District of Massachusetts

BOSTON – A Connecticut man was sentenced today for fraudulently obtaining more than 100 gold coins and then transporting them outside of Massachusetts.    

William Dawson, 52, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman to five years of probation, with one year of home confinement, and ordered to pay restitution. In April 2024, Dawson pleaded guilty to one count of interstate transportation of property taken by fraud. Dawson was arrested and charged in October 2023.

Dawson held himself out as a property buyer and reseller. Person-1 operated a home cleanout business in Massachusetts that sold property contained in decedent estates. In or around December 2022, Person-1 was retained by a decedent estate to clean out a residence in Shrewsbury, Mass. In that home, Person-1 found 170 Queen Elizabeth II Canadian Gold Maple Leaf Coins, collectively worth approximately $290,000. With approval from the estate, Person-1 agreed to sell 120 of the gold coins to Dawson.

In January 2023, Dawson met with Person-1 in Millbury and purchased the 120 gold coins with two checks totaling $198,800. However, Dawson had significantly less than $198,800 in the relevant bank account when he wrote the checks to Person-1. Later that same day, Dawson called Person-1, falsely claiming that his car had been broken into and that the gold coins had been stolen. The next day, Dawson traveled to a pawn shop in Pawtucket, R.I. where he sold 43 of the gold coins in exchange for $80,442. On several occasions in February 2023, Dawson traveled to a pawn shop in Cranston, R.I., where he sold 19 more of the gold coins in exchange for a total of approximately $35,094.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Andrew Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Boston Field Office made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Milford Police Department and the Worcester County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan O’Shea of the Worcester Branch Office prosecuted the case.   

BOSTON – A Southbridge man has been convicted by a federal jury for his role in a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that distributed cocaine and fentanyl throughout the North Shore and Central Massachusetts areas.

Ismael Maysonet, 40, was convicted of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman scheduled sentencing for June 4, 2025. In September 2022, Maysonet was charged along with 21 other co-conspirators.

“Ismael Maysonet was a member of a large-scale drug trafficking organization that pumped fentanyl and cocaine into the communities of Massachusetts. We will continue to target and dismantle these groups to keep our communities safe and hold drug traffickers accountable,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley. “My office is committed to prosecuting all drug traffickers who prey on the vulnerable and addicted in our communities. We will continue to root out, arrest and prosecute those who violate our drug laws.”

“Those who choose to distribute fentanyl and cocaine endanger their customers as well as the general public. Maintaining public safety requires that they be prosecuted aggressively,” said Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division. “We work closely each day with our law enforcement partners to target those who seek to profit from the sale of these substances.”

“Postal inspectors are committed to ensuring the U.S. Postal Service is not a mechanism to distribute deadly fentanyl and other illicit narcotics,” stated Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the Boston Division of the United States Postal Inspection Service. “Let today’s verdict serve as a reminder that postal inspectors, along with our law enforcement partners, remain steadfast in our resolve to combat the flow of illicit drugs impacting our communities.”

In and around August 2021 through August 2022, Maysonet was identified as a member of a Southbridge-based DTO who distributed cocaine and fentanyl to retail customers and other drug dealers at the request of the leaders of the DTO, Jonathan Pizarro Gonzalez and Isaac Gonzalez. The DTO regularly used the United States mail to conduct drug trafficking activities. Specifically, the DTO obtained large quantities of cocaine through packages mailed from Puerto Rico to addresses used by the DTO and mailed packages containing fentanyl to recipients in Florida and elsewhere. On multiple occasions Maysonet was observed retrieving packages that were delivered by the United States mail that were known to contain drugs. Throughout the investigation, Maysonet was heard over intercepted calls discussing drug trafficking, payments and pickups, as well as the packaging of fentanyl in an electronic device to be mailed to Florida. Approximately nine kilograms of cocaine from packages sent through the mail and 800 grams of fentanyl were seized from various DTO members over the course of the investigation.

Both Jonathan Pizarro Gonzalez and Isaac Gonzalez pleaded guilty in January 2025 and are scheduled to be sentenced on April 29, 2025 and May 12, 2025, respectively.  

The charge of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams of cocaine fentanyl provides for a mandatory minimum sentence offive5 years and up to life in prison, at least four years of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

U.S. Attorney Foley, DEA Acting SAC Belleau and USPIS INC Larco-Ward made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the United States Marshals Service, Massachusetts State Police, Southbridge Police Department, Lawrence Police Department, Essex County Sherriff’s Department and Worcester County Sheriff’s Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen W. Hassink and Samuel R. Feldman of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit are prosecuting the case.

This investigation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The details contained in the charging document are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
 

BOSTON – A New Bedford man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.

Vinicio DeJesus Marrero Arias, 40, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to three years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Arias will also be subject to deportation upon completion of his sentence. In October 2024, Arias pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.

Following an investigation into fentanyl trafficking in and around the Lord Phillips Apartments in New Bedford, Arias was identified as fentanyl distributors in the area. A search of Arias’ residence, as well as an apartment that was being used as a stash location and two storage units rented on behalf of Arias’s co-conspirator, Yohenry Contreras-Lara, resulted in the recovery of more than several hundred grams of fentanyl and $1.2 million in cash in suspected drug proceeds.

Contreras-Lara pleaded guilty in November 2024 and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 3, 2025.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; and Bradley Parker, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Boston Field Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Bristol County District Attorney’s Office and the New Bedford Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan Panich of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.
 

BOSTON – The owner of a paving company doing business north of Boston was sentenced on Jan. 30, 2025 for a multi-year income tax evasion scheme.

Richard Cooper, 71, of Billerica, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to six months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release. Cooper was also ordered to pay $989,819 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service. In October 2024, Cooper pleaded guilty to four counts of tax evasion.

From 2017 to 2020, in addition to depositing customer payments into bank accounts in the name of his company, Rick Cooper Paving, Cooper also cashed more than $5.1 million in customer checks. When Cooper had his taxes prepared, he did not tell his preparer about the checks he was cashing, resulting in his tax returns underreporting the business’ gross receipts by millions. As a result, Cooper kept over $1.1 million that he should have paid in federal and state income taxes.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kriss Basil, Deputy Chief of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.
 

BOSTON – A Lynn man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston for his role in a large-scale drug trafficking organization (DTO) on the North Shore of Massachusetts. In November 2023, millions of doses of fentanyl and methamphetamine laced pills and powder with street value estimated to be over $7 million, were seized from a stash location and clandestine laboratory used by organization.

Deiby Felix, 41, of Lynn, pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to manufacture and distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, and other controlled substances; and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris scheduled sentencing for May 29, 2025. Felix was arrested and charged along with Emilio Garcia and Sebastien Bejin in November 2023.

In July 2023, an investigation into an overdose death in Salem led investigators to a DTO led by Felix, Bejin and, allegedly, Garcia. On Nov. 1, 2023, searches were conducted at four locations in Lynn that were identified as locations frequented by Bejin and, allegedly, Garcia. The searches resulted in what is believed to be, one of the largest single-location seizures of fentanyl and methamphetamine in Massachusetts and the region. The seizure included nine kilograms (20 pounds) of pink heart shaped fentanyl-laced pills pressed to look like candy. Additional narcotics and five firearms were also seized. During the course of the investigation over 75 kilograms (198 pounds) of fentanyl and methamphetamine was seized, along with multiple additional kilograms of cocaine and dozens of kilograms of cutting agents, including xylazine, that is used to adulterate controlled substances.

In total, an estimated eight million individual doses of fentanyl and methamphetamine laced pills and powder was seized. The street value is believed to be upwards of $8 million.

A search of Felix’s residence resulted in the seizure of more than three kilograms (6.6 pounds) of pressed pills containing methamphetamine and fentanyl and a firearm. A subsequent search of the residence also revealed a clandestine drug laboratory that had been built into a small room in the basement. Multiple industrial pill presses, mixing equipment and other manufacturing paraphernalia and equipment were also recovered.

Bejin pleaded guilty on Jan. 15, 2025 and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 1, 2025. Garcia is scheduled to plead guilty on Feb. 7, 2025.

The charge of possession with intent to manufacture and distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and other controlled substances provides for a sentence of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years and up to life of supervised release, a fine of up to $10,000,000 and forfeiture. The charge of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime provides for a sentence of at least five years and up to life in prison, to be served consecutively to the underlying drug trafficking crime, up to five years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000, and forfeiture. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston; Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office and the Lynn, Lynnfield and Salem Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Mallard of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – A Malden woman was sentenced today for fraudulently obtaining over $100,000 from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program made available under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.

Teshawnda Knight, 41, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs to 18 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Knight was also ordered to pay $105,250 in restitution and forfeiture. In July 2024, Knight pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. Knight was arrested in February 2024 along with over 40 Heath Street Gang member/associates, who were charged with racketeering conspiracy, drug trafficking, firearms charges and financial frauds, including COVID-related fraud.

Starting in April 2020 and continuing through August 2021, Knight submitted three PUA applications and related weekly certifications that contained false information and fraudulent documents – two in Massachusetts and one in Indiana – and received a total of $105,250 in fraudulently obtained PUA benefits.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox; and Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Hoefle of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form.
 

BOSTON – A Boston man pleaded guilty today to being a felon in possession of a loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol.  

Tyrone Goforth, 44, pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin scheduled sentencing for April 8, 2025. Goforth was indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2020.

On July 31, 2020, officers responded to a call for a person with a gun at a bookstore in Roxbury, Mass. Goforth was inside the bookstore and fit the description of a man wearing a black shirt and olive pants. Goforth was found to be in possession of a Sig Sauer P938 9mm semi-automatic pistol loaded with five rounds of 9mm ammunition. Due to a 2000 conviction in Suffolk Superior Court, Goforth is prohibited from possessing firearms.

The charging statute provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Dawley of the Organized Crime and Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.

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

BOSTON – Two members of the violent Boston-area gang, Cameron Street, were sentenced to prison yesterday for their roles as drug traffickers operating on behalf of the criminal enterprise. During the investigation, 21 firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition were allegedly seized from 11 of the defendants.

James Rodrigues, a/k/a “Bummy,” 34, of Boston, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young to 42 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. On Jan. 16, 2025, Rodrigues pleaded guilty to conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise (more commonly referred to as RICO or racketeering conspiracy) and conspiracy to distribute cocaine and cocaine base (crack cocaine).

Judge Young also sentenced Devante Lopes, a/k/a “D-Lopes,” 31, of Boston and Quincy, to 60 months in prison and three years of supervised release. In May 2024, Lopes pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy; conspiracy to distribute marijuana; and possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

Over the course of a two-year investigation, Rodrigues and Lopes were identified as Cameron Street members who were primarily involved in drug trafficking. Specifically, Rodrigues worked with other Cameron Street members to distribute hundreds of grams of cocaine and cocaine base (crack cocaine) from a stash house in Somerville. During the investigation, law enforcement made a series of controlled purchases from Rodrigues and other Cameron Street members. This included two separate occasions in which Rodrigues sold 48 grams of crack cocaine and 50 grams of crack cocaine, respectively, to a cooperating witness. During a search of the Somerville stash house in April 2022, 398 grams of cocaine along with packaging materials, two hydraulic presses, a digital scale, a cell phone and $14,986 in U.S. currency were seized.

Lopes was a significant drug trafficker who, from 2019 through 2020, regularly used the mail to import large quantities of marijuana from California to Boston and neighboring cities. In exchange, Lopes shipped packages containing between $40,000 to $50,000 in cash. One of the packages intended for Lopes was intercepted by law enforcement and found to contain 2.6 kilograms (2,637 grams) of marijuana. Over the course of the investigation, a total of 24 packages of similar size were tracked as having been shipped from various address in California to Lopes. As a result, it is estimated that Lopes received 56.6 kilograms of marijuana.

During a search of Lopes’ residence in April 2022, 800 grams of cocaine was seized from inside a bench by his bed along with digital scales, plastic bags commonly used for street-level sales, a bag of pink pills, a money counter, an empty Glock firearm box and a round of ammunition next to Lopes’ bed. During the search of Lopes’ apartment, remote cameras were discovered inside each room as well as two hidden compartments. One of the hidden compartments was concealed inside a shelf and contained approximately $5,000 in cash, a box of ammunition and foam cut-outs for a firearm. The second hidden compartment was found inside a mirror and contained a foam insert:

A subsequent examination of Lopes’ cellphone revealed messages, images and videos connecting Lopes to members of Cameron Street, unlawful firearm possession and drug trafficking proceeds:

According to court documents, the Cameron Street gang is a violent criminal enterprise whose members and associates are involved in a variety of criminal activities – including murders, attempted murders, armed robberies, carjackings, home invasions, human trafficking, as well as drug and firearms trafficking, among other offenses – in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston and surrounding areas. It is alleged that Cameron Street members use violence against rival gangs and witnesses, typically with the use of firearms, to maintain and enhance their status and the overall reputation of the gang, as well as to protect the gang’s power, reputation and territory. Members engage in drug trafficking activity and distributed kilograms of cocaine, cocaine base (crack cocaine), oxycodone and marijuana throughout Massachusetts.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Feld Division; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police; Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office; Suffolk, Plymouth, Norfolk and Bristol County District Attorney’s Offices; and the Canton, Quincy, Randolph, Somerville, Brockton, Malden, Stoughton, Rehoboth and Pawtucket (R.I.) Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Pohl and Charles Dell’Anno of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the cases.

This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants named in the indictment are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
    
 

BOSTON – A Dominican national, residing in Lawrence with pending federal fentanyl trafficking and firearm charges, has been arrested and charged with unlawfully reentering the United States. After the defendant was arrested and charged in 2023 with alleged federal drug and firearm offenses, he was released on conditions and later deported.

Santo Alberto Baez Baez, 36, is charged with one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien. Baez Baez was previously arrested and charged by criminal complaint in June 2023 with one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances (fentanyl). He was subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2023 with one count of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.

In 2022, law enforcement began investigations into multiple drug trafficking organizations (“DTOs”) that distributed large quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, and methamphetamine in the Lawrence area. According to court documents, on June 21, 2023, search warrants were executed at 13 locations in Massachusetts, including three locations in Lawrence, allegedly used by the DTOs. It is alleged that, during a search of one of the Lawrence-based residences, Baez Baez was found in the bedroom where a Rossi model M971 .357 caliber revolver loaded with .38 special ammunition and a silencer, a box of .38 special ammunition, a container of controlled substances – some of which were packaged in clear plastic bags for sale – and a brick that weighed approximately 200 grams – later analyzed and determined to contain fentanyl – was recovered. According to the criminal complaint, fraudulent identification documents, including social security cards and Baez Baez’s Dominican passport, where also discovered.

At the time of his arrest, it was determined that Baez Baez had an outstanding state warrant for distribution of fentanyl, and it was determined that he was not legally present in the United States.

Following a detention hearing on federal charges, Baez Baez was released by the Court on conditions on July 11, 2023. According to court documents, he was later brought into the custody of immigration authorities and placed into removal proceedings and, on Aug 28, 2023, he was ordered removed from the United States to the Dominican Republic. Baez Baez was removed on Sept. 19, 2023, at which time his fingerprint, photograph and signature were obtained.

It is alleged that on an unknown date and location, Baez Baez reentered the United States without being inspected. Authorities learned that Baez Baez was living in Lawrence, Mass.

According to the criminal complaint, on Oct. 18, 2024, an individual was stopped for a traffic violation in Andover, Mass. The operator produced a New York driver’s license identifying himself as Jose Villar Baez. It was determined that there was a warrant for “Villar Baez” in Concord District Court for leaving the scene of an accident, causing property damage and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. The operator of the vehicle was arrested and later fingerprinted. Fingerprint analysis allegedly determined that “Villar Baez,” the operator of the vehicle, was in fact Baez Baez. According to the criminal complaint, Baez Baez was released by a state clerk magistrate on personal recognizance.

On Jan. 27, 2025, a federal arrest was issued for Baez Baez for violating his pre-trial release. On Jan. 31, 2025 Baez Baez was arrested in Lawrence at a location that had been previously searched in June 2023 at the time Baez Baez originally was arrested.

The charge of unlawful reentry of a deported alien provides for a sentence of up to two years in prison and three years of supervised release. The charge of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl provides for a sentence of no less than five years and up to 40 years in prison, no less than four years and up to life of supervised release and a fine of up to $5 million. The charge of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense provides for a sentence of no less than five years in prison to run consecutively with any sentence imposed on the drug offense. Baez Baez will also be subject to deportation upon completion of any sentence imposed. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police and made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Marshals Service for the District of Massachusetts and the Natick Police Department. U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charles Dell’Anno and Christopher Pohl of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit are prosecuting the case.

This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – Two men were arrested for allegedly submitting fraudulent information in an effort to obtain loans through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program.

Dominik Manigo, 25, of Weymouth, and Nelson Roche Diaz, 28, of Brockton, were indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of wire fraud conspiracy, and on one count each of wire fraud. Manigo and Roche appeared in federal court in Boston on Monday.

According to the charging documents, in or about May 2020, Manigo and Roche allegedly submitted fraudulent claims for PUA on the Massachusetts Department of Unemployment Assistance portal. Further, Manigo and Roche allegedly submitted fraudulent letters claiming the pandemic had impacted their employment at a restaurant in Boston. Manigo and Roche each allegedly received over $43,000 in PUA and related funds.

The charges of wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Labor Racketeering and Fraud, Northeast Region; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox; and Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Weymouth Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel R. Feldman of the Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud.  The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts.  For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus and https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus/combatingfraud.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/webform/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/webform/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
 

BOSTON – A former executive of a global pharmaceutical company was sentenced today in federal in Boston for earning more than $250,000 by trading on material non-public information.

Dishant Gupta, 41, of Hillsborough, N.J., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Julia E. Kobick to two months in prison to be followed by one year of supervised release. Gupta was also ordered to pay a fine of $20,000 and forfeiture of $260,078. In October 2024, Gupta pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud.

Gupta worked as the Director of Strategy and Operations in the Boston office of a global pharmaceutical company (Company A). In the spring of 2022, during the course of his employment at Company A, Gupta learned that Company A was negotiating to acquire certain assets of a smaller pharmaceutical company based in Boston (Company B), including its leading cancer drug, and that Company A later agreed to acquire Company B outright.

While in possession of this material non-public information, and in violation of his fiduciary duties to Company A, Gupta acquired shares of Company B in his own and his wife’s brokerage accounts – in an effort to profit from the eventual public announcement of the transaction. Gupta purchased more than 300,000 shares of Company B over approximately two and a half months. Gupta then sold all the shares he had acquired after Company A announced the acquisition of Company B, earning more than $250,000.

The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil complaint against Gupta alleging violations of the securities laws.
    
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Boston Division made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin A. Saltzman of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.

BOSTON – An attorney working as a bookkeeper for three Massachusetts companies has been indicted by a federal grand jury for embezzling at least $2.5 million from the companies.    

David Smerling, 74, of Lexington, was indicted on three counts of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering. He was previously charged by criminal complaint on Jan. 13, 2025.  

According to the indictment, between January 2016 and May 2020, Smerling embezzled more than $2.5 million from the companies by transferring funds first to a bank account owned by one of the victims that Smerling controlled before moving the money to bank accounts in his own name, or directly from the companies’ accounts to bank accounts in his own name. The indictment also alleges that Smerling concealed his scheme by changing the mailing address on the victims’ bank statements to his home address and refusing to share the online banking password for the victims’ accounts.  

The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. The charge of money laundering provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen A. Kearney of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – A Braintree man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to fentanyl conspiracy charge.

Jonathan Melendez Decatro, a/k/a “Jacha,” 32, of Braintree, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for May 12, 2025. Pursuant to a plea agreement filed in court, Melendez Decatro will face a sentence of 10 years in prison and five years of supervised release. Melendez Decatro was indicted in June 2023.  

During an investigation that began in 2019, Melendez Decatro was identified as the leader of a large-scale fentanyl and cocaine trafficking organization (DTO) operating in the Brockton area, who sourced drugs directly from Colombia, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. On two dates in 2021, packages intended for Melendez Decatro were intercepted by law enforcement and each found to contain a kilogram of cocaine. Additionally, on several dates in the spring of 2023, Melendez Decatro conspired with an individual who resided in the Dominican Republic to distribute in total 1.5 kilograms of fentanyl to another individual in Braintree. It was later determined that the purity of the fentanyl exceeded 50% and also contained xylazine. During of search of Melendez Decatro’s residence, over $10,000 in drug proceeds and clothing worn during the fentanyl transactions were recovered.

The charge of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances provides for a sentence of at least 10 years and up to life years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration in Bogota; United States Postal Inspection Service; Massachusetts State Police; and the Brockton Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey E. Weinstein of the Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.

This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF. 
 

BOSTON – Four indictments were unsealed today if federal court in Boston charging a second wave of alleged members and associated of the Asian Boyz gang for their roles in a distribution network of homemade methamphetamine pills, branded as “Adderall.”

The following five men were arrested this morning and will appear in federal court in Boston later today:

• Sovath Yern, a/k/a “Stryke,” 35, of Billerica, charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of methamphetamine;
• Owen Landry, a/k/a “Oski,” 22, of Lowell, charged with one count was charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of methamphetamine; one count of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams and more of methamphetamine, aiding and abetting; and one count of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of methamphetamine;
• Zachary Hansen, 29, of Lowell, charged with one count was charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of methamphetamine and one count of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of methamphetamine;
• Scott Fournier, a/k/a “S.G.,” 33, of Lowell, charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of methamphetamine; two counts of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of methamphetamine; two counts of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams and more of methamphetamine; and three counts of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of methamphetamine; and
• Richard Nguyen, a/k/a “Cheese,” a/k/a “Cheeseburger,” 29, of Lowell, charged with two counts of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of methamphetamine and one count of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams and more of methamphetamine.

An indictment has also been unsealed against a sixth man currently serving a state prison sentence who will make an initial appearance in federal court in Boston at a later date:

• Isiah Lyons, a/k/a “Tank,” a/k/a “Rozay,” 29, of Lowell, was charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of methamphetamine.

According to court records, today’s charges are a continuation of an investigation into the Asian Boyz gang that began in 2021 to disrupt the manufacturing and distribution of methamphetamine pills impacting Lowell. It is alleged that a total of over 57,000 counterfeit Adderall pills, consisting of over 18 kilograms of a mixture or substance of methamphetamine, were seized from or purchased from the defendants named in the indictments unsealed today.

Previously, in July 2023, nine members and associates of the Asian Boyz were arrested and charged with conspiracies for drug trafficking and transferring illegal firearms, include machinegun conversion devices. Of the nine defendants, five have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

The charges of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of methamphetamine and conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of methamphetamine each provide for a sentence of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. The charges of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams and more of methamphetamine each provide for a sentence of at least five year and up to life in prison, at least four years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $5 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Greg C. Hudon, Superintendent of the Lowell Police Department made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Billerica, Haverhill, Methuen, North Andover and Salem Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred M. Wyshak, III of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.

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

The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information about Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, please visit Justice.gov/OCDETF.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – A Brockton man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.

Shem Khattiya, 39, was sentenced by Senior District Court Judge Patti B. Saris to 10 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. In October 2024, Khattiya pleaded guilty to a two count Superseding Information charging him with possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

In An investigation into Khattiya began in 2023, and in March 2023, a search was conducted at Khattiya’s Brockton apartment where over 800 grams of fentanyl; at least seven different firearms (most of which were loaded, some were ghost guns and some with serial numbers and some assault rifles); 26 high capacity magazines; thousands of rounds of ammunition; a ghost gun creation kit; triggers; a hydraulic kilogram press; and other items used in the manufacturing of drugs and firearms and distribution of drugs were recovered in his bedroom. It has been determined that “triggers” may qualify as machine guns as the purpose was to convert semi-automatic weapons into automatic weapons.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office, the Brockton Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey E. Weinstein of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.

This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF. 
 

BOSTON – Two Dorchester men were charged yesterday with unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition following the execution of a federal search warrant in Dorchester.  

Rickey Simmons, 46, and Robert Campbell, 35, were each charged by criminal complaint with one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition.  

According to the charging documents, two loaded firearms were allegedly recovered from the first floor living area occupied by Simmons. Campbell was allegedly found in possession of a key to a safe in in his bedroom that was found to contain thousands of dollars along with a loaded Glock firearm. The room also contained a small amount of what is believed to be cocaine. Additionally, just outside the door of the bedroom, a bag containing three additional Glock firearms was located, including one that was equipped with a machine gun conversion device, allowing it to fire fully automatically. In the same bag, a loaded, extended magazine that fit the converted machine gun was recovered. According to court records, Campbell has prior convictions for assaulting police officers and resisting arrest.

The charge of being a felon in possession provides for a sentence of up to 15 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives made the announcement today. Assistant United States Attorneys Mark Grady and Allegra Flamm of the Major Crimes Unit are  prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
 

BOSTON – A Lowell man pleaded guilty yesterday to his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy with the Asian Boyz street gang.

Erickson Dao, a/k/a “Silent,” 32, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams and more of methamphetamine, and one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of cocaine. U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton scheduled sentencing for May 13, 2025.

Dao was a drug supplier in an extensive trafficking network involving Asian Boyz gang member, Bill Phim. Between February 2022 and April 2022, Dao delivered counterfeit pills made to resemble the pharmaceutical product, Adderall, to Phim on at least five occasions. Phim then sold the pills to an undercover federal agent for more than $11,000. Chemical testing confirmed that the pills were not actually Adderall but a dangerous compound of methamphetamine and caffeine, instead. When investigators searched Dao’s residence, they discovered hundreds more counterfeit “Adderall” pills and large quantities of cocaine.

The charges of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 50 grams and more of methamphetamine, and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of cocaine, each provide for a sentence of at least five years and up to 40 years in prison, at least four years and up to life of supervised release, and a fine of up to $5 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Phim has pleaded not guilty and is pending trial.  
 
U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley, Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division and Superintendent Greg Hudon of the Lowell Police Department made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Billerica, Haverhill, North Andover and Salem Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Fred M. Wyshak, III of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit is prosecuting the case.

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

This case is also part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants in the case are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
 

BOSTON – One of the leaders of a large-scale drug trafficking conspiracy operating in and around the South Shore area of Massachusetts has pleaded guilty to multiple federal drug offenses in federal court in Boston.

Giovanni Pina, 27, of Brockton, pleaded guilty to one count of possessing with intent to distribute and distributing 500 grams and more of methamphetamine; one count of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine on a premises where a minor was present and/or resided; and one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, 100 grams or more of a fentanyl analogue and 500 grams or more of cocaine. U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young scheduled sentencing for April 30, 2025. Pina was charged by complaint in February 2023 and subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2023.  

Beginning in at least January 2021 through at least November 2021, Pina served as one of the leaders of a large-scale drug trafficking conspiracy that distributed fentanyl, fentanyl analogue and cocaine in and around the South Shore area – including in the Brockton, Quincy and Weymouth communities. Part of that conspiracy involved a Weymouth “stash house.” During a search of the stash house location in January 2021, two kilo presses; extensive drug paraphernalia, including blenders, digital scales and packaging equipment; more than 10 kilograms of fentanyl, fentanyl analogue and cocaine; three firearms; ammunition; two high-capacity magazines; and a speed loader were recovered.

Additionally, Pina participated in a number of recorded drug deals with a cooperating witness in January and February 2023. One recorded drug deal occurred on or about Jan. 12, 2023, at a residence in Brockton, during which the deal and in the presence of a minor, Pina provided the witness with a box containing orange pills in exchange for cash. Subsequent lab testing confirmed that the pills consisted of over 2,000 grams of a mixture and substance of methamphetamine. On or about Jan. 25, 2023, Pina participated in another recorded drug deal with the cooperating witness in a vehicle in Taunton. During the deal, Pina provided the witness with a box that contained a large amount of orange pills in exchange for cash.  Subsequent lab testing confirmed that the pills consisted of over 2,500 grams of a mixture and substance of methamphetamine.  

The charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, 100 grams or more of a fentanyl analogue and 500 grams or more of cocaine provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. The charge of possession with intent to distribute and distribution of 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance of methamphetamine provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. The charge of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine on premises where a minor was present and/or resided provides for an additional consecutive term of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Quincy Police Chief Mark Kennedy made the announcement today. Valuable assistance in the investigation was provided by the Massachusetts State Police; Suffolk County Sheriff’s Department; and the Quincy, Weymouth, Braintree, Randolph, Brockton, East Bridgewater and Bridgewater Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin R. O’Donnell of the Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF
 

BOSTON – A Bridgewater man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for possessing and distributing cocaine.

Kevin Mercado, 38, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 78 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. In October 2024, Mercado pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.

In 2019, an investigation began into a drug trafficking organization selling cocaine and fentanyl in the southeastern part of Massachusetts, including Brockton. From March 2020 through November 2023, 11 controlled purchases of drugs were made from Mercado. In November 2023, a search was conducted at Mercado’s apartment in Bridgewater where nearly a kilogram and a half of cocaine and cocaine base, three digital scales, a money counter and $16,086 in drug proceeds were found. An additional search of Mercado’s SnapChat account showed communications evincing regular access to large quantities of cocaine and willingness to cook cocaine into crack cocaine. In 2010, Mercado was sentenced to 48-months in federal prison after being convicted of two counts of distribution of cocaine base.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by Massachusetts State Police and the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey E. Weinstein of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.

This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.   
 

BOSTON – A Boston-area man pleaded guilty today to his role in Cameron Street, a violent Boston gang.

Jonathan Darosa, a/k/a “Jeezy,” 31, of Boston, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise (more commonly referred to as RICO or racketeering conspiracy); one count of being a felon in possession of firearm and ammunition; one count of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute cocaine and oxycodone; and one count of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young scheduled sentencing for May 1, 2025.

Over the course of a two-year investigation, Darosa was identified as a member of Cameron Street. On two separate occasions, Darosa distributed cocaine and oxycodone to a cooperating witness. Additionally, in an interaction with law enforcement, Darosa threatened officers, telling them “If I had a gun on me, I would have shot at you,” “I am not going back to jail,” and “I keep it on my hip.” In April 2021 in Dorchester, local law enforcement observed Darosa wearing a “waist bag” across his chest – law enforcement had recovered firearms from similar bags in the past. During a search of Darosa’s person, a Taurus 9 millimeter semi-automatic pistol containing 12 rounds of assorted 9 millimeter ammunition, including one round in the chamber, was recovered.

According to court documents, Cameron Street is a violent gang based largely in the Dorchester section of Boston that used violence and threats of violence to preserve, protect and expand its territory, promote a climate of fear and enhance its reputation.

Darosa has been convicted on three prior occasions of unlawful possession of a firearm, including a 2016 conviction in Suffolk Superior Court for which he served a three-year prison sentence.

The charge of RICO conspiracy and conspiracy to interfere with commerce by force or violence each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of distribution of cocaine and oxycodone provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release up to life and a fine of $1 million. The charge of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute cocaine provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release up to life and a fine of $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Feld Division; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police; Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office; Suffolk, Plymouth, Norfolk and Bristol County District Attorney’s Offices; and the Canton, Quincy, Randolph, Somerville, Brockton, Malden, Stoughton, Rehoboth and Pawtucket (R.I.) Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Pohl and Charles Dell’Anno of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit are prosecuting the case.

This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The remaining defendants named in the indictment are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – A Guatemalan man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to illegally reentering the United States after deportation.

Edilzar Morales-Barillas, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien. U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton scheduled sentencing for May 7, 2025. Morales-Barillas was charged on July 31, 2024.

Morales-Barillas was deported from the United States on May 14, 2021. Sometime after his May 2021 removal, Morales-Barillas unlawfully reentered the United States. Immigration and Customs Enforcement became aware of Morales-Barillas’ unlawful presence in the United States on May 27, 2023, following his arrest for a fourth offense of operating under the influence of alcohol.  

The charge of unlawful reentry of a deported alien provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The defendant will be subject to deportation proceedings upon completion any sentence imposed. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.  

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Todd M. Lyons, Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Sullivan of the Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.

BOSTON – A former anesthesiologist at Tufts Medical Center in Boston was sentenced today for attempted sex trafficking of a child.

Sadeq Ali Quraishi, 47, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley to 10 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. In October 2024, Quraishi was convicted of one count of attempted sex trafficking of a child.

“Today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of Mr. Quraishi’s heinous actions and underscores our unwavering commitment to protecting children from exploitation. Our office, alongside our law enforcement partners, will continue to aggressively pursue individuals who fuel the market for child sex trafficking and hold them accountable for their crimes. This sentence reflects our dedication to identifying those who prey on our most vulnerable and holding them accountable for their inhumane acts,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley.

“As a doctor, Quraishi was in a position of public trust. He abused that trust when he actively sought out and agreed to pay to sexually abuse a child. Fortunately, instead of the vulnerable child he planned to meet, he was met with an undercover HSI special agent,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol for Homeland Security Investigations in New England. “It is a heartbreaking truth that children are trafficked every day, but HSI remains steadfast in our commitment to fight the exploitation of children here in Massachusetts and around the world.”

In November 2022, law enforcement conducted an undercover operation designed to identify and apprehend people who sought to pay for sex with children. To that end, law enforcement placed advertisements online offering commercial sex with two young girls who were purportedly 12 and 14 years old.

Quraishi, then a practicing anesthesiologist at Tufts Medical Center, responded to one of the advertisements. Through an ensuing text conversation with undercover agents posing as the seller of the two girls, Quraishi agreed to pay $250 for a sex act to be performed by a 14-year-old girl. Shortly thereafter, Quraishi obtained cash from an ATM, and drove from his Boston home to a Waltham hotel to meet with the purported seller. Once at the hotel, he met with an undercover agent, confirmed he had the money to pay for the commercial sex act, and accepted a keycard he believed would give him access to the room where the 14-year-old girl would be. During that meeting, Quraishi was arrested and found to be in possession of exactly $250.

If you or someone you know may be impacted or experiencing commercial sex trafficking, please contact USAMA.VictimAssistance@usdoj.gov.

U.S. Attorney Foley and HSI SAC Krol made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian A. Fogerty of the Human Trafficking & Civil Rights Unit and Lauren A. Graber of Criminal Division prosecuted the case. 

BOSTON – A Michigan man has been charged and has agreed to plead guilty in connection with a conspiracy to import and sell illegal pharmaceuticals, including opioids, and to fund the operation of the scheme by fraudulently obtaining a Covid pandemic relief loan.

Donald Nchamukong, 37, was charged by Information with conspiracy to smuggle goods into the United States, to commit loan fraud and to distribute controlled substances.  Nchamukong will make an initial appearance in federal court in Boston on a date to be scheduled by the Court.

According to the charging documents, starting in 2019 and continuing to 2022, Nchamukong and a co-conspirator, Doyal Kalita, conspired to distribute drugs to persons in the United States over the internet and using call centers in India. Nchamukong allegedly used shell companies, including a purported dietary supplements company and an auto parts supplier, and associated bank and merchant accounts to process sales of illegal foreign drugs, including the Schedule IV opioid, tramadol. Nchamukong and Kalita also received shipments of tramadol from India and reshipped the drug to customers across the United States, including in Massachusetts. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, Nchamukong and Kalita allegedly fraudulently obtained a $200,000 Economic Injury Disaster Loan to fund their illegal drug scheme.  

Kalita was convicted in 2024 and sentenced to 10 years in prison for orchestrating the online drug distribution scheme and a technical support fraud scheme and related money laundering.

The charge of conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the monetary gain or loss, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office; and Fernando P. McMillan, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by Homeland Security Investigations in New York, Small Business Administration and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kriss Basil, Deputy Chief of the Securities, Financial, and Cyber Fraud Unit, is prosecuting the case.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, pleasehttps://www.justice.gov/coronavirus and https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus/combatingfraud.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
 

BOSTON – A former United States Postal Service (USPS) employee pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to theft of mail and theft of government funds.

Michael Murray, 37, of Lynn, pleaded guilty to one count of theft of mail matter by an employee and one count of theft of government money. U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin scheduled sentencing for Feb. 3, 2026. Murray was indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2024.

From around September 2022 through July 2023, Murray worked as a USPS postal clerk at the Beach Street Post Office in Revere and the Melrose Post Office. From around April 2023 through July 2023, Murray used his official position to steal the contents of hundreds of pieces of mail entrusted to him, including gift cards, cash and checks totaling approximately $3,422. During the same time period, Murray stole and fraudulently negotiated USPS money orders by generating them for postal customers for his own use totaling approximately $5,131.

The charge of theft of mail by employee provides a sentence of up to five years in prison, three of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of theft of government funds valuing over $1,000 provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Matthew Modafferi, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General, Northeast Area Office made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dustin Chao, Chief of the Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit, is prosecuting the case. 

BOSTON – A member of the violent Boston-based gang, H-Block, has pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to drug conspiracy charges.

Avery Lewis, a/k/a “Wave,” 32, of Dorchester pleaded guilty on Jan. 21, 2025 to two counts of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun scheduled sentencing for May 13, 2025.

Lewis was one of 10 H-Block gang members and associates charged in August 2024 following a multi-year investigation of H-Block beginning in 2021 in response to an uptick in gang-related drug trafficking, shootings and violence. Over 500 grams of cocaine, cocaine base (crack cocaine) and fentanyl, as well as over 20,000 doses of drug-laced paper were seized during the investigation.

According to the charging documents, the H-Block street gang is one of the most feared and influential city-wide gangs in Boston. Originally formed in the 1980s as the Humboldt Raiders in the Roxbury section of Boston, the gang re-emerged in the 2000s as H-Block. Current members of H-Block have a history of violent confrontation with law enforcement, including an incident in 2015 when a member shot a Boston Police officer at point blank range without warning or provocation.

Lewis was a long-time H-Block gang member and daily street-level dealer with a regular roster of customers. Over the course of the investigation, Lewis sold cocaine to an undercover officer on several occasions and coordinated other drug trafficking criminal activities with H-Block gang members.

Lewis’ criminal history includes a 2017 cocaine conviction for possessing 86 bags of cocaine inside his apartment as well as a 2013 conviction for unlawfully possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number.  

Lewis is the first defendant to plead guilty in the case.

The charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
    
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Special Agent in Charge Andrew Murphy of the U.S. Secret Service Boston Field Office; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region made the announcement. The investigation was supported by the Massachusetts State Police; Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office; Massachusetts Department of Corrections; and the Braintree, Quincy, Randolph and Watertown Police Departments. Assistant United States Attorney John T. Dawley of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit and Jeremy Franker of the Justice Department’s Violent Crime & Racketeering Section are prosecuting the cases.

The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information about Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, please visit Justice.gov/OCDETF.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – A South Yarmouth man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for possessing a firearm and ammunition. Defendant barricaded himself in basement following domestic disturbance.

Michael Giampapa, 33, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns to 45 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In September 2024, Giampapa pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

On March 16, 2022, police responded to a call reporting a domestic disturbance at a residence in South Yarmouth involving Giampapa and a family member. Giampapa was barricaded in the basement when police arrived. He spoke by phone with a family member and during that call, stated he has a gun. After a standoff with law enforcement Giampapa eventually exited the residence and was arrested.

Following a search of the residence where Giampapa was staying a Smith & Wesson M&P Bodyguard loaded .380 handgun was recovered inside a cereal box on open shelving in the basement. Giampapa had previously been convicted of crimes punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; and Chief Kevin Lennon of the Yarmouth Police Department made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of the Major Crimes Unit.

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

This case is also part of Project Guardian, the Department of Justice’s signature initiative to reduce gun violence and enforce federal firearms laws. Initiated by the Attorney General in the fall of 2019, Project Guardian draws upon the Department’s past successful programs to reduce gun violence; enhances coordination of federal, state, local, and tribal authorities in investigating and prosecuting gun crimes; improves information-sharing by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives when a prohibited individual attempts to purchase a firearm and is denied by the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), to include taking appropriate actions when a prospective purchaser is denied by the NICS for mental health reasons; and ensures that federal resources are directed at the criminals posing the greatest threat to our communities. For more information about Project Guardian, please see: https://www.justice.gov/projectguardian.
 

BOSTON – A registered sex offender has pleaded guilty in federal court in Worcester to child pornography charges.

Corey Bouchard, 34, of Douglas, pleaded guilty to a one-count Information charging him with accessing with intent to view child pornography. U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman scheduled sentencing for May 7, 2025 in Worcester. Bouchard was charged by complaint in April 2024.  

During a November 2023 search of Bouchard’s home, a cache file was found on Bouchard’s cell phone, which contained approximately 72 videos depicting child pornography. The file names of approximately 56 of those videos matched the file names from media files shared by others to Kik messenger group chats that Bouchard was in. Bouchard admitted to accessing child pornography with the intent to view it.

Bouchard has a prior state conviction for possession of child pornography and is a registered sex offender. The charge of access with intent to view child pornography provides for a sentence of a minimum of 10 years in prison and up to 20 years in prison, a minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $250,000, an assessment of $5,000, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3014, and assessment of up to $17,000, a mandatory special assessment of $100, restation, and forfeiture. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Leah B. Foley; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Uxbridge and Douglas Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin J. Brown of the Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
 

BOSTON – A West Wareham man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to receipt and possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Joshua Roe, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. U.S. District Court Judge Brian E. Murphy scheduled for April 17, 2025. In January 2025, Roe was charged by Information. He was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with the same offenses in September 2024 and has remained in federal custody since.

On Sept. 6, 2024, during a search of Roe’s home, approximately 11 electronic devices belonging to Roe were recovered. While on site, a forensic examination was conducted on at least one device, which revealed images and videos depicting CSAM. At a later date, further forensic examinations of the seized devices were conducted and CSAM was found on seven of those devices, including deleted CSAM files.

The receipt charge provides for a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison, supervised release of no less than five years and a maximum of life and a $250,000 fine. The possession charge provides for up to 20 years in prison, a mandatory minimum of five years and up to life of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the United States Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Michael Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations; and Chief Walter Correia of the Wareham Police Department made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of the Major Crimes Unit.

The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse.  Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identity and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.
 

BOSTON – United States Attorney Leah B. Foley has announced that Katherine Ferguson has been appointed to serve as First Assistant United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts. Ms. Ferguson, a career prosecutor, has served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for more than a decade.

“Ms. Ferguson’s leadership, dedication, and prosecutorial excellence have earned her widespread respect within our office and beyond,” said U.S. Attorney Foley. “Her deep understanding of federal law enforcement and her commitment to upholding the rule of law make her an invaluable asset. I am confident that she will bring the same integrity and vision to her new role as First Assistant U.S. Attorney as she has throughout her career.”

Ms. Ferguson has served as Deputy Chief of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit for the U.S. Attorney’s Office since 2017 and Lead Task Force Attorney for the District’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force since 2021. As Deputy Chief of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit, Ms. Ferguson was responsible for overseeing federal narcotics and money laundering investigations and prosecutions. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney for 15 years, she has extensive experience working collaboratively with other federal, state and local partners to dismantle multi-jurisdictional and international drug trafficking and money laundering organizations.

Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Ms. Ferguson served as an Assistant District Attorney for the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. There, she handled over 600 cases in Boston Municipal Court from arraignment to disposition and oversaw the prosecution of child abuse and narcotics offenses in Superior Court. From 2006-2007, Ms. Ferguson served as a law clerk for the Honorable Sandra L. Lynch with the First Circuit Court of Appeals.

Ms. Ferguson graduated from Princeton University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics with Highest Honors, Phi Beta Kappa. While at Princeton, Ms. Ferguson earned Certificates in Political Economy and French Language & Culture. She also received a Masters in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government and graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, where she was an Executive Editor for the Harvard Law Review.

BOSTON – A Stoughton man, previously convicted of multiple counts of sex trafficking, was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for sex trafficking multiple adult women.

Marvin Pompilus, 39, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young to 13 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. Pompilus will also be ordered to pay restitution in an amount to be determined at a later date. In October 2024, Pompilus pleaded guilty to four counts of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion and one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine. Pompilus was previously arrested and charged in November 2023, and indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2024.

In February 2018, Pompilus was convicted in Suffolk Superior Court of multiple counts of trafficking a person for sexual servitude and deriving support for prostitution. He was sentenced to six years in state prison and was released in October 2021.

“Marvin Pompilus is a criminal recidivist and vile perpetrator who deserves a significant sentence to protect our community. His prior conviction did nothing to deter further acts of violence on women and continuing to push drugs onto our streets,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley. “Today’s sentence highlights our ongoing efforts to hold accountable those who prey on vulnerable victims and denigrate human dignity.”

“The cruelty and inhumanity displayed by Marvin Pompilus is overwhelming. This twice convicted felon forced four women into sexual servitude, unleashing significant physical and emotional abuse for his own financial gain,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “While it’s gratifying to see Mr. Pompilus receive a lengthy prison term, no sentence can make up for the significant harm he inflicted on these women. We hope the victims in this case continue to heal with each new day that passes. The FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to remove sex traffickers from our communities.”

Following his release from state custody in October 2021, Pompilus conspired to exploit and recruit multiple women into the commercial sex trade, using a combination of physical and sexual violence, threats and verbal abuse and withholding of controlled substances from drug dependent victims to coerce and/or force them to engage in commercial sex acts. He then collected all of the proceeds. Pompilus required his victims to check in with him, forbade them from interacting with other men, and precluded them from obtaining drugs from anyone other than him. If one of the victims attempted to keep any of the proceeds from commercial sex or attempted to refuse to see a sex buyer, Pompilus would become physically violent, at times striking the victim in the face and kicking them. Pompilus would also engage in other forms of abuse such as using degrading names toward his victims, spitting on them, and throwing drinks on them, as well as isolating them from others.

If you or someone you know may be impacted or experiencing commercial sex trafficking, please contact USAMA.VictimAssistance@usdoj.gov.

U.S. Attorney Foley and FBI SAC Cohen made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Boston and Randolph Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Riley, Chief of the Human Trafficking & Civil Rights Unit and Trial Attorney Meghan Tokash of the Justice Department’s Human Trafficking Protection Unit prosecuted the case.

Marvin Pompilus, 40, of Stoughton, Massachusetts, was sentenced today to 13 years in prison, followed by 60 months of supervised release. The court will order restitution at a later date. A federal judge earlier accepted Pompilus’s guilty plea in October 2024 to four counts of conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion, and one count of possession of cocaine and fentanyl with the intent to distribute.

“Marvin Pompilus is a criminal recidivist and vile perpetrator who deserves a significant sentence to protect our community. His prior conviction did nothing to deter further acts of violence on women and continuing to push drugs onto our streets,” said U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley for the District of Massachusetts. “Today’s sentence highlights our ongoing efforts to hold those accountable who prey on vulnerable victims and denigrate human dignity.”

“The cruelty and inhumanity displayed by Marvin Pompilus is overwhelming. This twice convicted felon forced four women into sexual servitude, unleashing significant physical and emotional abuse for his own financial gain,” said Special Agent in Charge Jodi Cohen of the FBI Boston Field Office. “While it’s gratifying to see Mr. Pompilus receive a lengthy prison term, no sentence can make up for the significant harm he inflicted on these women. We hope the victims in this case continue to heal with each new day that passes. The FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to remove sex traffickers from our communities.”

In February 2018, in a separate case by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, a Suffolk Superior Court jury convicted Pompilus of multiple counts of trafficking a person for sexual servitude and deriving support from prostitution. He was sentenced to six years in prison and was released in October 2021. In the weeks following his release, Pompilus conspired with others to again target vulnerable women suffering from substance abuse disorders. Once Pompilus identified the victims he could target, he exploited their vulnerabilities — including the fear of suffering from opioid withdrawal — and created a climate of fear to compel these women to engage in commercial sex acts multiple times a day every day of the week. The investigation revealed that sex buyers paid the victims between $100-$200 per commercial sex act, and Pompilus kept all the proceeds for himself.  

At his October 2024 plea hearing, Pompilus admitted to conspiring to exploit four Boston-area women who were suffering with substance abuse disorders and compelled them to engage in commercial sex by using drugs, intimidation, threats of violence and actual physical violence as means to control them. Pompilus also admitted to possessing quantities of cocaine and fentanyl with the intent to distribute these drugs in and around the Boston area.

The FBI Boston Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the Massachusetts State Police and the Boston and Randolph Police Departments.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Riley for the District of Massachusetts and former Trial Attorney Meghan Tokash of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Protection Unit prosecuted the case.

Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Justice Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.

BOSTON – A Plymouth, Mass. man has agreed to plead guilty to charges relating to cyberstalking numerous Massachusetts victims through social media, email and various online platforms. The defendant allegedly programmed multiple artificial intelligence-driven chatbots to mimic human conversation through text or voice interactions with unknown users of social media platforms and used generative artificial-intelligence tools to create pornographic images of the victims in order to post them online to websites that focus on shaming and degrading women.

James Florence Jr., 36, has agreed to plead guilty to seven counts of cyberstalking and one count of possession of child pornography. Florence was arrested and charged by criminal complaint in September 2024. According to the charging documents, on or about January of 2014 through September of 2024, Florence engaged in an extensive cyberstalking campaign targeting victims and those associated with them. Florence used a variety of techniques and methods to allegedly harass and intimidate his victims and others in the community, including making fake nude images of the victims, doxing or exposing victims’ personal information, creating vulgar fake accounts in the victims’ names and accessing online accounts without authorization (i.e. “hacking”) the victims’ accounts.

Florence’s cyberstalking campaigns allegedly included obtaining, -and then widely distributing, private information about the victims, such as private photographs or photographs shared amongst friends on social media. These photographs were frequently doctored to appear sexual or pornographic in nature. According to court documents Florence also allegedly accessed online accounts without authorization; created accounts in the name of his victims; and solicitated fantasy sexual encounters on their behalf. In the case of one victim, those fabricated sexual encounters allegedly included building a profile of the victim on an interactive platform with information about the victim’s apparent underwear preference, information that the victim was sexually adventurous, used sex toys and had a sex swing in her home. Florence allegedly listed the victims home address; posed as his victims by creating impersonation accounts in their names and then posted  or sent various harmful content from those accounts; encouraged others to extort, shame, defame and intimidate victims for pornographic material; and stole victims’ underwear and used photos of the underwear to both harass those victims or engage with others on the internet to further  mutual sexual fantasies.

In addition to having received threatening messages from social media and email accounts believed to be controlled by Florence, the victims also allegedly received harassing and extorting communications that are believed to be from users who messaged the victims as a result of Florence’s posts encouraging them to do so. Florence allegedly created and posted photo collages of one of the victims to a website, including images edited to make her appear nude or semi-nude along with all her personal identifying information and captions that encouraged viewers to “Post & Share Her Everywhere. Make The Whore Famous.”

The charge of stalking by electronic means provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of 20 years in prison, a mandatory minimum of five years and up to life of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. The Plymouth Police Department and Plymouth Fire Department provided valuable assistance in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Luke A. Goldworm of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
 

BOSTON – A Westford woman was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston in connection with a home health care fraud scheme.

Faith Newton, 56, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge George A. O’Toole, Jr. to 12 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Newton was also ordered to pay a fine of $250,000 and restitution in the amount of $99,734,517.

In July 2024, Newton was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, one count of health care fraud and three counts of money laundering. The jury found the defendant not guilty on one count of money laundering conspiracy. Newton was arrested and charged along with co-defendant Winnie Waruru in February 2021.

“Ms. Newton used the home health care agency she operated to perpetrate a massive, years-long fraud scheme that siphoned over $100 million from a program designed to support our most vulnerable residents. She used the stolen money to fund her lavish lifestyle, showing a callous disregard for those who were in dire need of care and assistance. Her actions not only defrauded taxpayers but also compromised the integrity of essential home health care services. The significant prison term imposed today reflects the seriousness of her crimes and the harm she caused to patients, providers, and the public,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley. “Those who exploit vital health care programs like MassHealth for personal gain will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law. We will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute those who prioritize greed over the well-being of others.”

“Faith Newton seemed to think she could execute a $100 million health care fraud scheme at the expense of American taxpayers and get away with it, but she was grossly mistaken,” said Special Agent in Charge Roberto Coviello of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. “HHS-OIG is committed to protecting taxpayer-funded health care programs from fraud and abuse, and our message is clear: those who exploit our nation’s health care system for personal gain will be caught, and justice will be served.”

“The sentencing of Faith Newton demonstrates IRS Criminal Investigation’s commitment to the prosecution of all financial crimes that impact the citizens of the United States,” said Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office. “Newton orchestrated an elaborate healthcare scheme, stealing at least $100 million from Medicaid and MassHealth with the sole purpose of funding her lavish lifestyle at the expense of the American taxpayers. Newton’s self-serving actions impacted the tens of thousands of U.S. citizens that depend on the finite funds that these government programs provide in order to obtain even the most basic of medical care.”

“Faith Newton betrayed the trust of her patients and their families when she used them as pawns in a massive $100 million home health care fraud scheme to fund her lavish lifestyle by paying kickbacks and billing for services she never provided, treatments that were not medically necessary, and visits by sham home health aides who were not certified or trained,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “It’s clear that the guiding principle here was greed. Anyone involved in, or entertaining, similar activity should know that health care fraud is a priority for the FBI, and we will pursue anyone trying to steal from this country’s vital health care system.”

From January 2013 to January 2017, Newton operated Arbor Homecare Services LLC. Newton and others engaged in a conspiracy to use Arbor to defraud MassHealth of at least $100 million.

Specifically, Arbor, through Newton and others, billed for home health services that were never provided. Co-conspirators were instructed by Newton to create and submit falsified copy-and-paste notes from nursing visits that did not happen. In addition, Arbor, through Newton and others, paid kickbacks for patient referrals, regardless of medical necessity. They also entered sham employment relationships with patients’ family members to provide home health aide services that were not medically necessary and routinely billed for fictitious visits that Newton knew did not occur. Newton and Arbor would flood clinics with Plans of Care that were not medically necessary, pressuring doctors to sign off.

At Newton’s direction, Arbor would submit false claims to MassHealth for services by HHA’s who were not trained and certified as required by law. Arbor never provided the required 75 hours of training to the people it hired. Newton covered up the lack of HHA training by forging training documents and giving hires sham exams along with answer keys.

In 2017, after learning that Mass Health had cut off Arbor, Newton cut herself and her husband each a $2 million dollar check from the Arbor payroll account. Newton backdated the checks to 2016 to make them appear as Christmas bonuses, when in fact, Newton wrote and negotiated the checks in January 2017.

Newton’s co-defendant, Waruru, pleaded guilty to her role in the conspiracy in September 2022. A sentencing date for Waruru has not yet been scheduled.

U.S. Attorney Foley; HHS SAC Coviello; IRS Acting SAC Demeo; and FBI SAC Cohen made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys William B. Brady and Christopher R. Looney of the Health Care Fraud Unit and Carol Head, Chief of the Asset Recovery Unit prosecuted the case.

BOSTON – The former Assistant Chief Engineer of Facilities for Keolis Commuter Services (Keolis) pleaded guilty today to defrauding Keolis of over $8 million and to defrauding the IRS.

John P. Pigsley, 59, pleaded guilty to five counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, six counts of tax evasion, one count of filing a false tax return and four counts of structuring financial transactions to evade reporting requirements. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for April 17, 2025. Pigsley and his co-conspirator John Rafferty were charged in April 2023.

Keolis has operated the MBTA commuter rail system since 2014 under an annual contract of $291–$349 million. Between 2014 and November 2021, Pigsley was employed as Keolis’ Assistant Chief Engineer of Facilities and was responsible for the maintenance of MBTA Commuter Rail Facilities and their engineering operations, including corrective repair and project management for assets and maintenance and ordering and approving his subordinates’ orders of electrical supplies from outside vendors for Keolis. Pigsley also operated a separate construction company called Pigman Group. Rafferty was the general manager of LJ Electric, Inc., an electrical supply vendor to which Keolis paid over $17 million between 2014 through 2021.

Between July 2014 and November 2021, Pigsley and Rafferty defrauded Keolis of over $4 million through a false LJ Electric invoicing scheme. Specifically, Rafferty purchased vehicles, construction equipment, construction supplies and other items for Pigsley, Pigman Group and others, and Pigsley directed Rafferty to recover the cost of these items by submitting false and fraudulent LJ Electric invoices to Keolis. Rafferty spent more than $3 million on items for Pigsley and others – including: at least nine trucks; construction equipment including at least seven Bobcat machines; at least $1 million in home building supplies and services; and a $54,000 camper– for which Keolis paid Rafferty more than $4 million based on false LJ Electric invoices.  

In addition to the false invoicing scheme, Pigsley directed Keolis to purchase copper wire which he then stole and sold to scrap metal businesses, keeping the cash proceeds for himself. To conceal the theft, Pigsley personally picked up the copper wire orders from vendors or had the orders delivered to his Beverly home. Pigsley then personally transported the wire to scrap yards where he traded it for thousands of dollars in cash several times a month and sometimes more than once a day. Pigsley obtained more than $4.5 million in cash by stealing and scrapping the copper wire.  

In addition, Pigsley defrauded the IRS by failing to withhold and pay federal income taxes on income he received from the LJ Electric invoicing scheme and from scrapping copper wire. Pigsley also filed a false tax return for the tax year 2016. Additionally, Pigsley deposited over $1.9 million in cash into his bank accounts between 2014 and 2021 and structured some of those deposits to evade currency transaction reporting requirements applicable to financial institutions.

The charges of wire fraud and wire fraud conspiracy provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of tax evasion provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of filing a false tax return provides for a sentence of up to three years in prison, up to one year of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of aggravated structuring provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

In June 2023, Rafferty pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Rafferty is scheduled to be sentenced on April 10, 2025.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office; and Christopher A. Scharf, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, Office of Investigations made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristina E. Barclay of the Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting the cases.

BOSTON – A Swampscott, Mass. man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for a 25-year scheme to conceal his persecution of ethnic Serbs during the Bosnian War as well as making false claims to become a refugee to the United States and ultimately a United States citizen.

Kemal Mrndzic, 52, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to 65 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. In October 2024, Mrndzic was convicted by a federal jury of engaging in a scheme to conceal his involvement in the persecution of Serb prisoners at the notorious Celebici prison camp in Bosnia in 1992; making a false statement to federal agents about his role at the camp; possessing a fraudulently obtained naturalization certificate and Social Security card; and using a fraudulently obtained passport and certificate of naturalization.

“For over two decades, Mr. Mrndzic evaded accountability for his participation in the persecution and torture of countless victims at the camp. By holding him accountable for his lies and fraudulent conduct, this sentence reinforces our resolve to ensure that those responsible for war crimes and human rights abuses are identified, exposed, and prosecuted. This case underscores that we will not allow our nation to be a refuge for those who seek to escape justice,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley. “The government will be working to ensure that his fraudulently obtained U.S. citizenship is revoked.”  

“Through the brave testimony of the survivors of the Celebici prison camp, the persecution Mrndzic attempted to conceal was finally brought to light after over 30 years. Though we can never undo what the survivors endured, I hope this sentence brings some measure of justice, no matter how long delayed,” said Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations, New England. “HSI remains tireless in our effort to pursue war criminals and human rights violators who attempt to evade justice.”

Mrndzic served as a supervisor of the guards at the notorious Celebici prison camp in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the sectarian war which fractured the country in the 1990s. Twenty-one former detainees described Mrndzic as one of the most notable guards at the camp, who was widely known for his particularly vicious treatment of prisoners and his close association with the camp deputy commander. Mrndzic participated in the systematic and pervasive brutal torture and deprivation of basic human needs of hundreds of captive victims – some of whom were elderly – at the Celebici prison camp. For seven months, victims were forcibly detained with starvation rations, at times forced into lightless, airless manholes that were sealed for hours at a time. Victims also endured daily and nightly beatings that were administered by the guards at the camp — with baseball bats, wooden poles and rifle buts.

Camp survivors who testified at trial in October 2024 recounted murders, the burning of one detainee’s tongue with a heated knife blade, the wrapping of another detainee with a long explosive fuse cord and then lighting it on fire, sexual abuse and other harrowing acts committed over a period of many months. One survivor recounted the beating death of a 70-year-old detainee whom guards pinned a military badge to his forehead while he was still dying. Survivors also testified about being starved and deprived of the most basic needs, including sleeping on the concrete floor of a sheet metal hanger for months on end while being fed only a slice of bread a day.

A United Nations tribunal investigated the crimes committed at Celebici in the 1990s and convicted the two top commanders of the camp and one particularly sadistic guard on numerous crimes including murder and torture. While Mrndzic was interviewed by investigators in connection with that case in 1996, he was not charged by international authorities. Mrndzic subsequently concocted a scheme to leave Bosnia by crossing the border into Croatia and applying as a refugee to the United States using a fabricated story. In his refugee application and interview, he falsely claimed that he fled his home after he was captured, interrogated and abused by Serb forces, and could not return home for fear of future persecution. As the government argued at trial, Mrndzic used his own experience as a persecutor to press a false narrative that he had been persecuted. He was admitted to the U.S. as a refugee in 1999, and ultimately became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 2009.

Many Celebici survivors became refugees during and after the Bosnian War. Some came to the United States and have since become U.S. citizens. The survivors living in the United States played a central role in the investigation and prosecution of this case. They provided critical trial testimony and submitted moving victim impact statements.    

U.S. Attorney Foley; HSI SAC Krol; Amy Connelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, Boston Field Office; Matthew O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, Boston Field Office; and Jennifer De La O, Director of Field Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Boston Field Office made the announcement. This matter was investigated with the assistance of the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the United States Interagency Human Rights Violators & War Crimes Center and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Assistance was provided by the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and the United States Embassies in Sarajevo, Belgrade and Helsinki. The Australian Federal Police, Bosnian and Herzegovinian Ministry of Justice, Serbian Ministry of Justice, law enforcement authorities in Finland and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police all provided valuable assistance. The Cook County (Ill.) Sheriff’s Office and Swampscott (Mass.) Police Department also provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. McNeil and Jason A. Casey of the National Security Unit prosecuted the case.

BOSTON – A Dominican man was sentenced in federal court in Boston for his role in a large-scale fentanyl and cocaine distribution operation that trafficked narcotics throughout southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

Luis Alfonso Mejia-Diaz, aka “El Bello,” 56, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young to 13 years in prison and five years of supervised release. On April 5, 2023, Mejia-Diaz pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 500 grams or more of cocaine.

Mejia-Diaz was charged in October 2020 along with 14 others. The investigation, which began in March 2017, identified Mejia-Diaz as a large-scale fentanyl and cocaine distributor who operated under his alias, El Bello, and served as a supply source for others in the conspiracy. During the investigation, 991 grams of fentanyl intended for Mejia-Diaz were seized. At the time of his arrest in October 2020, over a kilogram of fentanyl and a loaded firearm from a hidden compartment inside an air compressor in Mejia-Diaz’s residence were also seized in addition to a kilogram press from on top of the air compressor.

Mejia-Diaz is the 13th defendant to be sentenced in the case.
    
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Fall River Police Chief Kelly Furtado; Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; New Bedford Police Chief Paul Oliveira; Westport Police Chief Christopher A. Dunn; and Providence Police Chief Oscar L. Perez, Jr. made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ann Taylor and Katherine Ferguson of the Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit prosecuted the case.

The operation was conducted by a multi-agency task force through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a partnership between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The principal mission of the OCDETF program is to identify, disrupt and dismantle the most serious drug trafficking, weapons trafficking and money laundering organizations, and those primarily responsible for the nation’s illegal drug supply. More information on the OCDETF program is available here: https://www.justice.gov/ocdetf/about-ocdetf.

BOSTON – A Connecticut man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for his role in a Martha’s Vineyard bank robbery.

Romane Andre Clayton, 22, of New Haven, Conn., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young to four years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In September 2024, Clayton pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting bank robbery. In March 2023, Clayton was indicted by a federal grand jury and a superseding indictment was filed in April 2023.

Clayton met Omar Johnson, Tevin Porter and Miquel Jones in Martha’s Vineyard on Nov. 16, 2022 to plan a bank robbery. Jones identified the bank they would be robbing and provided the others with dark-colored clothing and plastic masks that resembled an elderly man with exaggerated facial features. On the morning of Nov. 17, 2022, the group drove to the area of the Rockland Trust Bank in Tisbury. Porter, Jones and Johnson hid in bushes near the rear of the bank, and Clayton drove their car to the Manuel Correllus State Forest. Clayton then rode a bicycle back to the bank, where he stood outside to serve as a lookout during the robbery.  Clayton had a walkie talkie to communicate with the others inside the bank.

As bank employees arrived to open the bank for the day, Porter, Jones and Johnson forced their way through the rear door of the Rockland Trust Bank in Tisbury. The men were armed with two semi-automatic handguns and wearing the clothes and masks that Jones had provided. Once inside the bank, one of the individuals held a gun to the head of one of the bank employees, forced the employee to open the bank’s vault and took approximately $39,100. The bank employees were bound with duct tape and plastic zip ties while their belongings were searched and the robbers demanded access to one of their vehicles.  

Jones, Porter and Johnson then left the bank in an employee’s car, picked up Clayton outside the bank and drove to the Manuel Correllus State Forest where they abandoned the employee’s car in a parking lot. They then fled in the vehicle that Clayton had left for purposes of their escape.

Later that morning, Porter and Clayton left Martha’s Vineyard together on a ferry. Meanwhile, Johnson and Jones drove to a local farm associated with Jones’s landscaping job to dispose of the equipment that had been used during the bank robbery. At the farm, they buried the two firearms used in the robbery in a hole in the ground and burned the remainder of the robbery equipment, including the plastic masks.

After the evidence was disposed of, Jones returned home to his residence where he hid the approximately $39,100 that had been stolen from the bank, in his bedroom under a bureau. Johnson left Martha’s Vineyard, reconvened with Porter and Clayton in Woods Hole and then drove them to the area of Johnson’s home in New Hampshire.

In December 2024 Jones was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Johnson and Porter have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by Cape & Islands District Attorney’s Office; Massachusetts State Police; the Tisbury, West Tisbury, Edgartown, Chilmark, Oak Bluffs, Aquinnah, Canterbury (N.H.) and New Haven (Conn.) Police Departments; United States Postal Inspection Service; Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and United States Customs and Border Protection. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan C. Cleary of the Criminal Division is prosecuting the case. 
 

BOSTON – A Brookline, Mass. man was arrested today and charged with production of child pornography.

Scott Cunha, 24, is charged with recruiting a 15-year-old child to produce and send him to him child pornography. Cunha was arrested at his home in Brookline and will make an initial appearance in federal court in Boston at 12 p.m. today.

According to the complaint, beginning in at least 2022, Cunha communicated over Snapchat with multiple minor children between 10 and 16 years old from across the country. He allegedly recruited the children to take nude images and videos of themselves and send to him over Snapchat, often in exchange for the promise or actual transfer of money. It is alleged that Cunha victimized children in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Indiana, Michigan and Missouri by enticing them to send child pornography and offering to pay them money in exchange for meeting up with him in person and engaging in sex acts with him. According to the charging document, Cunha did, in fact, meet up with at least one minor victim.  

Members of the public who believe they may be a victim of this individual or alleged crime should contact call (617) 748-3274.

The charge of production of child pornography carries with it a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years in prison, with a maximum sentence of life in prison, at least five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jodi Cohen Special Agent in Charge of Federal Bureau of Investigations made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Torey B. Cummings and Elizabeth Riley of the Human Trafficking & Civil Rights Unit are prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – A Boston man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for leaving a residential re-entry center where he was serving the remainder of his federal sentence for drug distribution. He was also sentenced for violations of supervised release on a prior federal conviction.

Derek Rego, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 18 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Rego was also sentenced to a term of eight months in prison to run concurrent with the escape sentence after being found in violation of the multiple terms of his supervised release on a prior federal drug trafficking conviction. In September 2024, Rego pleaded guilty to one count of escape after being indicted in in September 2020.

In September 2012, Rego was sentenced in federal court in Boston to 120 months in prison for distribution of cocaine. On Jan. 8, 2020, Rego was transferred from a correctional institution to a residential re-entry center (“RRC”) in Boston to serve the remainder of his sentence until his release date on June 5, 2020.

Prior to his transfer, in October 2019, Rego signed the furlough application which notified him, in part, that while on furlough status, he remains in the custody of the Attorney General. While residing at the RRC, Rego was permitted to work and was employed. On March 25, 2020, after informing the RRC that two co-workers tested positive for COVID-19, Rego was instructed to quarantine for 14 days at an approved “pass site” location and told that he would receive random phone calls and pass site visits to ensure his compliance. Rego was informed that after his 14-day quarantine ended on April 9, 2020, he was required to return to the RRC. Initially, Rego was compliant. However, on April 3, 2020, RRC staff attempted an in-person spot check at Rego’s temporary pass site and placed several calls to the temporary pass site landline and to Rego’s personal cell phone with negative results. Rego never returned to the RRC and his whereabouts were unknown for almost one month. On May 4, 2020 Rego was arrested in Boston on unrelated state domestic violence charges that were later dismissed.  

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Brian Kyes, United States Marshal for the District of Massachusetts; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus, David G. Tobin and Lauren Maynard of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.

BOSTON – A Boston man was sentenced today in federal court for being a felon in possession of ammunition.

Nicholas Carle, 36, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to 42 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. In September 2024, Carle pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of ammunition after being charged in April 2023.

On Dec. 18, 2022, after being stopped for a traffic violation, Carle ran from law enforcement, dropping his coat. Inside the coat, a Smith & Wesson .357 revolver, loaded with six rounds of ammunition was recovered. Inside of the trunk of the vehicle, approximately 2.5 pounds of a substance that appeared to be marijuana was located.

Due to prior felony convictions including a conviction for possession of a firearm without a permit, Carle is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys William F. Abely and Julien M. Mundele prosecuted the case.
 

BOSTON – A Wareham resident was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for selling fentanyl to a 42-year-old man who died of an overdose.

Kayla Nightingale, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to 52 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $7,868 in restitution to the family of the victim for funeral expenses. In August 2024, Nightingale pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and distribution of fentanyl. In October 2020, Nightingale and her co-conspirator, Troy Jones, were indicted by a federal grand jury.

Jones and Nightingale worked together from January 2019 through at least April 3, 2019 to distribute fentanyl in Wareham, including to a 42-year-old Wareham resident. On April 2, 2019, that resident died of a fentanyl overdose.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; Wareham Police Chief Walter Correia; and the Barnstable Police Chief Jean Challies made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared Dolan and J. Mackenzie Duane of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.
 

BOSTON – Assistant U.S. Attorney Leah Belaire Foley was appointed as the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts by Acting Attorney General James McHenry on Jan. 20, 2025. With more than two decades of experience as a federal prosecutor within the Department of Justice, Ms. Foley brings extensive experience in prosecuting complex federal crimes and leading significant Department operations. Ms. Foley was sworn in this afternoon by the U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton.

“I can think of no greater mission than that of public service and it is the honor of a lifetime to now serve in the capacity of U.S. Attorney. I am profoundly humbled by the opportunity to serve our great nation as the chief federal law enforcement officer in Massachusetts,” said Ms. Foley. “I look forward to working with the outstanding men and women of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and our local, state and federal law enforcement partners to protect our communities and support the principles of the rule of law.”

Ms. Foley has been a federal prosecutor for 23 years, first serving as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia and, most recently, the District of Massachusetts after joining the office in 2006 as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Criminal Division. Prior to being appointed as U.S. Attorney, Ms. Foley served as Deputy Chief of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit where she supervised international and domestic narcotics investigations and international money laundering, immigration, human trafficking and firearms cases. She also served as the Lead Attorney for Boston’s Organized Crime & Drug Enforcement Task Force since 2013.

As an Assistant United States Attorney in the District of Columbia, Ms. Foley prosecuted violent crimes, sex crimes, felony narcotics and firearms cases. She also authored appellate briefs and argued before the District of Columbia Court of Appeals.

Prior to her tenure with the Department of Justice, Ms. Foley Served as Counsel to the United States Senate, Committee on the Judiciary from 1998-2002, where she advised Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee on drug policy and other criminal law matters; negotiated policy issues with representatives of elected officials, federal agencies, public interest groups and private organizations; traveled to foreign countries to assess American law enforcement initiatives abroad; and liaised with foreign law enforcement and officials to combat international drug trafficking.

Before she began her career in public service, Ms. Foley worked as an Associate at diGenova & Toensing in Washington D.C., representing clients in tax, antitrust, securities fraud and FEC violations cases.

Ms. Foley received a Master of Laws (LLM) from Georgetown University Law Center in 1996 after receiving her Juris Doctor from Loyola Law School. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette where she studied, English, Philosophy and French.

BOSTON – CLS Global FZC LLC, a financial services firm known in the cryptocurrency industry as a “market maker,” has agreed to resolve criminal charges relating to its fraudulent manipulation of cryptocurrency trading volume.

As part of the criminal resolution, CLS Global will plead guilty to the charges in a September 2024 indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Boston, including one count of conspiracy to commit market manipulation and wire fraud and one count of wire fraud. If its plea is approved by the court, CLS Global will also pay a total of $428,059 to the government, representing both seized cryptocurrency and a fine and will be prohibited from participating in U.S. cryptocurrency markets.

As alleged in the Indictment, CLS Global provided “market making” and other services for cryptocurrency companies through its public website and other promotional materials. CLS Global was a company registered in the United Arab Emirates that employed over 50 individuals, all located outside the United States, but offered services to related to cryptocurrencies available to investors inside the United States.

The charges against CLS Global followed an undercover law enforcement operation targeting cryptocurrency “wash trading,” sham trading activity intended to attract investors. The investigation included the creation of NexFundAI, a purported cryptocurrency company that had a website (https://nexfundai.com) and an Ethereum-based token that traded on the Uniswap cryptocurrency exchange before being disabled by law enforcement.

CLS Global has admitted that it agreed to provide market making services for the NexFundAI token that included “wash trading” to fraudulently attract investors to purchase the token. During several videoconferences between July and August 2024, a CLS Global employee explained that the company could “help with volume generation” so that NexFundAI could meet cryptocurrency exchange listing requirements and attract purchasers of the NexFundAI token. The employee explained that CLS Global used an algorithm that “basically does self-trades, buying and selling . . . from multiple wallets so it’s not visible” and so “it looks like organic buying and selling that is happening.” The employee further explained, “It’s very hard to track. . . . We’ve been doing that for many clients.” The employee also acknowledged, “I know that it’s wash trading and I know people might not be happy about it.”

CLS Global’s employee provided a “Market Making proposal” which, in a section titled “Volume Support,” contained an illustration of the CLS Global “dashboard” that reflected “total volume,” “CLS volume,” and “external volume.” Traders employed by CLS Global subsequently bought and sold the NexFundAI token on the Uniswap cryptocurrency exchange using CLS Global’s trading wallets and provided reports on the trading activity created by the “volume generation algorithm.”

As part of the criminal resolution, CLS Global will be prohibited from participating in cryptocurrency transactions on trading platforms available to investors located in the United States or providing services to cryptocurrency clients based in the United States, as set forth in the plea agreement.  CLS Global has also committed to make annual certifications that its business practices conform to these prohibitions.

The Securities & Exchange Commission brought a related civil enforcement action alleging violations of the securities laws and has entered into a separate resolution with CLS Global.  Moneys seized from or paid by CLS Global will be credited in the SEC resolution, and vice versa.  

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Markham and David M. Holcomb of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit are prosecuting the case.  

The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The remaining defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

BOSTON – Two men from Jamaica were convicted yesterday following a four-day jury trial for their involvement in a sophisticated international money laundering organization that laundered more than $6 million in drug trafficking proceeds from Colombian cartels through the United States, Caribbean and European banking systems.

St. Devon Anthony Cover, 61, was convicted of one count of money laundering conspiracy and seven counts of laundering of monetary instruments. Dennis Raymond Rowe, 59, was convicted of one count of money laundering conspiracy, one count of money laundering and two counts of laundering of monetary instruments. U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns will schedule sentencing for a later date. The defendants were among 20 individuals from Colombia, Jamaica and Florida who were indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2022 in connection with the money laundering conspiracy.

Over the course of the investigation, $1 million was seized from corporate bank accounts and other investigative activity. Nearly 3,000 kilograms of cocaine – with a street value of over $90 million – was traced back to the money laundering organization. This includes approximately 1,193 kilograms of cocaine seized at sea, 60 miles south of Jamaica, in July 2019, as well as 1,555 kilograms of cocaine seized in nine scrap metal shipping containers at the Port of Buenaventura, Colombia, in March 2019.

“Today’s convictions reflect the relentless efforts of this office and our law enforcement partners to dismantle the sophisticated financial networks that fuel international drug cartels. These defendants were key players in a scheme that laundered millions in drug proceeds – enabling the flow of deadly narcotics onto our streets,” said United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “This case demonstrates that we will hold accountable all players in the illicit drug operations that have had a devastating impact on Massachusetts.”  

“Those who choose to launder money from drug proceeds are endangering the general public in Massachusetts. Maintaining public safety requires that they be prosecuted aggressively,” said Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division. “We will continue to work closely each day with our law enforcement partners to target those who seek to profit from the sale of deadly substances.”

In or about October 2016, law enforcement began an investigation into a sophisticated money laundering organization located primarily in Barranquilla, Colombia. During an extensive five-year investigation, the organization laundered over $6 million in drug proceeds through intermediary banks in the United States, including banks in Massachusetts, as well as additional proceeds through banks in the Caribbean and Europe by use of the Colombian Black Market Peso Exchange (BMPE). By using the BMPE, the defendants and their co-conspirators sought to conceal drug trafficking activity and proceeds from law enforcement as well as evade currency exchange requirements in the United States and Colombia through the illegal currency exchange process. As part of the conspiracy, members of the organization held roles and responsibilities relative to the needs and opportunities of the scheme, such as drug suppliers, peso brokers, money couriers and business owners/dollar purchasers.

Through the BMPE, Colombian drug trafficking organizations with drug proceeds generated in the United States use third parties – generally referred to as “peso brokers” that are also based in Colombia – who agree to exchange Colombian pesos they control for the drug supplier’s dollar proceeds. Peso brokers then use money couriers in the United States and elsewhere to physically secure the drug proceeds, often in suitcases or bags on the street, and transfer the proceeds into the United States banking system. To avoid detection, peso brokers deposit the drug proceeds into bank accounts in company or individual names intended to appear as legitimate business activity, or through multiple small deposits into different bank accounts which are then consolidated into larger accounts. As a result, Colombian peso brokers control a pool of drug-derived proceeds in United States bank accounts. These dollar proceeds are then purchased by individuals or companies in Colombia seeking to exchange pesos for United States dollars at a favorable exchange rate and in a manner that avoids currency exchange and income reporting requirements. The dollar drug proceeds are transferred at the direction of the purchaser, and often end up in bank accounts of individuals or companies who appear to have no direct involvement in drug trafficking crimes.

During the course of the conspiracy, Cover laundered approximately $268,000 and Rowe laundered over $600,000 by delivering bulk cash drug proceeds to undercover law enforcement.

The charges of money laundering conspiracy and laundering of monetary instruments each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $500,000, or twice the amount involved, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

U.S. Attorney Levy; DEA Acting SAC Belleau; Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office; Aura Liliana Trujillo Rojas, Delegate for Criminal Finance for the Colombian Attorney General’s Office; Ricardo Sánchez Silvestre, Brigadier General of the Colombian National Police Anti-Narcotics Directorate; Jervis Moore, Chief of the Narcotics Division for the Jamaica Constabulary Force; and Colonel Geoffrey Noble of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Office of the Judicial Attaché in Bogotá, Colombia provided significant assistance in securing the arrests and extraditions of Cover, Rowe, and other co-defendants from Colombia and Jamaica. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared C. Dolan and Alathea E. Porter of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
 

BOSTON – Two men were indicted yesterday for the Sept. 24, 2024, robbery of the Energy Credit Union in West Roxbury, Mass. The defendants allegedly stole $197,146 from the Credit Union where one of them was employed as a teller.  

Jenel Flounoury, 29, and Justin Flounoury, 33, both from Brockton, were each indicted on one count of conspiracy and one count of larceny from a credit union. The defendants were arrested and charged by criminal complaint in December 2024 following an arrest by state authorities on the night of the robbery.

According to the charging documents, Jenel Flounoury arranged for a large cash deposit to be stored in a section of the vault that he could access. Jenel Flounoury then allegedly arranged for his brother, Justin Flounoury, to stage a “robbery,” passing Jenel Flounoury a note demanding money. When Justin Flounoury passed Jenel Flounoury the note, Jenel Flounoury allegedly bypassed his teller cash drawer, went straight to the vault, and loaded nearly $200,000 into a bag he retrieved himself, before delivering it to the “robber.”  

The night of the robbery a search was executed at the residence of Justin and Jenel Flounoury Over $160,000 in cash was recovered, including ten $100 bills whose serial numbers had been recorded by Energy Credit Union employees as being present in the vault prior to the robbery. According to court documents, cell site location information for Justin Flounoury’s  phone places it within .25 miles of the credit union at the time the robbery occurred.  

The charge of conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of larceny from a credit union provides for a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Massachusetts State Police Colonel Geoffrey Noble; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Mark Grady of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
 

BOSTON – A New York man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to using counterfeit United States passport cards in the name of three Massachusetts residents in order to withdraw money from their bank accounts. 

Jean Andre Bontiffe, 41, pleaded guilty to three counts of bank fraud, one count of forgery or false use of a Passport and one count of aggravated identity theft. Chief U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for May 6, 2025. Bontiffe was previously charged by criminal complaint in October 2023.

On Aug. 9, 2022, Bontiffe was arrested in New York for attempting to pass through TSA screening at LaGuardia Airport using a counterfeit California driver’s license in the same name as one of the Massachusetts victims. A subsequent investigation revealed that, between July 20 and July 22, 2022, Bontiffe traveled to Massachusetts from New York, and made nine attempts to withdraw money from bank accounts that belonged to three victims from Massachusetts – stealing a total of $13,800. On July 20, 2022, Bontiffe entered a TD Bank branch in North Andover, Mass. and presented a United States passport and a Discover credit card, both in the name of a Massachusetts resident who had an account at the bank, as proof of identity and attempted to withdraw $4,500 from that account. Due to unmatched signatures, the bank denied the transaction and confiscated the passport and credit card prior to Bontiffe fleeing the scene. 

The charge of making or using a forged passport provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of bank fraud provides for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of aggravated identity theft provides for a mandatory sentence of two years in prison to be served consecutive to any other sentence imposed. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Matthew O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, Boston Field Office; and Paul Creazzo, Chief of the Mamaroneck (New York) Police Department made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Luke A. Goldworm of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

BOSTON – A New Bedford man was sentenced today for stealing over $450,000 in disability benefits issued by the United States Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) intended for a 20-year veteran of the United States Marine Corps who was suffering from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).  

Joseph Smith, 71, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Julia E. Kobick to 23 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. Smith was also ordered to pay $459,550,86 in restitution. In September 2024, Smith pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government benefits and one count of conspiracy to steal government benefits. Smith was charged in June 2024.

Shortly after the victim’s ALS diagnosis in August 2015, the VBA approved the victim’s application for disability benefits and awarded him approximately $8,318 in monthly payments. The VBA began issuing payments in September 2015 via monthly checks mailed to the victim’s former residence in New Bedford, where he had resided with Smith’s relative.  

Between approximately 2015 and 2020, while the victim was hospitalized for ALS, Smith and others received monthly VBA disability checks intended for the victim and deposited those checks into bank accounts they controlled. Smith first deposited the disability checks into a bank account in his own name and then began depositing the checks into a bank account that he and others fraudulently opened in the name of victim. Shortly after depositing the disability checks, Smith withdrew the funds in cash and used the money for personal expenses.

In total, between in or around 2015 and 2020, Smith and others stole more than $450,000 in VBA disability benefits intended for the victim.

“Every American owes a debt of gratitude to the men and women who have worn the uniform. Stealing from them is simply immoral and Mr. Smith will now pay a heavy price for his egregious betrayal of a veteran who sacrificed for all of us to keep our country free and safe,” said United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “Stealing from a Marine Corps veteran who bravely served for 20 years as he battled a devastating illness is about as low as it gets.”

“Military veterans deserve our highest reverence and respect,” said Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division. “Joseph Smith egregiously stole a disabled veteran’s benefits to enrich himself. Smith was sentenced today for his appalling crime. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is committed to protecting the integrity of the mail stream and all customers who use it.”

“This sentence sends a clear message that individuals who steal VA benefits from disabled veterans will be held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher Algieri of the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Northeast Field Office. “VA’s programs and services are established to justly compensate deserving veterans and the VA OIG is committed to investigating those who would exploit or defraud these programs.”

“Mr. Smith admitted to stealing federal disability benefits, which he gained access to by misusing someone else’s identity, including their Social Security number. This sentence holds him accountable for his role in this deplorable conspiracy to defraud the government,” stated Amy Connelly, Special Agent in Charge, Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, Boston-New York Field Division. “I commend the investigators from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Veterans Affairs Office of the Inspector General and prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their diligent efforts in working this case.”

U.S. Attorney Levy, USPIS INC Larco-Ward, VA-OIG SAC Algieri and SSA-OIG SAC Connelly made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin A. Saltzman of the Securities Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.
 

BOSTON – A Dominican man was sentenced yesterday for unlawfully reentering the United States after deportation.

Edward Tejeda Pimental, a/k/a “Miguel Carrillo Rodrigues,” a/k/a “Angel Matos,” 51, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to 37 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. He will be subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of his sentence. In November 2024, Tejeda Pimental pleaded guilty to one count of illegal reentry.

Tejeda Pimental was first removed from the United States following a federal conviction for an immigration offense in the Western District of Texas in 2003. He was removed a second time following narcotics convictions in the District of Massachusetts in 2008. Later, Tejeda Pimental was removed from the United States for a third time in 2018, following a drug-related arrest in New Hampshire. Tejeda Pimental is currently facing an additional drug charge in Massachusetts state court following a 2022 arrest for fentanyl trafficking.

United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Todd M. Lyons, Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Reynolds III of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.
 

BOSTON – A Boston man was sentenced today for conspiring to illegally traffic and straw purchase firearms.

Gustavo Rodriguez, 22, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin to one year and one day in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In November 2023, Rodriguez pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to make false statements in records required to be kept by an FFL and one count of aiding and abetting making false statements in records required to be kept by an FFL. Rodriguez was charged by complaint on Jan. 17, 2023 along with Cory Daigle and Shakim Grant. He was subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury on March 16, 2023. 

From in or about August 2022 through November 2022, Rodriguez and Daigle conspired to create false entries in records required to be maintained by Daigle, an FFL, in order to conceal the illegal sale of multiple firearms through Grant to Rodriguez, who could not lawfully purchase or possess firearms. Specifically, Grant and Daigle made and signed false representations on required forms to disguise Rodriguez’s identity as the true firearm purchaser. Rodriguez is prohibited from possessing a firearm. The defendants also attempted to coverup the illegal straw purchase by providing false information to law enforcement.

Daigle and Grant each pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy. On Jan. 10, 2025, Daigle was sentenced to two years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. On Oct. 18, 2024, Grant was sentenced to three years of probation. 

United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives, Boston Field Division; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement today. Valuable assistance in the investigation was provided by the Revere Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Luke A. Goldworm of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.

BOSTON – The owner of a commercial and residential roofing business has been charged with, and has agreed to plead guilty to, concealing $1.6 million in income from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Jake Miller, 42, of Worcester, has agreed to plead guilty to one count of tax evasion. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled by the Court.

According to the charging documents, Miller owned and operated Kostas Roofing, a business that he conducted under the alias “Paul Kostas” rather than under his own name. It is alleged that, between 2013 and 2021, Miller cashed the checks that he received from roofing customers and deposited the proceeds into his personal bank accounts. Despite receiving at least $1.6 million from the roofing business during this period, Miller allegedly filed no income tax return for any of these years. As a result, Miller allegedly evaded income taxes of approximately $450,000.

The charge of tax evasion provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Tom Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division, made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney David M. Holcomb of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.