District of Massachusetts

A former member of the U.S. Air National Guard (USANG), Jack Douglas Teixeira, 22, of North Dighton, Massachusetts, was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for retaining and transmitting hundreds of pages of classified National Defense Information (NDI), including many documents designated top secret, on an online social media platform in 2022 and 2023. Teixeira, was sentenced to 15 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Teixeira was also barred from having contact with foreign agents.

In March, Teixeira pleaded guilty to six counts of willful retention and transmission of classified information relating to the national defense. Teixeira was arrested in April 2023 and charged by criminal complaint with retention and transmission of NDI and unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or materials. He was subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston in June 2023. He has remained in federal custody since his arrest.

“Jack Teixeira repeatedly shared classified national defense information on a social media platform in an attempt to impress anonymous friends on the internet – instead, it has landed him a 15 year sentence in federal prison,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Teixeira’s profound breach of trust endangered our country’s national security and that of our allies. This sentence demonstrates the seriousness of the obligation to protect our country’s secrets and the safety of the American people.”

“This sentencing is a stark warning to all those entrusted with protecting national defense information: betray that trust, and you will be held accountable,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “Jack Teixeira’s criminal conduct placed our nation, our troops, and our allies at great risk. The FBI will continue to work diligently with our partners to protect classified information and ensure that those who turn their backs on their country face justice.”

“Mr. Teixeira is responsible for engaging in one of the most significant leaks of classified documents and information in United States history, which resulted in exceptionally grave and long-lasting damage to the national security of the United States,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy for the District of Massachusetts. “He exploited his Top-Secret security clearance to share critical defense information online. In doing so, he exposed sensitive defense information involving our allies, putting our intelligence community and our troops at risk. It is vital that our classified information remains just that – classified. Leaking and distributing this kind of information poses significant and real consequences across the globe. This is disturbing conduct that will not go unnoticed and unchecked.”

Teixeira enlisted in the USANG in September 2019. Until his arrest in 2023, he served with the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis USANG Base in Massachusetts as a Cyber Defense Operations Journeyman. Teixeira's primary responsibility was maintaining and troubleshooting the classified workstations of other members of the 102nd Intelligence Wing. In order to perform his job, Teixeira was granted a Top-Secret//Sensitive Compartmented Information security clearance in 2021. Beginning in or around January 2022, Teixeira unlawfully retained and transmitted NDI classified as “TOP SECRET” or “SECRET” and/or Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI), onto the social media platform Discord to persons not authorized to receive such information.

Teixeira used a secure workstation at the Otis USANG Base to conduct hundreds of searches for classified documents containing NDI that were unrelated to his duties. On two separate occasions, Teixeira’s superiors warned him not to take notes on classified intelligence information and to stop conducting “deep dives” into classified intelligence information. Despite these warnings and his considerable training, Teixeira purposefully and repeatedly removed classified information and documents containing NDI without authorization from the secure facility where he worked. Teixeira subsequently transmitted the information by typing it into an online social media platform, where it was further transmitted by other users. Teixeira also posted images of hundreds of classified documents to a social media platform, nearly all of which bore standard classification markings – including “SECRET,” “TOP SECRET” and SCI designations – indicating that they contained highly classified U.S. government information. The documents and information illegally disseminated by Teixeira discussed a range of topics including descriptions of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and troop movements on a particular date. The information he retained and disseminated was derived from sensitive U.S. intelligence, gathered through classified sources and methods.

Shortly before his arrest in April 2022, Teixeira took steps to conceal his disclosures by destroying and disposing of his electronic devices, deleting his online accounts, and encouraging his online acquaintances to do the same.

The FBI Washington and Boston Field Offices investigated the case. Valuable assistance was provided by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nadine Pellegrini, Jared C. Dolan, and Jason A. Casey for the District of Massachusetts and Trial Attorney Christina A. Clark of the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section prosecuted the case.

BOSTON – A previously convicted felon was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for his involvement in a fentanyl distribution conspiracy. 

Ruben Depina, 25, of Rockland, Mass. was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Julia E. Kobick to 11 years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. In August 2024, Depina pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams and more of fentanyl; one count of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl; and three counts of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute 40 grams and more of fentanyl. Depina was arrested and charged in September 2023 and has remained in custody since.

In May 2023, a law enforcement officer – who previously worked in an undercover capacity – received a call from Depina who introduced himself as “Jake.” Depina told the officer that he recently got out of jail and was contacting his best customers because he was selling drugs again. Depina subsequently participated in four controlled sales in May and June 2023 during which he sold differing quantities of fentanyl to a confidential informant in exchange for cash. Specifically, on or about May 8, 2023, Depina sold approximately 21 grams of fentanyl to the confidential informant; on or about May 16, 2023, Depina sold at least 40 grams of fentanyl to the informant; on or about May 25, 2023, Depina sold at least 40 grams of fentanyl to the informant; and on or about June 5, 2023, Depina sold at least 40 grams of fentanyl to the informant.

On June 11, 2023, Depina’s vehicle was observed speeding in East Bridgewater. The vehicle sped off after being stopped by law enforcement and collided with a van at an intersection. When law enforcement approached the vehicle, Depina was observed reaching towards the passenger side floor before complying with instructions to show his hands. Depina was immediately removed through the passenger side window and arrested. During a search of Depina’s vehicle, a loaded firearm, multiple cellphones, a digital scale and a satchel containing at least 20 grams of cocaine base were recovered.

On June 12, 2023, during a search of a residence and loft connected to Depina, over 400 grams of fentanyl, multiple cellphones, four firearms, multiple rounds of ammunition, drug paraphernalia (including digital scales and cutting agent) and paperwork in Depina’s name were recovered.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office; the Massachusetts State Police; the Suffolk, Plymouth and Bristol County Sheriff's Departments; and the Boston, Brockton, Bridgewater, East Bridgewater, Rockland and Westport Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin R. O’Donnell of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case. 

BOSTON – A California man was sentenced last week for his involvement in a sophisticated international money laundering and drug trafficking organization.

Qinliang Chen, 34, of Rosemead, Calif., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Angel Kelley to 15 months in prison and two years of supervised release. In February 2024, Chen pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy.

In May 2023, Chen was among 12 individuals from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York and California charged in a superseding indictment for their alleged involvement in a sophisticated international money laundering and drug trafficking organization allegedly led by Jin Hua Zhang.

According to the charging documents, Zhang’s organization was first detected in 2021 in the greater Boston area, throughout the United States and overseas. It was determined that for a fee, Zhang laundered bulk cash for drug dealers and laundered profits from other illegal businesses. In less than a year, Zhang and his organization allegedly laundered at least $25 million worth of drug proceeds and funds from other illegal businesses. Funds were allegedly traced and seized from the Zhang organization to Hong Kong and elsewhere in China, India, Cambodia and Brazil, among other locations.

On two occasions in 2022, Zhang told an undercover agent that there was bulk cash that needed to be picked up in Florida. Cooperating witnesses picked up the cash in Florida that was delivered by Chen. Specifically, in August 2022, Chen delivered over $125,000 to a cooperating witness. Chen had previously been stopped at the Orlando International Airport trying to bring more than $99,000 in cash through a security checkpoint. At a second meeting in September 2022, over $161,000 in cash in vacuum-sealed bags were seized from a compartment in Chen’s rental car.

Zhang pleaded guilty in October 2024 and is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 21, 2025.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Pohl, Brian A. Fogerty and Meghan C. Cleary of Levy’s Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the indictment 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 Jersey woman pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Worcester to using a fraudulent passport card at a Shrewsbury credit union while attempting to withdraw money from a customer’s account.  

Elizabeth Clemente, 42, pleaded guilty to one count of forgery or false use of a passport. U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman scheduled sentencing for Feb. 6, 2025. In June 2024, Clemente was indicted by a federal grand jury.

On Nov. 7, 2023, police responded to a credit union in Shrewsbury where employees reported that Clemente attempted to withdraw money by impersonating a real credit union account holder, “Person #1.” While speaking with law enforcement, Clemente first identified herself “Heather.” When pressed for further identification information, Clemente provided the name of “Person #1,” however Clemente could not remember her date of birth or address. When further questioned, Clemente handed law enforcement a fraudulent U.S. Passport Card. The passport card bore Person #1’s name and actual date of birth but contained Clemente’s photograph.

The charge of forgery or false use of a passport provides for a maximum sentence of 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.

Acting 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 Shrewsbury Police Chief Kevin Anderson made the announcement today. Assistant United States Attorney Danial E. Bennett of the Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
 

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

Santos Guzman, 55, pleaded guilty to illegal reentry before U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper who scheduled sentencing for Feb. 12, 2025. Guzman was indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2021.

Guzman is a citizen of the Dominican Republic who entered the United States at an unknown date and unknown location and thereafter was convicted in 2019 of two state drug trafficking crimes. In November 2019, Guzman was ordered removed from the United States and on Jan. 7, 2020, he was deported to the Dominican Republic. Thereafter, at an unknown time and place, he reentered the United States. In November 2021, Guzman was arrested on a new state drug trafficking offense. A copy of his fingerprint from his removal document was compared to his fingerprint taken in connection with his November 2021 arrest and they were identical to each other.

The charge illegal reentry provides for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison three years 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 statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Todd M. Lyons, Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations; and Methuen Police Chief Scott J. McNamara made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case. 
 

BOSTON – A Winthrop, Mass. man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for fraudulently obtaining a U.S. passport and then using it to enter the United States from Istanbul, Turkey in 2021.  

Azem Gigo Zebic, 52, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Denise J. Casper to 18 months of probation, 100 hours of community service and a $2000 fine. In addition, Zebic’s U.S. passport will be surrendered to the government. In June 2023, Zebic pleaded guilty to one count of use of a fraudulently obtained passport.

Zebic was admitted to the United States from Croatia in 1997 after falsely claiming that he had been the subject of persecution by Serb forces during the Bosnian War. Zebic falsely claimed, among other things, that Serb forces had captured, interrogated, beaten him and forced him to pull wounded soldiers from the front lines. Further, once in the United States, Zebic continued to make false statements about his past, including that he had never assisted anyone else enter the country illegally. However, Zebic had, in fact, assisted another alleged Bosnian combatant – Kemal Mrndzic – enter the United States unlawfully by falsely claiming that he was Mrndzic’s half-brother. Mrndzic was convicted in October 2024 by a federal jury in Boston of a 25 year scheme to conceal his persecution of Serb prisoners at the notorious Celebici prison camp, and related crimes. Zebic testified at Mrndzic’s trial.  

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations, New England; 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 United States Citizen and Immigration Service. 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 Kentucky-based laboratory, Ethos Laboratories (Ethos), has agreed to pay $6.5 million to resolve allegations that it submitted false claims for payment to Medicare for urine drug testing (UDT) and for its proprietary test for chronic pain, known as the Foundation Pain Index (FPI).

According to the settlement agreement, Ethos admits that between Jan. 1, 2017 and July 15, 2024, Ethos submitted multiple claims for UDT for the same patient, on the same date of service, using the same urine sample. Ethos performed presumptive UDT via a relatively inexpensive test that could quickly yield qualitative results. It also performed definitive UDT via a more complex and expensive method that provided a quantitative result. Ethos performed and billed Medicare for both presumptive and definitive UDT for the same substance regardless of the results of the presumptive UDT and without determining that definitive UDT was necessary.  Further, Ethos at times submitted claims for testing done pursuant to blanket UDT orders that were the same for all patients from a particular provider’s practice, without obtaining any individualized determination of medical necessity by the ordering provider. In some instances, these blanket orders included substances with positivity rates below 0.01%.  

In addition, per the settlement agreement, Ethos admits that between Nov. 12, 2020, and Oct. 6, 2023, it submitted claims for FPI testing for patients in a provider’s practice without any individualized determination of medical necessity by the ordering provider, and, in some cases, without the provider’s knowledge that Ethos was performing FPI testing. Ethos also submitted claims for FPI testing at high frequencies, including testing some patients multiple times in the same month.

On July 18, 2023, based on information provided by the Department of Justice, Medicare suspended Ethos’s receipt of Medicare payments. Pursuant to that payment suspension, Medicare retained more than $6.5 million of billed claims from Ethos. As part of the settlement agreement, Ethos has agreed to forfeit the $6.5 million to satisfy this settlement. The settlement was reached after the government’s review of Ethos’s financial disclosures concerning its financial condition.  In connection with the settlement, Ethos also entered into a five-year corporate integrity agreement with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.  

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Roberto Coviello, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Health & Human Services, Office of the Inspector General; and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Abraham R. George, Chief of the Civil Division handled the matter.

BOSTON – A Danvers man has been convicted, following a five-day trial, of money laundering and operating an unlicensed, “no questions asked” money transmitting business that converted more than $1 million in cash to the digital currency Bitcoin, including on behalf of scammers and a drug dealer.  

Trung Nguyen, a/k/a “DCS420”, 48, was convicted of one count of conducting an unlicensed money transmitting business and one count of concealment money laundering. The jury also found Nguyen not guilty of a separate count of money laundering. United States District Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencing for Feb. 12, 2025. Nguyen was indicted by a federal grand jury on May 30, 2023.  

“Money laundering is the lifeblood of a wide swath of criminal conduct,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “This defendant’s ‘no questions asked’ money laundering operation allowed a known drug dealer to turn their dirty cash into more deadly meth to pump onto our streets and it allowed scammers to swindle vulnerable victims out of their hard-earned savings. Money launderers may think that Bitcoin is some new frontier for cleaning dirty money anonymously, it is not. Together with our law enforcement partners, we are carefully monitoring these markets and will continue to investigate and prosecute the money launderers who are essential cogs in the illicit drug and fraud trades.”

“Nguyen deliberately set up his money service business to evade banking regulations and to circumvent financial safeguards that prevent illicit proceeds from entering legitimate commerce. Our investigation proved that Nguyen knew he was working with criminals by accepting money from victims of scams and a drug dealer. HSI is a global leader in investigating illicit finance and bringing money launderers like Nguyen to justice,” said HSI New England Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol.

“The guilty verdict of Trung Nguyen demonstrates IRS Criminal Investigation’s commitment to the prosecution of all who choose to not only break the law themselves but also those who assist criminals in facilitating their criminal activities,” said Harry Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office. “Nguyen operated an unlicensed money service businesses and concealed his financial activity in a nominee business bank account in an effort to conceal his bitcoin conversion activity. Through Nguyen’s actions, he allowed criminals to conceal their activity by converting bulk cash into bitcoin, allowing them to easily and covertly integrate their ill-gotten gains into the mainstream financial system.”

Between September 2017 and October 2020, Nguyen owned and operated National Vending, LLC. Through National Vending, Nguyen accepted cash from customers and, in exchange for a fee, sent them Bitcoin in return. Exchangers of virtual currency, including Bitcoin exchangers, are money transmitters under federal law and are subject to federal anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. The regulations required them to register as money service businesses with the Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and to maintain effective AML programs, including by filing Suspicious Activity Reports with FinCEN, and by filing Currency Transaction Reports for Bitcoin-for-cash exchanges of more than $10,000.  

Nguyen purposely failed to register National Vending with FinCEN, despite being required to do so. In 10 transactions in 2018, Nguyen accepted a total of $250,000 in cash from an individual who identified himself to Nguyen as a methamphetamine dealer. In 2019 and 2020, Nguyen also accepted approximately $325,000 from a romance scam victim from Kansas City, Mo.; $60,000 from a romance scam victim from Glastonbury, Ct., and $60,000 from a romance scam victim from central Massachusetts—each of whom had been tricked into converting cash into Bitcoin and sending it to con artists overseas. Nguyen failed to file Suspicious Activity Reports or Currency Transaction Reports on any of these transactions, including cash transactions of more than $10,000.  

Nguyen concealed his money transmitting business by, among other ways, holding National Vending out to banks, cryptocurrency exchanges, and state authorities as a vending machine business, using encrypted messaging apps to communicate with customers, using technologies that made it more difficult to trace Bitcoin transactions and breaking cash deposits of more than $10,000 into smaller cash deposits over consecutive days or at different branches of the same bank. Nguyen also enrolled in a paid course on concealing his business that recommended Nguyen purport to operate “a business for which cash deposits from around the country make sense” and that he “develop [his] cover story,” “create a list or your suppliers Fictitious of course,” and “Don’t say the word ‘Bitcoin.”  

The charge of money laundering provides for a sentence of up to 20 years, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction. The charge of conducting an unlicensed money transmitting business provides for a sentence of up to five 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.

Acting U.S. Attorney Levy; HSI SAC Krol; IRS SAC Chavis; and Ketty Larco Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seth B. Kosto and Benjamin A. Saltzman of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit are prosecuting the case.

BOSTON – The United States Attorney’s Office reached an agreement with the Wilbur Theatre in Boston, resolving a complaint that the theatre violated Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by failing to provide a reasonable accommodation to a group of individuals with hearing impairments.

The Wilbur Theatre is a performing arts theater located in the heart of Boston’s theater district. According to the complaint, the Wilbur Theatre failed to provide a group of individuals with hearing impairments an American Sign Language interpreter, or another communication aid or service, for a concert at the Wilbur Theatre. Federal law, including the ADA, prohibits public and private entities from discriminating against individuals with disabilities. The ADA requires places of public accommodation to take necessary steps to ensure that they communicate effectively with people who have communication disabilities.

“It is vital that individuals with communication disabilities have equal access to public accommodations, like theaters and other businesses, and this office will continue to ensure that civil rights are protected” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy.” We encourage individuals who believe that their disabilities have not been accommodated to contact our office to see whether legal action may be warranted.”

This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anuj Khetarpal of the Civil Rights Unit. The Civil Rights Unit was established in 2015 with the mission of enhancing federal civil rights enforcement. The Wilbur Theatre fully cooperated with the United States Attorney’s Office’s investigation.

For more information on the Office’s civil rights efforts, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-ma/civil-rights. For more information on the ADA, please visit www.ADA.gov.

BOSTON – Three men have been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges in connection with the distribution of cocaine in Central Massachusetts.

Luis Sastre Pagan, 37, of Puerto Rico and formally of Southbridge; Eric Rivera, 31, of Southbridge; and Miguel Lopez, 27, of Southbridge, were all indicted on one count of conspiring to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. Lopez was also indicted on one count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and one count of unlawful possession of a machine gun. Sastre Pagan was arrested in Puerto Rico, released on conditions and ordered to appear in U.S. District Court in Massachusetts by Nov. 20, 2024. Rivera and Lopez appeared in Boston for initial appearances.

According to charging documents, from in or about April 2023 through April 2024, the three men allegedly conspired with each other and others to knowingly and intentionally distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Lopez was previously charged by criminal complaint for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and unlawful possession of a machine gun. According to the complaint, Lopez was in possession of a package containing approximately two kilograms of cocaine and a Glock 19 pistol with a Glock conversion attached.

The charge of conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. On the charge of conspiring to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, Sastre Pagan faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of 40 years in prison, at least four years of supervised release and a fine of up to $5 million. The charge of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine provides for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. The unlawful possession of a machinegun also provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a maximum fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy, Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the DEA Puerto Rico and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin Brown of the Worcester Branch Office 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.

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 former Stoneham Police Officer and his brother, an owner of an electrical contracting company, pleaded guilty to a bribery and kickback scheme that netted them millions of dollars in Mass Save contracts.  

Joseph Ponzo, 51, of Stoneham and Christopher Ponzo, 50, of North Reading, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and 24 counts of honest services wire fraud, and one count of making false statements to government officials. Joseph Ponzo also pleaded guilty to four counts of causing false tax returns to be filed with the Internal Revenue Service from 2016 to 2019. U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton scheduled sentencings for February 2025.

Massachusetts law requires utility companies to collect an energy efficiency surcharge on all Massachusetts energy consumers. These funds, which amount to hundreds of millions of dollars each year, are to be disbursed by the utility companies to fund energy efficiency programs and initiatives in Massachusetts. 

Mass Save is a Massachusetts public-private partnership sponsored by various gas and electric utility companies that disburses these energy efficiency funds through funding energy conservation projects for consumers. Under the Mass Save program, the utility companies select lead vendors, like Company A, to approve and select contractors to perform energy improvement work for residential customers. This contracting work – performed by contractors at no-cost or reduced cost to the customer – is then paid for by Company A with Mass Save funds.

Joseph Ponzo and Christopher Ponzo conspired to pay, and did pay, tens of thousands of dollars in cash bribes, kickbacks, and other in-kind benefits, including a John Deere tractor, a computer, home bathroom fixtures, and free electrical work, among other things, to Company A employees (Associates 1 and 2) in exchange for the Associates’ assistance in getting the defendants millions of dollars in Mass Save contracts.

On a weekly basis, from 2013 to 2017, Christopher Ponzo paid Associate 1 $1,000 in cash. At times, Christopher Ponzo paid Associate 1 $5,000 to $10,000 in cash, telling Associate 1 that the extra money was from Joseph Ponzo for his part in the bribery scheme. In return for these payments, Associate 1, among other things, helped Joseph Ponzo set up a shell company, Air Tight, to do insulation work and get approved as a Company A contractor under the Mass Save program. Joseph Ponzo put his spouse’s name on Air Tight incorporation documents and contracting licenses in order to conceal his involvement in his corrupt side business. Despite having no professional experience in residential insulation work, Joseph Ponzo collected over $7 million under the Mass Save program.    

After Associate 1 left Company A in 2017, Christopher Ponzo and Joseph Ponzo recruited Associate 2 to the bribery-kickback scheme from approximately 2018 to 2022, paying Associate 2 thousands of dollars in cash and hiring a relative of Associate 2 as part of the ongoing scheme.

During the course of the bribery-kickback scheme, Joseph Ponzo aided in the filing of false tax returns from 2016 to 2019 by claiming hundreds of thousands of dollars in false business deductions. To disguise personal expenses as business deductions, Joseph Ponzo used his company credit card to make hundreds of thousands of dollars in purchases at The Home Depot, Lowes, and Staples, claiming to his tax preparers that charges at those establishments were business-related. In reality, Joseph Ponzo used the company credit card at those stores to purchase gift cards that he and his spouse then used to make thousands of dollars in personal expenditures.  

In April 2022, both Joseph Ponzo and Christopher Ponzo falsely denied making bribe payments to any Company A employees when interviewed by federal agents.

The charges of wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud 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 $250,000. Charges of false statements provide 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. Charges of aiding in filing false tax returns each provide for a sentence of up to three years in prison, up to one year of supervised release, and a fine of up to $100,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Boston; and Harry Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Maynard and Dustin Chao of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.
 

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

Felisberto Lopes, also known as “Chee-B,” 40, of Boston, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise, possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and multiple counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young scheduled sentencing for Feb. 6, 2025.

Lopes was identified as a member of Cameron Street, a violent gang based largely in Dorchester that uses violence to preserve, protect and expand its territory, promote fear and enhance its reputation. According to the charging documents, members use social media applications to promote Cameron Street, celebrate murders and other violent crimes committed by the gang, as well as denigrate rival gangs. Cameron Street members allegedly possess, carry and use firearms to murder and assault gang rivals as well as protect narcotics and drug proceeds. Cameron Street members also allegedly distribute controlled substances and firearms, commit armed robberies and engage in human trafficking in part to generate income for the Cameron Street enterprise.

During the investigation Lopes distributed several firearms as well as cocaine to a cooperating witness. On Feb. 26, 2022, law enforcement responded to a shooting that took place at Lopes’ residence in Dorchester. While at the residence, a half-kilogram of cocaine, over $25,000, and over 400 rounds of various calibers of ammunition were seized and Lopes was arrested nearby. Lopes had previously been convicted in Suffolk Superior Court of aggravated assault and battery with a dangerous weapon causing serious bodily injury and served a four year state prison sentence.

The charge of RICO conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine with a prior conviction for a crime of violence provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, at least five years of supervised release up to life, and a fine of $10 million. The charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and or ammunition 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 statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal 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.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; 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 Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.

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

BOSTON – A former traveling nurse pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to tampering with morphine at a local rehabilitation facility.

Loralie LaBroad, 54, of Hampton, N.H., pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with a consumer product. U.S. District Judge Julia E. Kobick scheduled sentencing for Feb. 21, 2025. LaBroad was charged by in September 2024.

According to charging documents, while working as a traveling nurse assigned to a rehabilitation center, LaBroad tampered with two bottles of morphine on the medication cart she was assigned. LaBroad used a syringe to remove morphine from the bottles, injected another liquid substance into the bottles to replace the morphine she had removed, and returned the bottles to the medication cart. Investigators seized the bottles immediately after her shift and laboratory testing confirmed that the bottles each contained less than the declared concentration of morphine.  
 
The charge of tampering with a consumer product provides a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Fernando McMillan, Special Agent in Charge of the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations; Roberto Coviello, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General; and Robert H. Goldstein, MD, PhD, Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren A. Graber of the Health Care Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.
 

BOSTON – A Boston man was convicted today by a federal jury in Boston of distributing fentanyl.

An individual referred to as “John Doe” was convicted of distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for Jan. 28, 2025. Doe was charged by criminal complaint in September 2021 and was later indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2021.

In June and July of 2021, Doe sold over 100 grams of fentanyl to a cooperating witness in Lawrence which was capture on a recording device. In September 2021, Doe was arrested by law enforcement in possession of over 100 grams of fentanyl. As part of the investigation, law enforcement surveilled the defendant traveling to an apartment in Boston prior to selling fentanyl to the cooperating witness. On the day of Doe’s arrest, a search warrant was executed at the apartment where over a kilogram of fentanyl hidden inside a wall was recovered.

At the time of his arrest, Doe was using the stolen identity of a Puerto Rican man. Doe’s true identity remains unknown.

“Today’s conviction underscores the serious harm fentanyl continues to inflict on our communities and our office’s commitment to hold accountable the dealers who push this poison onto our streets,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “When it comes to fentanyl, the public needs to know that one pill can kill, leaving shattered families behind, and lives can be devastated by the scourge of addiction. Our office will continue to work alongside our law enforcement partners to combat fentanyl trafficking and protect the health and safety of our communities here in Massachusetts.”

“Fentanyl is causing tremendous damage to our community,” said Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration New England Field Division. “Those who distribute fentanyl are endangering the safety of the citizens of Massachusetts. We will continue to work each day alongside our law enforcement partners to identify and investigate those who are responsible for distributing fentanyl and other deadly drugs.”

The charges of distributing and possessing with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl provide for a sentence of no less than five years in prison and up to 40 years in prison, no less than four years of supervised release and a fine of up to $5 million. The charge of possessing with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl provides for a sentence of no less than 10 years in prison and up to life, no less than five 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.

Acting U.S. Attorney Levy and DEA Acting SAC Belleau made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was proved by the Lawrence Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared C. Dolan and Lauren A. Graber are prosecuting the case. 
 

BOSTON – A South Boston man was indicted by a grand jury in Boston today in connection with a scheme that defrauded a 75-year-old elderly man from Berkshire County, Mass., of approximately $500,000.

Urvishkumar Vipulkumar Patel, 21, was indicted on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Patel was arrested and charged by criminal complaint on Oct. 7, 2024. He was subsequently released by the Court on conditions including GPS monitoring and orders that he remain in Massachusetts.

According to the charging documents, beginning in or about February 2024 and continuing until on or about Oct. 7, 2024, Patel and others participated in a scheme to defraud victims.

It is alleged that Patel’s co-conspirator contacted the victim by phone, posing as an official from the U.S. Treasury Department named “Sam Wilson.” Wilson allegedly told the victim that Treasury documents showed him as being involved in a money laundering scheme and instructed the victim to take out the cash from his bank accounts to send to the Treasury Department for safekeeping. It is further alleged that Wilson directed the victim to place the cash in a taped box with the victim’s own name and address written on it and then sent couriers to the victim’s home to collect the boxes of cash. Prior to each collection, Wilson allegedly made the victim describe the clothes he would be wearing and provided the victim with a “PIN” passcode the couriers were to recite upon pickup.

It is alleged that on or about Oct. 7, 2024, Patel drove from South Boston to North Adams, Mass., for the purpose of retrieving cash from the victim. On that date, it is alleged that Patel spoke with an individual he believed to be the victim and provided the prearranged passcode, before taking possession of the box of cash and driving away. Patel was immediately apprehended.

The investigation remains ongoing. Members of the public who believe they are victims of a cybercrime – including elder fraud scams, cryptocurrency scams, romance scams, investment scams, and business email compromise fraud scams – should contact USAMA.CyberTip@usdoj.gov. To report elder fraud, please visit the FBI’s IC3 Elder Fraud Complaint Center  or contact the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 833–FRAUD–11 (833–372–8311) Monday - Friday, 10am - 6pm EST.

The charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud provides 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.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the North Adams Police Department and the Hampden County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kaitlin Brown of the Worcester Branch Office 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 Somerville tax preparer was convicted by a federal jury yesterday on charges that he prepared false tax returns in the names of taxpayers.

Yves Isidor, 68, was convicted of five counts of filing false tax returns. Isidor was acquitted on one count. U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young scheduled sentencing for Feb. 6, 2025.

The evidence at trial established that from at least 2012 through 2020, Isidor operated a tax preparation business under the name Tax and Realty Pro to file more than 1,200 tax returns in the names of clients, charging between $100 to $500 per return. Isidor added false information to six tax returns to claim deductions for fictitious medical and dental expenses, gifts to charities and unreimbursed employee business expenses. The false returns resulted in taxpayers receiving tax refunds to which they were not entitled or paying lower taxes than they owed. Six taxpayers testified at trial that Isidor had never discussed the false items with them, and they were not aware he had inserted them into their returns. An undercover agent also testified that he was present and observed the defendant create a false tax return in the agent’s undercover name.

“When someone hires an individual to complete your tax returns, they have a right to expect honesty, professionalism and integrity. Most importantly, you expect them to provide accurate information to the IRS,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “Yves Isidor lied to his clients, who had no idea that he had improperly filed tax returns on their behalf until they were contacted by investigators and alerted to the false information in their returns. Tax fraud is not a victimless crime. We all suffer when people like Yves Isidor lie and cheat the tax system.”

“The guilty verdict of Yves Isidor demonstrates IRS Criminal Investigation’s commitment to the prosecution of tax return preparers who are looking to exploit the American taxpayers,” said Harry Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office. “Isidor held a position of trust in his local community as a tax return preparer and he used that trust to take advantage of his clients by preparing fraudulent tax returns, often without his clients’ knowledge, resulting in the underpayment of legitimate tax obligations that all Americans are required to pay. The jury’s verdict in this case sends a clear message that tax fraud is not a victimless crime. These countless acts lead to the reduction of tax revenue that local communities rely on to fund schools and maintain essential civil services.”

The charges of aiding and assisting in the filing of false federal tax returns each provide for a sentence of up to three years in prison, one year of supervised release, a fine of $250,000 and restitution. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting U.S. Attorney Levy, IRS SAC Chavis and Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Victor A. Wild of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit and Christina M. Grimes, Trial Attorney for the Justice Department’s Tax Division are prosecuting the case.

BOSTON – Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy announced today that the U.S. Attorney’s Office, in coordination with the Department of Justice, will monitor compliance with federal voting rights laws in eight Massachusetts cities. On Nov. 1, 2024, the Justice Department announced plans to monitor compliance with federal voting rights laws in 86 jurisdictions in 27 states for the Nov. 5 general election.

Election monitors in Massachusetts will be assigned to polling locations in Everett, Fitchburg, Leominster, Lowell, Malden, Methuen, Quincy and Salem. Assistant United States Attorney Anuj Khetarpal has been appointed as Voting Rights Coordinator for the District of Massachusetts and will lead the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Election Day monitoring efforts. Nationally, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division will coordinate the effort which includes monitors from the Civil Rights Division, other Department divisions, U.S. Attorney’s Offices and federal observers from the Office of Personnel Management.

On Oct. 31, 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced the appointment of a District Election Officer to oversee the handling of Election Day criminal complaints, threats of violence to election officials or staff and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department in Washington.

The Department’s Civil Rights Division’s Voting Section enforces the civil provisions of federal statutes that protect the right to vote, including the Voting Rights Act (VRA), National Voter Registration Act, Help America Vote Act, Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act and Civil Rights Acts. The Division’s Disability Rights Section enforces the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to ensure that persons with disabilities have a full and equal opportunity to vote. The Division’s Criminal Section enforces federal criminal statutes that prohibit voter intimidation and voter suppression based on race, color, national origin or religion.

The Voting Rights Act (VRA) makes it illegal for states and local governments to use voting practices or election rules that deny or restrict voting rights because of a citizen’s race or color, or which result in citizens who belong to a particular language minority group having less of an opportunity than everyone else to vote for and elect their chosen public officials. The VRA also protects voters’ rights to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English). 

“The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program is vital to combatting discrimination at the polls and furthering public confidence in the electoral process. Every citizen must be able to vote without interference or discrimination. My office is proud to be a part of this important effort to protect the sacrosanct right to vote,” said Acting United States Attorney Levy.

The public can direct concerns or complaints about voting rights to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston at 833-634-8669. Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can also be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, DC by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov/ or by phone at 800-253-3931.

Individuals with questions or complaints related to the ADA may call the department’s toll-free ADA information hotline at 800-514-0301 or 833-610-1264 (TTY) or submit a complaint through a link on the department’s ADA website at www.ada.gov.

Complaints related to any disruptions at a polling place should always be reported to local election officials (including officials based in the polling place). Complaints related to violence, threats of violence or intimidation at a polling place should be reported immediately to local police authorities by calling 911. These complaints should also be reported to the department after local authorities have been contacted.

More information about voting and elections, including guidance documents and other resources, is available at www.justice.gov/voting. Learn more about the Voting Rights Act and other federal voting laws at www.justice.gov/crt/voting-section.

BOSTON – A Carver man pleaded guilty on Oct. 31, 2024, to his involvement in an oxycodone conspiracy.

Michael Atwood, 37, pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute oxycodone pills. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for March 2025. Campbell was indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2023 along with five co-conspirators.

Between approximately November 2023 and June 2023, Atwood obtained oxycodone pills from co-defendant John Campbell that he redistributed to others. The amount of oxycodone pills that the defendant obtained from Campbell ranged from hundreds to more than a thousand at a time. On July 12, 2023, during a search of Atwood’s residence approximately $63,000 in cash was seized.

Campbell pleaded guilty in September 2024 and is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 15, 2025.

The charge of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and to possess with intent to distribute oxycodone pills provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to a lifetime of supervised release 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.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; 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; Harry Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division, made the announcement. Special assistance was provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service; Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office; and the Barnstable, Dennis, Bourne, Mashpee, Yarmouth, Sandwich and Falmouth Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. Mulcahy, and Samuel R. Feldman of the Criminal Division and Alexandra Amrhein of the Asset Forfeiture Unit 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.

BOSTON – A Stoughton woman has been arrested and charged in connection with smuggling goods into the United States and selling/dispensing counterfeit drugs and devices.

Rebecca Fadanelli, 38, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of illegally importing merchandise contrary to law, one count of selling or dispensing a counterfeit drug, and one count of selling or dispensing a counterfeit device. Fadanelli was arrested this morning and will appear in federal court in Worcester at 1 p.m. this afternoon.

According to the charging documents, since March 2021, Fadanelli, the owner of Skin Beaute Med Spa with locations in Randolph and South Easton, Mass., has been importing counterfeit Botox, Sculptra and Juvederm from China and Brazil and performing thousands of injections of counterfeit drugs and devices for which she received over $900,000 in client payments. It is alleged that Fadanelli consistently represented to clients and employees that she is a nurse; in fact, Fadanelli is an aesthetician and is not licensed nor certified to dispense or administer prescription drugs or devices. According to payment records, from approximately March 2021 through March 2024, Fadanelli completed approximately 1,631 Botox appointments, totaling $522,869 in client payments, and 1,085 filler appointments, totaling $410,545 in client payments.

“For years, Ms. Fadanelli allegedly put unsuspecting patients at risk by representing herself to be a nurse and then administering thousands of illegal, counterfeit injections. Protecting the people of Massachusetts covers a wide range of conduct and here it involves an individual who ignored safety regulations against bringing unapproved, counterfeit drugs and devices into our country and endangered the health of hundreds of her clients. The type of deception alleged here is illegal, reckless and potentially life-threatening,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “Today’s arrest underscores our commitment to protecting the public from fraudulent and dangerous practices in the medical and cosmetic fields."

“Individuals who dispense and administer counterfeit injectable cosmetic drugs or medical devices, such as Botox or Juvederm, put the health of unsuspecting American consumers at significant risk,” said Special Agent in Charge Fernando McMillan, FDA Office of Criminal Investigations New York Field Office. “We will continue to pursue and bring to justice those who choose to subvert the safeguards of the legitimate drug and device regulatory regime and supply chain and jeopardize the public health.”

“Every day, our frontline CBP officers and agriculture specialists work tirelessly to protect the American public from illegal and harmful counterfeit products being smuggled into the United States. This case is a prime example of the collaborative efforts that are taken by our law enforcement community to bring these violators to justice,” said Jennifer De La O, Director of Field Operations for U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Boston.

The charge of importing merchandise contrary to law provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charges of knowingly selling or dispensing a counterfeit drug or counterfeit device each provide 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 statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

If you or a family member believe you received services involving a counterfeit drug or counterfeit device from Fadanelli and/or Skin Beaute Med Spa between 2021 through and including to the present date, please complete the questionnaire located on the FDA’s website at https://www.fda.gov/inspections-compliance-enforcement-and-criminal-investigations/criminal-investigations/oci-vw-assistance. Information about the status of the case is located on the U.S. Attorney’s Office website: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/victim-and-witness-assistance-program/united-states-v-rebecca-fadanelli.

Acting U.S. Attorney Levy, FDA OCI SAC McMillan and CBP Field Operations Director De La O made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leslie Wright and Sarah Hoefle of the Criminal Division 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 – An Ohio man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Thiago da Silva Pinheiro, 44, of Cincinnati, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to five years in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. On Jan. 12, 2024, Pinheiro pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography.

On Sept. 20, 2022, Pinheiro flew from Ontario, Canada to Boston with an ultimate destination of Brazil. During screening at Logan Airport, customs officers observed CSAM on Pinheiro’s tablet and phone. There were thousands of CSAM files on Pinheiro’s seized electronic devices depicting children as young as two years old.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by Customs and Border Protection. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meghan C. Cleary and Jessica L. Soto of the Office’s Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by 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 – Nine men have been arrested for fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine trafficking.

Ernesto Arberty Mendez Herrera, 43, of Roxbury; Ricky Junior Rodriguez Reynoso, 24, of Boston; Cristofel Baez Guerrero, 25, of Dorchester; Luis Castillo, 24, of Dorchester; Yomerli Mendez Arias, 22, of Lawrence; Estarling Perez Almonte, 28, of Roslindale; Raidyn Hernandez Montero, 24, of Dorchester; Ricardo Canela Soto, 20, of Dorchester; and Waldo Lara Arias, 19, of Boston are charged with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, including fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine. All nine defendants made their initial appearances in federal court in Boston and Bangor, Maine on Oct. 29, 2024.

According to the charging documents, the defendants were part of a drug trafficking operation that regularly transported fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine from areas in Boston, Lawrence and Malden, Mass. to locations in Waldo County, Maine. It is alleged that the defendants distributed the narcotics in Maine and then return to Massachusetts with the narcotics proceeds. During the course of the investigation, approximately 10 kilograms of fentanyl and multiple firearms were seized.

The charge of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years and up to life 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.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy 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 New Hampshire State Police, Maine State Police; Maine Drug Enforcement Agency; Waldo, Maine County Sherriff’s Office; Boston Police Department; Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Office; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Hassink of the Narcotics and Money Laundering Unit 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.

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 Dominican national, most recently residing in Lawrence, Mass., has been indicted on drug charges after serving a federal prison sentence and being deported in 2023.

Angel Martinez, a/k/a Aneudy Rios, 44, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston with distribution of and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. U.S. Magistrate Judge Jennifer C. Boal entered a voluntary order of detention and scheduled the matter for a further court hearing on Dec. 3, 2024.

Martinez is currently on supervised release for 2019 federal drug distribution charges that resulted in 60 months in prison. Following his sentence, Martinez was transferred to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation. In September 2024, Martinez unlawfully returned to the United States and sold fentanyl to a cooperating witness in Haverhill, Mass. which was captured on video.

The charge of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, at least three years 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 other statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston Field Office made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by North Andover Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip C. Cheng of the Organized Crime and Gang Unit.

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

BOSTON – A Russian national residing in Portugal has been indicted for his role in a wide-ranging conspiracy to manipulate cryptocurrency markets on behalf of client cryptocurrency companies.

Aleksei Andriunin, 26, was charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit market manipulation and wire fraud in a superseding indictment. The superseding indictment also charges Gotbit and two of its directors, Fedor Kedrov and Qawi Jalili, who were previously charged in an indictment unsealed on Oct. 9, 2024.

According to court documents, Gotbit was a well-known “market maker” in the cryptocurrency industry. It is alleged that between 2018 and 2024, Gotbit provided market manipulation services to create artificial trading volume for multiple cryptocurrency companies, including companies located in the United States. Aleksei Andriunin was Gotbit’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer. In a 2019 interview, Andriunin allegedly described how he developed a code to “wash trade” cryptocurrencies to artificially inflate trading volume for the purpose of getting cryptocurrencies listed on CoinMarketCap (a website that published information about “trending” cryptocurrencies) and trading on larger cryptocurrency exchanges. Andriunin allegedly kept records of Gotbit’s market manipulation, including spreadsheets that compared “Created Volume” from wash trades with naturally occurring “Market Volume.” Andriunin and Gotbit’s employees, including Jalili (Gotbit’s Director of Sales) and Kedrov (Gotbit’s Director of Market Making), allegedly marketed these wash trading tactics to prospective clients and explained how Gotbit used multiple accounts to avoid detection of the wash trades on the public blockchain. Gotbit allegedly made wash trades worth millions of dollars on behalf of clients and received tens of millions of dollars in proceeds for these fraudulent services. It is further alleged that Gotbit’s clients included the Saitama and Robo Inu cryptocurrencies, the leadership of which have been charged separately. It is alleged that Andriunin transferred millions of dollars of Gotbit’s proceeds into his personal Binance account.
        
The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, restitution and forfeiture. The charge of conspiracy to commit market manipulation and wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000 to twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, restitution 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.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, 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 charging documents are allegations. The defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.  

BOSTON – A former senior employee in the technology operations group of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited (Takeda) was sentenced today for engaging in a scheme to defraud the company of at least $2.5 million.

Priya Bhambi, 40, of Brookline, Mass. was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 46 months in prison to be followed by two years of supervised release. Bhambi was also ordered to pay $2,585,480 in restitution. The Court ordered forfeiture in the same amount and also ordered Bhambi to forfeit a Mercedes-Benz Model E, over $1 million in fraud proceeds held in bank accounts and a $49,985 wedding venue deposit, all seized by the government, as well as a diamond engagement ring and a Seaport condominium purchased with fraud proceeds.

In June 2024, Bhambi pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and three counts of wire fraud. Bhambi and an alleged co-conspirator, who did not work at Takeda, were charged in an indictment filed on March 23, 2023. The alleged co-conspirator is set for trial beginning Dec. 2, 2024.

“Pure greed drove Priya Bhambi to take advantage of her senior-level, highly compensated position at Takeda to steal millions of dollars from the company,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “I commend Takeda for reporting this fraud to the authorities promptly. As a result not only has Bhambi been held accountable for this egregious breach of trust, but the government was able to seize assets with an estimated value of over $1.5 million traceable to her theft. The sentence sends two strong messages – first, there are very serious consequences for executives who exploit their positions to line their own pockets and second, for companies who are victims of embezzlement, law enforcement stands ready to do whatever it can to recoup stolen funds and hold individuals accountable for fraud against their employers.”

“Priya Bhambi apparently felt her nearly half-a-million-dollar salary at Takeda wasn’t enough, so she orchestrated a complex financial fraud scheme to steal millions more to enhance her paycheck,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “In doing so, she used the company’s cash to buy everything from a diamond ring, to a Mercedes Benz, and even put a down payment on a condo and wedding venue. Fraud is never the answer if you feel your paycheck is not up to par. With this sentence Ms. Bhambi will now pay for her crimes through restitution and prison time.”

Between approximately January 2022 and October 2022, Bhambi and her alleged co-conspirator orchestrated and executed a scheme to defraud Takeda of at least $2.3 million in payments for purported consulting services by submitting fabricated invoices on behalf of a sham consulting company. Bhambi had previously engaged in the same fraud using a different sham consulting company, resulting in payments from Takeda totaling nearly $300,000 for consulting services that were never provided.

In February 2022, the co-conspirator, in coordination with Bhambi, allegedly incorporated Evoluzione Consulting LLC (Evoluzione). Later, Bhambi created a website for Evoluzione with false information, including fabricated blog posts, to make it appear that Evoluzione was a legitimate consulting business. After incorporating Evoluzione, Bhambi, allegedly in coordination with the co-conspirator, submitted a statement of work to Takeda and caused Takeda to sign a master services agreement with Evoluzione and issue a purchase order to Evoluzione for consulting services with a total cost of $3.542 million. Then, between March and May of 2022, Bhambi and the alleged co-conspirator fabricated and submitted to Takeda five separate invoices for services that Evoluzione had not performed, each in the amount of $460,000. When questioned by Takeda employees, Bhambi and the alleged co-conspirator made false representations regarding the services purportedly provided by Evoluzione. Before discovering the scheme and terminating Bhambi, Takeda, relying on these false representations, paid all five of the invoices to business accounts allegedly opened by the alleged co-conspirator in the name of Evoluzione.

In total, Bhambi and the alleged co-conspirator defrauded Takeda of $2.3 million in payments to Evoluzione for services not provided. Bhambi and her alleged co-conspirator used the fraudulently obtained funds to purchase the assets referenced above that are now subject to the Court’s forfeiture order.

Acting U.S. Attorney Levy and FBI SAC Cohen made the announcement today. Takeda has provided valuable assistance and cooperation with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leslie A. Wright and Mackenzie A. Queenin of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carol E. Head, Chief of the Asset Recovery Unit is handling the forfeiture of aspects of 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 citizen of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston for allegedly stealing trade secrets from his employer, a global investment management firm, while working in Massachusetts in 2021.

Xiao Zhang, 33, of Shanghai, China, was indicted on one count of theft of trade secrets. Zhang currently remains at large overseas.

According to the indictment, in 2021, Zhang allegedly utilized a virtual private network (VPN) to access his employer’s network from the PRC, which enabled him to circumvent the company’s controls. Zhang then allegedly made copies of his employer’s code, projects and research, and sent the copies through a PRC-based file-sharing application, enabling him to again evade his employer’s controls. It is alleged that Zhang then utilized the stolen items with the intent of establishing his own investment firm in the PRC.

The charge of theft of trade secrets provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years 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.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Boston Division made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy H. Kistner of the National Security 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 – Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy has appointed a District Election Officer who will oversee the efforts of his Office in connection with the Justice Department’s nationwide Election Day Program for the upcoming Nov. 5, 2024 general election.  

Assistant United States Attorney Lucy Sun has been appointed to serve as the District Election Officer (DEO) for the District of Massachusetts, responsible for overseeing the handling of election day criminal complaints, threats of violence to election officials or staff and election fraud, in consultation with Justice Department Headquarters in Washington.

“Every citizen must be able to vote without fear, intimidation or interference and to have that vote counted in a fair and free election. Similarly, election officials and staff must be able to serve without being subject to unlawful threats of violence. The Department of Justice will always work tirelessly to protect the integrity of the election process,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Levy.

The Department of Justice has an important role in deterring and combatting discrimination and intimidation at the polls, threats of violence directed at election officials and poll workers and election fraud. The Department will address these violations wherever they occur. The Department’s longstanding Election Day Program furthers these goals and also seeks to ensure public confidence in the electoral process by providing local points of contact within the Department for the public to report possible federal election law violations.

Federal law protects against such crimes as threatening violence against election officials or staff, intimidating or bribing voters, buying and selling votes, impersonating voters, altering vote tallies, stuffing ballot boxes and marking ballots for voters against their wishes or without their input. It also contains special protections for the rights of voters, and provides that they can vote free from interference, including intimidation, and other acts designed to prevent or discourage people from voting or voting for the candidate of their choice. The Voting Rights Act also protects the right of voters to mark their own ballot or to be assisted by a person of their choice (where voters need assistance because of disability or inability to read or write in English).  

The public can direct concerns or complaints of election fraud, threats, intimidation and voting rights concerns during the upcoming election to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston at  (833) 634-8669.

In addition, the FBI will have Special Agents available in each field office and resident agency throughout the country to receive allegations of election fraud and other election abuses on election day. The local FBI field office can be reached by the public at 857-386-2000.

Complaints about possible violations of the federal voting rights laws can also be made directly to the Civil Rights Division in Washington, DC by complaint form at https://civilrights.justice.gov/ or by phone at 800-253-3931.

In the case of a crime of violence or intimidation, please call 911 immediately and before contacting federal authorities. State and local police have primary jurisdiction over polling places, and almost always have faster reaction capacity in an emergency.  pacity in an emergency. 

BOSTON – A Dedham, Mass., man who served primarily as the “booker” for an interstate prostitution network that operated sophisticated high-end brothels in greater Boston and eastern Virginia pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court in Boston. 

Junmyung Lee, 31, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to persuade, induce, entice, and coerce one or more individuals to travel in interstate or foreign commerce to engage in prostitution; and one count of money laundering conspiracy. U.S. District Court Judge Julia E. Kobick scheduled sentencing for Feb. 12, 2025. Junmyung Lee was arrested and charged in November 2023 with co-defendants Han Lee, 42, of Cambridge, Mass. and James Lee, 69, of Torrance, Calif. The defendants were subsequently indicted by a federal grand jury in February 2024. Han Lee pleaded guilty on Sept. 27, 2024 and is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 20, 2024.

From at least January 2022 through and including November 2023, Junmyung Lee knowingly conspired with Han Lee and, allegedly, James Lee to operate an interstate prostitution network with multiple brothels in greater Boston and eastern Virginia designed to entice women to travel interstate to engage in prostitution. Junmyung Lee and his alleged co-conspirators also knowingly conspired with one another, and others, to launder the proceeds of the prostitution network by concealing that the money was derived the prostitution conspiracy.

Junmyung Lee was recruited to work for the prostitution network in approximately late 2021 through early 2022, as the business expanded. His main role in the conspiracy was that of the appointment “booker” and assisted with various tasks to maintain the prostitution network. In exchange, Han Lee paid Junmyung Lee $6,000-$8,000 per month.

As “booker,” Junmyung Lee was responsible for vetting sex buyers, booking appointments, as well as communicating directly with vetted customers via at least two cell phones – for Massachusetts and for Virginia, respectively. These brothel cell phones each contained over 2,800 verified customers of the prostitution business. An additional known cell phone containing additional contacts for the Virginia brothel was never recovered. Junmyung Lee also helped transport women to and from the airport, with some women working at the brothel locations on multiple occasions and in multiple states.

The defendants allegedly rented high-end apartments in Massachusetts and Virginia to serve as brothel locations, which they furnished and regularly maintained. In June 2022, Junmyung Lee leased one of the brothel locations in Cambridge, Mass. under his own name. In exchange for the lease, Junmyung Lee received a large cash payment of prostitution proceeds from Han Lee. A portion of the cash payment went towards the purchase of a Corvette.

Additionally, Junmyung Lee collected the cash proceeds from the various brothel locations at the direction of Han Lee. Junmyung Lee would then conceal the proceeds via structured deposits into personal bank accounts. Additionally, it is alleged that the defendants regularly used hundreds of thousands of dollars of the cash proceeds from the prostitution business to purchase money orders (in values under an amount that would trigger reporting and identification requirements) to conceal the source of the funds. These money orders were then used to pay for rent and utilities at the brothel locations.

Members of the public who have questions, concerns or information regarding this case should contact USAMA.VictimAssistance@usdoj.gov.

The charge of conspiracy to persuade, induce, entice and coerce one or more individuals to travel in interstate or foreign commerce to engage in prostitution 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 money laundering conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $500,000 fine or twice the value of funds laundered, whatever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Cambridge Police Commissioner Christine Elow made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the Central District of California and the Eastern District of Virginia; the U.S. Postal Service; and Watertown Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey E. Weinstein of the Criminal Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Raquelle Kaye, of the Asset Recovery Unit are 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 – Two men have pleaded guilty to conspiring to traffic dozens of illegal firearms from South Carolina to Boston.

Aizavier Roache, 30, of Boston, and Trevon Brunson, 31, of Columbia, S.C., pleaded guilty to one count each of firearms trafficking and conspiracy to do so. U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin scheduled sentencings for Feb. 6, 2025 and Feb. 11, 2025, respectively.

According to the charging documents, this case arose after a firearm recovered from a shooting in Boston was identified as having been purchased in South Carolina 15 days prior. Over a three-year period, Brunson and Roache conspired to traffic dozens of illegal firearms from South Carolina to Massachusetts. Specifically, Roache would text Brunson photos of the firearms he wanted. After purchasing the firearms in South Carolina, Brunson would meet Roache at different locations in Columbia, S.C. to transfer the firearms. Roache traveled between Massachusetts and South Carolina numerous times to obtain the firearms.

Numerous text messages as well as bank, travel and firearm records detailed the conspiracy. Intercepted communications uncovered an instance were Brunson used Roache’s credit card to complete a multi-gun purchase because he didn’t have enough cash on hand, with Roache texting Brunson the pin number for the card during the transaction. Additionally, a video recovered from Roache’s phone depicts him on a bus showing off a carry-on bag that contained four firearms. The date of the video corresponds with Roache’s trip back to Massachusetts after a multi-gun purchase in April of 2023.  

In total, the defendants trafficked more than 24 illegal firearms into Massachusetts from South Carolina. Eleven of the trafficked firearms were recovered in Massachusetts after being used in a crime.

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

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Luke A. Goldworm of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
 

BOSTON – A Lawrence man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to distributing fentanyl.

George Jimenez, 31, pleaded guilty to distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencing for Feb. 5, 2025. Jimenez was initially charged by criminal complaint in October 2023.

On Sept. 27, 2022, Jimenez sold 99 grams of fentanyl to a cooperating witness in Methuen which was captured on video by a recording device.

The charge of distribution of and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to a lifetime of supervised release 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.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Office made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip C. Cheng of the Organized Crime and Gang Unit prosecuted the case.

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

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 – The founder and primary operator of “MyTrade,” a financial services firm known in the cryptocurrency industry as a “market maker,” pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston for his role in a wide-ranging conspiracy to manipulate cryptocurrency markets on behalf of client cryptocurrency companies.

Liu Zhou, 39, of China and Canada, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit market manipulation and wire fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley scheduled sentencing for Feb. 27, 2025.

MyTrade provided financial services to cryptocurrency clients through its “MyTrade MM” website and online application. Those services included the wash trading of client cryptocurrencies across multiple cryptocurrency exchanges. Wash trading occurs when a single trader, or a number of traders working in coordination, buy and sell the same asset repeatedly in order to mislead the market by artificially inflating the trading volume or price of the asset via trades that have no lawful commercial purpose. Wash trading is a form of fraud intended to stimulate interest in an asset and is specifically prohibited by the securities laws. MyTrade MM’s clients had access to a dashboard available through MyTrade MM’s website that allowed clients to specify the desired amount of daily wash trades—a service described as “Volume Support”—on identified cryptocurrency exchanges. MyTrade MM used computer programs known as “bots” to generate the fraudulent wash trades for clients.

MyTrade MM’s unlawful wash trading service was identified through an undercover law enforcement operation. 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.

In discussions with purported NexFundAI promoters, Zhou described how MyTrade MM “does self-trades - a buy and a sell in the same second,” and that its volume bot can be used to execute “pump and dumps.” Zhou also described the “objective” as finding “other buyers from the community, people you don’t know about or don’t care about” because “we have to make [the other buyers] lose money in order to make profit.” As of Oct. 1, 2024, MyTrade MM was providing the “volume support” function – which consisted of wash trades made by trading bots – to dozens of clients.

As part of Zhou’s plea, MyTrade MM was required to cease providing “Volume Support” services and to permanently deactivate its wash trading bots, which had been responsible for millions of dollars’ worth of daily wash trades for approximately 60 different cryptocurrencies. MyTrade MM was also required to add the following disclaimer to its website: “Volume support is a form of wash trading and illegal under the laws of the United States.” 
        
The charge of conspiracy to commit market manipulation and wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000 to twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, restitution 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.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Boston Division made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Markham and David M. Holcomb of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.

BOSTON – A Florida company, and two individuals associated with the company, have pleaded guilty to charges associated with shipping facemasks that were misbranded as N95 respirators, and price gouging hospitals, during the earliest phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

JDM Supply LLC (JDM) pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to introduce misbranded devices into interstate commerce with intent to defraud or mislead, in violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Daniel Motha, 40, of Miami, Fla., and Jeffrey Motha, 36, of Norfolk, Mass., also pleaded guilty to one count of introduction of misbranded devices into interstate commerce and one count of conspiracy to commit price gouging in violation of the Defense Production Act. U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun scheduled sentencing for Daniel Motha and Jeffrey Motha on March 4, 2025 and JDM on March 25, 2025. In August 2023, a third individual, Jason Colantuoni of Norfolk, Mass, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit price gouging in connection with this investigation.  

In the spring of 2020, during the earliest phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, JDM and a company identified as “Company 1” conspired to ship facemasks that were misbranded as National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-approved, N95 respirators. One hospital accepted and paid for hundreds of thousands of purported N95 masks that were manufactured by Company 1 and sold by JDM. Ultimately, the hospital did not use the masks, which were eventually returned to Company 1. JDM misled the hospital into believing that the Company 1 masks were NIOSH-approved N95s, when in fact they were not.

In August 2020, a NIOSH lab tested a sample of the Company 1 masks that had been shipped to the hospital. The masks tested between 83.94% and 93.24% filtration efficiency, thus falling below the 95% minimum level of filtration efficiency required for N95 respirators.  

Daniel Motha and Jeff Motha conspired to use JDM to exploit and profit off of the critical need of hospitals and healthcare workers for scarce N95 masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. They accumulated N95 masks from various sources and then sold the N95 masks through JDM to hospitals in Massachusetts, and elsewhere, at prices in excess of the prevailing market price.

The charge of conspiracy to introduce or deliver for introduction into interstate commerce a misbranded device with intent to defraud or mislead, brought against JDM, provides for a fine of $500,000 or twice the pecuniary gain or loss of the offense, whichever is greater and up to five years of probation. The charge of introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate commerce a misbranded device provides for a sentence of up to one year in prison; up to one year of supervised release; and a fine of $100,000. The charge of conspiracy to commit price gouging in violation of the Defense Production Act provides for a sentence of up to one year in prison; up to one year of supervised release; and a fine of up to $10,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division; Fernando McMillan, Special Agent in Charge of the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations; Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Michael J. Krol, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bill Brady and Howard Locker of the Health Care Fraud Unit are prosecuting the case.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by 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 Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form.
 

BOSTON – The U.S. Attorney’s Office has reached a $1,125,000 settlement with Covetrus North America, LLC (Covetrus NA) to resolve allegations that it violated the Controlled Substances Act and related regulations. Covetrus NA, headquartered in Portland, Maine, is a company that distributes veterinary medicine to customers worldwide.

Under the settlement, Covetrus NA admitted that, from March 29, 2016 through June 18, 2019, its internal suspicious order monitoring system (SOM) flagged 35 opioid orders from a veterinary office in West Barnstable, Mass. (Veterinary Office) as suspicious. Covetrus NA released each of the suspicious orders and sent them to the Veterinary Office. Following a request from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Covetrus NA provided inadequate documentation to justify its decision to release the orders.

Melissa Paradise, an employee of the Veterinary Office, was charged and convicted in U.S. District Court in Boston and was sentenced in June 2022 after admitting that she diverted drugs from the orders for her own personal use. Covetrus NA also admitted that, in March 2018, an order of hydrocodone-homatropine was lost in-transit to the Veterinary Office and that Covetrus NA failed to notify the DEA of the lost controlled substances. From January 2015 through July 2023 Covetrus NA also failed to properly review the most recent information made available in ARCOS (an automated, comprehensive drug reporting system which monitors controlled substances from their point of manufacture through distribution) as required by the Controlled Substances Act (the Act).

The Act regulates the manufacturing, purchasing, distribution and maintenance of certain controlled substances. The Act and related regulations required Covetrus NA to keep records and follow security protocols for its controlled substances, including reporting suspicious orders or theft and significant loss of controlled substances. Failure to maintain effective controls against diversion of controlled substances, including opioids, violates the Act. Additionally, registered distributors of opioids, like Covetrus NA, are required to review quarterly information provided by ARCOS, and to keep an accurate record of each controlled substance and how it was used or where it went. Federal and state law enforcement rely on ARCOS data to help prevent diversion of controlled substances.

“The struggle to bring the scourge of the opioid epidemic under control requires a multi prong approach. In addition to traditional law enforcement efforts, preventing the diversion of lawfully manufactured opioids is also critical. Drug distributors have an obligation to handle controlled substances responsibly, including maintaining complete and accurate records, and diligently investigating suspicious orders of controlled substances,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “As this resolution demonstrates we not only prosecute individuals who divert controlled substances, but we will hold opioid distributors accountable for their failure to comply with important regulations.”  

“DEA registrants are responsible for handling-controlled substances responsibly and ensuring that complete and accurate records are being properly kept and accounted for in compliance with the Controlled Substance Act,” said Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division. “Failure to do so increases the potential for diversion and jeopardizes public health and public safety. We are committed to working with our law enforcement and regulatory partners to ensure that these rules and regulations are followed.”

As part of the settlement, Covetrus NA will enter into a one-year Memorandum of Agreement (“MOA”) with the DEA. The MOA requires Covetrus NA to continue improving its SOM system and allows the DEA to freely inspect and monitor Covetrus NA’s SOM system, employee training and overall compliance with all federal, state and local controlled substance statutes and regulations.

Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Stephen P. Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julien M. Mundele of the Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit handled the case.
 

BOSTON – A Chicago-area man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Springfield, Mass. for his role in a nationwide wire fraud conspiracy that victimized businesses and individuals across the United States.  

Antonio M. Strong, 32, of Orland Park, Ill., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to 34 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Strong was also ordered to forfeit $2,159,874 and pay restitution in the amount of $2,159,873. In May 2024, Strong pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud.

Strong was indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2020 along with five co-defendants, including rap artist Herbert Wright, Joseph Williams and Demario Sorrells

Between at least March 2016 and September 2020, Strong conspired with Wright, Sorrells, Williams, and allegedly, others to defraud numerous businesses and individuals by obtaining and using unauthorized and stolen payment card account information to obtain valuable goods and services, including: private jet and yacht charters; luxury car rentals; luxury hotel and vacation rental accommodations; private chef and security guard services; designer puppies; limousine and chauffer services; and commercial airline flights, among other things. During this time, Strong presented himself as a music promoter based in the Chicago area.

The stolen payment card account information included the actual cardholders’ names, addresses, payment card account numbers, security codes and account expiration dates. Because Strong and his alleged co-conspirators provided authentic payment card information, the defrauded businesses and individuals successfully processed their transactions and provided the goods and services. The actual cardholders discovered these transactions on their accounts and disputed the charges, which were reversed by the payment card companies. As a result, the transactions were charged back to the businesses and individuals from whom Strong and his co-conspirators defrauded with the unauthorized transactions.  

To conceal his identity and perpetrate the fraud, Strong used various fictitious names and aliases; provided fake driver’s licenses in the names of both fictitious and real people; used email accounts in the names of fictitious and real businesses; and falsely stated that he was from “Universal Music,” “Sony Music,” “Epic Music,” and other real and fictitious companies.  Strong caused a total loss of $2,299,842, which he has agreed to repay.  

In January 2024, Wright was sentenced to three years of probation and was ordered to pay restitution and forfeiture of $139,968 after previously pleading guilty. Sorrells pleaded guilty and in August 2024, was sentenced to three years of probation and oredered to pay $106,000 in restitution and $106,000 in forfeiture. In March 2024, Williams pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and in August 2024 was sentenced to three years of probation and was ordered to pay restitution of $155,392 and forfeiture of $102,116. Terrence Bender is scheduled to plead guilty next month. The remaining defendant, Steven Hayes, Jr. is pending trial.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; and Andrew Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Boston Field Office made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow of the Springfield Branch Office and Trial Attorneys Andrew Tyler and Kyle Crawford of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

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 Boston woman pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to the armed robberies of United States Postal Service (USPS) letter carriers on Nov. 29, 2022 in Mattapan, Mass. and Dec. 16, 2022 in Hyde Park, Mass.

Myesha Lewis, 22, pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery of any person having lawful charge, control, or custody of any mail matter or of any money or other property of the United States, aiding and abetting and two counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers or employees, aiding and abetting. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Dennis F. Saylor IV scheduled sentencing for Feb. 10, 2025. In May 2023, Lewis was indicted by a federal grand jury along with co-defendant Kenneth Demoshane.

USPS has seen a rise in the use of arrow keys to facilitate the theft of U.S. Mail. An arrow key is a specific key designed to open designated blue USPS collection boxes in a specific area. These arrow keys are the property of USPS and it is a federal offense for an unauthorized person to possess one. Since July 2022, there have been at least 23 assaults on USPS letter carriers while in the performance of their official duties in Boston and surrounding cities and towns. These incidents included the attempted or successful robbery of USPS arrow keys from letter carriers. Additionally, of these 23 incidents, 15 of the robberies were instances where the perpetrators were reportedly armed with a knife, firearm, or both.

On Nov. 29, 2022, in Mattapan, Lewis and Demosthene forcibly robbed a USPS letter carrier of an arrow key. Demosthene approached the letter carrier and said, “I’m going to need your master key,” before reaching into the letter carrier’s mail satchel and grabbing the arrow key. The key was secured around the letter carrier’s belt with a brass chain. The force used to physically break the brass chain caused the letter carrier to be pulled off the front steps. Lewis and Demosthene then fled the scene in a rental vehicle.

On Dec. 16, 2022 in Hyde Park, Lewis and Demosthene robbed another USPS letter carrier of an arrow key at knife point. Demosthene approached the USPS letter carrier and said, “Give me your f****** arrow key.” The letter carrier put their hands in the air as the defendants attempted to remove the arrow key, at first by force pulling at the chain. Lewis and Demosthene then attempted to cut it with the knife, eventually breaking it loose and fleeing the scene on foot.  

In October 2024, Demosthene was sentenced to three years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release.

The charges of robbery of any person having lawful charge, control, or custody of any mail matter or of any money or other property of the United States each provide for a sentence of up to 25 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charges of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers or employees each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least 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.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the United States Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Field Office made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Postal Service, Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Luke A. Goldworm of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
 

BOSTON – A Mashpee man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for his role in a scheme to artificially inflate the trading price of Getty Images Holdings, Inc. (Getty Images) and attempting to cover up the scheme.

Robert Scott Murray, 61, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper to 10 months in prison and two years of supervised release. Murray was also ordered to pay forfeiture in the amount of $227,543. In June 2024, Murray pleaded guilty to one count of securities fraud.

Murray was a long-time investor who previously served as the Chief Executive Officer of multiple public companies, including Stream Global Services and 3Com. In 2023, Murray was the owner and manager of Trillium Capital LLC (Trillium Capital), a venture investment company located in Massachusetts. Between October 2022 and April 2023, Murray bought approximately 300,000 shares, as well as other options contracts, for shares in Getty Images, a visual media company publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GETY. Murray then attempted to use Trillium Capital to pressure Getty Images to change its business strategy and to add Murray to Getty Images’ board of directors.

When those efforts failed, Murray used Trillium Capital to launch a fake takeover bid of Getty Images for the purposes of driving up the trading price of Getty Images’ stock so that Murray could sell the shares he owned at the artificially inflated price. On Friday, April 21, 2023, GETY shares closed at a trading price of $5.06 per share. On Monday, April 24, 2023, prior to the market opening, Murray caused the publication of a press release in which Trillium Capital made a proposal to acquire Getty Images for “$10 per share.” When the market opened, GETY shares traded at $7.88 per share, nearly 56 percent above the prior closing price. Murray then sold all the GETY shares he owned within less than one hour for approximately $1,486,467. Through this scheme, Murray was able to sell the GETY shares he owned for $227,543 above the fair market price of those shares.

Murray then attempted conceal the scheme by making public false statements and obstructing the investigation. On April 24, 2024, after selling his shares, Murray interviewed with news outlets where he continued to portray the fake offer by Trillium Capital to purchase a controlling stake in Getty Images as “genuine.” Murray also privately directed an acquaintance to obstruct the investigation by destroying evidence and making false statements in response to a subpoena. For example, Murray instructed the acquaintance to delete Murray’s text messages and stated that the texts were “like virginity, once you delete your virginity you ain’t getting it back.” Murray later lied to federal agents about his communications with the acquaintance.
        
The Securities and Exchange Commission filed a civil complaint against Murray alleging violations of the securities laws.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Boston Division made the announcement. The Securities and Exchange Commission provided valuable assistance with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Markham of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.

BOSTON – A Texas man pleaded guilty yesterday to a drug conspiracy involving the distribution of oxycodone pills across Southeastern Massachusetts and beyond.

Christan Russell, 33, of Tomball, Texas pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute oxycodone pills and structuring cash transactions. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for Feb. 5, 2025. Russell was indicted by a federal grand jury in August 2023  along with five co-conspirators. As part of his plea, Russell agreed to forfeit $860,833.00; four firearms and four bank accounts.

Between approximately February 2023 and July 2023, Russell supplied oxycodone pills to co-conspirator Kenneth Veiga, who then redistributed those oxycodone pills to Austin Gonsalves and John Campbell. Russell obtained these pills from a variety of sources in the Houston, Texas area. On March 13, 2023, Russell traveled from Houston to Boston to meet with Veiga. Russell met with Veiga in a hotel room in Rhode Island that Russell had rented. During that meeting, Russell supplied oxycodone pills to Veiga, and Veiga provided cash in exchange. On March 14, 2023, the defendant engaged in four structured cash deposits at ATMs in the Boston area. For each of these deposits, the defendant orchestrated the deposit to be less than $10,000 in an attempt to evade the bank from reporting the deposit to the Internal Revenue Service.

Veiga pleaded guilty and in July 2024, was sentenced to 60 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Gonsalves pleaded guilty and in May 2024 was sentenced to 41 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Campbell pleaded guilty in September 2024 and is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 15, 2025.

The charge of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and to possess with intent to distribute oxycodone pills provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of $1 million. The charge of structuring cash transactions provides for a sentence of five 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.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; 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; Harry Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division,,  made the announcement today. Special assistance was provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives; U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service; Barnstable County Sheriff’s Office; and the Barnstable, Dennis, Bourne, Mashpee, Yarmouth, Sandwich and Falmouth Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. Mulcahy, and Samuel R. Feldman of the Criminal Division and Alexandra Amrhein of the Asset Forfeiture Unit 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 document are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.  

BOSTON – The owner of a paving company doing business north of Boston pleaded guilty yesterday to a multi-year income tax evasion scheme.

Richard Cooper, 71, of Billerica, pleaded guilty to four counts of tax evasion. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled Cooper’s sentencing for Jan. 30, 2024. Cooper was charged in September 2024.

From 2017 to 2020, in addition to depositing customer payments to his company, Rick Cooper Paving, Cooper also cashed over $4.3 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 gross receipts of the business by millions. As a result, Cooper kept over $1 million that he should have paid in federal and state income taxes.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Harry Chavis, Jr., 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 – An Indian man, arrested last week for masturbating and exposing himself on a flight within the view of two other passengers, has pleaded guilty and was sentenced.

Krishna Kunapuli, 39, pleaded guilty on Oct. 24, 2024 to one count of committing lewd, indecent, or obscene acts on an aircraft. Kunapuli was also sentenced by U.S. Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy to two years of probation and a $5,000 fine. He was also ordered to delete, in the presence of law enforcement, photographs that he took of a female passenger during the flight and to have no contact with her.  

According to the charging documents, Kunapuli made unwanted sexual advances towards a female passenger on board a flight from Abu Dhabi to Boston, including touching her hair and taking pictures of her without her permission.  After a crew member intervened, Kunapuli returned to his seat.

Later in the flight, two male passengers seated near Kunapuli noticed Kunapuli masturbating under a blanket and, at times, with his penis fully exposed. One of the passengers reported this conduct to a flight attendant, who intervened, and alerted law enforcement.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elianna J. Nuzum of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.

BOSTON – A California company, and three individuals who owned and managed the company, have been charged and have agreed to plead guilty to charges relating to the shipment of facemasks that were misbranded as N95 respirators during the earliest phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.  

Advoque Safeguard LLC (ASG) was charged with one count of conspiracy to introduce misbranded devices into interstate commerce with intent to defraud or mislead, in violation of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act. Jason Azevedo, 33, of Cedar Creek, Texas; Paul Shrater, 51, of Simi Valley, Calif.; and Andrew Stack, 52, of Santa Cruz, Calif., were charged with one count of introduction of misbranded devices into interstate commerce. Plea hearings have not yet been scheduled by the Court.  

Earlier this month, a second company, JDM Supply LLC (JDM), and two individuals, Daniel Motha and Jeffrey Motha, were charged and agreed to plead guilty in connection with this investigation. In addition, in August 2023, another individual, Jason Colantuoni, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit price gouging.  

According to the charging documents, in the spring of 2020, during the earliest phase of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, ASG and JDM conspired to ship facemasks that were misbranded as National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-approved, N95 respirators. It is alleged that one hospital, identified as “HOSPITAL 1,” accepted and paid for hundreds of thousands of purported N95 masks that were manufactured by ASG and sold to HOSPITAL 1 by JDM.  (HOSPITAL 1 did not use the masks, which were eventually returned to ASG.) It is further alleged that ASG and JDM misled the hospital into believing that the ASG masks were NIOSH-approved N95s, when in fact they were not. In August 2020, a NIOSH lab tested a sample of the ASG masks that had been shipped to HOSPITAL 1. All 10 ASG masks tested between 83.94% and 93.24% filtration efficiency, and thus fell under the 95% minimum level of filtration efficiency required for N95 respirators.  

The charge of conspiracy to introduce or deliver for introduction into interstate commerce a misbranded device with intent to defraud or mislead provides for a fine of $500,000 or twice the pecuniary gain or loss of the offense, whichever is greater and up to five years of probation.  The charge of introduction or delivery for introduction into interstate commerce a misbranded device provides for a sentence of up to one year in prison; up to one year of supervised release; and a fine of $100,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division; Fernando McMillan, Special Agent in Charge of the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations; Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Michael J. Krol, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bill Brady and Howard Locker of the Health Care Fraud Unit are prosecuting the case.

On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by 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 Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form.

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

BOSTON – The owner of Stash’s Pizza, a pizzeria chain in Massachusetts, was sentenced on Oct. 25, 2024 for forced labor charges. The defendant forced or attempted to force six victims to work for him and comply with excessive workplace demands through violent physical abuse; threats of violence and serious harm; and repeated threats to report the victims to immigration authorities for deportation.

Stavros Papantoniadis, a/k/a “Steve Papantoniadis,” 49, of Westwood, Mass., was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 102 months in prison, one year of supervised release and ordered to pay a $35,000 fine. At a jury trial in June 2024, Papantoniadis was convicted of three counts of forced labor and three counts of attempted forced labor. Papantoniadis has remained in custody since his arrest on March 16, 2023.

“Labor trafficking exploits the vulnerable through fear and intimidation, all in pursuit of the almighty buck. That is what Stavros Papantoniadis did when he violated the rights of the people working in his restaurants. He deliberately hired foreign nationals who lacked authorization to work in the United States and then turned their lack of immigration status against them, threatening them with deportation and violence to keep them under his control,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “I commend the bravery of the victims here for speaking out and taking a stand against their trafficker. I hope that their strength to speak out sends a message to others whose rights are being abused that the federal government will not tolerate labor trafficking. The stiff sentence imposed on Mr. Papantoniadis demonstrates that there are grave consequences for employers who engage in this type of conduct.”

“Stavros Papantoniadis exploited and abused his employees, denying them the basic dignity every person deserves. Today’s significant sentence sends a message to employers — employees deserve to work in safety, free from harassment and abuse and exploitative employers will be held to account,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol for Homeland Security Investigations, New England. “Labor exploitation targets the disenfranchised in our society but we want employees to know that they have a voice and HSI is working with our partners to uphold and enforce labor laws.”

“Stavros Papantoniadis used threats of arrest, deportation, reprisals, and physical violence to ensure his employees worked for wages lower than required by the Fair Labor Standards Act. Today’s sentencing affirms the Office of Inspector General’s commitment to work with our law enforcement and Wage and Hour Division partners to aggressively investigate labor trafficking by individuals who enrich themselves through coercion or force,” said Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent-in-Charge, Northeast Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.

Papantoniadis forced or attempted to force five men and one woman to work for him through violent physical abuse, threats of abuse, and repeated threats to report victims to immigration authorities to have them deported. Papantoniadis thinly staffed his pizza shops, and purposely employed workers without immigration status to work behind the scenes, for 14 or more hours per day and as many as seven days per week. To maintain control of those undocumented workers, he made them believe that he would physically harm them or have them deported. He monitored the workers with surveillance cameras, which he accessed from his cell phone, and constantly demeaned, insulted and harassed them. When Papantoniadis learned that one victim planned to quit, he violently choked him, causing that victim to flee the pizza shop and run to safety in the parking lot. When other victims separately expressed their intentions to quit, Papantoniadis told one victim that he would kill him and call immigration authorities; and he threatened another worker by telling him he knew where the victim lived. When another worker tried to leave and drive away from one of Papantoniadis’ pizza shops, Papantoniadis chased the victim down Route 1 in Norwood, Mass., and falsely reported the victim to the local police in an effort to pressure the victim to return to work at the pizza shop.

Papantoniadis is the owner and operator of Stash’s Pizza, a chain of pizzerias with locations in Dorchester and Roslindale, and previously had pizzerias in Norwood, Norwell, Randolph (d/b/a Boston Pizza Company), Weymouth (d/b/a Pacini’s Italian Eatery), and Wareham, Mass.

Members of the public who believe they are a victim of labor trafficking or have information about labor trafficking, please call 888-221-6023, Option 5 or send an email with contact information to USAMA.VictimAssistance@usdoj.gov.

Acting U.S. Attorney Levy, HSI SAC Krol and DOL-OIG SAC Mellone made the announcement today. Assistance was provided by the Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division, the Boston Police Department, and the Norwood Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy E. Moran, Chief of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit, and Brian A. Fogerty of the Civil Rights & Human Trafficking Unit prosecuted the case.
 

BOSTON – A Chicopee man was sentenced on Oct. 25, 2024 in federal court in Springfield for robbing and assaulting a confidential informant using a firearm.

Hector Laureano, 38, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni to 147 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release. In July 2024, Laureano pleaded guilty to one count of assaulting with a dangerous weapon a person assisting an officer or employee of the United States in performance of official duties; one count of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence; and one count of robbery of money of the United States. Laureano was indicted by a federal grand jury in December 2023.

On May 4, 2023, Laureano intentionally assaulted a confidential informant performing official duties. Laureano allegedly used of a Cobra Model .380 caliber pistol to rob a confidential informant of $1,400 belonging to the United States.  

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd E. Newhouse of the Springfield Branch Office prosecuted the case.
 

BOSTON – A member of a nationwide drug trafficking ring was sentenced on Oct. 25, 2024 in federal court in Boston for drug trafficking and money laundering. During the investigation, over 160 pounds of pure methamphetamine, as well as an AK-47, a Glock with no serial number, two loaded Smith & Wesson handguns and over 4,200 rounds of ammunition were seized. An illegal marijuana grow operation with hundreds of marijuana plants was also dismantled.

Patrick O’Hearn, 64, of Braintree was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 15 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release. In March 2024, O’Hearn pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, as well as one count of money laundering conspiracy and one count of money laundering.

O’Hearn was charged along with 10 others in September 2021 in a 15 count superseding indictment.  

O’Hearn was part of a large-scale methamphetamine distribution network that distributed significant quantities of pure methamphetamine throughout New England. The investigation began in late 2020, when O’Hearn’s methamphetamine supplier Reshat Alkayisi was identified as a large-scale methamphetamine trafficker, who distributed multi-pound quantities to customers throughout the New England area. O’Hearn was subsequently identified as one of Alkayisi’s regular large-scale distributors who routinely purchased methamphetamine and redistributed it throughout the Boston area. Bank records indicated that O’Hearn paid Alkayisi at least $100,000 between January and July 2021. O’Hearn also purchased over $465,000 worth of methamphetamine from Alkayisi between January and May 2021.

O’Hearn conspired with Alkayisi to launder their drug proceeds. As part of that money laundering conspiracy, Alkayisi used O’Hearn’s residence as the address for his shell company that he used to launder drug proceeds.

In July 2021, O’Hearn was arrested and over 680 grams of pure methamphetamine was seized, as well as small quantities of cocaine, ketamine, MDMA and other controlled substances from O’Hearn’s residence. Over $213,000 in cash was also found in O’Hearn’s residence and in bank safe deposit boxes.

Alkayisi pleaded guilty in April 2024 and in September 2024 sentenced to 23 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. O’Hearn is the 10th defendant to be sentenced in the case. The remaining defendant has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; 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. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts Department of Correction; Norfolk County Sherriff’s Office; and Concord, Hudson, Peabody, Reading, Watertown and Waltham Police Departments. Assistance was also provided by the Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alathea Porter and Katherine Ferguson of the Criminal Division are 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.
 

BOSTON – A member of a nationwide drug trafficking ring was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for drug trafficking charges. During the investigation, over 160 pounds of pure methamphetamine, as well as an AK-47, a Glock with no serial number, two loaded Smith & Wesson handguns and over 4,200 rounds of ammunition were seized. An illegal marijuana grow operation with hundreds of marijuana plants was also dismantled.

James Holyoke, 43, of Stoughton, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to 14 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. In August 2022, Holyoke pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, as well as to six counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.

Holyoke was charged along with seven others in July 2021 and was subsequently charged in a superseding indictment that added an additional three defendants in September 2021.  Holyoke was arrested in August 2021 and has remained in custody since that arrest.

In late 2020, Reshat Alkayisi was identified as a large-scale methamphetamine trafficker, who distributed multi-pound quantities to customers throughout the New England area. Holyoke was identified as one of Alkayisi’s regular large-scale distributors who routinely purchased methamphetamine and redistributed it throughout the Boston area. As part of the investigation, Holyoke participated in 11 controlled purchases of methamphetamine from a cooperating witness. Those controlled purchases resulted in the seizure of over four kilograms of pure methamphetamine.

Alkayisi pleaded guilty in April 2024 and in September 2024 sentenced to 23 years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release. Holyoke is the 9th defendant to be sentenced in the case. All remaining defendants have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; 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. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts Department of Correction; Norfolk County Sherriff’s Office; and Concord, Hudson, Peabody, Reading, Watertown and Waltham Police Departments. Assistance was also provided by the Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Maine State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alathea Porter and Katherine Ferguson of the Criminal Division are 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.

BOSTON – A Master Sergeant of the 102 Security Forces of the Massachusetts National Guard stationed in Sandwich, Mass. has been arrested and charged for allegedly possessing and distributing child pornography.  

Nicholas Wells, 43, was charged with possession and distribution of child pornography. Wells was arrested yesterday and, following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston, agreed to voluntarily detention pending trial without prejudice.  

According to the charging documents, Wells engaged in chats on a messaging application, in which he allegedly discussed his interest in minors and distributed videos depicting child pornography. It is alleged that, following search warrants for Wells’ messaging application account and home, over 300 images and 100 videos depicting child pornography were located on Wells’ phone, along with evidence that Wells allegedly distributed over 70 videos depicting child pornography.

The charge of possessing child pornography provides for a sentence up to 20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine up to $250,000.  The charge of distributing child pornography provides for a sentence of at leave five years and up to 20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime 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.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Barnstable and Sandwich Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian J. Sullivan of the Major Crimes Unit 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.

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 Lynn man was arraigned Oct. 22, 2024 in connection to an ongoing investigation of fentanyl counterfeit pills containing methamphetamine.

Ricardo Bratini-Perez, a/k/a “Rico,” a/k/a “Ricofromthesin,” 29, was arraigned on four counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, fentanyl analog, and methamphetamine, and one count possession with intent to distribute 400 grams and more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl. A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Bratini-Perez on Oct. 3, 2024.

According to court records, Bratini-Perez was on probation following his release from state custody on armed robbery and firearm charges. While on probation, Bratini-Perez sold fentanyl and methamphetamine to an undercover officer on three occasions in March 2024 and April 2024. On April 8, 2024, Bratini-Perez was arrested following a fourth sale to the undercover officer. Following his arrest, investigators executed a search warrant at Bratini-Perez’s residence and recovered over 5,000 grams of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl. 
    
The charge of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of fentanyl provides for a sentence of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, five years and up to life of supervised release and a fine of up to $10,000,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police; and Lynn Police Chief Christopher P. Reddy made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Essex County District Attorney's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Mallard of the Organized Crime and Gang 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 Brockton man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston in connection with a wide-ranging drug trafficking conspiracy that that involved over 100 parcels containing kilograms of cocaine sent from Puerto Rico to various addresses throughout Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Investigators intercepted 10 parcels and seized more than 20 kilograms of cocaine from the mail stream.

Robert Monteiro, 40, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to 69 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In July 2024, Monteiro was convicted by a federal jury of one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute cocaine. In July 2021, Monteiro was indicted alongside 10 co-defendants.

Beginning in February 2020, law enforcement investigated a drug trafficking organization operated by Patrick Joseph. Based on a wiretap investigation, Joseph coordinated the transportation of 10-20 kilograms of cocaine at a time from the Dominican Republic to Puerto Rico, and eventually to Massachusetts and Rhode Island via the U.S. Mail. During the investigation, cocaine was found concealed in two-kilogram quantities inside air fryers and cash boxes before being sent through the mail. Various firearms, 21 kilograms of cocaine and over $100,000 cash was also seized following the arrests in this investigation. Monteiro served as a member of Joseph’s drug trafficking organization, collecting packages and redistributing kilograms of cocaine that came in through the mail.

Joseph was sentenced in June 2024 to 138 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division; Geoffrey Noble, Colonel of the Massachusetts State Police; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division and Homeland Security Investigations in New England. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Philip C. Cheng and Howard Locker of the Criminal Division prosecuted 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.
 

BOSTON – A Brockton man associated with Cameron Street, a violent Boston gang, pleaded guilty yesterday to drug and firearms trafficking charges.

Steve Depina, age 37, pleaded guilty to distribution of cocaine and cocaine base and being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. U.S. Senior District Court Judge William G. Young scheduled sentencing for Feb. 25, 2025.

During the investigation, Depina was identified as an older associate of the Cameron Street gang who had a history of drug trafficking. In 2018, Depina was convicted in Plymouth Superior Court of possession with intent to distribute heroin and fentanyl and was sentenced to 3-5 years in prison.

Depina was recorded as he distributed cocaine and cocaine base to a cooperating witness. Depina also sold a cooperating witness a 9 millimeter firearm and 16 rounds of ammunition. On Aril 15, 2022, during a search of his residence, another firearm and an additional quantity of cocaine base was seized from Depina.

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

The charge of distribution of cocaine and cocaine base provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release and a fine of $1 million. 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. 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.

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.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua Levy; James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field 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 Levy’s Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.

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 retired Captain of the Boston Police Department was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for participating in a long-running overtime fraud scheme at the Boston Police Department (BPD) that cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent overtime payments.

Richard Evans, 65, of Hanover, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to one year and a day in federal prison, two years of supervised release, restitution of $154,249.20 and a fine of $15,000. In March 2024, a federal jury convicted Evans of conspiracy to commit theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, theft concerning programs receiving federal finds, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud. Evans was arrested and charged in March 2021 after a lengthy investigation into the overtime practices of Evans and other BPD officers proved that officers had been lying on their overtime slips so that they could get paid for countless hours that they did not work.  

“Members of law enforcement are expected to uphold the law, not violate it,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “Mr. Evans abused the public trust and violated his oath, and his greed corrupted others in the department. His actions do not reflect the selfless, outstanding work done every day by thousands of Boston Police Department officers and police officers across the Commonwealth. To anyone who may be tempted to follow a similar path, today’s sentence should send a strong message that police officers who steal taxpayer money by fraudulently trying to get paid for hours they do not work will be held accountable and face significant penalties.”

“After 37 years on the force, Richard Evans should know that crime doesn’t pay. Nonetheless, he orchestrated this long-running overtime fraud scheme, ensnared his former officers, and ignored all ethical boundaries in order to make a buck," said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “The public’s trust is critical for our justice system to function properly, which is why the FBI will do everything in its power to bring officers whose criminal actions undermine that trust to justice. We thank the Boston Police Department for its help in rooting out this egregious fraud.”

“Today’s sentencing sends a clear message that public servants who cheat and steal will be held accountable. Evans participated in and orchestrated a scheme to defraud taxpayers by submitting and certifying fraudulent overtime for himself and subordinate officers. This is not a victimless crime. His illicit gains were at the expense of the taxpayers,” said Timothy C. Edmiston, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General Mid-Atlantic Region.

   Evans, who retired from the BPD shortly after he was charged in this case, was a 42-year veteran of the BPD and one of the highest-ranking officers in the department. From May 2012 to March 2016, Evans was the commander of BPD’s Evidence and Supply Management Division, where he was responsible for, among other things, overseeing the Evidence Control Unit (ECU) that stored and managed all the evidence for the BPD.    

The investigation revealed that that when BPD’s evidence warehouse started overflowing with evidence, the department authorized an overtime program to “purge” old and unneeded evidence to make room for new evidence. As part of this purge overtime program, officers in the ECU were authorized to work up to four hours a day, after their regular day shift, to help purge old evidence.

For virtually the entirety of the time that Evans was in charge of the ECU, Evans and those under his command abused the purge overtime program to unjustly enrich themselves. For the purge program, it was contemplated that officers would work up to four hours of overtime in a day, typically from 4:00 to 8:00 from Mondays to Thursdays. The evidence showed that officers rarely worked the hours they were supposed to work, often working only an hour or two of overtime but claiming they worked four hours. Given that overtime was paid at 1.5 times the regular pay rate, this meant that officers could get six hours of pay for claiming four hours of overtime, even though in reality they were only working for an hour or two.  

As part of this scheme, for multiple years, officers falsely claimed on BPD pay forms that they worked four hours of overtime when they routinely did not. The BPD’s policies and protocols required that officers, after every shift, submit overtime slips certifying the “actual hours worked” during any shift. On countless occasions over multiple years, Evans and other officers in his unit submitted slips overstating their actual hours worked. The BPD’s evidence warehouse, where the ECU is based, is secured and alarmed when officers are not working in it.  Alarm records from the evidence warehouse were introduced to show that the building was not even open during hundreds of hours when Evans and other officers had falsely claimed that they were inside the building purging old evidence.  

Evans submitted slips for hundreds of overtime hours he did not work. As a supervisor, Evans also approved the overtime slips of officers under his command who falsely claimed payment for hundreds of overtime hours they did not work. Evans also misled his superior officers about the purge overtime scheme to cover up the fact that officers were inflating their overtime hours and routinely not working even half the number of hours they were claiming.

On top of his base salary, Evans received over $120,000 in overtime payments during his nearly four years as commander of the ECU, including over $17,000 in overtime payments for hours that the evidence warehouse was not even open during the hours Evans claimed he was working. The overtime pay received by Evans allowed his total pay to exceed $200,000 for each of the years between 2013 and 2016 when he led that unit.  

Acting U.S. Attorney Levy; SAC Cohen; DOJ-OIG SAC Edmiston; and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kunal Pasricha and Elysa Wan of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case at trial. 

BOSTON – A Stoughton man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for the armed robberies of United States Postal Service (USPS) letter carriers that took place on Nov. 29, 2022 in Mattapan and Dec. 16, 2022 in Hyde Park. In one instance, the defendant robbed the letter carrier at knifepoint.

Kenneth Demosthene, 24, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV to three years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In July 2024, Demosthene pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery of any person having lawful charge, control, or custody of any mail matter or of any money or other property of the United States, aiding and abetting and two counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers or employees, aiding and abetting. In May 2023, Demosthene was indicted by a federal grand jury along with his alleged co-conspirator Myesha Lewis.

USPS has seen a rise in the use of arrow keys to facilitate the theft of U.S. Mail. An arrow key is a specific key designed to open designated blue USPS collection boxes in a specific area. These arrow keys are the property of USPS and it is a federal offense for an unauthorized person to possess one. Since July 2022, there have been at least 23 assaults on USPS letter carriers while in the performance of their official duties in Boston and its surrounding communities. These incidents included the attempted or successful robbery of USPS arrow keys from letter carriers. Additionally, of these 23, 15 of the robberies were instances where the perpetrators were reportedly armed with a knife, firearm, or both.

On Nov. 29, 2022, in Mattapan, Demosthene and, allegedly, Lewis followed and forcibly robbed a USPS letter carrier of an arrow key. Demosthene approached the letter carrier and said, “I’m going to need your master key,” before reaching into the letter carrier’s mail satchel and grabbing the arrow key. The arrow key was secured around the letter carrier’s belt with a brass chain. It is alleged that the force used to physically break the brass chain caused the letter carrier to be pulled off the front steps. Demosthene and, allegedly, Lewis fled the scene in a rental vehicle.

On Dec. 16, 2022, in Hyde Park, Demosthene and, allegedly, Lewis robbed another USPS letter carrier of an arrow key at knife point. Demosthene approached the USPS letter carrier and said, “Give me your f****** arrow key.” The letter carrier put their hands in the air as the defendants attempted to remove the arrow key, at first by force pulling at the chain. Demosthene and, allegedly, Lewis then attempted to cut it with the knife – eventually breaking the arrow key loose, and fleeing the scene on foot.  

Lewis is expected to plead guilty on Oct. 30, 2024.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the United States Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Postal Service, Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Luke A. Goldworm of the Major Crimes 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 New York doctor was charged today in federal court in Boston for allegedly receiving kickbacks in exchange for ordering medically unnecessary brain scans.

Dr. Kenneth Fishberger, 75, of East Setauket, N.Y. was charged and has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. A plea hearing has not yet been scheduled by the Court.

According to the charging documents, Fishberger, an internist in Long Island, N.Y., was a licensed medical doctor in the State of New York for approximately 47 years. It is alleged that from approximately June 2013 through December 2019, Fishberger conspired with others, including a principal for a mobile medical diagnostics company that performed transcranial doppler (TCD) scans, and a salesperson for the company, to order hundreds of medically unnecessary TCD scans in exchange for kickbacks. TCD scans are brain scans that measure blood flow in parts of the brain – It is further alleged that Fishberger and his co-conspirators used false diagnoses to order the unnecessary brain scans, for which a co-conspirator would submit claims to Medicare and other insurance companies, including private insurance companies, on behalf of the medical diagnostic company for payment. In exchange, Fishberger was paid cash kickbacks of approximately $100 per test. According to the charging documents, the scheme resulted in fraudulent bills of approximately $891,978 to Medicare and private insurance companies.

The charge of conspiracy to commit health care fraud provides for a sentence of up to 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.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Roberto Coviello, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Harry Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division, Boston Field Office; Carol S. Hamilton, Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Boston Regional Office; Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division; and Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Howard Locker and Mackenzie Queenin of the Health Care Fraud 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.