pistol, ammunition, $3,000 cash, drug distribution items, and approximately 585 grams of methamphetamine. 

Green was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Green was sentenced to 151 months’ imprisonment.  She must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Green is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until she can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and investigated by the Webster County Sheriff’s Office.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 25-CR-03050.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

Jonathan Seff, age 50, from Sioux City, Iowa, was convicted by a jury on July 9, 2026, after a three-day trial in federal court in Sioux City.  Seff was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, distribution of methamphetamine near a protected location (an elementary school), and two-counts of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, methamphetamine and fentanyl.  The verdict was returned following about three hours of jury deliberations.

Seff was previously convicted in the Northern District of Iowa of conspiracy to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine that contained five grams or more of actual (pure) methamphetamine. 

Evidence presented to the jury in this case revealed from at least April 1, 2025, to January 7, 2026, Seff was obtaining and distributing methamphetamine.  Seff was obtaining illegal drugs from the dark web that he purchased using cryptocurrency.  On October 9, 2025, Seff distributed more than 5 grams of pure methamphetamine to another person within 1,000 feet of a school in Sioux City.

On October 13, 2025, Seff was arrested for operating while under the influence after hitting a legally parked car on a Sioux City street and flipping his own car.  Law enforcement officers recovered over 800 counterfeit oxycodone tablets containing fentanyl, more than $4,000 cash, a digital scale with methamphetamine on it, several baggies, and MDMA from Seff’s car. 

On January 7, 2026, the Dickinson County Sheriff’s Department responded to a home in Spirit Lake for individuals trespassing in an unoccupied home.  Seff had contacted an individual on a recorded jail call and sent them to the home that he had been staying at to “clean up,” directing them to specific locations within the home.  Law enforcement officers located more than ten grams of methamphetamine, a digital scale, baggies, fentanyl, and MDMA in the house.     

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Seff remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Seff faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, an $8,000,000 fine, and 8 years to life on supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case was investigated by the Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa, that consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Sioux City, Iowa, Police Department, the Dickinson County, Iowa, Sheriff’s Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ron Timmons.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 25-CR-04071.

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Chad Hoppe, age 49, from LeMars, Iowa, was sentenced July 9, 2026, to more than two years in prison after a march 9, 2026, guilty plea to false statements relating to health care matters and aggravated identity theft. 

Evidence in the case revealed that between May 2024 and March 2025, Hoppe diverted fentanyl and dilaudid allegedly for patient use.  Instead, he used the controlled substances personally and failed to complete or falsified the related health care paperwork.  During this time, Hoppe was an Iowa licensed registered nurse.  He inputted false orders for narcotics claiming to have permission from a licensed physician, when he did not.  Hoppe diverted “staggering” amounts of liquid fentanyl and dilaudid.  In March 2025, for example, while working as a supervisor, Hoppe pulled out over 9,000 mcg of fentanyl.  The next closest staff member at the same facility pulled out a total of 700 mcg of fentanyl that month.   

Hoppe was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand to 30 months’ imprisonment and fined $1,000.  He must also serve a one-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Hoppe was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set. 

The case was investigated by the Iowa Department of Inspections and Appeals Investigations Division Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ron Timmons.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 25-04042.

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A man who illegally possessed a gun was sentenced today to more than two years in federal prison.

Edinton Grugbay Wright, age 30, from Marion, Iowa, received the prison term after a December 11, 2025, guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Evidence during the case showed Wright was originally convicted in federal court of being a drug user in possession of a firearm.  In 2022, after his release from federal prison, Wright began serving a term of supervised release.  While on supervised release, Cedar Rapids Police Department officers attempted to stop a car where Wright was seated in the front passenger seat.  The car refused to stop and instead drove onto the front lawn of a residential home.  Both the driver and Wright ran from the car.  As officers pursued Wright, he threw a loaded pistol onto the ground.  Officers eventually located Wright and the pistol.

Wright was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Wright was sentenced to 27 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

Wright is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lisa C. Williams and Timothy Vavricek and investigated by the Cedar Rapids Safe Streets Task Force.  The task force is composed of representatives from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cedar Rapids Police Department.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 25-CR-0048.

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A man who came to the United States in 2023 was sentenced today to three years’ probation, 90 days of home confinement, and fined for committing visa fraud.  Bienvenu Saido Binyangi, age 37, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, received the prison term after a December 11, 2025, guilty plea to one count of visa fraud.

Three other individuals who were charged in the same indictment with conspiracy have already been sentenced.  Joseph Longanga Okoko was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment.  Medard Lotahe Elonge was sentenced to twelve months and one day imprisonment.  Joseph Onolenga Okamba was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment.

In a plea agreement, Binyangi admitted that he entered the United States on a B1/B2 visa that he obtained by fraud because he did not intend to stay in the United States for temporary business or pleasure, but rather to reunite with his family in the Northern District of Iowa. 

At sentencing, the evidence showed that when Binyangi entered the United States, he reunited with his family, including Joseph Okoko’s daughter, and their minor children.  Binyangi subsequently petitioned for asylum.  The evidence at sentencing also showed that Binyangi had unsuccessfully entered the diversity visa lottery while in the Congo and provided false information about his marital status.  The evidence also showed that Binyangi had gotten married in Congo; however, he hid that information from immigration officials.  

Binyangi was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Binyangi was sentenced to three years’ probation, 90 days of home confinement, and fined $500.  

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew J. Cole and Nicole L. Nagin and was investigated by the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Waterloo Police Department, the Sioux City Police Department, and the Iowa Department of Transportation.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The core mission of the Fraud Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars.  Department of Justice efforts to combat fraud support President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 24-CR-2052.

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Luke Braniff, age 26, from Mason City, Iowa, was sentenced in federal court in Sioux City today to nine years for his felon in possession of ammunition conviction.  Braniff was previously convicted of two counts of lascivious acts with a child in 2017, and sex offender registry violations, in 2018, 2023, and 2025.  These felony convictions prohibit Braniff from possessing any guns or ammunition. 

At the plea hearing on March 3, 2026, Braniff admitted to possessing ammunition knowing he was prohibited from doing so due to his previous convictions.  Law enforcement officers became aware of Braniff’s illegal possession of ammunition during an investigation regarding reports of Braniff sending vulgar sexual messages on Snapchat to a minor female and requesting nude images of the child.

United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced Braniff to 108 months’ imprisonment and he must serve a three-year term of supervised release following imprisonment.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Braniff is being held in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service until he can be transported to a federal prison.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

This case is also part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

The case was investigated by the Mason City Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 25-3039.  

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A man who agreed to distribute methamphetamine and was found in possession of over 1,800 grams of methamphetamine was convicted by a jury on July 8, 2026, after a three-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Jesse Jon Harbach, age 45, from Delhi, Iowa, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  The verdict was returned on the afternoon of July 8, 2026, following two hours of jury deliberations.

The evidence at trial showed that Harbach obtained methamphetamine from his source of supply in Arizona for over two years.  During that time, Harbach received multiple packages at a rural Delhi residence.  On March 10, 2025, after Harbach and an associate picked up a package, law enforcement officers stopped the car Harbach was in.  Officers found a package at Harbach’s feet that contained over 1,800 grams of methamphetamine.  

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Harbach remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Harbach faces a mandatory minimum sentence of ten years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $20,000,000 fine, and at least five years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael Hudson and Assistant United States Attorney Dan Chatham and was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Iowa State Patrol, the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigations Forensic Laboratory.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 25-CR-2059.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

A man who refused to testify in grand jury was sentenced on July 1, 2026, to 37 months in federal prison.

Bryon David Manning, age 21, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after a December 22, 2025, guilty plea to contempt of court.

Manning, who was previously convicted of burglary in the second degree and was serving his sentence in state custody, was summoned to federal grand jury in April and May 2025.  Manning was ordered by the District Court Judge to testify in grand jury but refused to do so.  Manning was first held in civil contempt for approximately four months and subsequently indicted for criminal contempt.

Manning was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Manning was sentenced to 37 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Manning is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nicole L. Nagin and investigated by the Dubuque Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 25-CR-00093.

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A man who downloaded hundreds of photos and videos of child pornography pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Damon Wesley Powers, age 44, from Osage, Iowa, was convicted of one count of receipt of child pornography. 

Evidence at a prior hearing showed that law enforcement officers searched Powers’s house in Osage in June 2025.  Agents found child pornography on his phone, including depictions of prepubescent children.  Powers had also stored hundreds of additional photos and videos of child pornography in a cloud‑based account.  In an interview with law enforcement officers, Powers admitted that he had sent and received child pornography.  

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Powers remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Powers faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and a lifetime term of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Cyber Crime Bureau, the Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce, and the Osage Police Department. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 26-CR-2015.

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A Dubuque man who distributed methamphetamine and attempted to escape from a correctional facility was sentenced on June 30, 2026, to 25 years in federal prison.

Christopher Allen Puccio, age 32, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after a July 21, 2025, guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.           

Evidence disclosed at the sentencing hearing showed that, in July 2024, Puccio worked with his uncle David Parker and others to acquire ice methamphetamine from Madison, Wisconsin, and distribute it to customers in the Dubuque area.  Puccio was involved with, in total, approximately a pound‑and‑a‑half of ice methamphetamine.  Puccio had previously been convicted of at least 18 adult offenses, including convictions for delivery of ecstasy, assault on a peace officer, and willful injury causing serious bodily injury.  

While Puccio was in-custody pending sentencing, he attempted to escape from a correctional facility.  Puccio and another person used a “makeshift” tool to remove grout around a cinderblock below a window of a cell.  

Puccio was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Puccio was sentenced to 300 months’ imprisonment, and he must also serve a five‑year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.           

Puccio is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dillan Edwards and investigated by the Dubuque Drug Task Force; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the United States Marshals Service; and the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 24‑CR‑01038.

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Jesus Aranda-Martinez, age 25, from Mexico and living in Rock Valley, Iowa, was sentenced today to six years’ imprisonment in federal court in Sioux City.  Aranda-Martinez pled guilty on February 6, 2026, to one count of possession of child pornography.  Aranda-Martinez is a citizen of Mexico and is currently pending removal from the United States following his prison sentence.   

Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that from April 2024 through July 2025, Aranda-Martinez received, distributed, and possessed child pornography.  Aranda-Martinez admitted he used several chat apps and that he likes females in middle school or younger.  Aranda-Martinez admitted he had received child sexual abuse material over the internet, including depictions of children having sex with adults.  A forensic review of Aranda-Martinez’s phone showed he distributed child pornography in “send to receive” groups.  He possessed at least 62 images and 42 videos of child pornography.  The images and videos involved material that portrayed sadistic or masochistic conduct with prepubescent minors. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime

United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced Aranda-Martinez to 108 months’ imprisonment along with a five-year term of supervised release.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Aranda-Martinez was also ordered to pay $3,100 in fees and assessments.  Aranda-Martinez remains in custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison. 

The case was investigated by the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office and the Rock Valley Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 25-4053.  

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Thomas Lee Clark, Jr, age 57, from Eagle Grove and Fort Dodge, Iowa, was sentenced to over 15 years in prison on June 25, 2026, in federal court in Sioux City.  On January 27, 2026, Clark, Jr. pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of distribution and aiding and abetting another in the distribution of meth.

Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings, showed that, from July 2024 through August 2025, Clark, Jr. and others distributed over 2500 grams of methamphetamine in the Fort Dodge area.  Evidence further showed that on at least four occasions in July and August 2025, Clark, Jr. distributed or instructed others to distribute meth to individuals cooperating with law enforcement.  During a search of a co-conspirator’s home, law enforcement officers seized over 12 grams of pure meth, over $4,000 in U.S. currency, marijuana, prescription medications, scales, and other drug distribution paraphernalia.  Clark, Jr. admitted he and his co-conspirators had previously distributed meth and intended to distribute this methamphetamine.  Clark, Jr. was previously convicted of possession of more than five grams of methamphetamine, a serious felony drug offense, on or about February 12, 2014, in the Iowa District Court for Webster County.  

United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced Clark, Jr. to 204 months’ imprisonment and ten-years of supervised release.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Clark, Jr. remains in the custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison. 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Iowa DCI Laboratory, Fort Dodge Police Department, Iowa State Patrol, Webster County Sheriff’s Office, and Wright County Sheriff’s Office.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 25-3043.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

Jorge Monrroy, age 24, from Sioux City, Iowa, was sentenced today in federal court to 15 years’ imprisonment.  On February 5, 2026, Monrroy pled guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a child.

At the plea hearing, Monrroy admitted that between June 30 and July 2, 2025, he sexually exploited a minor female.  Monrroy admitted to providing alcohol to the minor, getting her intoxicated, recording a video of the two having sexual intercourse on the minor’s phone, and sending the video to himself.  Evidence further showed that Monrroy received, possessed, and distributed child pornography.  

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced Monrroy to 180 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Monrroy remains in custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison.  

The case was investigated by the Sioux City Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit.  Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 25-4050.  

Today, United States Attorney Leif Olson announced criminal charges and a civil enforcement action in connection with alleged schemes to defraud the Veterans Community Care Program, Medicare, and Tricare. The cases are part of the Department of Justice’s 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown. They stem from alleged schemes to submit claims for home health care services not actually provided and to receive payments from Medicare based on false invoices. 

The cases are part of a strategically coordinated, nationwide law enforcement action that resulted in charges against 455 defendants, including 90 doctors and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in health care fraud and opioid abuse schemes involving more than $6.5 billion in false claims and significant patient harm, including death. 

Today’s Takedown represents a new era in federal, state, and international cooperation to combat health care fraud: cases in 56 federal districts and 45 U.S. states and territories, with 50 state Medicaid Fraud Control Units participating, the most in Department history. In addition, unprecedented international cooperation over the two-week Takedown resulted in the apprehension and return to the United States of the following health care fraudsters: one defendant in Cyprus in connection with an $3.7+ billion scheme; two defendants in Estonia in connection with a previously charged $10.6 billion scheme; and, in the Philippines, one of FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters in connection with a previously-charged $1.2 billion telemedicine fraud scheme. The Takedown involves the cutting-edge use of data  analytics to target the worst actors; the seizure of more than $182 million in cash, luxury vehicles, jewelry, and other assets; and full-spectrum accountability for all criminal actors from doctor’s offices to corporate boardrooms.  

Today’s coordinated enforcement action involves a whole-of-government approach, including: 

• Actions by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, to suspend 1,079 providers and revoke billing privileges for 1,403 providers.
• 48 Civil Monetary Payment settlements amounting to more than $73 million, more than 1,400 provider exclusions, and 25 actions by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’s Office of Inspector General under the Civil Monetary Penalties Law seeking more than $10 billion in payments to the Medicare Trust Fund from payments that CMS caught and suspended before the funds were paid to the fraudulent providers.
• Civil charges against 13 defendants for $14.8 million in health care fraud schemes, as well as civil settlements with 31 defendants totaling $23 million.
• 928 administrative cases by the Drug Enforcement Administration seeking the revocation of authority to handle and/or prescribe controlled substances since October 1, 2025.

These cases were brought by the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa:  

• Hughes Home Care, Inc., d/b/a Synergy Homecare (“Synergy”) and its owner, Jacob Hughes, age 35, both of Cedar Rapids, were indicted in connection with a scheme to defraud the Veterans Community Care Program out of more than $350,000. As alleged in the indictment, Hughes and Synergy submitted claims for home health care services not actually provided to elderly and infirm veterans, including claims for services purportedly provided after a veteran client passed away. As alleged, Hughes used the proceeds of the scheme to pay sports gambling debts and other personal expenses. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyndra Lundquist. 
• Heartland Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, P.C., and its owner, Eugene J. Cherny, of Des Moines, were sued for damages and civil penalties arising from false pricing information they sent to Medicare. The complaint, filed jointly with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa, alleges that Heartland and Cherny gave Medicare false invoices for skin substitute products used to treat Medicare patients. Medicare used the invoices to set the reimbursement Heartland received. The complaint alleges that Medicare and Tricare paid Cherny more than $2 million based on the false information provided. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandon J. Gray and Brian J. Keogh, of the Northern District of Iowa, and Andy Kahal, of the Southern District of Iowa, represent the United States. 

The cases across the country are being prosecuted by the Health Care Fraud Unit’s National Rapid Response, Florida, Gulf Coast, Los Angeles, Midwest, New England, Northeast, Texas, and West Coast Strike Forces; U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Middle District of Alabama, District of Arizona, Central and Southern Districts of California, District of Colorado, District of Connecticut, District of Delaware; Middle, Northern, and Southern Districts of Florida; Northern District of Georgia; District of Hawaii; District of Idaho; Northern District of Illinois; Northern and Southern Districts of Iowa; Western District of Kentucky; Eastern and Middle Districts of Louisiana; District of Massachusetts; Eastern District of Michigan; Southern District of Mississippi; District of Montana; District of Nebraska; District of New Hampshire; District of New Jersey; District of New Mexico; Eastern, Northern, and Southern Districts of New York; Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of North Carolina; Northern District of Ohio; Northern and Western Districts of Oklahoma; District of Oregon; Eastern, Middle, and Western Districts of Pennsylvania; District of Puerto Rico; District of Rhode Island; District of South Carolina; District of South Dakota; Middle and Western Districts of Tennessee; Northern, Southern, and Western Districts of Texas; District of Vermont; Eastern and Western Districts of Virginia; Northern and Southern Districts of West Virginia; Eastern and Western Districts of Wisconsin; and State Attorneys General’s Offices, through their MFCUs, in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virgin Islands, Washington, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. In addition, the MFCUs for Alabama, North Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and Virigina participated in the investigation of federal cases announced today.  Descriptions of each case involved in today’s enforcement action are available on the Department’s website here. 

The Northern District of Iowa, in particular, worked with the Department’s Health Care Fraud Unit of the Fraud Division, the Fraud Section of the Civil Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa; the Attorney General of Iowa, through her office’s MFCU; and: the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Department of Veteran Affairs – Office of Inspector General, the Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General, and the Department of Defense – Office of Inspector General. 

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs. 

An indictment, information, or complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. 

A man who possessed multiple firearms as a felon in the summer of 2024 was sentenced today to 8 years in federal prison.

Bailey Michael Valentine, age 26, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after a February 27, 2026, guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a felon. 

Evidence at the sentencing hearing showed that in May 2024, law enforcement officers pulled over a car in which Valentine was the passenger.  Officers found Valentine’s backpack in the car.  It contained methamphetamine.  Later that day, officers searched his house and found a stolen and loaded gun.  Valentine continued to possess a firearm on multiple occasions after that.  In July 2024, officers pulled over another car that Valentine was driving.  Inside the car, officers found a loaded gun that belonged to Valentine, as well as ammunition that he had stolen earlier in the day.  Valentine has an extensive criminal history, including two drug‑related felony convictions from 2021.

Valentine was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Valentine was sentenced to 96 months’ imprisonment and must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

Valentine is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives and the Dubuque Drug Task Force.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 25-CR-1031.

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A man who unlawfully possessed a stolen gun was sentenced on June 23, 2026, to eight years in federal prison.

Dalton Lee Hagen, age 28, from Cresco, Iowa, received the prison term after an October 6, 2025, guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a felon.

Information at the sentencing hearing showed that in January 2025, law enforcement officers were investigating a burglary.  Officers learned that Hagen was involved and searched his home.  In the basement of Hagen’s home, officers found a gun.  Prior to January 2025, Hagen had broken into a car outside a local Cresco business and stole the gun.  Hagen is prohibited from possessing firearms because of multiple prior felony convictions.

Hagen was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Hagen was sentenced to 96 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

Hagen is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.  The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael S.A. Hudson and investigated by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, the Cresco Police Department, the Winneshiek County Sheriff’s Office, Howard County Sherriff’s Office, and the Iowa State Patrol. Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 25-CR-02053.

A man who conspired to distribute meth and illegally possessed a firearm was sentenced on June 22, 2026, in federal court in Sioux City to 131 months’ imprisonment. 

On February 2, 2026, Seann Mackey, 32, from Mount Pleasant, Iowa pled guilty, admitting that between June 2024 and December 2024, he was involved in a conspiracy that distributed at least 3000 grams of mixed methamphetamine which contained at least 150 grams of pure methamphetamine.  On December 20, 2024, law enforcement apprehended Mackey after he led them on a high-speed chase, then attempted to flee on foot.  During the foot pursuit, Mackey was observed throwing a firearm.  Law enforcement seized methamphetamine, numerous empty baggies and a digital scale from Mackey, along with a loaded Glock 9mm handgun.  

Mackey has several previous felony convictions, including: Delivery of a Controlled Substance, Possession of a Controlled Substance, Possession with Intent to Deliver a Controlled Substance – Methamphetamine, and Dominion/Control of Firearm/Offensive Weapon by Felon. Each of these convictions prohibit Mackey from possessing any firearm and also enhance his sentencing penalties. 

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced Mackey to 131 months’ imprisonment and an eight-year term of supervised release.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Mackey remains in custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, Iowa, that consists of law enforcement personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration; Sioux City, Iowa, Police Department; Homeland Security Investigations; Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; Nebraska State Patrol; Iowa National Guard; Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement; United States Marshals Service; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; and Woodbury County Attorney’s Office.   

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 25-4006.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

Bryce Garrels, 32, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, was sentenced in federal court in Sioux City on June 22, 2026, to 183 months’ imprisonment for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine.

At the plea hearing on February 6, 2026, Garrels admitted that from July 2024 through August 2025, he and others were involved in a conspiracy that distributed more than 1 ½ pounds of meth in the Fort Dodge, Iowa area.  Evidence further showed that on at least four occasions in July and August 2025, Garrels distributed or helped others distribute methamphetamine, ranging from one to four ounces.  

Garrels was previously convicted of seven felony offenses in the State of Iowa, including Burglary 3rd Degree in 2011, 2015, and 2022, and Forgery in 2020, 2021 and 2022, as well as Possession of a Counterfeit Substance with Intent to Deliver in 2021. 

United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced Garrels to 183 months’ imprisonment along with a five-year term of supervised release.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Garrels remains in custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison.  

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Iowa DCI Laboratory, Fort Dodge Police Department, Iowa State Patrol, Webster County Sheriff’s Office, Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, and Wright County Sheriff’s Office.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 25-3043.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

A woman who bought four guns over six months and lied about her drug use was sentenced June 17, 2026, to a year in federal prison.

Sydnie Mahoney, age 28, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a January 23, 2026, guilty plea to making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm.

Information at sentencing showed that between March 2023 and September 2023, Mahoney bought four guns on four separate occasions from a gun dealer in Cedar Falls, Iowa.  During each purchase, Mahoney signed a form on which she indicated she was not an unlawful user of controlled substances, including marijuana.  Mahoney was a marijuana user at the time of each purchase.  During two of the purchases, Mahoney was accompanied by Torion Byrd, her boyfriend.

Later, police officers found Byrd driving a car with another man who was wanted on an outstanding arrest warrant.  Officers searched the car and found one of the guns Mahoney had purchased in the glove box.  Byrd’s DNA was found on the gun, which had an extended magazine.  Byrd was a convicted felon.  Byrd was sentenced to over three years in federal prison.  

Mahoney was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Mahoney was sentenced to 12 months and a day in federal prison.  She must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

Mahoney was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the United States Marshal on July 20, 2026.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and investigated by a Federal Task Force composed of the Waterloo Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms assisted by the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and Cedar Falls Police Department.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 25-cr-2027.

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United States Attorney Leif Olson announced today that two men have been indicted on criminal charges related to the missing-person case of McKenna Wendel, who was found dead on March 19, 2026, in Brookings, South Dakota.

Mark Milk, 51, of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Jon Rogness, 38, of Brookings, South Dakota, were charged in an indictment filed on June 17, 2026, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. 

Milk faces five counts: 

• Possession with intent to distribute and distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death, 
• Possession with intent to distribute and distribution of a controlled substance, 
• Transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, 
• Conspiracy to conceal objects with the intent to impair their availability for an official proceeding, and 
• Concealing objects with the intent to impair their availability for official proceedings.

Rogness faces two counts:

• Conspiracy to conceal objects with the intent to impair their availability for an official proceeding, and 
• Accessory after the fact.

Milk and Rogness will have an initial appearance before a judge at the Sioux City federal courthouse at a date yet to be determined.

As with any criminal case, a charge is merely an accusation, and defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild. It is being investigated by the Sioux Falls Police Department; Sioux Falls Fire Rescue; Minnehaha County, South Dakota, Sheriff’s Department; Minnehaha County Search and Rescue; Brookings County, South Dakota, Sheriff’s Office; Brookings Police Department; Brookings Fire Department; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; Brookings County Attorney’s Office; Minnehaha County, South Dakota, Attorney’s Office; the Iowa Department of Public Safety—Division of Criminal Investigation; Iowa State Patrol; Lyon County, Iowa, Sheriff’s Department; the Lyon County Attorney’s Office; the South Dakota Attorney General’s Office; the U.S. Department of Justice’s Federal Bureau of Investigation; and the U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/‌login.pl. The case file number is 26-4032.

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An illegal alien from Jamaica who was found unlawfully in the United States after having been previously removed following felony convictions in federal court was sentenced today to more than three years in federal prison.

Steven Jarret, also known as Steven Jones, age 55, from Montego Bay, Jamaica, received the prison term after a February 17, 2026, guilty plea to one count of being found after illegal reentry.

Information at sentencing showed that Jarret had been deported or removed from the United States in 1995, 2008, and 2013.  His removal in 2008 came following convictions in 2003 for entering the United States on a false passport and drug trafficking in the United States District Court for the District of Kansas.  He was sentenced to five years in prison and then removed from the country after completing his prison term in 2008.  His removal in 2013 came after he had returned to the United States and was convicted of money laundering in 2012 in the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska.  

In December 2025, law enforcement officers in the Northern District of Iowa stopped Jarret as he was driving a commercial vehicle.  He was arrested for a traffic violation.  Immigrations officials found Jarret as he was being processed at the Howard County, Iowa, jail and arrested him.

At sentencing, the judge said that Jarret was a “dangerous drug dealer” when he was convicted in 2003 for trafficking more than 1000 kilograms of marijuana, and possessing a loaded gun, and in 2012 when he was convicted of laundering more than $140,000 in drug proceeds.  The judge said the United States has an interest in keeping dangerous drug dealers out of the country.

Jarret was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Jarret was sentenced to 37 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

Jarret is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 25-cr-2074.

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A man who unlawfully possessed a loaded and stolen gun in a car with a child pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids.  Hombra Montrell Williams, age 30, from Dubuque, Iowa, was convicted of possession of a firearm by a person convicted of domestic violence.

Evidence at a prior hearing demonstrated that on April 14, 2025, officers stopped a car in Dubuque.  Williams was in the front passenger seat, and a child was in the back seat.  Officers searched the car and found a stolen and loaded gun on the floorboard near where Williams had been sitting.  Williams’s DNA and fingerprint were on the gun.  Williams has a 2021 conviction for domestic abuse assault causing injury.  Officers searched Williams’s Snapchat account and found recent videos that Williams had posted of drugs, of Williams holding multiple guns, and of Williams firing a gun into the air.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Williams remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Williams faces a possible maximum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives and the Dubuque Police Department.  Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 26-CR-1007.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

Bryce White, 42, from Dow City, Iowa, was sentenced in federal court in Sioux City, on June 18, 2026, to 35 years’ imprisonment.  White pled guilty January 21, 2026, to one count of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of receipt of child pornography.

Between August 2023 and August 2024, White coerced dozens of minor females into sending him depictions of themselves engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  White used Snapchat to pose as a minor and solicited and received nude images and videos of minor females from across the United States and overseas.  In September 2023 a Midland, Michigan, law enforcement agency began investigating White based on a complaint from a minor female’s parents.  The parents discovered inappropriate messages on Snapchat between their daughter and White.  Law enforcement traced the Snapchat account back to White in Dow City.  Agents in Iowa obtained and executed search warrants for White’s electronics.  Forensic examination revealed White had sent over 95,000 messages to over 1,400 unique users in over a dozen states.  Evidence showed White received 14 videos, 180 images of child sexual abuse material, and over 20,000 images of child erotica.  White had also communicated with at least one of the minors that “when she was legal” he would “come get her.”  The images and videos involved material that portrayed sadistic or masochistic conduct, as well as prepubescent children and toddlers.  

United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced White to 420 months’ imprisonment along with a 10-year term of supervised release.  There is no parole in the federal system.  White remains in custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison.  

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”

The case was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, Midland County Michigan Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 24-4079.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

A man who distributed ice methamphetamine on multiple occasions during the summer of 2025 was convicted by a jury today, after a three-day trial in federal court in Cedar Rapids.

Jonathan Quinn Carter, age 37, from Chicago, Illinois, was convicted of eight counts of distribution of methamphetamine and aiding and abetting the distribution of methamphetamine.  The verdict was returned this afternoon following about five hours of jury deliberations.

The evidence at trial showed that during the summer of 2025, Carter frequently traveled between Chicago and Cedar Rapids.  During these trips, Carter transported multiple pound quantities of ice methamphetamine back to the Cedar Rapids area.  He then eventually distributed the drugs to customers.  For example, in November 2024, law enforcement officers located four pounds of ice methamphetamine in a car headed back to Iowa that Carter was traveling in.  In August 2025, Carter arrived in Iowa City after taking a bus back from Chicago.  Law enforcement officers observed him get into a ride share and head towards Cedar Rapids.  During a traffic stop of the ride share, officers located two pounds of methamphetamine in Carter’s backpack.  Law enforcement officers also purchased half-pound quantities of ice methamphetamine from Carter on five different occasions and Carter assisted with arranging three other similar drug transactions.  

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Carter remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Carter faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $20,000,000 fine, and at least ten years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lisa C. Williams and Dillan Edwards and was investigated by a Federal Task Force composed of the Waterloo Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms assisted by the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office and Cedar Falls Police Department as well as the Cedar Rapids Police Department, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Illinois State Patrol, Drug Enforcement Administration, Johnson County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa City Police Department, and Coralville Police Department.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 24-CR-0073.

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There will be a press conference held on June 18, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. at the offices of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Iowa located at the Ho-Chunk Building, Suite 670, 600 4th Street, Sioux City, Iowa.  United States Attorney Leif Olson will announce charges related to the death of McKenna Wendell.  Mr. Olson will be joined by:

• Ron Parsons, the United States Attorney for the District of South Dakota; 
• Jon Thum, the Chief of Police of the Sioux Falls Police Department; and
• Mike Hockett, Special Agent in Charge of the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation.

A press release will be available.  

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A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine and illegally possessed firearms in the Fort Dodge area pled guilty June 15, 2026, in federal court in Sioux City.

Jordan Mefferd, 47, from Pocahontas, Iowa, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, four counts of distributing methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. 

At the plea hearing, Mefferd admitted that from about July 2024 through September 2025, he conspired with others to distribute over one pound of methamphetamine in the Webster County Iowa area.  In August/September 2025, agents made four controlled buys of methamphetamine from Mefferd, totaling more than 200 grams of pure methamphetamine.  On September 23, 2025, officers executed a search warrant at Mefferd’s residence and seized a small amount of methamphetamine, $9,684.51 in U.S. currency, four firearms, and various ammunition.  Mefferd is prohibited from possessing any firearm due to his previous felony convictions which include: conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine; possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine; possession of lithium; possession of controlled substance – 3rd or subsequent offense; eluding; burglary third degree; and escape.  

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Mefferd remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing.  Mefferd faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $60,250,000 fine, and at least ten years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, Webster County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Dodge Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Iowa State Patrol, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and Iowa DCI Laboratory.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 25-3048.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

A convicted felon from Waterloo who possessed a gun was sentenced June 11, 2026, to two years in federal prison.

Oliver Lee Buls, 19, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a January 16, 2026, guilty plea to Possession of a Firearm by a Felon.

Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that Buls was the passenger in a car that police officers stopped in May 2025.  Officers searched the car after smelling the odor of marijuana.  During the search, officers found a loaded Glock 9mm handgun underneath Buls’ seat.  The gun was loaded with a high-capacity magazine.  Officers also found a loaded Palmetto State Dagger 9mm handgun under the hood of the car.  The Palmetto also contained a high-capacity magazine and had a machine gun conversion device, or “switch,” affixed to it.  The “switch” allowed the gun to operate as a fully automatic firearm.  Buls’ DNA was found on both guns.  Buls was part of a social media group, which included juveniles, that posted videos of themselves playing with guns.  Buls was on probation at the time he possessed the guns after being convicted of the felony offense of interference with official acts with a firearm.  His probation for that conviction was revoked.  

Buls was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Buls was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment.  He was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment fee.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley Corkery and investigated by the Waterloo Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, 

Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 25-CR-2038.

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A man who conspired to distribute methamphetamine was sentenced June 11, 2026, to more than eight years in federal prison.

Juan Eduardo Rivas Martinez, age 25, from Marshalltown, Iowa, received the prison term after a January 12, 2026, guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.

Information at the sentencing hearing showed that on June 11, 2024, Martinez distributed over 450 grams of ice methamphetamine to a confidential informant.  After that transaction, law enforcement officers attempted to stop Martinez but he fled from the officers on a bicycle.  Martinez crashed the bicycle he was riding and continued to flee on foot.  Officers caught Martinez.  Martinez had over $1,000 in his possession.  As Martinez was fleeing, he threw a bag to the ground.  Officers found and searched the bag and found over 440 grams of ice methamphetamine inside.

Martinez was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Martinez was sentenced to 97 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a five-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Martinez is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion.  The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.  

Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders.  In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children.  The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. 

HSTF Kansas City is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, covering Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska.  HSTF Kansas City is composed of agents and officers from the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Marshals Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the State Investigative Agencies for Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska, and the Kansas City Missouri Police Department.  

This HSTF case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael S.A. Hudson and investigated by HSTF Kansas City, with the assistance of the Tri-County Drug Enforcement Task Force consisting of the Waterloo Police Department, Cedar Falls Police Department, Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Department, Evansdale Police Department, Waverly Police Department, Hudson Police Department, La Porte City Police Department, and the Bremer County Sheriff’s Department, and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 25-CR-2033-005.

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A man who illegally possessed a firearm as a felon was sentenced today to a year in federal prison.

Dana Lee Scott, Jr. age 25, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a February 2, 2026, guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a felon.

Evidence during the case showed police officers observed Scott with a gun while conducting surveillance on a home in Waterloo.  Officers eventually searched the home and found the gun.    

Scott was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Scott was sentenced to 12 months and one day of imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Scott is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa C. Williams and investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Waterloo Police Department.    

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 25-CR-2045.

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A man who bought two firearms for his drug dealer was sentenced on June 10, 2026, to more than two years in federal prison.

Conner Scott Nye, age 27, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a January 12, 2026, guilty plea to one count of false statement during purchase of firearm.

Information from Nye’s plea and sentencing hearings showed that Nye bought two guns for his drug dealer in 2024.  Nye lied about his drug use and falsely stated that he was buying the guns for himself.  Instead, Nye was really buying the guns for his drug dealer.  Nye was a user of and addicted to opiates, including heroin.  His drug dealer subsequently sold one of the guns after having it equipped with a machinegun conversion device. 

Nye was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Nye was sentenced to 27 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Nye is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kyndra Lundquist and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 25-CR-0026.

A Cedar Rapids man who acquired and distributed methamphetamine was sentenced today to more than 20 years in federal prison.

Tony Douglas Westmoreland, Sr., age 46, from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, received the prison term after a December 1, 2025, guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

Information at the sentencing hearing showed that in 2023, Westmoreland began to receive significant quantities of methamphetamine.  He then distributed the methamphetamine to his customers.  On September 9, 2024, police officers tried to stop Westmoreland as he drove his motorcycle.  Westmoreland fled and led officers on a high-speed pursuit where he drove approximately 100 miles per hour.  He also failed to stop at stop signs, drove the wrong direction on roads, and drove his motorcycle through a schoolyard.  Westmoreland eventually abandoned his motorcycle and continued to flee on foot.  Officers found Westmoreland, his motorcycle, and his backpack that he had discarded.  Officers recovered over 132 grams of ice methamphetamine inside Westmoreland’s backpack.  

Westmoreland was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Westmoreland was sentenced to 262 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a ten-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Westmoreland is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael S.A. Hudson and investigated by Cedar Rapids Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration.  Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 25-CR-19.

A Chicago man that distributed fentanyl was sentenced on June 8, 2026, to 13 years in federal prison.  

Deorey Hayes‑Davis, age 31, from Chicago, Illinois, received the prison term after a January 16, 2026, guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.  

Information disclosed at the sentencing hearing showed that, between April 2023 and May 2023, Hayes‑Davis distributed several hundred fentanyl pills and fentanyl powder to customers in Waterloo, Iowa.  On the evening of May 27 or the morning of May 28, 2023, a woman ingested fentanyl that she had obtained from Hayes‑Davis.  She died from a fentanyl‑related overdose.  Around the time of the overdose, Hayes‑Davis provided two locked duffel bags—one that contained approximately seven firearms and another that contained drugs, including fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine—to a customer.  The customer later opened the duffel bags and distributed a portion of the drugs before the rest was recovered by law enforcement officers.  

Hayes‑Davis was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Hayes‑Davis was sentenced to 156 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a four‑year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  

Hayes‑Davis is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison. 

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion.  The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.  Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders.  In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children.  The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. 

HSTF Kansas City is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, covering Missouri, Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska.  HSTF Kansas City is composed of agents and officers from the Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service, the United States Marshals Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the State Investigative Agencies for Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska, and the Kansas City Missouri Police Department.  

This HSTF case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dillan Edwards and investigated by HSTF Kansas City, with the assistance of the Tri‑County Drug Enforcement Task Force consisting of the Waterloo Police Department, Cedar Falls Police Department, Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Department, Evansdale Police Department, Waverly Police Department, Hudson Police Department, La Porte City Police Department, and the Bremer County Sheriff’s Department; and the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 25‑CR‑02019‑CJW.

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A Dubuque man who distributed over 119 pounds of methamphetamine in approximately two months was sentenced on June 8, 2026, to 25 years in federal prison.  

David Allen Parker, age 54, from Dubuque, Iowa, received the prison term after a January 12, 2026, guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.  

Information disclosed at the sentencing hearing showed that, between May 2024 and July 2024, Parker obtained and distributed over 119 pounds of methamphetamine.  Parker had four prior convictions for drug trafficking, including a prior federal conviction in 2003.  

Parker was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Parker was sentenced to 300 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a ten‑year term of supervised release.  There is no parole in the federal system.  

Parker is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison. 

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dillan Edwards and investigated by the Dubuque Drug Task Force. 

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 24‑CR‑01038‑CJW.

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A man was sentenced today to more than five years in federal prison for his second conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Robert Dettbarn, age 34, from Independence, Iowa, received the prison term after a January 21, 2026, guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Information at sentencing showed that on September 8, 2025, members of the United States Marshals Service Northern Iowa Fugitive Task Force went to Dettbarn’s home in Independence.  Task Force officers were trying to find Dettbarn to arrest him on a warrant issued in federal court for his violations of supervised release.  Dettbarn had previously been convicted in federal court in 2018 of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

After officers arrived at Dettbarn’s home and determined he was inside, they attempted to persuade him to leave the home.  Dettbarn refused to do so.  Officers could see Dettbarn inside with a gun.  After about five hours, an Iowa State Patrol tactical unit arrived to assist.  Officers deployed tear gas into the home.  Officers then heard a gunshot when Dettbarn accidentally fired his gun, striking the foundation of a nearby home.  Dettbarn then left the home and was taken into custody.

Dettbarn was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Dettbarn was sentenced to 61 months’ imprisonment between his new sentence and a sentence of imprisonment for violating his supervised release.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

Dettbarn is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Morfitt and investigated by the United States Marshals Service.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 25-cr-2073.

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A man who illegally possessed a firearm as a felon was sentenced today to more than one year in federal prison.

David Gregory Fauser, age 37, from Waterloo, Iowa, received the prison term after a December 29, 2025, guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a felon.

Evidence during the case showed Fauser was involved in an altercation with his neighbor.  Fauser went inside his home, got a gun, went back outside, and displayed the gun towards his neighbor.  Fauser was intoxicated at the time.  He had previously been convicted of third-degree burglary, a felony offense.

Fauser was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Fauser was sentenced to twelve months and one day of imprisonment.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Fauser was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a date yet to be set.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lisa C. Williams and investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol Tabacco Firearms and Explosives and the Waterloo Police Department.  Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 25-CR-2052.

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A man who stole an ATM and then led officers on a high-speed chase for approximately 40 minutes pled guilty today in federal court in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

John Fitzgerald Bennett, age 56, from Gilbertville, Iowa, was convicted of one count of credit union larceny.

In a plea agreement, Bennett admitted that on May 3, 2025, he stole a pickup truck from a home in Waterloo.  He then drove the truck to a parking lot in Cedar Falls.  Bennett walked down the street and stole a forklift from a construction site.  He drove the forklift to a credit union in Cedar Falls and attempted to use the forklift to lift an interactive teller machine off the ground.  The machine tipped over and Bennett could not maneuver the forklift to successfully steal the machine.  Bennett then drove the forklift further down the street to a second credit union.  There, he successfully used the forklift to steal an ATM.  Bennett drove the forklift with the ATM back to the parking lot where he had stashed the stolen pickup truck.  Bennett used the forklift to move the ATM into the back of the pickup truck and drove away.

Law enforcement officers responded to alarms from both credit unions and found Bennett in the stolen pickup truck.  Bennett fled and led officers on a high‑speed chase, including on Interstate 380, for approximately 40 minutes and a total of 46 miles.  He reached speeds of 100 miles per hour in a 65 mile-per-hour zone.  Ultimately, Bennett drove over multiple sets of “stop sticks,” which deflated most of the truck’s tires.  Finally, the truck was so damaged that it stopped moving.  When the truck stopped, the tires were gone and the tire rims and running boards were resting on the ground.  The stolen ATM from the second credit union was in the back of the truck.  

Bennett has a prior federal conviction for one count of credit union burglary and aiding and abetting, and one count of credit union larceny and aiding and abetting.   

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Bennett remains in custody of the United States Marshal.  Bennett faces a possible maximum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and was investigated by the Cedar Falls Police Department, the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office, the Waterloo Police Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 25-CR-2068.

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A Sioux City man who terrorized the community with a gun and stole two vehicles, during a 13-day crime spree, pled guilty today, in federal court in Sioux City.

Manaen Rave, age 27, from Sioux City, pleaded guilty to two counts of Interstate Transportation of Stolen Motor Vehicle and one count of Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition by a Felon.

At the change of plea hearing, and in a plea agreement, Rave admitted that on February 16, 2025, he carjacked a motor vehicle by pistol whipping his victim in the head with a .22 revolver, requiring her to receive treatment at a hospital.

11 days later, on or about February 27, 2025, Rave stole a second vehicle, leaving his victim standing in a gas station parking lot without a ride to work.

Rave transported both stolen vehicles in interstate commerce, traveling back and forth between Iowa and Nebraska.  Rave tried to hide from police, burying himself inside a closet, but was located and arrested by a combined Special Weapons and Tactics Team.

Rave has an extensive criminal history including drug, assault, and theft convictions.         

Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Rave remains in custody of the United States Marshal.  Rave faces a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 3 years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case was investigated by Woodbury County Sheriff’s Department, Sioux City, Iowa Police Department, Sgt. Buff Iowa, Police Department, Sgt. Bluff Fire & Rescue, Dakota County, Nebraska Sheriff’s Department, Iowa Department of Transportation, the United States Department of Justice’s Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), and the Department of Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 25-4032.

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A man who came to the United States in 2008 was sentenced to six months in prison today for his involvement in a conspiracy to defraud the government.  Joseph Onolenga Okamba, age 40, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, received the prison term after a November 13, 2025, guilty plea to conspiracy to defraud the United States.

Two other members of the conspiracy have already been sentenced.  Joseph Longanga Okoko was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment, and Medard Lotahe Elonge was sentenced to twelve months and one day imprisonment.

In a plea agreement, Okamba admitted that an object of the conspiracy was to fraudulently obtain visas for citizens of the Congo, including family members and friends who were not otherwise eligible for citizenship.

As part of the conspiracy, Okamba was involved in multiple visa petitions where the petitioner, who had previously won the diversity visa lottery, was fraudulently asking to bring an alleged spouse to the United States.  As part of the federal investigation, one of the petitioners was summoned to grand jury.  Okamba, along with co-defendant Medard Lotahe Elonge, provided the individual a marriage certificate of a fraudulent marriage to submit to the grand jury as proof of the legitimacy of the purported marriage.  Additionally, Okamba successfully petitioned for an individual to come to the United States claiming the individual was his birth mom, knowing they were not biologically related.  When questioned by law enforcement officers about his relationship to the woman, Okamba lied about her name and birthdate.  During an interview with law enforcement officers in 2023, Okamba admitted to assisting hundreds of Congolese people with immigration paperwork.  

Okamba was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams.  Okamba was sentenced to 6 months’ imprisonment and fined $4,000.  He must also serve a three-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Okamba was released on the bond previously set and is to surrender to the United States Marshal on June 22, 2026.  Bienvenu Saido Binyangi, who was charged in the same indictment and has also pled guilty, has yet to be sentenced.  

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew J. Cole and Nicole L. Nagin and was investigated by the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, the United States Postal Inspection Service, United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Waterloo Police Department, the Sioux City Police Department, and the Iowa Department of Transportation.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The core mission of the Fraud Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars.  Department of Justice efforts to combat fraud support President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 24-CR-2052.

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Matthew Groat, 42, from Fort Dodge, Iowa was sentenced on May 27, 2026, in federal court in Sioux City.  In 2006 Groat was convicted in the same federal court for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 200 months’ imprisonment.   

On January 6, 2026, Groat pled guilty and admitted that from August 2025 through November 2025 he and others distributed over 2,200 grams of methamphetamine and at least 10 grams of cocaine to individuals in the Fort Dodge area.  Groat also admitted that on two occasions in September 2025 he distributed about 10 grams of cocaine to individuals cooperating with law enforcement and on two other occasions in September 2025 and three times in October 2025, he distributed a total of more than 130 grams of pure methamphetamine.  Groat further admitted to obtaining 5 to 10 pounds of methamphetamine from a local source during the four months of the conspiracy and selling it to people around Fort Dodge.   

United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand sentenced Groat to 108 months’ imprisonment and a four-year term of supervised release.  There is no parole in the federal system.  Groat remains in custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison.  

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Fort Dodge Police Department, Iowa State Patrol, Webster County Sheriff’s Office, and the Iowa DCI Criminalistics Laboratory.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 25-3054.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

A former loan officer at a Dubuque credit union, who filed a bankruptcy case after perpetrating a vehicle lien stripping scheme against her employer, pled guilty on May 27, 2026, in federal court in Cedar Rapids.  Kylie Jo Bench, formerly known as Kylie Jo Parrish, age 27, from Burlington, Iowa, was convicted of one count of bankruptcy fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

In a plea agreement, Bench admitted that a Dubuque credit union hired her as a loan officer at a branch in Burlington in 2022.  When the credit union hired Bench, she had outstanding loans on two late-model vehicles, a Ford and a Dodge, at other financial institutions.  Bench owed over $100,000 on the vehicles.  After the credit union hired Bench, Bench and another individual jointly refinanced those loans with her new employer.

In August 2022, without the credit union’s knowledge, Bench sold the two vehicles at a car dealership in Cedar Rapids.  Bench did not disclose or record the credit union’s security interests in the vehicles at any time.  Instead, Bench provided the car dealership with a letter, purportedly signed by one of the credit union’s executives on fake letterhead, which falsely stated that the loans were “paid off” and had “a zero balance.”  In truth, neither Bench nor the other individual had repaid the loans on the two vehicles they had recently refinanced.  

In March 2023, Bench caused an attorney file a document in a voluntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy case in which she falsely denied under oath transferring any property on account of a debt that benefitted an insider, when in truth Bench had sold the Ford and the Dodge and those sales benefitted the other individual who owed money on the vehicle loans.

Bench is the fourth person convicted of bankruptcy fraud crimes in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa this year.

Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams will be set after a presentence report is prepared.  Bench remains free on bond previously set.  Bench faces a mandatory minimum two-year prison term and a possible maximum sentence of seven years’ imprisonment, a $500,000 fine, and three years of supervised release following any imprisonment.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Timothy L. Vavricek and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The core mission of the Fraud Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars.  Department of Justice efforts to combat fraud support President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. 

The case file number is 25-CR-95.

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The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Iowa is proud to announce that Brian Flikeid, Chief of Police for the Aurelia and Marcus Police Departments, has been recognized as a Freedom 250 Hometown Hero. The prestigious national award honors individuals whose steadfast courage, generosity, and public service embody the enduring ideals of liberty and civic responsibility.

The Freedom 250 initiative was created in celebration of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. It recognizes outstanding Americans who make lasting contributions to their local communities.

Chief Flikeid was selected because of his leadership, collaboration, and tireless dedication to improving crime victims’ experiences within the criminal justice system. Chief Flikeid served as the founding president of the board of the S.A.F.E. Center of Iowa, which is dedicated to creating single sites to furnish complete care, from reporting to follow-up mental-health counseling, to victims of sexual assault. He currently serves on the board of the Centers Against Abuse and Sexual Assault, which provides critical services to victims of sexual assault across 19 counties in northwest Iowa, and is a founding member of the Cherokee County Sexual Assault Response Team. He was also appointed by the Iowa Police Chiefs Association to serve as its representative on the newly formed Iowa Child Abuse Fatality Review Committee.

In addition to that service, Chief Flikeid provides training on victim issues across the state to law-enforcement officers, sexual-assault nurse examiners, personnel of the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, and victim advocates. This has included presentations at the Iowa Attorney General’s Domestic Violence Conference and the Iowa National Guard’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Team. Further, he has testified before the Iowa House of Representatives and Iowa Senate, advocating for legislation to assist victims.  

“Chief Flikeid’s unwavering dedication, leadership, and compassion have earned him the deep respect of his colleagues and the gratitude of the victims and communities he serves,” summarized Aurelia Police Department Officer April Degner, who nominated Chief Flikeid for the award. “His leadership, compassion, and tireless dedication have made a profound and lasting impact on the lives of crime victims and the community,” wrote Marcus Police Officer Jacqueline Stephens in support of the nomination.

“There’s a reason that the lawman who stands up to protect the innocent is a classic American character,” said United States Attorney Leif Olson. “That dedication to defending the lives and liberty of your neighbors, of taking pride in your community and making it a better place to live, are the core of the American civic spirit. Brian Flikeid exemplifies that. As we celebrate our country’s 250th birthday, I’m grateful to have the honor to name Chief Flikeid as a Hometown Hero.”

Olson presented the award to Chief Flikeid on May 22 in a ceremony at the Aurelia Community Center.

For more information on the award and the Freedom 250 initiative, visit the Department of Justice News Page or White House Freedom 250 Page. 

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