Eastern District of Missouri

ST. LOUIS – A former professional basketball player has been arrested in Missouri after an indictment accused him of fraudulently obtaining pandemic relief funds.

Lorenzo Gordon, 40, of Chesterfield, Missouri, was indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis January 17 on three counts of wire fraud and one count of theft of government money. He pleaded not guilty to the charges Wednesday.

The indictment alleges that Gordon fraudulently applied for loans from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program, which were intended to help businesses and their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The indictment says Gordon applied for an EIDL loan for Logo Fitness LLC on June 19, 2020, falsely claiming the company had gross revenues of $96,475 in the 12 months prior to the COVID pandemic. He received a $9,000 advance and a loan of $39,200, the indictment says. On June 22, 2020, Gordon applied for an EIDL loan for Elite 50 Basketball Training LLC, falsely claiming gross revenues of $234,656 in the 12 months prior to the pandemic, the indictment says, and resulting in a $10,000 advance and a $107,300 loan. Both companies were only formed in 2020, the indictment says.

The indictment also says that Gordon applied for a PPP loan on April 16, 2021, falsely stating he was sole proprietor of Lorenzo Gordon, janitorial services. Gordon received a $20,832 loan.

Each wire fraud charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. The theft charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison and the same fine.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The Internal Revenue Service and the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Klocke is prosecuting the case. 

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Tuesday sentenced a St. Louis County, Missouri man who had amassed at least 30,000 images containing child sexual abuse material to 78 months in prison.

Daniel Hass, 66, pleaded guilty in August to three counts of possession of child pornography. He admitted using peer-to-peer file sharing programs to download and view child sexual abuse material. In conversations with St. Louis County Police, Hass estimated that he had 20,000 images containing the material and that he had been viewing such materials for about 20 years. Investigators located at least 30,000 images and hundreds of videos containing child pornography, as well as videos Hass had surreptitiously recorded of adult women undressing.
 
The St. Louis County Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman prosecuted the case.

ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis County, Missouri man who last year admitted financially exploiting two elderly women admitted on Thursday that he was committing disability fraud while doing so.

Gino Rives, 36, of Edmundson, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to five counts of theft of government funds. He admitted fraudulently applying for payments from the Social Security Administration’s Supplemental Security Income Program in 2010. He claimed to have a mental health disorder and pretended to be incapable of answering basic questions during an interview with a SSA representative on May 14, 2010, and during a psychological evaluation with a SSA psychologist on August 30, 2010. He falsely claimed to have difficulty concentrating, following instructions, completing tasks and with his memory. He claimed he had never been employed, could not drive, was unable to handle his financial affairs and had no assets.

Rives admitted concealing his employment in the construction and tree trimming industries, his  participation in competitive mixed martial arts, his ownership of houses and vehicles, and his receipt of more than $721,692 since 2021. Rives fraudulently received more than $91,000 via his disability fraud.

In October, Rives pleaded guilty to one count of access device fraud and one count of fraudulently effecting transactions and admitted exploiting two elderly women for years. He obtained four vehicles and checks totaling at least $500,000 from one woman and moved the other woman out of her home and began renting it to his mother.

Rives is scheduled to be sentenced on the disability fraud case on April 17 and the elder fraud case on March 14.

The Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Secret Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry is prosecuting the case.

Anyone with information about disability fraud is asked to contact the SSA Office of Inspector General fraud hotline at 1-800-269-0271 or submit a report online at oig.ssa.gov/report. Concerns about suspected abuse or neglect of the elderly or disabled should be directed to Missouri’s Adult Abuse and Neglect Hotline at 800-392-0210 or online at health.mo.gov/safety/abuse/.

ST. LOUIS – A manager of a Richmond Heights, Missouri hotel has been indicted and accused of using her position to steal more than $150,000 from her employer.

Angelique Patterson, 39, was indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Wednesday with five counts of wire fraud. The indictment alleges that Patterson defrauded a Richmond Heights, Missouri hotel where she was employed as assistant general manager.

From March through at least October of 2023, Patterson manipulated the hotel’s reservation system and altered the records of customers who had paid using cash or credit cards, the indictment says. Patterson changed those reservations to falsely show that the customers had used the hotel’s loyalty rewards system “points” to pay for their stay. Patterson then added her own credit or debit card information into the system and had the customers’ payments “refunded” to her. 

Patterson fraudulently refunded to herself a total of about $ 153,518 during the course of her scheme, the indictment says. On Oct. 4, 2023, although not on duty, Patterson tried to use the hotel's desk computer and a coworker's credentials to fraudulently refund herself an additional $61,998, the indictment says.

Each wire fraud charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cort VanOstran is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Thursday sentenced a fentanyl dealer who absconded from federal supervision after his guilty plea to 51 months in prison.

Theodise D. Perkins, 23, of Florissant, Missouri, pleaded guilty on May 18, 2022, to one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. He admitted being caught with a stolen .45-caliber pistol, 19.77 grams of fentanyl in capsules and baggies and $1,004 during a traffic stop in St. Louis on March 4, 2020. The driver of the vehicle in which Perkins was riding led police on an extended car chase and Perkins attempted to flee on foot before being taken into custody, throwing away a loaded gun in the process.

Following his guilty plea, Perkins allowed to remain out on bond. He repaid this trust by absconding from pre-trial supervision and failing to show up for his sentencing hearing. He was arrested June 27, 2023 and has been held in jail since that time. The recommended sentencing guidelines for Perkins were 21 months higher than they would have been had he not fled supervision.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the St. Louis County Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Missouri Department of Public Safety investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Bluestone prosecuted the case.

ST. LOUIS – A registered sex offender from St. Charles, Missouri on Thursday admitted possessing child pornography and contacting a child via Snapchat.

Ronald L. Thurber, 73, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to possession of child pornography as a prior offender. He admitted searching for child sexual abuse material online and possessing that material in a Google account. He also had hundreds of pictures and videos on his laptop computer and cell phone. Investigators have identified the child victims in 190 of those files.

Thurber also admitted masturbating while corresponding with a 10-year-old in Washington state via Snapchat. 

Thurber was required to register as a sex offender after being convicted in a 1979 rape and sodomy case in St. Louis County Circuit Court. He was sentenced to eight years in prison. 

The investigation began after the material in his Google account triggered multiple tips to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Thurber is scheduled to be sentenced April 3. The charge is punishable by between 10 and 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both prison and a fine. 

The FBI and the St. Charles County Cyber Crime Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson 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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. For information about keeping kids safe online, please visit the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s NetSmartz program.

ST. LOUIS – A mother and her son have been sentenced to prison for their involvement in a fentanyl trafficking conspiracy in the St. Louis area.

On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White sentenced Frederick Mopkins, 32, to 10 years in prison. Mopkins pleaded guilty in October to four felonies: a fentanyl conspiracy charge, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, being a felon in possession of a firearm and attempting to destroy evidence.

Last week, Judge White sentenced Vera Mopkins, 46, to 33 months in prison. She pleaded guilty to a fentanyl conspiracy charge. 

Both admitted involvement in fentanyl trafficking beginning in 2020. The FBI and the St. Louis County Police Department began investigating in February of that year and made a series of fentanyl purchases from Frederick Mopkins and others at an extended stay hotel in Hazelwood. A search of four hotel rooms on Oct. 2, 2020, found meth, pill presses, digital scales and empty pill capsules. Some of the rooms were registered in Vera Mopkins’ name. A search of a St. Louis home associated with Frederick Mopkins that same day caught him with two pistols, fentanyl, $3,000 cash, multiple cell phones that had been used to arrange drug sales and a 60-round drum magazine for a firearm.

At least one of the drug sales was coordinated by Vera Mopkins. Frederick Mopkins coordinated others. Vera Mopkins also helped prepare and package fentanyl at least once. The drug sales continued at locations in St. Louis after the hotel search. 

The St. Louis County Police Department, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Szczucinski prosecuted the case.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Tuesday sentenced a convicted felon who was caught with a gun on a MetroLink train to 33 months in prison.

Lamont Walker, 30, of St. Louis, Missouri, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in August to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He admitted possessing an American Tactical Omni Hybrid AR-15 pistol on a MetroLink train on Feb. 27, 2023. Riders alerted Metro security, who contacted St. Louis police.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Walker is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Louis, Missouri pleaded guilty Wednesday and admitted committing three carjackings in St. Louis in 2021, including one that resulted in the death of a 72-year-old man.

Carmain Milton, 50, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to two counts of carjacking and one count of carjacking resulting in death. 

Milton admitted stealing a woman’s 1998 Toyota Camry on Sept. 21, 2021, in the 4500 block of Pershing Place. Milton had what appeared to be a gun and demanded that the victim start her car and give him her purse. 

Early in the morning of Sept. 28, 2021, in a parking lot at the intersection of Chouteau Avenue and South Sarah Street, Milton approached two victims with what appeared to be a black semi-automatic handgun and said, “I will shoot you, don’t be a hero, give me your jewelry.”  Milton stole debit/credit cards, rings, an iPhone and the keys to an Audi A6 belonging to one of the victims. He then stole the Audi.
   
Later that day, in the 300 block of North Boyle Avenue, Milton carjacked a man’s 2004 Honda Element and then ran the victim over with his own car.  The victim died. Milton was arrested a few hours later with a pellet gun in his bag and a wallet belonging to one of the victims from the second carjacking.

Portions of the carjackings were captured by surveillance cameras.

Milton is scheduled to be sentenced April 16. The carjacking charges are each punishable by up to 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. The carjacking resulting in death charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison or the death sentence. Both sides in the case have agreed to recommend a sentence between 18 and 27 years in prison.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cassandra Wiemken is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – An Arizona car repair business owner pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges that accuse him of defrauding at least four customers out of more than $500,000.

Andres “Manny” Lopez, 35, was indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on Oct. 11, 2023, on two counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. He was arrested December 11 in Arizona and appeared in court in St. Louis Wednesday.

The indictment says Lopez ran All Performance Tuning and Diesel Repair LLC in Arizona but solicited customers across the country. The indictment alleges that Lopez defrauded at least four customers, including a Missouri man, out of more than $500,000 by falsely claiming that he would obtain cars for them at a discount and perform vehicle repairs and upgrades.  After obtaining upfront payments, Lopez spent the money on personal expenses, the indictment says.

The Missouri victim wired Lopez $45,000 for a Toyota RAV4 for his mother. Lopez then repeatedly falsely claimed that he’d bought the vehicle and that it would to be delivered, the indictment says. The indictment also alleges that Lopez impersonated the general manager of a Florida Toyota dealership in text messages to the client’s mother, falsely claiming that delivery delays were due to recall issues. 

The wire fraud charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. The aggravated identity theft charge is punishable by two years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine, or both prison and a fine.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is prosecuting the case.

CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Tuesday sentenced a man who was caught with drugs and guns and admitted distributing drugs to 12 years in prison.

Christopher A. Calicott, 43, pleaded guilty in April to three felony counts: possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and possession of firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crime.

After a multi-agency investigation, a court-approved search of the home of Calicott and his wife, Jodi L. Calicott, in an RV park near Sikeston, Missouri, found drugs, cash and guns. Investigators found two bags that contained a total of 60 grams of cocaine, two bags that contained a total of 247 grams of meth, two bags containing 124 grams of marijuana, a 9mm semiautomatic pistol loaded with 15 rounds, a 12-gauge shotgun loaded with five shotgun shells, $6,600 in cash and drug paraphernalia. Both Calicotts admitted involvement in the drug trade and Christopher Calicott admitted possession of the firearms.

Jodi L. Calicott, 38, was sentenced in June to five years in prison after pleading guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.

The Scott County Sheriff’s Office, the Sikeston Department of Public Safety, the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force and the Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hunter prosecuted the case. 

CAPE GIRARDEAU – A man from Illinois appeared in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau Tuesday to face a criminal complaint that accuses him of trying to hire someone to kill a business associate in Florida.

Ben Patrick Mullavey, 64, of Mechanicsburg, in Sangamon County, was charged with one felony count of use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire.

A criminal complaint and affidavit filed Tuesday accuses Mullavey of offering up to $10,000 for the murder of the Florida man. Mullavey claimed the man owed him $200,000 and a lawsuit over the money was not going well, the charging documents say.

The affidavit says the man Mullavey allegedly tried to hire began working with the FBI on January 3, after meeting with Mullavey in Sikeston, Missouri and hearing about his plans. Mullavey would eventually discuss the manner of the murder and supply the name and description of his business partner, a Florida license plate to help the hit man blend in, a crossbow and arrows, expense money, a $1,000 “prepayment” and directions to the restaurant next to the target’s wine bar, the affidavit says.

The murder-for-hire charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both.

Charges set forth in a criminal complaint are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Shelton is prosecuting the case. 

ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Louis, Missouri was accused in an indictment Wednesday of the armed robbery of a store in October.

The indictment accuses Divontay Scott, 33, of the Oct. 17, 2023, armed robbery of a Family Dollar store in St. Louis. Scott was indicted on three felony counts: robbery, possession and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The robbery charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both. The felon in possession charge is punishable by of up to 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both. The possession and brandishing charge carries a penalty of at least seven years in prison, consecutive to the other charges.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Lake is prosecuting the case. 

ST. LOUIS – A man from Jennings, Missouri on Wednesday was indicted in connection with two carjackings in October.

Ahmod Samez Moore, 28, of Jennings, was indicted on two counts of carjacking and two counts of possession and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. The indictment alleges that Moore stole a Kia Optima at gunpoint on Oct. 5, 2023, in St. Louis County and a GMC Envoy five days later, also at gunpoint, in St. Louis.

The carjacking charges are each punishable by up to 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both. The brandishing charges carries a penalty of at least seven years in prison, consecutive to any other charges.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The County Club Hills Police Department, the St. Louis County Police Department, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Finlen is prosecuting the case. 

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

ST. LOUIS – Two doctors from the St. Louis, Missouri area were indicted Wednesday and accused of illegally administering ketamine to patients and fraudulently billing Medicare for certain services related to a psychiatric clinic.

Dr. Asim Muhammad Ali, 53, and Dr. Mohd Azfar Malik, 70, were each indicted on 22 felony counts: conspiracy to illegally distribute controlled substances and to maintain a drug-involved premises, conspiracy to commit health care fraud, 12 counts of illegal distribution of a controlled substance, seven counts of making false statements related to health care matters and one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises.

The indictment says Dr. Ali, an internal medical specialist, defrauded Medicare when he falsely used Dr. Malik’s name and Medicare billing number to bill for health care services, including annual wellness visits. The indictment also says Dr. Ali illegally administered intravenous ketamine and a nasal spray version of the drug without authorization.

Among businesses owned by Dr. Malik, a psychiatrist, was COPE Ketamine Clinic in south St. Louis County, the indictment says. COPE was created to provide intravenous ketamine infusions for serious mental health illnesses, such as treatment-resistant depression, anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder. 

Dr. Malik had a Drug Enforcement Administration registration authorizing him to administer controlled substances but not at the office suite housing COPE, the indictment says. He was also enrolled in the Spravato Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy Program (REMS), which authorized him to administer the prescription esketamine nasal spray Spravato. Spravato is used to treat treatment-resistant depression and depressive symptoms in adults with major depressive disorder with suicidal thoughts or actions. Due to the risks of the drug, Spravato is only available through REMS and must be administered under the direct supervision of a healthcare provider who is onsite for at least two hours to monitor patients. 

Dr. Ali did not have a DEA registration and thus was not authorized to administer ketamine unless he was being directly supervised by and in the physical presence of a practitioner with a DEA registration, and only if the ketamine was being administered in a DEA-registered location, the indictment says.

Dr. Ali was also suspended from participation in the Missouri Medicaid program in December 2020 and had a duty to report that to Medicare, it says. The indictment says he failed to do so and failed to fulfill his obligation to inform Medicare that he was providing services to Medicare beneficiaries through Dr. Malik's businesses. 

The indictment alleges that beginning in December 2020, Dr. Malik and Dr. Ali agreed that Dr. Ali would use Dr. Malik's DEA registration to administer ketamine infusions to patients without direct supervision by Dr. Malik and outside of Dr. Malik's physical presence. Dr. Malik knew that Dr. Ali could not lawfully dispense controlled substances, including ketamine, without Dr. Malik's physical presence and supervision, it says. Dr. Ali and Dr. Malik also determined that Dr. Malik could simply "say hi" to the ketamine patients, typically via telephone, as a purported justification for Dr. Ali handling their ketamine treatment, the indictment says. 

The indictment also alleges that Dr. Malik and Dr. Ali unlawfully stored ketamine and esketamine at COPE.

“Our agency is committed to investigating medical providers who undermine our federal health care programs and the well-being of patients by submitting alleged fraudulent claims. This case serves as a reminder that health care professionals have a duty to bill for services and prescribe controlled substances responsibly”, said Acting Special Agent in Charge Curt L. Muller of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

"The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Diversion Program is dedicated to patient safety and oversight of all medical professionals registered with DEA,” said Diversion Program Manager Kim Daniels, DEA’s lead for the Diversion program in Missouri, Kansas and southern Illinois. “With the support of our enforcement partners, DEA will investigate to the maximum extent of our ability to ensure these individuals are prevented from risking lives within our communities.”

The conspiracy charges each carry the possibility of a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a fine. The illegal distribution of a controlled substance charge carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a fine of $500,000 or both. The false statements charge carries a penalty of up to five years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both. The charge of maintaining a drug-involved premises carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison and/or a $500,000 fine.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The FBI, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Missouri Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Sestric is prosecuting the case. 

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on Thursday sentenced a man from Lincoln County, Missouri caught trying to make and sell “spy videos” of teenage girls to 17 and one-half years in prison. 

James Dean Kukan, 39, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in August to two counts of attempted production of child pornography. He admitted producing “spy videos” of two teenage girls in the bathroom using a hidden camera between October 2021 and February 2022. He also admitted trying to sell those videos online via Kik, Snapchat, Telegram and WhatsApp. 

On Feb. 14, 2022, Kukan entered a Kik group and began communicating with an undercover FBI agent. He offered to sell videos of the teens for between $60 and $100, his plea says. 

The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman prosecuted the case. 

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

ST. LOUIS – A convicted felon on Thursday admitted robbing a pizza delivery driver at gunpoint in St. Louis last year. 

Antione L. Shockley, 26, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to robbery and possession of a firearm as a convicted felon. 

Shockley admitted arranging to have Domino’s Buffalo wings and two pizzas delivered to a vacant home in the Central West End neighborhood of St. Louis on April 13, 2023. When the driver arrived, Shockley stepped out of a gangway and demanded the food at gunpoint. 

Shockley also admitted firing a handgun into the air in a school zone on June 24, 2023. After St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers arrived, Shockley gave the handgun he was holding to a woman. He then pulled a stolen Ruger from his waistband and a rifle from inside his pants and dropped them on the ground. Shockley is a convicted felon and is thus barred from possessing firearms. After he was arrested and while he was being booked by police, Shockley struck an officer, injuring the officer’s head. As part of his plea agreement, Shockley has agreed to plead guilty to a gun charge and resisting arrest in St. Louis Circuit Court.

Shockley is scheduled to be sentenced April 9. Both sides have agreed to recommend 10 years in prison.

The case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Bluestone is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – A jury in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on Tuesday found a man from Hannibal, Missouri guilty of a methamphetamine offense and two gun crimes.

At the end of the second day of his trial, Justin Fuget, 35, was found guilty of three felony counts: being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine and possession a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

According to evidence and testimony during the trial, officers with the Hannibal Police Department made a traffic stop on March 25, 2022 and spotted a large safe on the passenger seat of Fuget’s vehicle. Fuget also appeared nervous. A drug-sniffing dog alerted to the vehicle, and police then found a firearm between the driver’s seat and the center console. Fuget is a felon and is thus barred from possession of a firearm. 

During a subsequent court-approved search of the safe, officers found meth, drug paraphernalia and ammunition. They also found text messages on Fuget’s phone that indicated that he was distributing meth. 

Fuget is scheduled to be sentenced April 9. He faces at least 10 years in prison for his crimes.

The Hannibal Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Catherine Hoag and Paul D’Agrosa are prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – A second man has pleaded guilty and admitted the armed robbery of a Foot Locker in St. Louis, Missouri in 2021. 

Demetrius Kirksey, 35, pleaded guilty Tuesday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to robbery and possession and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. He admitted robbing the Foot Locker at 4651 Chippewa Street in St. Louis  on Oct. 6, 2021. Kirksey admitted pointing a handgun at the clerk before running behind the counter and stealing cash from the register. Kirksey’s guilty plea interrupted his trial, which started Monday. 

Marion Jones, 49, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty in August to robbery and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. In his plea agreement, Jones admitted stealing shoes while Kirksey took cash. Jones was caught by police two days later in a Waffle House parking lot in St. Charles, Missouri with a .22 caliber pistol. Jones is a convicted felon and barred from possessing a firearm.

Jones is scheduled to be sentenced February 9. Kirksey is scheduled to be sentenced April 11. The robbery charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. The firearm charge is punishable by at least seven years in prison, consecutive to any other charges.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cassandra Wiemken and Jennifer Szczucinski are prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – Two men from Kansas City, Missouri have been arrested after being indicted in connection with a 2022 St. Louis County carjacking.

Ki’Juan Calhoun, 26, and Reginald Hudson, 27, both of Kansas City, Missouri, were each indicted December 6 on one count of carjacking and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. 

Hudson was arrested December 20 in Texas and had his first appearance in St. Louis Monday. He pleaded not guilty to the charges. Calhoun was arrested December 19 and pleaded not guilty that same day.

The indictment accuses both men of stealing a 2019 Ford Fusion on Jan. 12, 2022. A motion seeking to have them held in jail until trial says two armed men stole the victim’s purse, phone and car keys as she was walking into her apartment complex on Marbella Drive. One of the men was holding a handgun equipped with a drum magazine. The victim’s car was found the next day by the Kansas City Police Department. Officers then found the victim’s purse, and Hudson in a nearby home, the motion says.

The carjacking charge is punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or both. The brandishing a firearm charge is punishable by at least seven years in prison, consecutive to other charges.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The St. Louis County Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Walker is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – A father and son from St. Louis, Missouri have pleaded guilty to federal drug charges and admitted trafficking kilograms of cocaine to St. Louis for years.

Gregory Dixson Jr., 53, pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine and conspiracy to launder money. 

Gregory Cornell Dixson III, 32, pleaded guilty January 4 to the same cocaine conspiracy charge as his father.

Both men admitted as part of their guilty pleas that beginning in 2015 or earlier, they conspired with others to bring cocaine to St. Louis. Dixson Jr. acknowledged in his plea that the amount of cocaine attributable to him based upon his conduct and the conduct of others reasonably foreseeable to him is more than 450 kilograms. Dixson III admitted that 50 to 150 kilograms of cocaine could be attributed to him based on his conduct and the conduct of others.

They also admitted a series of drug and money transactions and seizures during the long-term investigation. 

In September of 2015, a vehicle that was ultimately delivered to St. Louis was found to have 31 kilograms of cocaine hidden inside. The cocaine was supplied by Omar Pena Vargas, who supplied Dixson Jr. until the cocaine was seized. Both Dixsons drove by the vehicle several days before someone broke in and accessed a hidden area where five kilograms of cocaine had been stored, their pleas say.

In late 2016 or early 2017, Dixson Jr. and/or Dixson III would send couriers to Texas to buy kilograms of cocaine from Miguel Angel Gonzalez, who bought it from Carlos Gonzalez. Dixson Jr. initially bought three kilograms several times a month, but he later purchased as much as eight to 16 kilograms per week, the pleas say.

In August of 2018, Gonzalez was brokering the sale of 75 kilograms of cocaine to Dixson Jr. He was found in a hotel with two bags containing a total of $634,770 in cash, representing a partial payment for the cocaine, the Dixsons’ plea agreements say.

On Oct. 28, 2018, eight kilograms of cocaine bound for St. Louis were seized. 

In March of 2020, 23.6 kilograms of a mix of heroin and fentanyl was seized from Ruben Sanchez Blanco. Some of the drugs were intended for St. Louis, Dixon III’s plea says. 

In April of 2021, Miguel Gonzalez and Dixson III coordinated a pickup of two kilograms of cocaine.  Later that month, Carlos Gonzalez traveled to St. Louis to pick up drug proceeds and coordinated the delivery of the money by Dixson III with father and son.

In July of 2021, Quintin Deforest Adkins drove to Texas with cash to buy six kilograms of cocaine. That vehicle was seized, and $161,845 was found hidden inside, the pleas say.

Dixson III is scheduled to be sentenced April 3. His father is scheduled to be sentenced April 11. Dixson III’s cocaine conspiracy charge carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 10 years, as well as the possibility of a fine up to $10 million. Dixson Jr.’s cocaine conspiracy charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years due to a prior drug trafficking conviction.

Vargas is in federal prison. Miguel Gonzalez, 59, pleaded guilty in November to a charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine and 400 grams of fentanyl. Adkins, 63, pleaded guilty in November to the cocaine and fentanyl conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy charges and is scheduled to be sentenced February 21. Blanco, 46, of El Paso, Texas, was sentenced in June to five years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and fentanyl. Carlos Gonzalez, 54, is deceased.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case. 
This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (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.

ST. LOUIS – A former Texas-based investment adviser has been indicted in St. Louis and accused of running a Ponzi scheme that cost investors tens of millions of dollars.

Siddharth Jawahar, 36, was indicted by a grand jury in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Dec. 21, 2023, on three counts of wire fraud and one count of investment adviser fraud. 

The indictment was sealed until Monday, when the FBI arrested Jawahar in Miami, Florida. He made an initial appearance later in the day in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of Florida. The government is seeking to have Jawahar held in jail until trial.

Jawahar ran a Texas-based investment company called Swiftarc Capital LLC. From July 2016 through roughly December 2023, Jawahar took in more than $35 million from Swiftarc investors, but spent about $10 million on investments in companies, the indictment says. Jawahar used the money from new investors to repay older investors and to fuel an extravagant lifestyle that included flights on private planes, stays at luxury hotels and expensive outings at lavish restaurants, the indictment says.

“The losses alleged in the indictment would make this one of the largest Ponzi-schemes in the history of the Eastern District of Missouri,” said U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, Jr., said, “At the Manhattan D.A.’s Office, we are laser-focused on combatting white collar crime, just like our federal partners. Our top-notch team followed the money and developed a significant investigation uncovering allegations of fraud that spread far beyond New York. We were pleased to assist the Eastern District of Missouri on this investigation which led to a major federal indictment.”

"Some fraudsters come up with sophisticated schemes that are hard to detect," said Special Agent in Charge Jay Greenberg of the FBI St. Louis Division. “We still encourage searching the person’s name and company on the internet for any red flags and trusting your gut."

Swiftarc had initially invested in a diverse array of securities, but in 2015, Jawahar began investing the majority of client funds in a single investment, Philip Morris Pakistan (PMP). Eventually, 99% of client funds were consolidated into the PMP investment, the indictment says. Jawahar did not inform investors of a dramatic decline of the value of PMP, instead falsely representing to investors that shares were trading at a much higher price, it says, and misleading investors about their profits. 

The indictment accuses Jawahar of misleading someone in eastern Missouri into believing that a series of investments totaling $175,000 would go into specific companies. A New York investor was told the same about $350,000 and an Ohio investor heard the same about $250,000, the indictment says.

On June 7, 2022, the Texas State Securities Board revoked Swiftarc Capital’s authority to conduct investment activities and ordered Jawahar to “cease and desist from engaging in fraud.” The indictment says Jawahar did not notify investors about that cease-and-desist order before taking their money and continued to fraudulently solicit and receive investor funds, including $1 million from an investor weeks after the state board’s order.

The wire fraud charges are each punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or both. The investment adviser fraud charge is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, or both.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The FBI and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Louis County, Missouri on Friday admitted committing an armed carjacking in 2022. 

La’Vontray Hayes-Williams, 20, of Jennings, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of carjacking and one count of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Hayes-Williams admitted stealing a 2018 Nissan Sentra on July 7, 2022, outside a Family Dollar store at 6440 West Florissant Avenue in Jennings. Hayes-Williams pulled out his Glock handgun and repeatedly ordered the driver to “give me the car.” He then sped away in the stolen car with his girlfriend. The victim called police, who quickly spotted the vehicle. Hayes-Williams fled, sparking a chase that lasted nearly ten miles and reached speeds of over 100 mph. Hayes-Williams was caught after the car stopped and he fled on foot, his plea agreement says.

Hayes-Williams is scheduled to be sentenced on April 4. The carjacking charge is punishable by up to 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both. The firearm brandishing charge carries a mandatory minimum sentence of seven years, consecutive to all other charges, and a maximum of life in prison.

The St. Louis County Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nino Przulj is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – A bankruptcy attorney appeared in U.S. District in St. Louis Wednesday to answer charges accusing him of defrauding the state of Missouri and lending institutions. 

Michael Toscano, 42, was indicted Dec. 20, 2023, in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on three counts of mail fraud and one count of wire fraud. He turned himself in Wednesday and pleaded not guilty to the charges. 

The indictment alleges that from roughly April 1, 2018, though Dec. 19, 2023, Toscano devised a scheme to defraud the state of Missouri and lending institutions by falsely claiming bankruptcy filers’ vehicles had been abandoned, and then selling some through his used car dealership. Toscano also obtained referrals from other bankruptcy attorneys whose clients sought to surrender their vehicles to creditors rather than to continue to pay their vehicle car loans, according to statements made in court Wednesday.

Toscano told debtors to deliver their vehicles to his office in Creve Coeur or to a St. Charles County storage facility, the indictment says. He also picked up some vehicles that were inoperable, it says. Toscano then mailed documents to the Missouri Department of Revenue and the holders of liens on the vehicles falsely claiming that they had been abandoned and that he’d incurred towing and storage fees, the indictment says. He demanded payment, writing that he would seek an abandoned motor vehicle title or mechanic’s lien if the fees were not paid within 30 days, the indictment says. In some cases, Toscano delayed notifying lienholders for as long as 45 days, causing storage fees to exceed $2,300, the indictment says.

If payment was not made, Toscano submitted false and fraudulent documents to the contract license offices of the DOR seeking the issuance of abandoned vehicle titles or mechanic lien titles and then offered the vehicles for sale through his used car dealership, the indictment says. The vehicles referenced in the indictment are a 2006 Audi A8, a 2018 Chevrolet Impala and a 2017 Kia Forte.

The mail fraud and wire fraud charges are each punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or both prison and a fine. 

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The Missouri Department of Revenue and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Wednesday sentenced a convicted felon accused of a 2021 shooting in St. Louis, Missouri to 57 months in prison. 

After watching video of the shooting and its aftermath and hearing from a St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department detective and a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Judge Schelp said it had been proven that Deantre Brown, 34, had fired into a crowd outside the Reign nightclub on Aug. 18, 2021.

Video showed the shooter leaving the scene and returning to a nearby parking garage with what appeared to be a gun. Evidence and testimony showed that the suspect used a key card belonging to the mother of Brown’s then-girlfriend to enter the garage and then leave in Brown’s Dodge Charger.

Brown, of St. Charles, pleaded guilty in October to two felony counts of being a felon in possession of ammunition. He admitted in his plea agreement that he was present at the shooting but disputed that he fired a gun. He did admit “both the power and the intention to exercise dominion or control over the ballistic cartridge casings” found at the shooting scene. He also admitted possessing ammunition in his vehicle when he was arrested on Sept. 22, 2021, at his parole officer’s office.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Szczucinski prosecuted the case.

ST. LOUIS – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri announced today that Total Access Urgent Care (TAUC) has agreed to pay $9,150,794 to settle allegations that TAUC submitted false claims for medical services, including COVID-19 testing.

“This settlement will fully repay three federal health care programs for TAUC’s overbilling for COVID tests and office visits,” said U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming.

According to the United States’ allegations, from April of 2017 through November of 2021, TAUC submitted claims for payment to Medicare and TRICARE indicating that a physician performed office visits when a non-physician practitioner had actually done so, thereby receiving reimbursement at a higher rate.  From November of 2015 through November of 2021, TAUC submitted claims to Medicare and TRICARE for office visits that were upcoded. During the latter portion of that period, it also submitted upcoded office visit claims to a program that reimbursed for the testing or treatment of, and vaccination against, COVID-19 for people who were uninsured, the Health Resources and Services Administration’s COVID-19 Claims Reimbursement to Health Care Providers and Facilities for Testing, Treatment, and Vaccine Administration for the Uninsured Program (UIP), the government alleges. TAUC voluntarily disclosed during the investigation that from April 1, 2021 through Dec. 31, 2021, it submitted false claims to Medicare, TRICARE and the UIP for COVID testing using improper billing codes, again receiving reimbursements at a higher rate.  

All of these false claims resulted in TAUC receiving reimbursement from federal health care programs to which it was not entitled, the government alleges.  

TAUC fully cooperated in the investigation. The company did not admit liability in the settlement agreement.

The settlement also resolved TAUC’s self-disclosure made in March of 2021 to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in which TAUC reported that bonuses paid to certain physicians it employed were in part based on the volume or value of their referrals for designated health services, a prohibited practice. 

“Today’s outcome illustrates HHS-OIG’s unwavering commitment to detecting, investigating, and shutting down fraud against Medicare, the HRSA Uninsured Program and protecting federal health care programs under any circumstance — especially during a public health emergency,” said Acting Special Agent Curt L. Muller from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.  “Our agency, working with our law enforcement partners, will continue to investigate health care fraud schemes, including those involving providers submitting fraudulent claims in violation of the False Claims Act.”

“When actors within our healthcare system are focused on profit rather than patient care, it undermines the integrity of the medical decision-making process,” said Gregory P. Shilling, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General’s Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DOD-OIG-DCIS), Southwest Field Office. “DCIS remains steadfastly committed to rooting out fraud and safeguarding the funds entrusted to the Defense Health Agency, which serves our military members and their families.”

This civil settlement is part of ongoing efforts by the Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to recover funds diverted from the Medicare Trust Account and is the result of the combined work of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, HHS-OIG, DOD-OIG-DCIS, and the FBI.

ST. LOUIS – A Slovakian man was indicted this week on charges that accuse him of running a darknet market that sold drugs and stolen personal information. Investigators have shut down the market.

Alan Bill, 30, of Bratislava, was charged by complaint in U.S. District Court in St. Louis December 14. Bill was arrested December 15 at the Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey by agents with the FBI and Homeland Security Investigations. In an indictment Wednesday, a grand jury charged Bill with ten felonies: conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, four counts of distribution of a controlled substance, conspiracy to commit identity theft and fraud related to identification documents, identity theft, aggravated identity theft, misuse of a passport and money laundering conspiracy.

The complaint and the indictment accuse Bill, also known as “Vend0r” and “KingdomOfficial,” of helping to set up and run Kingdom Market, which had over 25,000 active listings as of late last month. The market opened in March of 2021 and sold illegal drugs and unlicensed pharmaceuticals, stolen identities, credit card information, counterfeit money, computer malware and fraudulent identity documents including passports and drivers licenses from Missouri and other states, the charging documents say.

“The use of darknet marketplaces and cryptocurrency will not protect dangerous criminals from law enforcement efforts to combat the flow of narcotics and other illegal activities,” said U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming. “This case is a result of diligent efforts by a team of U.S. and international investigators to target one of the largest darknet marketplaces in the world.”

“The Kingdom Market darknet site allowed criminals to move dangerous drugs in and out of our communities and use the digital world to hide their illegal activities,” said Assistant Special Agent in Charge Melissa McFadden of IRS Criminal Investigation’s (CI) St. Louis Field Office. “Collaboration with our global law enforcement partners is the key to disrupting drug trafficking, money laundering and the other illicit activities that occur on the darknet.”

“These darknet marketplaces present a significant danger to our communities here in the U.S. as well as those of our international partners.” said HSI Kansas City acting Special Agent in Charge Taekuk Cho. “Our HSI special agents will continue to disrupt and dismantle transnational criminal organizations wherever we find them. I would like to commend the efforts of our law enforcement partners for their work on this case, and especially thank the HSI Newark team for their assistance in arresting Bill.”

Kingdom Market charged vendors 500 Euros to start selling, then charged fees on sales. Transactions were conducted in cryptocurrency and Kingdom advised users in methods to conceal their transactions, the documents say.

Investigators used the market to purchase methamphetamine, pills containing fentanyl, the personally identifiable information belonging to numerous people and a United States passport, the charging documents say.

Websites associated with Kingdom Market have also been seized by law enforcement.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The drug trafficking conspiracy charge carries a penalty of at least five years in prison, with a maximum of 40, a fine of up to $5 million, or both. The identity theft conspiracy charge carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. The misuse of a passport charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. The money laundering conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000, or twice the value of the property involved.

IRS Criminal Investigation, the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, the Bureau of Diplomatic Security and the Missouri Department of Revenue investigated the case. The investigation also involved numerous foreign law enforcement agencies, including the German Federal Criminal Police, or Bundeskriminalamt, the Frankfurt am Main Public Prosecutor's Office - Central Office for Combating Internet Crime (ZIT) as well as law enforcement agencies from Switzerland, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Louis County was indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Wednesday on charges connected to five armed robberies in the St. Louis area since September.

Ronald O. Perkins, 28, of Black Jack, Missouri, was indicted on four counts of robbery, one count of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, three counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence and one count of transporting a firearm in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony. The indictment accuses Perkins of robbing a Mobil Gas Mart in St. Louis on September 8, Wheeler’s Service Station and a 7-Eleven in St. Louis County on November 8 and a BP Gas Mart in St. Louis County on November 12. He is also accused of transporting a firearm across state lines on November 17 with the intent to commit an armed robbery. 

The Gas Mart robber was captured on surveillance video, according to an affidavit filed in support of a November 21 criminal complaint against Perkins.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Each robbery charge carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 or both prison and a fine. The discharge of a firearm charge carries a penalty of at least 10 years consecutive to the other charges, a $250,000 fine, or both prison and a fine. The brandishing charge carries a penalty of at least seven years consecutive to any other charge and the same fine. The transporting charge carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and the same fine.

The St. Louis County Police Department, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the Collinsville Police Department, the Richmond Heights Police Department, the Columbia (Illinois) Police Department and the FBI investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Bluestone is prosecuting the case.

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

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Catherine E. Perry on Thursday sentenced a St. Louis, Missouri man who stole a car at gunpoint in 2022 to nine and one-half years in prison. 

Demetrius Nettles, 49, pleaded guilty in September to one count of carjacking and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Nettles admitted approaching a woman in the 4600 block of Dewey Avenue, in the Dutchtown neighborhood, on May 15, 2022. Nettles demanded the victim’s keys before pointing a revolver at her stomach. Nettles then drove off in the woman’s 2020 Hyundai Elantra. Officers with the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department spotted the car on Kingshighway Boulevard at Natural Bridge Avenue and conducted a traffic stop. They then arrested Nettles, who had a loaded Taurus .38 Special revolver in his waistband. 

In a letter to Judge Perry, the victim said she was packing her car to go to a picnic and planned to offer Nettles a sandwich, a bottle of water and a job before noticing the gun pointed at her stomach.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Lane prosecuted the case.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Catherine D. Perry on Wednesday sentenced a man from Jefferson County, Missouri to nine years in prison for possessing and sharing child pornography with his wife.

Judge Perry also ordered David John Dohrman to pay $6,000 in restitution to victims who appeared in the images. Judge Perry sentenced Dohrman’s wife, Jacquelin Michelle Dohrman, to seven years in prison last month.

David Dohrman, 52, and Jacquelin Dohrman, now 49, pleaded guilty in June to one count of possession of child pornography.

David Dohrman admitted searching for and downloading child pornography and sending a video containing child sexual abuse material to his wife on Oct. 1, 2020. The couple shared child pornography in chats and discussed a young girl they’d seen in a restaurant. The video they shared resulted in a tip from Facebook to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. A St. Louis County Police Department detective then obtained a court-approved search warrant for the Dohrman’s home. 

The St. Louis County Police Department, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson 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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

ST. LOUIS – A man who supplied the fentanyl that killed a St. Charles, Missouri mother, leaving her three young children alone for over 15 hours, was sentenced Wednesday to 90 months in prison.

U.S. District Judge Audrey E. Fleissig also ordered Valentino Terez Carpenter, 39, of Maryland Heights, to pay $8,665 in funeral expenses for the victim.

The victim was found dead on the couch in her home on June 21, 2022, with a capsule containing fentanyl nearby, after the cries of her children alerted a neighbor. The woman’s children, ages 2, 4 and one month, had been alone for at least 15 hours after their mother’s death. 

Carpenter pleaded guilty in September to one count of distribution of fentanyl and admitted selling two capsules containing drugs to the victim for $10. He also admitted that the victim was killed by a fentanyl overdose. 

On Wednesday, Judge Fleissig said it was “beyond dispute” that Carpenter sold fentanyl to the victim, and that the sale resulted in her death. Judge Fleissig also said that Carpenter knew that fentanyl was “extremely dangerous,” as is the sale of the drug. He knew people who had died and warned the victim not to split a pill that he sold her because it was so potent.

Judge Fleissig said Carpenter left the victim alone after knowing that she was nodding off due to the effects of the drug and knowing there was no one else to care for the children. She called it an “extremely, extremely tragic case.”

The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the St. Charles Police Department and the St. Charles County Regional Drug Task Force.  

ST. LOUIS – A Missouri man appeared in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to charges related to a carjacking and a gun store burglary in Phelps County, Missouri.

Martavious Jones, 19, of Phelps County, was indicted September 27 on one carjacking charge and a charge of stealing a firearm from a federally licensed dealer. Jones pleaded not guilty Tuesday.

The indictment accuses Jones of stealing a 2013 Nissan Altima on March 1, 2023, in Phelps County, Missouri. It also accuses him of stealing firearms from a Rolla gun store on Sept. 11, 2022. 

A motion seeking to have Jones held in jail until trial says two men took four guns, including an AR-style pistol, as well as a large quantity of ammunition and firearm accessories from the store.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The carjacking charge carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 or both prison and a fine. The stealing charge carries a penalty of up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.

The Rolla Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Szczucinski is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel on Tuesday sentenced a man who helped scam nearly $1.2 million out of a St. Louis area woman to three years in prison and ordered him to repay the money.

Rotimi Oladimeji, 38, of Texas, assisted other scammers in Nigeria and the United States prey on the victim, who thought she was in an online romance with a veterinarian and animal behaviorist living in St. Louis.  

After a scammer spotted the victim on an online dating site, Oladimeji and his co-conspirators began an online relationship with her. They made plans to meet with her but never followed through, once leaving her waiting at the Missouri Botanical Garden. In October of 2019, Oladimeji claimed the veterinarian was going to Dubai, then said he wouldn’t be allowed to leave unless she sent money. They continued to make request after request of the victim for four and five-figure sums, court records show. 

Oladimeji had the victim send cash and cashier’s checks via FedEx to the Texas home of his co-defendant, Olumide Akrinmade, now 38, of Richardson, Texas. Oladimeji had recruited Akrinmade and Adewale Adesanya, another Texas resident, to receive the funds.

In all, the victim lost nearly $1.17 million. Oladimeji received 20% of the funds he generated. As money mules who transmitted the fraudulent proceeds to people like Oladimeji, Akinrinmade and Adesanya received 20% of the funds they forwarded. The remaining amount went to scammers in Nigeria.

Oladimeji was born in Lagos, Nigeria and could be deported after his release from prison.

Oladimeji pleaded guilty in December of 2022 to two counts of mail fraud, two counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud.

Akrinmade, now 38, pleaded guilty in April to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud. He was sentenced to 15 months in prison and ordered to repay $46,500.

Adesanya pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Dallas and was sentenced to four years in prison. He was also ordered to repay $1.5 million that resulted from the romance fraud as well as a business email compromise scheme.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry prosecuted the case.

For information about how to spot and guard against romance scams, go to ice.gov/features/romance-scams.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Friday sentenced a Jefferson County, Missouri woman who was part of a wide-ranging scheme that fraudulently obtained millions of dollars in disability payments to 15 months in prison. 

Elizabeth Guetersloh, 67, was also ordered to repay $423,513.

A jury in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in May found Guetersloh guilty of two counts of mail fraud, 16 counts of wire fraud and eight counts of theft of government funds. 

Guetersloh was among a group of now former Anheuser-Busch employees who went to a Jefferson County chiropractic clinic as part of a scheme to falsely claim disability payments from the Social Security Administration’s Disability Trust Fund and through private disability benefit insurance providers. In all, 17 defendants have pleaded guilty or been convicted at trial of charges connected to the investigation.

“These defendants schemed to take advantage of a system intended to support those who become too disabled to work. The chiropractors took thousands of dollars in fees to teach the other defendants how to fake medical conditions and pretend they were unable to perform some of the basic necessities of life, like walking, standing, sitting and lifting objects. Evidence at her trial showed that this defendant, Elizabeth Guetersloh, fraudulently filed for disability payments and then danced, hiked through waterfalls, rode roller coasters, went to wineries, and traveled to Europe, Hawaii and the Caribbean. Each defendant has been ordered to repay all of the money that was lost, which should serve as an important message that you will never come out ahead if you attempt to commit fraud.”

Chiropractors Thomas G. Hobbs and Vivian Carbone-Hobbs, co-owners of Power-Med Inc., a chiropractic clinic in Arnold, Missouri, were each sentenced to four years in prison earlier this year. Hobbs was ordered to repay $4.3 million and Carbone-Hobbs was ordered to repay $16.4 million.

Hobbs, now 66, pleaded guilty in January to a conspiracy charge and admitted conspiring to commit the crimes of health care fraud, making false statements, theft of government funds and Social Security fraud. Carbone-Hobbs, now 61, was convicted by a jury in February of conspiracy to defraud the Social Security Administration, 10 counts of health care fraud and two counts of theft of money from the United States.

“This sentence holds Ms. Elizabeth Guetersloh accountable for her criminal actions and concludes a major case that involved several medical professionals and many other defendants, who conspired to defraud SSA’s disability program and private insurers,” said Gail S. Ennis, Inspector General for the Social Security Administration. “I applaud the efforts of those who uncovered this fraud and the investigators who tirelessly unraveled this scheme. I also commend Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tracy Berry, Dorothy McMurtry, Gwendolyn Carroll, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Klocke who worked diligently to bring these cases to conclusion.”

The cases were investigated by the Social Security Administration – Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tracy Berry, Dorothy McMurtry, Diane Klocke and Gwendolyn Carroll prosecuted the case.

Anyone who suspects fraud involving the Disability Insurance Benefit Program should contact the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General Hotline at: 1-800-269-0271 or https://oig.ssa.gov/report/.

CAPE GIRARDEAU –  The U.S. Attorney's Office announced that Jeremiah R. Twiggs, age 40, of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, was sentenced Friday to 7 years in federal prison following his guilty plea to the offense of being a previously convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Twiggs appeared for his sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark at the federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.

According to court documents, officers were dispatched to a bar known as “Hot Shots” in Cape Girardeau last March in response to a report of multiple shots being fired inside the establishment. Upon arrival, officers discovered a male subject identified as Larry McIntyre lying on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds. McIntyre was rushed to the emergency room for treatment of serious injuries. Officers processed the scene and discovered a .40 caliber pistol on the floor, along with a total of sixteen spent shell casings.

Officers subsequently reviewed video surveillance footage, which depicted McIntyre getting into an altercation with two male subjects around a pool table. Moments before shots were fired, the footage depicted McIntyre reach into another subject’s sweatshirt to retrieve a firearm. McIntyre then discharged the firearm as he was simultaneously shot by the other two assailants multiple times.

Through their investigation, the Cape Girardeau Police Department identified Twiggs as the person from whom McIntyre obtained the firearm. During an interview with detectives, Twiggs confirmed that he accompanied McIntyre to the bar on the night in question. Twiggs told detectives that the .40 caliber pistol belonged to McIntyre. According to Twiggs, he concealed the pistol inside his sweatshirt at McIntyre’s request before entering the bar. Twiggs further stated that, during the altercation around the pool table, McIntyre took the pistol from him right before he was shot. Twiggs is prohibited from possessing firearms under federal law due to numerous felony convictions.

After serving his prison sentence, Twiggs will be placed on supervised release for a period of three years. The Cape Girardeau Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Koester handled the prosecution for the government.

CAPE GIRARDEAU – A woman who fraudulently applied for a $167,997 pandemic loan for a Poplar Bluff, Missouri business that she did not run or own was sentenced Thursday to six months in prison.

U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. also ordered Maxine Michelle Burns, 44, of Willow Springs in Howell County, Missouri, to repay the money. Burns will be on supervised release for five years after she gets out of prison.

Burns applied for a Paycheck Protection Program loan from the Small Business Administration on Jan. 20, 2021, using the name of the owner of a residential treatment facility in Poplar Bluff without authorization. She also used the owner’s signature stamp, her plea says. After the loan was granted, Burns used the money to buy vehicles for herself and pay for vacations. The loan was forgiven after Burns falsely claimed that she’d used the money for payroll and other permissible purposes. 

“This case highlights a partnership between the United States Secret Service and the Butler County Sheriff’s Department to aggressively target individuals who have taken advantage of federal pandemic programs,” said Special Agent in Charge Travis Gibson of the U.S. Secret Service - St. Louis Field Office.

Burns pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau in July to bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Willis prosecuted the case. 

Anyone with information about pandemic fraud should call the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or report via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge John A. Ross on Wednesday sentenced a convicted felon from St. Louis, Missouri to 15 years in prison after he was caught with a handgun.

Doctavious Pegues, 39, pleaded guilty in September to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He admitted that on Oct. 7, 2021, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to reports of a domestic disturbance in the 3700 block of Phillips Place. They were speaking with Pegues’ girlfriend when multiple gunshots were fired in a nearby gangway. 

Police found Pegues hiding in a bedroom closet at his aunt’s house in the 3600 block of Winnebago, one block away. Officers found a Canik 9mm semiautomatic pistol on the landing of the home’s rear stairwell and multiple spent 9mm cartridge casings in the gangway. Pegues’ fingerprint was found on the pistol.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Martin is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark on Wednesday sentenced a convicted felon caught repeatedly with a firearm, including after a standoff with police, to 13 years and nine months in prison.

Stephen Joseph Diani, 49, of St. Louis, Missouri, pleaded guilty in June to two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and admitted being caught with a gun three times.

On Sept. 8, 2021, St. Louis County Police Department officers were investigating whether the car Diani was driving was stolen because the license plate wasn’t registered to the vehicle. When Diani opened the driver’s door, they spotted a 9mm handgun between the door and the seat and what turned out to be cocaine base and heroin in plastic bags in the car.

On Sept. 23, 2021, Diani was arrested after St. Louis County police responded to calls about someone walking through a neighborhood checking car door handles. After police spotted Diani inside someone else’s SUV, he ran but was caught. In his car, officers found a .223 caliber rifle and tools that had been stolen from a nearby resident’s truck that evening.

In December of 2021 and January of 2022, police in Shrewsbury and St. Louis were investigating a series of burglaries in St. Louis near the Shrewsbury border and were monitoring Diani’s use of a storage unit in Shrewsbury. They also received a tip that Diani threatened to kill officers or himself rather than going back to jail.

On Jan. 12, 2022, Shrewsbury police spotted Diani’s car at the storage unit, called for backup and attempted to detain him. Diani tried to close the door of the storage unit but was prevented from doing so by an officer, sparking a 38-minute standoff with police. Diani placed his hand on a handgun if police approached, constructed a makeshift barricade and repeatedly told police to kill him. Officers successfully negotiated with Diani to allow a man who had responded to an internet ad about tools for sale to leave the unit. As he left, officers leaped the barricade and tackled Diani, who continued to resist officers’ attempts to arrest him.

At least one officer was injured when he jumped the barricade and landed among the stolen tools and equipment in the storage unit.

The Shrewsbury Police Department, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the St. Louis County Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Dunkel prosecuted the case.

ST. LOUIS – A registered sex offender from Jefferson County, Missouri appeared in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Monday to face a new child pornography charge.

Patrick Mayberry, 44, of High Ridge, was charged by complaint on Dec. 8, 2023, with receipt and distribution of child pornography as a prior offender. A criminal complaint says that after receiving information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about a Google user who had allegedly uploaded child sexual abuse material, the St. Louis County Police Department learned Mayberry may be selling child pornography that he obtained on the dark web to others. 

The charge is punishable by a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 40 years, a $250,000 fine, or both. 

Charges set forth in a criminal complaint are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The St. Louis County Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson 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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge John A. Ross on Monday sentenced a previously-convicted felon who was caught with two stolen guns, two other guns and methamphetamine to 12 years in prison.

Daniel T. Aguilar, 39, of Cape Girardeau, pleaded guilty in September to four felonies: possession of stolen firearms, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and two counts of being a felon in possession of firearms.

Aguilar admitted to breaking into a storage unit in Jackson, Missouri on Sept. 30, 2022, and stealing a Maverick 12-gauge shotgun and an Anderson Manufacturing AM-15 pistol. The Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force learned on Jan. 10, 2023, that Aguilar had meth, a pistol and stolen property in his home. Detectives watched as Aguilar took license plates off his Toyota Scion and placed them on an SUV with expired plates. Aguilar then drove off in the SUV. The Missouri State Highway Patrol stopped the SUV and found 42 grams of meth inside. A court-approved search of Aguilar’s home and vehicle found 14 grams of meth hidden in a couch cushion, stolen property and bolt cutters in his bedroom and two handguns hidden in a speaker box in the trunk of his vehicle. The two stolen guns were recovered from his girlfriend’s house.

Aguilar has five prior felony convictions, including carjacking. He was on probation for state charges at the time of his federal offenses.

The Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force, the Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Office and the Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Shelton prosecuted the case.
 

ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Louis, Missouri has been accused in an indictment of fraudulently obtaining nearly $600,000 in pandemic relief loans.

Shahron Vaulx, 39, was indicted Wednesday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on six counts of bank fraud and two counts of wire fraud. He appeared in court Thursday and pleaded not guilty.

The indictment accuses Vaulx of submitting nine fraudulent applications seeking a total of $649,000 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and receiving about $595,000. 

Vaulx made the applications on behalf of Fortunnett Financial LLC, SD Incorporation LLC, SV Collections LLC and SD Marketing LLC, the indictment alleges. The applications contained false information about monthly payroll and the number of company employees and was sometimes supported by fraudulent or misleading tax forms, the indictment says. Vaulx made bulk cash withdrawals and sent money to others and used other funds on unapproved personal expenses including personal credit card bills, clothing, advertisements and payments to OnlyFans, the indictment says.

The PPP loans were intended to help small businesses and their employees during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bank fraud and wire fraud charges are each punishable by up to 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine, or both.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The U.S. Secret Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Casey is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS– A man who admitted tampering with a witness with information about a fatal hit-and-run in St. Louis pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal gun charge.

Martez D. Lindsey, 31, of St. Louis County, Missouri, pleaded guilty Thursday to being a felon in possession of a firearm. Lindsey admitted as part of his plea that while investigating a fatal hit-and-run, detectives performed a court-approved search of Lindsey’s apartment on April 25, 2023. In Lindsey’s bedroom, they found a stolen Taurus G3 pistol, .53 grams of cocaine base, .33 grams of methamphetamine, 1.14 grams of marijuana, a digital scale and $1,370 in cash. Lindsey admitted knowing that, as someone convicted of multiple felonies, he was barred from possessing a firearm. 

In an attempt to avoid detention in jail after his arrest on the federal charge, Lindsey contacted a key witness in the hit-and-run investigation and pressured her to recant her original report to police. He wanted her to claim she was tricked or made up a story because she was mad at him, the plea agreement says. Lindsey believed her statement was the “only proof they got,” the plea says. The witness was an ex-girlfriend and Lindsey previously had thrown a brick through the rear window of a vehicle she owned and tossed in a firework that destroyed the front window, the plea says.

Lindsey is scheduled to be sentenced March 13, 2024. The charge carries a potential penalty of up to 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both prison and a fine.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Bluestone is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – Two men have been indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis and accused of stealing mail from residential and businesses mailboxes in Chesterfield, Missouri. 

Christopher Ali Pate, 31, and Eryk Campbell, 28, were each indicted on one count of theft of mail. The indictment accuses them of stealing mail from mailboxes on or around Chesterfield Industrial Boulevard. 

Campbell was arrested Wednesday and appeared in court, where he pleaded not guilty. Pate was arrested in Georgia on November 13. He pleaded not guilty in court November 30.

The charge is punishable by up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Cort VanOstran is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Court Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Wednesday sentenced a man who captured images and videos of underage girls with hidden cameras to 17 years in prison.

Dennis J. Naumann, 56, of St. Charles County, Missouri, will be on supervised release for life after his release from prison.

Naumann produced videos and still images of underage girls by concealing video cameras in a bathroom and other places. Naumann admitted uploading at least 50 videos containing child sexual abuse material to Dropbox. He also traded the images and videos he produced with two others so he could get more child sexual abuse material.

One victim wrote in a letter to Judge Schelp that Naumann “stole my girlhood and traded it on the internet.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson said during Wednesday’s sentencing hearing that Naumann began deleting files when he learned he was being investigated, but dozens of videos and pictures were recovered, as were multiple online conversations in which he asked for images or videos containing child sexual abuse material or offered to share what he had. Naumann also searched for that material online, part of what Anderson called a “rapacious appetite for child sexual abuse material.”

Naumann pleaded guilty in June to one count each of attempted production of child pornography and one count of receiving child pornography.

The case was investigated by the St. Charles County Cybercrime Task Force, the St. Charles County Police Department and the FBI.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jillian Anderson and Nathan Chapman prosecuted the case.

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

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge John A. Ross on Wednesday sentenced a man who produced and received child pornography involving three victims to 50 years in prison.

After a bench trial in May, Judge Ross found William Dahl, 39, of Audrain County, Missouri, guilty of one count of producing child pornography and two counts of receiving child pornography. Judge Ross’ findings of fact said Dahl photographed himself having sex with a 14-year-old girl. He later emailed those images to others. Dahl also received a video of a 16-year-old and a pornographic image of a 7-year-old, the ruling says. 

On Wednesday, Judge Ross told Dahl the evidence was “clear, convincing and overwhelming about your guilt.” 

The investigation began one of the victims and her family contacted authorities. A subsequent investigation by the Missouri State Technical Assistance Team uncovered more victims.

Dahl met the first victim when she was 13 and he was nearly 23. A second victim met Dahl when he was 36 and she was 16. He bought her a cell phone, alcohol and vaping pods and they exchanged nude pictures. The third victim was 7 at the time of the offense. Dahl’s co-defendant, Jennifer Huddleston, admitted taking photographs of herself sexually abusing the sleeping girl and sending them to Dahl. Huddleston and Dahl were in an on-and-off relationship since 2008.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Lang said during the hearing that 18 years have passed since Dahl began to prey on female children, and he has been “consistent in trying to seek out and sexually exploit children” during that time.

Judge Ross ordered Dahl’s prison sentence to run consecutive to any sentence he receives for six pending cases in Audrain County Circuit Court and Randolph County Circuit Court.

Judge Ross sentenced Huddleston, 35, in October to 179 months in prison. Huddleston pleaded guilty in May to one count of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

The cases were investigated by the Missouri State Technical Assistance Team and Donya Jackson, an investigator with the U.S. Attorney’s office at the time. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Colleen Lang and Amy Sestric prosecuted the case.

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

ST. LOUIS – A Lake St. Louis, Missouri man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Tuesday and admitted taking pictures of his sexual abuse of a young girl.

Steve G. Flores, 51, pleaded guilty in front of U.S. District Judge Ronnie L. White to one count of production of child pornography. 

Authorities were initially alerted by a tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by a cloud storage company about two files that appeared to contain child sexual abuse material. Court approved searches of Flores’ Google and cloud storage accounts revealed hundreds of pictures and videos he’d produced of the victim. A search of his home on Nov. 8, 2022, found electronic devices that contained similar images, as well as other images containing child pornography.

Flores is scheduled to be sentenced March 5, 2024. The charge carries a mandatory minimum prison term of 15 years, with a maximum of 30. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson will ask for 25 years, the plea agreement says.

The FBI, the St. Charles County Police Department and St. Charles County Cyber Crime Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson 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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

ST. LOUIS – A U.S. Postal Service mail carrier in Moberly, Missouri has been federally indicted and accused of stealing from the mail. 

Dawn Dowling, 58, was indicted November 29 on one felony count of embezzlement of mail by a Postal Service employee. The indictment accuses Dowling of taking mail from about July 2023 to August 2023, including rebates from the home improvement store Menards that she was supposed to deliver. 

Dowling appeared in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Tuesday and pleaded not guilty.

The charge is punishable by up to five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The U.S. Postal Service – Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf is prosecuting the case.

CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. on Tuesday sentenced an Iron County, Missouri man to 88 months in prison for the possession of over 900 images containing child pornography.

Judge Limbaugh also ordered Timon Odell Mouser, 54, to be placed on supervised release for life after his release from prison. 

In July of 2022, the FBI was assisting the Phelps County Sheriff's Department with a cyber tip received from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about an IP address used to trade child sexual abuse material. They traced it to Mouser’s home, and a search of his computer found over 900 images containing child pornography, including images of infants and toddlers and other prepubescent minor children.

Mouser pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau in August to one count of possession of child pornography.

The FBI and the Phelps County Sheriff’s Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hunter prosecuted the case.

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

CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. on Tuesday sentenced a man from Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri to 210 months in prison for producing photos of the sexual abuse of a young boy.

Noah Church, 22, pleaded guilty in September to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor. Church admitted sending images containing child sexual abuse material to an undercover FBI agent.

In April of 2022, the FBI began investigating the use by Church of an online chat forum on Kik Messenger. Church, who used the username “LittleBois123,” shared pictures of a child and discussed sexually abusing the child. The FBI traced LittleBois123 to a home in Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri and conducted a court-approved search of the home on June 8, 2022. They found photos of the child on Church’s phone, which contained hundreds of images containing child pornography, his plea agreement says.

After his release from prison, Church will be on supervised release for 20 years.

The FBI and the Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hunter prosecuted the case.

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

ST. LOUIS – A man from Pevely, Missouri accused of recording his sexual abuse of a minor was arrested and appeared in federal court in St. Louis Tuesday.

Matthew Gamel, 36, was indicted November 8 on one count of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of receipt of child pornography. He pleaded not guilty Tuesday.

The indictment accuses Gamel of coercing a minor into producing child pornography between Jan. 1, 2021 and Feb. 22, 2023, and receiving child pornography between Jan. 1, 2021 and Aug. 1, 2023. A motion seeking to have Gamel held in jail until trial says he recorded his sexual abuse of the minor when she was under the age of 14.

The sexual exploitation of a minor charge is punishable by 15 to 30 years in prison. The receipt of child pornography charge is punishable by five to 20 years in prison.

Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The Pevely Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hayes 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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.