Eastern District of Missouri

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark on Thursday sentenced two siblings to prison for aggravated identity theft and fraud.

Judge Clark sentenced Alexandria Collins, 34, of Shiloh, Ill., to 146 months in prison and Wayne M. Collins, 31, to 141 months in prison. Alexandria Collins also has to pay restitution of $449,984. Wayne Collins was ordered to pay $134,519.

In 2023, Wayne Collins was on supervised release for a 2018 case after having been sentenced to 42 months in prison for aiding and abetting the stealing of a firearm from a licensed gun dealer. The U.S. Probation Office conducted a search of his residence and discovered a phone that had been owned by his sister. The phone contained evidence of identity theft and wire fraud, including a counterfeit driver’s license with Wayne Collins’ picture and the name, Social Security number and birthdate of someone else. That victim’s identity had been used to open a $6,300 credit account on June 21, 2023. The phone also contained evidence of Wayne Collins’ possession and use of bank checks that had been stolen from the mail.

It also showed that Alexandria Collins had produced counterfeit ID and paystubs for multiple people, executed a wire fraud scheme to fraudulently obtain vehicle loans, used stolen identities to open credit accounts with retailers and cellphone companies, attempted to sell fraudulently-obtained vehicles through an auction company, facilitated the shipment of LSD through the U.S. Postal Service and produced counterfeit financial documents for someone to use in court proceedings.

In 2020, Alexandria Collins was sentenced to 33 months in prison for a fraud case and ordered to pay restitution of $131,710. After her release from federal prison and placement on house arrest on Sept. 13, 2021, she began living in a house in St. Charles County that had been rented by her boyfriend, a convicted felon, using a stolen identity and fake wage verification records. Alexandria Collins told her probation officer that the house had been rented by her sister. The couple and their children would later be evicted, owing the landlord $36,699 for rent, utilities and damage to the home. Collins then moved into a home in Shiloh, Ill. that she rented by using the stolen identity of Oneasha Stevenson and bogus tax records and bank statements. Collins again lied to her probation officer and said the home had been rented by her sister. She paid more than $9,000 in rent by funneling money through her boyfriend’s son’s student checking account.

On April 8, 2022, Collins opened an account at a credit union, falsely claiming that she was employed at a day care center. Over the next five months, Collins deposited or transferred a total of $40,065, proceeds of a fraudulent loan scheme involving a stolen 2014 Porsche Panamera. Collins was then involved with the sale of a 2011 Rolls Royce that netted $80,000. She did not tell her probation officer about her receipt of money via her involvement with auto sales. Instead, she falsely claimed to be working for a trucking company.

After Collins’ boyfriend was arrested on Oct. 26, 2022, the mother of one of his children tried to regain custody with the help of the Shiloh Police Department. Collins concealed his arrest from police and thwarted the mother by contacting her boyfriend’s brother on Facetime and having him impersonate her boyfriend.

Collins then struck a deal with Stevenson in which Stevenson used a stolen identity to purchase and attempt to purchase a vehicle, electronics and other merchandise with the help of both Collins siblings.

Wayne Collins pleaded guilty in May to aggravated identity theft in a case filed in 2024 and access device fraud in the 2022 case he shares with his sister and Stevenson. His sentence includes 129 months in prison for the current cases, and 12 months for violating his supervised release in the prior case.

Alexandria Collins pleaded guilty in May to one count of access device fraud, one count of aggravated identity theft and one count of making a false statement to the U.S. Probation Office. Her sentence includes 132 months in prison for her current case plus 14 months for violating her supervised release from the 2018 case.

Oneasha Stevenson, 35, of Berkeley, Missouri, was sentenced in July of 2024 to five years of probation and ordered to repay $3,584 to victims. Ultimately, she was ordered to serve 15 months in prison after repeatedly violating the terms of her probation, including the condition that she pay restitution.

“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is charged with defending the nation’s mail system from illegal use.  With the collaborative efforts of our federal and local law enforcement partners, Postal Inspectors investigate fraudsters who utilize the U.S. Mail to perpetuate financial schemes to defraud others in order to enrich themselves.  Postal Inspectors seek justice for victims, including those most vulnerable,” said Inspector in Charge, Ruth Mendonça, who leads the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which includes the St. Louis Field Office.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Missouri Department of Revenue’s Compliance and Investigation Bureau and the U.S. Probation Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry prosecuted the case.

ST. LOUIS – Two St. Louis area men have been sentenced for the armed robbery of a mobile barber in Jennings in 2023.

U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Tuesday sentenced Keshaun Smith, 20, of Jennings, to 98 months in prison on charges of robbery and brandishing of a firearm in furtherance of the robbery.  Smith’s co-defendant, Andrew Giles, was sentenced September 19 to 105 months in prison for the same offenses.

According to court documents, on May 8, 2023, the victim, who was a “mobile barber,” went to a home on Garesche Avenue to cut Smith’s hair.  When the victim arrived at the home to give the haircut, Smith met the victim outside as he parked his red car.

Approximately 15 minutes later, while the victim was cutting co-defendant Keshaun Smith’s hair inside the home, co-defendant Andrew Giles arrived on Garesche Avenue, parked his car on the street, and exited carrying what appeared to be a pistol.

As the victim finished cutting Smith’s hair roughly 90 minutes later, Giles and a second co-defendant entered the room where the haircut was occurring.  Smith picked up a firearm belonging to the victim and the three defendants robbed the victim of his possessions.  During the robbery the victim was struck across his face/forehead area, sustaining a frontal skull fracture. The victim was able to flee the location and subsequently called police.  

Smith was seen after the robbery walking on Garesche Avenue openly carrying a firearm believed to have been stolen from the victim.

The St. Louis County Police Department conducted the investigation with the assistance of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI. Trial Attorney Matthew P. Mattis of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section (VCRS) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri prosecuted the case.

This case is part of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime Initiative to prosecute violent crimes in St. Louis.  The Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Missouri have partnered, along with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, to confront violent crimes committed by gang members and associates through the enforcement of federal laws and use of federal resources to prosecute the violent offenders and prevent further violence.
 

ST. LOUIS – A California man, three St. Louis area residents and seven others have been indicted and accused of involvement in a large-scale cocaine conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Thomas C. Albus announced Thursday.

Jimmy Abraham Majeau, 43, of Chino Hills, made his first appearance in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Thursday and pleaded not guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Majeau and ten others were originally indicted on May 28, 2025. The indictment was unsealed on July 9, when the initial arrests began.

Three of the defendants are from the St. Louis area: Michael Hunter, 63, Sonja Anne Orlando, 48, and Aaron Lamont Russell, 42.

A motion seeking to have Majeau held in jail until trial said he traveled frequently to Mexico to obtain cocaine, which he then transported throughout the U.S. using a commercial shipping company.

Also indicted were Earl Banks, 33, of Detroit, Eric James Hernandez, 42, Marvell Brian Lloyd, 43, Juan Jose Mendoza, 55, Alexxis Marie Ramirez, 36, Jonathon Javon Ward, 44, and Andrew Watson, 65.

The indictment also seeks the forfeiture of assets alleged to be linked to the crimes, including Majeau’s home, a 2021 Lamborghini Urus, $235,000 cash and 18 pieces of diamond and gold jewelry, including watches, rings, earrings, bracelets and necklaces.

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 Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, IRS Criminal Investigation and the St. Louis County Police Department investigated the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.

ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis man who was caught with the information of at least 10 different identity theft victims pleaded guilty Wednesday and admitted committing identity theft, check fraud and pandemic fraud.

Darryon M. Sutherlin, 29, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to two counts of identity theft. Sutherlin admitted using the stolen identity of a New Jersey resident to finance a $25,850 loan for a 2016 BMW 328i on May 26, 2022. Sutherlin used the New Jersey man’s name, Social Security number and a fake ID to obtain a personal loan of $8,500, which he spent. Sutherlin also obtained two credit cards in the victim’s name.

On Dec. 7, 2022, Sutherlin deposited two stolen U.S. Treasury checks, for $5,031 and $5,405, into his personal bank account. The checks had been altered to be made payable to Sutherlin. Sutherlin transferred $6,000 to another personal bank account and spent the check funds.

On Jan. 31, 2023, Sutherlin’s property manager conducted a welfare check at his St. Louis apartment because he was five months behind on rent and had disconnected his phone numbers. The property manager contacted police after seeing pounds of marijuana and driver’s licenses in different names but with Sutherlin’s photo. St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers obtained a court-approved search warrant and arrested Sutherlin the next day. At the time of his arrest, Sutherlin was in possession of stolen personal and U.S. Treasury checks (one of which was partially washed), additional unauthorized bank cards and additional false driver’s licenses, including the false New Jersey victim’s license.  In Sutherlin’s apartment, police found additional unauthorized bank cards, additional false driver’s licenses, a large amount of bank paperwork and a large trash bag containing stolen, opened U.S. mail. The opened envelopes contained a large number of remittance slips that would be mailed with a personal check when paying a utility or cable bill. In total, police recovered about 23 unauthorized debit and credit cards, about 13 false driver’s licenses and 2 false Social Security cards, all of which bore the information of more than 10 different identity theft victims.

In addition to the identity theft crimes, Sutherlin admitted seeking a Paycheck Protection Program loan on March 23, 2021, by falsely claiming that he ran a construction business and by submitting a false Form 1040 Schedule C showing bogus gross earnings. After receiving a $20,833 PPP loan, Sutherlin immediately withdrew a large portion of the loan funds in cash and spent the remainder on personal expenses.

After he was indicted on May 15, 2024, Sutherlin obtained a loan of $8,500 from a credit union branch in Collinsville, Ill. by using the stolen identity of a Massachusetts man. Sutherlin immediately withdrew the money in two transactions after the loan was removed. Sutherlin has been in jail since the new offense was discovered.

Sutherlin is scheduled to be sentenced on January 26. Identity theft carries a potential prison sentence of up to 15 years, a fine of up to $250,000 or both prison and a fine. He will be ordered to repay his victims.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Secret Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on Wednesday sentenced a man who shot at an undercover St. Louis Police officer who was investigating drug sales to 15 years and five months in prison.

Anthony Stallworth sold 28 capsules containing fentanyl to an undercover St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officer on Oct. 10, 2019. Five days later, the officer contacted Stallworth to buy more fentanyl. Stallworth set a meeting location, then directed the officer to another spot. Stallworth arrived at the second location and had the officer follow his Mercedes SUV. Stallworth then suddenly stopped his SUV, stuck a gun out of the SUV’s window and fired two shots in the direction of the officer’s vehicle, which was stopped at a stop sign. Stallworth fled, speeding and driving erratically so that officers were unable to follow.

In the summer of 2023, St. Louis police were conducting surveillance in the 4700 block of Wilcox Avenue in St. Louis and spotted Stallworth engaging in drug transactions. They conducted a court-approved search of an apartment there and found Stallworth with 450 grams of methamphetamine, 86 grams of fentanyl, $2,862 in cash, a 10mm pistol and drug paraphernalia.

“Stallworth armed himself with firearms and even opened fire on undercover officers, showing a blatant disregard for human life,” said Special Agent in Charge Bernard “Butch” Hansen, of the Kansas City Field Division. “Combined with the large quantities of fentanyl and methamphetamine he was trafficking, his actions put our entire community at risk. Today’s sentence holds him accountable for the violence he chose and for flooding our streets with deadly drugs and guns. ATF will continue working with our partners to protect families and neighborhoods from offenders who endanger public safety.”

Stallworth, 26, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty in June to one count each of possession with the intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl, distribution of fentanyl and discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The discharge of a firearm charge carried a mandatory minimum term of 10 years in prison for Stallworth, consecutive to all other charges, and the meth possession charges carry a mandatory minimum term of five years.

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

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

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge John A. Ross on Tuesday sentenced a woman who aided an online fraud and committed pandemic and mortgage fraud to 78 months in prison, consecutive to a 15-month sentence for being a felon caught with two guns.

Judge Ross also ordered Shirley Waller, 43, of St. Louis County, Missouri, to repay $313,711 to victims.

Waller pleaded guilty in June to one count of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and using an assumed name to commit mail fraud.

As part of her guilty plea, Waller admitted acting as a “money mule” and aiding scammers who used a variety of tactics to trick victims. After the daughter of a 71-year-old St. Louis County woman told police in December 2023, that she’d mailed $35,000 to Waller’s home as part of a romance scam, they determined that more than 70 Express Mail packages had been delivered to Waller’s home during a 60-day period ending Nov. 1, 2023. In a court-approved search on Jan. 12, 2024, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service found two guns and Express Mail packages containing cash that had been sent to variations of Waller’s name by older adults targeted in online fraud schemes. Fourteen identified victims sent $94,150 to Waller’s home. The government estimates that the overseas scammers stole over $1 million, based on the 193 total packages that were delivered to Waller’s home between Sept. 1, 2023, and April 1, 2024, and tracked by Nigerian IP addresses.

Waller also admitted fraudulently applying for a Paycheck Protection Program loan of $19,235 on April 10, 2021, by falsely claiming she ran a business in Michigan. She received the loan and used the money to travel to Ghana, Germany and Jamaica. Waller unsuccessfully submitted another fraudulent loan application for a St. Louis resale shop, concealing the existence of the first loan and falsifying her business income.

Finally, Waller admitted fraudulently obtaining a $196,000 mortgage loan by lying about her marital status, income and job and by submitting counterfeit tax documents and bank statements.

In March, Judge Ross sentenced Waller to 15 months in prison after she pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. She has a series of prior convictions including for fraud and theft.

“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is charged with defending the nation’s mail system from illegal use.  With the collaborative efforts of our federal and local law enforcement partners, Postal Inspectors investigate fraudsters who utilize the U.S. Mail to perpetuate financial schemes to defraud others in order to enrich themselves.  Postal Inspectors seek justice for victims, including those most vulnerable,” said Inspector in Charge, Ruth Mendonça, who leads the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which includes the St. Louis Field Office.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Town and Country Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry prosecuted the case.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Catherine D. Perry on Friday sentenced a man to 42 months in prison for orchestrating a check fraud scheme using checks that had been stolen from the mail.

Malik Jones, 28, of Berkeley, Missouri, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in October to one count of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. From March 2022 to at least October 2023, Jones was involved in “every step” in a scheme to steal checks from the mail and then commit fraud with those checks, according to a sentencing memo filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow.

In March of 2022, Jones bought a stolen “arrow key,” which allows access to U.S. Postal Service mail collection boxes, from a mail carrier, Cambria M. Hopkins. Jones then paid others to steal mail from the collection boxes in the St. Louis area using Hopkins’ key, and he removed checks from that stolen mail. Jones also paid Hopkins to steal checks from the mail for him.  After obtaining these stolen checks, Jones altered or created counterfeit versions of the checks, deposited these forged and fraudulent checks, and then withdrew the check funds. Jones used Instagram to recruit others to supply their debit cards and banking information to him so he or the account holder could deposit checks into those accounts. Jones attempted to withdraw the money before the banks realized the checks were fraudulent and split any resulting proceeds with the account holders.

Jones deposited or caused others to deposit forged or fraudulent checks with a face value totaling $1.2 million, although many of those fraudulent deposits were identified by the banks and rejected. Jones was ordered Friday to repay $21,635 to victims.

Jones’ crimes came a time when mail theft was a well-publicized problem, and his actions greatly contributed to this problem through their scope, Clow wrote. In letters to Judge Perry, victims wrote that they felt financially and personally violated by Jones’ crimes and were forced to close accounts, re-issue checks and change payment methods on multiple bills.

Hopkins, 30, of Florissant, pleaded guilty in August to one count of conspiracy and one count of unlawful use of a mail key and is scheduled to be sentenced in December.

“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is dedicated to defending the nation’s mail system from criminal activity, preserving the integrity of the U.S. Mail, and protecting United States Postal Service employees. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service values our law enforcement partners for supporting our mission to protect the integrity of the U.S. Mail,” said Ruth M. Mendonça, Inspector in Charge of the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which includes the St. Louis Field Office.

“This sentencing represents the hard work and dedication by USPS OIG Special Agents working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to bring charges on this significant mail theft investigation,” said Special Agent in Charge Dennus Bishop, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, Central Area Field Office. “The United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General and the United States Postal Inspection Service, along with our law enforcement partners, remain committed to safeguarding the U.S. Mail and ensuring the accountability and integrity of U.S. Postal Service employees.”

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, and the Maryland Heights Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow prosecuted the case.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. Attorney Tom Albus on Friday welcomed 29 new citizens from 19 different countries at a naturalization ceremony at the historic Old Courthouse in St. Louis.

At the ceremonies, which are held dozens of time a year in and around St. Louis, new citizens take their oath and receive their Certificate of Citizenship. The U.S. attorney or an assistant U.S. attorney acts as the naturalization examiner.

For more information about becoming a citizen, contact U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services at www.uscis.gov. For information about the ceremonies, click here.

ST. LOUIS – A man from Honduras who is in the United States illegally on Thursday admitted illegally possessing ammunition.

Lesman Jeroan Rivera-Vasquez, 22, waived his right to indictment by a grand jury and pleaded guilty to one count of possession of ammunition by an illegal alien. Rivera-Vasquez admitted that on August 10, 2025, he violated a stop sign, causing a crash with a law enforcement vehicle. Rivera-Vasquez and his passengers had a rifle and a deer that they shot out of season. Rivera-Vasquez also admitted possessing two boxes of ammunition on August 8 that had been purchased by someone else in a St. Peters, Missouri store.

Two Warren County Sheriff’s deputies were injured in the crash.

Rivera-Vasquez, who was living in Breckenridge Hills, was charged by complaint in U.S. District Court on August 21. He is currently scheduled to be sentenced in December. The charge carries a potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and fine. He will be deported after his release from custody.

In February of 2019, Rivera-Vasquez told an immigration judge that he had entered the United States illegally. He was granted the ability to voluntarily depart, but did not do so, his plea says.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the Warren County Sheriff’s Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry is prosecuting the case. 

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Rodney W. Sippel on Thursday sentenced a former charity employee who embezzled $690,902 over more than a decade to 40 months in prison.

Judge Sippel also ordered Joelle Fouse, 58, to repay the money.

Fouse was the manager/director of finance and human resources for Promise Community Homes, formerly known as Rainbow Village, a charity that provides housing and resources for adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. She was responsible for payroll, expense reimbursement and maintaining the charity’s books and records.

Fouse caused 71 unauthorized payroll deposits totaling $139,810 and 181 unauthorized expense reimbursement payments totaling $407,186 to be made to her personal bank accounts. She also used the charity’s credit card to make 184 unauthorized personal purchases totaling $133,210. Her theft, and the unauthorized payments, caused the charity to overpay payroll taxes by approximately $10,694.

Fouse’s “significant embezzlement” was “in addition to the generous salary and benefits the charity was already providing her,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith wrote in a sentencing memo. “While depriving the disabled residents of the charity of much needed and essential resources, Defendant used the stolen charitable funds for extravagant purchases for such things as vacation travel, expensive clothing and handbags, entertainment, restaurant meals, and to fund her own side businesses which provided her with additional income.”

Fouse also lied about graduating college with an accounting degree for years, Goldsmith wrote, when she was actually academically disqualified from continuing in school.

In a letter to Judge Sippel, Promise Homes Executive Director Matt Elmore wrote that Fouse’s embezzlement while the charity was “stretching every dollar” and “making difficult decisions about which projects to fund” robbed clients of vital services. The $8,000 of the charity’s money Fouse spent at Louis Vuitton “could have funded a new ramp for a resident who can no longer navigate stairs,” he wrote. The $5,000 she spent on “bottle service at the Ritz-Carlton could have covered urgent repairs-HVAC systems, water heaters, essential appliances-for multiple homes.”

Her crime, Elmore wrote, poisoned their workplace and damaged the charity’s reputation. “We are now forced to spend valuable time and resources reassuring donors-many of whom have supported us for decades that we remain trustworthy and financially stable. Every hour we spend restoring confidence is an hour not spent serving our residents,” he wrote.

Elmore also said that Fouse was always the first and strongest advocate for raising the rent of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities living on fixed incomes, “because she needed to fund her own lavish lifestyle. That is a level of heartlessness I struggle to comprehend.”

Fouse used the money to pay for personal expenses for herself and relatives including travel, clothing, entertainment, restaurant meals and rent payments. To cover up her crimes, she created false financial reports, doctored receipts, made false entries in the charity’s financial records and prevented the charity’s officials from accessing records which would have disclosed her scheme.

Fouse worked for the charity from October 2012 through December 2023, when she was terminated and her employer contacted federal authorities. She pleaded guilty in April of 2025 to three felony counts of wire fraud.

The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith prosecuted the case.  Officers of Promise Community Homes cooperated substantially in the investigation. 

ST. LOUIS – In July of 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Missouri announced that a federal grand jury charged physician David A. Parks, clinical manager and clinical research coordinator James M. Bilderback, and front desk assistant Michelle J. Scheer with crimes related to the clinic at which they worked, located at 3960 Lindell Boulevard in St. Louis.  The indictment alleges that from at least July 6, 2016, through Dec. 31, 2021, the three conspired to knowingly and intentionally prescribe controlled substances outside of the usual course of professional practice and for no legitimate medical purpose. The conspiracy’s goal was to maximize their patient population and, in turn, their profit, the indictment says. Parks and Bilderback, the indictment alleges, also conspired to defraud Medicare, Missouri Medicaid and private health insurers by billing them for claims for services that falsely and fraudulently identified Parks as the provider, including at times when Parks was out of the country.

On August 15, 2025, U.S. Magistrate Judge John M. Bodenhausen issued an order directing the government to employ alternative victim notification procedures so that any member of the community who believes they may be a crime victim is made aware of their potential rights.

The government is asking members of the community who believe they may be a victim of illegal prescribing of controlled substances or fraudulent billing practices by Dr. David A. Parks, James Bilderback or Michelle Scheer to please email USAMOE.Victims@usdoj.gov to reach the Victim-Witness Unit at the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Missouri.   

Former patients of Parks or their families may still be facing the aftermath of illegal prescribing of controlled substances or fraudulent billing practices. The victim-witness program provides information, services and support to individuals during federal prosecutions.

Case updates will be provided on the U.S. Attorney’s Office website at https://www.justice.gov/usao-edmo/pr. Please also be aware of these free, confidential resources that may be of assistance:

• Always call 911 if it’s a life-threatening emergency.
   
• To find supportive services, dial 2-1-1 to call United Way. Operational hours are 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday – Friday. If you call after hours, please leave a message. Phone calls will be returned the next business day. 2-1-1 provides information and referral service that connect people to vital community, health and social services provided by a range of nonprofit, government and tribal agencies.
   
• SAMHSA has a national helpline to assist with finding behavioral health support or substance use management at 800-662-HELP (4357), TTY: 800-487-4889, or online at https://findtreatment.samhsa.gov/. Calls are manned 24/7 and are routed to the DHSS Division of Behavioral Health during DHSS operational hours. 
   
• Help is available 24/7 through Missouri's Crisis Hotline (https://dmh.mo.gov/behavioral-health/treatment-services/specialized-programs/crisis-services), 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. If you or someone you know is in a mental health, suicide or substance use crisis; reach out to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988, or the 988 Lifeline Chat.  

The charges in the indictment are merely allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark on Wednesday sentenced a St. Louis man who fraudulently obtained more than $629,000 in pandemic relief loans to 27 months in prison and ordered him to repay the money.

Shahron Vaulx, 41, submitted eight fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program loan applications between May 2020 and June 2021, “essentially stealing money intended for those struggling with the pandemic,” a sentencing memo says. The applications, submitted in the names of Fortunnett Financial LLC, SD Incorporation LLC, SV Collections LLC and SD Marketing LLC, contained false information about monthly payroll and the number of company employees. Vaulx submitted fake tax forms to support the payroll and income claims, which were falsely inflated to increase the amount of the loans.

After the loans were approved, Vaulx withdrew cash, transferred money to others, made personal retail purchases and paid bills with the money. He later applied for loan forgiveness, falsely claiming that he used the loans on permissible business expenses.

“The only explanation for (Vaulx’) crime is greed,” the sentencing memo says, citing his substantial positive monthly cash flow and gross monthly income of $25,000 at the time of his crimes.

Judge Clark ordered Vaulx to repay $629,809.

“This case highlights the United States Secret Service’s commitment 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.

Vaulx pleaded guilty in January to two counts of wire fraud.

The U.S. Secret Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gwen Carroll and Stephen Casey prosecuted the case.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Wednesday sentenced a felon caught with a gun to 157 months in prison after finding him responsible for supplying the fentanyl that caused a fatal overdose in 2024.

Alantae Garner, 31, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty in June to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He admitted that on Nov. 17, 2023, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers spotted him in the driver’s seat of a stolen 2019 Kia Rio. When officers approached, Garner walked away, then ran before being detained. Police found a loaded Taurus 9mm handgun in his bag. Garner admitted owning the gun and said he bought the Kia for $500.

Garner was arrested on the federal charge on July 25, 2024. During Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, evidence and testimony showed that while awaiting his first appearance in court, he supplied fentanyl to another detainee, who overdosed in a holding cell. Deputy U.S. Marshals attempted to revive the victim, but he later died at a hospital.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Christian Goeke prosecuted the case.

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

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge John A. Ross on Wednesday sentenced a man who recorded pictures and videos of his sexual abuse of a one-year-old to 40 years in prison.

“This is one of the worst cases of sexual abuse that I’ve seen in 25 years as a judge,” Judge Ross told William Burns before sentencing him. Judge Ross also ordered Burns to pay $146,500 to the victims who appear in the child sexual abuse material he possessed.

Burns, 41, and Rachel Burns, 35, pleaded guilty in May to one count of conspiracy to produce child pornography and two counts of production of child pornography. William Burns also pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and an additional count of production of child pornography.

The Burns were arrested on July 30, 2023, by the University City Police Department. The couple thought they were meeting an 11-year-old girl, and planned to bring her home and sexually abuse her. Rachel Burns told investigators that her husband had child sexual abuse material on multiple electronic devices, leading to a court-approved search by the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies then found electronic devices, as well as whips, numerous sexual devices and a 3-foot-7-inch-tall silicone sex doll made to resemble a prepubescent female in their home, their plea agreements say.

Investigators also found a 2022 video showing the couple sexually abusing a one-year-old. They found other videos and images from 2022 and 2023 showing that victim, the couple admitted in their plea agreements. Investigators also found 13,954 image and video files depicting child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on a computer and digital storage devices. William Burns used a WhatsApp social media account to exchange CSAM with other WhatsApp users.

In an earlier hearing on September 3, a woman who met William Burns when she was 18 and he was 33 said he initially presented himself as a “man of God” before physically and sexually abusing her. He showed her a video of the rape of an infant. She said he told her that he wanted to have children with her and then have sex with their children.

Burns “has just left a trail of wreckage behind him in his life,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hayes said in court Wednesday. “He was dedicated to the sexual abuse of children.”

Rachel Burns, 35, is scheduled to be sentenced on October 15. The U.S. Attorney’s office has agreed to recommend no more than 35 years in prison for her.

The University City Police Department, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the St. Louis County Police Department 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.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on Monday sentenced a man who recorded his sexual activity with a 14-year-old to 260 months in prison.

Todd Kelly, now 37, of Washington, Missouri, will be on supervised release for life after he is released from prison. Kelly admitted making the recordings on his cell phone in June and July of 2023. The investigation began in August of 2023 when the victim’s father learned about the relationship and discovered Snapchat communications between Kelly and his daughter. Investigators seized Kelly’s four cellular phones and found videos that he recorded.

Kelly pleaded guilty in April to one count of producing child pornography. The charge carries a mandatory sentence of at least 15 years in prison.

The Warren County Sheriff’s Department, the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dianne Edwards 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 woman from New York on Friday admitted attempting to deposit $2.7 million in fraudulent checks.

Gabrielle Borthwick, 23, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to 12 felonies: six counts of financial institution fraud and six counts of aggravated identity theft.

Borthwick admitted as part of her plea that she obtained counterfeit cashier’s checks and the stolen personal information (names, birthdates and Social Security numbers) of multiple people. She then went to a series of banks in Missouri and fraudulently opened, or attempted to open, accounts in the victims’ names without their permission. Borthwick presented the financial institutions with counterfeit out-of-state driver’s licenses that displayed her photograph but contained the victims’ names and dates of birth. To dispel concerns about the out-of-state licenses, Borthwick falsely claimed to have recently moved to Missouri and supplied fake utility and phone bills to support her claims. She then deposited counterfeit cashier’s checks in amounts ranging from $121,260 to $1.4 million. She claimed to run a wedding planning business to allay bank officials’ suspicions about the size of the checks. Borthwick then tried to withdraw cash or electronically transfer funds before the financial institutions realized that the checks were fake.

Borthwick deposited checks in multiple Missouri banks and in one bank in Illinois totaling $2,773,280.65. She fraudulently obtained $271,667.98, her plea agreement says.

Borthwick is scheduled to be sentenced on December 17. Financial institution fraud is punishable by up to 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine or both prison and a fine. Aggravated identity theft is punishable by two years in prison, consecutive to any other charge and a fine of up to $250,000. She will be ordered to repay the money.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, and police departments in Eureka, O’Fallon and Union in Missouri and Edwardsville in Illinois investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis lawyer on Thursday admitted defrauding the U.S. Small Business Administration out of $379,900 by fraudulently obtaining a COVID-19 pandemic loan.

John J. Diehl Jr., 60, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of wire fraud. Diehl admitted that on March 30, 2020, he applied for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) on behalf of his law firm, the Diehl Law Group. The EIDL program was designed to help struggling small businesses during the pandemic by providing deferred, low interest loans to be used strictly for working capital, payroll and other fixed debts of the business caused by the pandemic. Diehl signed a loan authorization and agreement form in which he falsely represented and certified that Diehl Law Group “…will use all the proceeds of this Loan solely as working capital to alleviate economic injury caused by disaster occurring in the month of January 31, 2020 and continuing thereafter….”

On April 16, 2020, an advance of $1,000 on the EIDL loan was deposited into a Diehl Law Group bank account. On April 27, 2020, Diehl made a $1,320.15 payment to a country club for personal dues and charges, a payment that inappropriately included those EIDL funds.

On June 9, 2020, the remainder of the EIDL loan, $93,900, was transmitted into his law firm’s bank account. Diehl transferred some of the funds to his personal bank accounts and between June 10, 2020, and August 16, 2021, he impermissibly used the EIDL loan proceeds for unauthorized personal use and purposes. Those included payments on personal Tesla, Audi and Jeep automobiles, personal credit cards, a personal home mortgage, a family member’s college tuition, pool maintenance, country club dues and fees and cash withdrawals for personal use and expenses.  On Sept. 16, 2020, Diehl also transferred $50,039.55 of the EIDL proceeds to the Diehl Law Group’s retirement plan in which Diehl was the only participant.  

In March of 2022, Diehl requested an EIDL loan modification. He again pledged that Diehl Law Group will use the funds “to alleviate economic injury caused by disaster.” On April 12, 2022, the additional loan proceeds of $285,000 were wired into the Diehl Law Group bank account.  Diehl then transferred some of the funds into his personal bank accounts.  Between April 14, 2022, and June 21, 2023, Diehl inappropriately used the EIDL funds for payments on personal credit cards, fees paid to a St. Louis law firm for a personal legal matter, college tuition, residential mortgage payments and cash withdrawals for personal use and expenses.  On Sept. 16, 2022, Diehl also inappropriately transferred $150,000 of the EIDL modified loan proceeds into his retirement plan.

In total, Diehl obtained $379,900 in EIDL loan funds through his fraud scheme.

Diehl is scheduled to be sentenced on December 19. Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and a fine.  He has repaid the EIDL loan proceeds to the United States Treasury, his lawyer said Thursday.

The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Thursday sentenced a man accused of pointing a gun at a 7-year-old to 10 years in prison.

Dwight Byrd, 59, pleaded guilty in May to being a felon in possession of a firearm. He admitted that on Sept. 7, 2023, two witnesses told St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers that Byrd threatened a 7-year-old boy by pointing a black handgun at him and saying that he would “teach him some (expletive) respect.”

After officers spotted Byrd, he ran into his nearby home and changed clothes before surrendering. Officers found a loaded black 9mm handgun with a chambered round near the stairs Byrd used to get to his second-story apartment and a .38 special revolver and 9mm ammunition in his apartment. At the time, Byrd was on parole for a state drug offense.

Byrd conceded at Thursday’s hearing that prosecutors could prove that he pointed a gun at the child by a preponderance of the evidence.

In a letter to Judge Autrey, the victim’s mother wrote that she is not sure what sent Byrd off, adding, “We are all traumatized, and he probably still doesn’t care.”

In court and in a sentencing memo, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nino Przulj pointed out that Byrd’s prior robbery and drug convictions include three other occasions in which he pointed or shot a gun at one or more people.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nino Przulj prosecuted the case.

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

ST. LOUIS – A man who recreates fossils on Wednesday admitted stealing $106,923 in Social Security disability benefits.

Scott A. Taylor, 50, of Wellston, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one felony count of theft of government money. Taylor was granted disability benefits on Sept. 5, 1996. At some point, he opened Taylor Made Fossils, which made multiple-sized cast or molded fossil recreations. All business paperwork was in Taylor’s girlfriend’s name, but he oversaw the business, his plea agreement says. Since 2014, the business generated income ranging from hundreds of dollars to tens of thousands of dollars per month in all but three months.

On Oct. 1, 2023, Taylor completed a continuing disability review report in which he falsely reported having difficulty walking, standing, concentrating, feeding himself, shopping, using his arms, managing money, seeing, hearing, speaking and caring for his hair. He stated his vision caused him to walk into people and objects and frequently fall down the stairs, that he was in extreme constant pain, that it was dangerous for him to leave the house alone, that he could not feel his hands or feet and that even normal items would become too heavy to lift. All the while, Taylor was carrying large or heavy objects, doing yard work, using a cell phone, and walking normally while unassisted and alone. Later that same month, Defendant falsely claimed he had received no wages or income and had no form of employment since 1997.

On Nov. 1, 2023, Taylor completed a function report in which he reiterated his false claims about his limited ability to see, move and care for himself.

After an investigation by the Social Security Administration - Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG), Taylor’s disability benefits were discontinued. Taylor stole a total of $106, 923, his plea agreement says.

Taylor is scheduled to be sentenced on December 9. The crime carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 or both prison and a fine. He will also be ordered to repay the money.

The SSA-OIG investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwen Carroll is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – A Romanian national on Tuesday admitted targeting stores across the country with a sleight-of-hand fraud that netted at least $130,000.

Suras Rostas, 21, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to two counts of wire fraud. Rostas admitted travelling the country between roughly April 2023 and October 2024, shortchanging Walmart cashiers by hundreds or thousands of dollars at a time. After cashiers scanned the merchandise or began processing an electronic money transfer, Rostas counted money into piles that added up to at least the full amount of the transaction and handed the piles one at a time to cashiers. He then took the cash back, gathered it into a pile and slipped bills from the bottom of the stack into his pocket. Rostas then regularly returned the merchandise for a full cash refund.

Rostas on Tuesday admitted conducting at least 45 fraudulent transactions at Walmart stores in at least 18 different states, defrauding Walmart of at least $130,000 worth of money and property.

Rostas is scheduled to be sentenced on December 11. Wire fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and a fine. He will be ordered to repay the money and will likely be deported.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Arnold Police Department handled the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – Two men have admitted kidnapping a toddler in St. Louis County, Missouri in a bid to recover missing guns.

Kendal “KD” White, 20, of St. Charles, pleaded guilty Monday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of kidnapping. Cam’Ron Henderson, 20, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty to the same charge on August 11.

White admitted as part of the plea agreement that he believed that the father of the kidnapping victim, a 2-year-old, had taken firearms and other items from him. On Aug. 10. 2023, White, Henderson and others then began looking for the man and eventually found their way to the victim’s mother’s apartment in St. Louis County. When she did not answer the door, White and Henderson kicked it in. Both men were armed. After learning that their quarry was not in the apartment, White demanded that the mother turn over her daughter. She refused, and White struck her in the head with his gun multiple times before grabbing the toddler from her arms. White and Henderson fled with the girl and the victim’s mother called police.

When White and Henderson learned that an Amber Alert had been issued and included a description of the Hyundai Elantra they were driving, White paid three women to return the toddler to her uncle’s home.

The kidnapping charge carries a penalty of at least 20 years in prison. Henderson is scheduled to be sentenced on December 2 and White on January 27.

The St. Louis County Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Szczucinski is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Monday sentenced a man to five years in prison for fraudulently obtaining home mortgages totaling more than $1.2 million.

Judge Autrey also ordered Edward James Mitchell Jr., also known as Musa Muhammad, to repay a total of $482,096 to lenders for their losses due to Mitchell’s scheme.

Mitchell, now 37, of St. Louis, participated in four fraudulent home mortgages from October 2021 through November 2023. Mitchell’s company, Home Team Solutions LLC, purchased three homes in St. Louis and one in Florissant. Mitchell then pretended to be one of his relatives to “buy” two of the homes, submitting fraudulent mortgage loan applications and false employment and financial information and using his relative’s Social Security number and birthdate. He bought another home himself and sold another to his paramour, again submitting false or fraudulent documents.

The total value of the loans was $1,226,550. All the lenders suffered losses due to Mitchell’s fraud. One home was sold at a discount. Another was sold in a foreclosure sale. A third was sold in a short sale.

“The Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG)  carefully investigates allegations of mortgage fraud involving the government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” said Korey Brinkman, Special Agent in Charge of FHFA-OIG’s Central Region. “We are proud to work with our partners in this investigation.”

Mitchell pleaded guilty in April in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one felony count of bank fraud.

In October 2023, Mitchell legally changed his name to Musa Muhammad.

The FBI and the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman prosecuted the case.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Monday sentenced a St. Louis, Missouri area doctor to 70 months in prison for two separate criminal cases, one charged in 2020 and one in 2024.

Dr. Asim Muhammad Ali, 54, was also ordered to pay $1,845,916 in restitution for the 2020 case and $3,902 for the 2024 case.

In the 2020 case, Dr. Ali was involved in a conspiracy to pay kickbacks for urine specimens referred for testing to one of the companies he owned, Central Diagnostic Laboratory. Dr. Ali also admitted signing prescriptions for controlled substances for patients who appeared to be selling or giving away their drugs. He also pre-signed prescriptions for controlled substances to be given to patients of one of his other businesses, the Institute for Pain Management LLC. Dr. Ali did not see the patients on the dates they received the prescriptions and rarely looked at patient charts or determined a legitimate medical need for the controlled substances. 

Judge Autrey ordered Dr. Ali and a number of his codefendants in that case to pay $950,381 to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, $13,993 to Tricare and $881,542 to Missouri Medicaid. 

In the 2024 case, Dr. Ali agreed to perform health care services for the Medicare patients of a company Dr. Mohd Azfar Malik owned, Psych Care Consultants LLC, but bill using Dr. Malik’s name and Medicare billing number. The doctors billed Medicare for “annual wellness visits,” a comprehensive yearly appointment, but Dr. Ali did not see them in person and simply called asked a series of questions. Medicare paid $3,902 for the fraudulent claims.

Dr. Ali pleaded guilty in the 2020 case to one count of conspiracy to illegally distribute controlled substances, one count of illegally prescribing controlled substances, one count of paying illegal kickbacks for referrals and one count of a submitting false claims. He pleaded guilty in the 2024 case to one count of conspiracy to illegally distribute controlled substances and to maintain a drug-involved premises.

Dr. Malik pleaded guilty to two counts of making false statements related to health care matters. He admitted submitting claims for payment to Medicare, Medicaid and private health insurers in which he falsely claimed to have performed in-person services when he was out of the state or the country. He admitted billing a private insurance company for the intravenous infusion of ketamine that was performed by Dr. Ali, knowing that Dr. Ali was under indictment and lacked a DEA registration authorizing him to administer controlled substances. Dr. Malik admitted causing a total loss of $19,442 to Medicare, Medicaid, and the private health care insurers.

In August, Dr. Malik was sentenced to five years of probation, fined $20,000 and ordered to pay restitution of $19,442. He has also agreed to surrender his Drug Enforcement Administration registrations authorizing him to administer controlled substances.

“Health care providers who unlawfully distribute dangerous and addictive controlled substances not only endanger the lives of vulnerable individuals but also undermine the integrity of our nation’s health care system. Dr. Ali exploited the trust placed in him by his patients and engaged in kickback schemes for personal financial gain,” said Linda T. Hanley, Special Agent in Charge with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG).  “Today’s sentencing highlights HHS-OIG’s commitment to working with our law enforcement partners to hold health care providers accountable for their unlawful actions.”

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration and the Missouri Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Sestric prosecuted the 2024 case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy Sestric, Derek Wiseman and Jonathan Clow handled the 2020 case.

ST. LOUIS – A Mexican national on Monday admitted sexually abusing a minor and engaging in explicit communications with her on Instagram.

Giovanni Falcon, 41, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to transfer of obscene material to a minor and coercion and enticement of a minor. He admitted messaging a 15-year-old girl on Instagram between Jan. 1, 2024, and Aug. 12, 2024. In July and August of that year, Falcon sent the victim images of his genitals. Falcon and the victim also engaged in sexual contact on multiple occasions. On Aug. 13, 2024, the victim’s father contacted the St. Ann Police Department after discovering the explicit Instagram messages. St. Ann police arrested him the next day, and he admitted sexually abusing the victim.

The U.S. Attorney’s office will ask for 216 months in prison at Falcon’s sentencing, which has been set for Jan. 27, 2026. Falcon is not in the country legally and will be deported upon his release from prison.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the St. Ann Police Department 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 – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Monday sentenced a man who defrauded three companies out of $257,000 to 15 months in prison and ordered him to repay his victims.

Nadeem Gul, 54, pleaded guilty in March to two counts of wire fraud. He admitted claiming to represent wholesale distributors of merchandise including grocery items and electronics. The companies used the names Mega Liquidations Group, Mega Liquidations Warehouse and Mega Liquidations Corp.

In late 2021, an employee of a Maryland Heights company began communicating by email with someone claiming to be an “executive senior partner” at Mega Liquidations Group. The victim submitted nine purchase orders and wired a total of $112,000 but never received any merchandise.

A Phoenix, Arizona company responded to a solicitation email from Mega Liquidations Group by submitting two purchase orders and wiring $30,376 in November of 2021. They never received any merchandise from Mega Liquidations Group.

In June of 2021, a Ft. Worth, Texas company received a solicitation email from Mega Liquidations Warehouse, submitted five purchase orders and wired a total of $115,000. They also never received any product.

The U.S. Secret Service and the Maryland Heights Police Department investigated the case. 

ST. LOUIS – Five Romanian nationals have been sentenced for installing skimming devices on St. Louis area ATMs to harvest bank account information from customers.

U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk sentenced Mihai Vlaicu, 48, and Mihai Florin Marinescu, 38, on Friday to two years in prison. Laurentiu Miguel Ivan, 34, Nelu Nae, 37, and Venera Isabelle Dumitru, 28, were sentenced to the time that they already spent in federal custody while awaiting trial. All will likely be deported when they complete any prison time they receive in their St. Louis case and any pending cases elsewhere in the country.

All five pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. A sixth person indicted in the case, Ianus Nita, 53, has not yet been arrested.

Around January of 2024, Vlaicu and Marinescu began installing skimming devices in the St. Louis area. They installed them on at least two bank ATMs, one in Clayton and one in Frontenac and began using cloned cards to try and withdraw cash. Marinescu unsuccessfully tried to install a skimming device on an ATM in south St. Louis County, and then successfully installed one on an ATM in Wildwood. On May 28, Marinescu and Nae installed a skimming device on an ATM in St. Louis, but law enforcement found and removed it.

The conspirators were using an Airbnb in St. Louis County as a base. Investigators found a laptop computer containing hundreds of videos of customers entering their PINs at ATMs outfitted with a skimming device. They also found skimming devices, installation tools, a large amount of cash and numerous gift cards at the rented residence.

The conspirators were successful in stealing about $5,200 from 11 victims. Judge Pitlyk ordered them to repay the money.

The FBI, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the Webster Groves Police Department, the Clayton Police Department and the Frontenac Police Department investigated the case with assistance from the St. Louis County Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwen Carroll prosecuted the case.

ST. LOUIS – Two men caught with pounds of fentanyl and other drugs have pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge.

Dennis M. Davis, 47, pleaded guilty Thursday to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, including fentanyl. Shem J. Guy, 34, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in June. Both men admitted participating in a conspiracy to sell drugs that began at least as early as 2019.

During the investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration special agents caught David, Guy and their conspirators discussing drug purchases and sales. On Sept. 6, 2023, investigators conducted a court-approved search of a Davis “stash” house in St. Louis and found $12,323 in cash, four rifles, two pistols and a money counter. They also found 4.9 kilograms of fentanyl, almost a pound of marijuana, 285 grams of heroin, 168 grams of cocaine, 127 grams of cocaine base and 137 grams of meth. In Davis’ house, they recovered three pistols and fentanyl.

Davis is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 15, 2026, and Guy on October 1. Davis faces a potential penalty of 10 years to life in prison and a fine of up to $5 million. Guy faces a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $1 million or both prison and a fine.

Both men have also agreed to forfeit cash, firearms and a 2020 Ram 1500 Big Horn truck that were seized during the investigation.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the FBI, the St. Louis County Police Department, the Bridgeton Police Department, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, and the St. Charles County Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney James Delworth is prosecuting the case.

This prosecution 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 – Two St. Charles County residents were indicted by a grand jury Wednesday and accused of harboring illegal aliens.

Guo Liang Ye, 56, of St. Charles County and De Jin Ye, 56, were each indicted on one felony count of bringing in and harboring aliens. The indictment says they concealed the aliens from detection, knowing that they were in the United States illegally.

Both were arrested Tuesday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI.

A charge set forth in an indictment is merely an accusation and does not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The charge carries a potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 or both prison and a fine.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dianna Edwards is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge John A. Ross on Thursday sentenced a man to 78 months in prison for possessing child sexual abuse material on multiple electronic devices and in a cloud account.

Judge Ross also ordered Davie John Metzger, 55, of O’Fallon, Missouri, to pay $24,000 in restitution to the victims that have been identified in the material he possessed, as well as $40,000 that will go to other child pornography victims and victim services.

Metzger possessed 369 images of child sexual abuse material on a flash drive, 24 images on a hard drive, 211 in an online cloud storage account and 343 on a cell phone. Metzger’s conduct triggered three CyberTipline reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. A court-approved search of his online account revealed photos that he’d surreptitiously taken of women and girls in public places.

Metzger pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in April to one count of receipt of child pornography.

The FBI and the St. Charles County Cybercrime Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson 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 Sarah E. Pitlyk on Thursday sentenced a man who admitted selling the fentanyl that killed a St. Louis County, Missouri woman to 15 years in prison.

Forrest L. Smith, 37, of St. Louis County, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in May to one count of distribution of a controlled substance and two counts of distribution of fentanyl.

The victim was found dead in her bedroom on Oct. 5, 2021. Investigators found four capsules containing fentanyl, and messages on her phone showing that she bought drugs from Smith the day before via an intermediary, Smith’s plea agreement says. In November 2021, an undercover officer began texting Smith, and on Nov. 8, 2021, purchased fentanyl from Smith. The officer bought more fentanyl eight days later.

The Drug Enforcement Administration seized over 55.5 million fentanyl pills and 7,800 pounds of fentanyl last year. Half of the pills tested by DEA contained a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl. There were more than 258,000 opiate overdose deaths between 2013 and 2021, primarily due to illicitly manufactured fentanyl, according to the DEA.

The FBI and the Town and Country Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Granger prosecuted the case. 

ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis man on Wednesday admitted acting as one of the moderators of an online chat group that shared child sexual abuse material.

David Korte Daues, 37, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of possession of child pornography.

The investigation began with a Cyber Tipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children about child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on the messaging app Kik. The account was traced to Daues, and FBI special agents interviewed him at work. Daues admitted operating the account that triggered the tip. He also told the FBI that he was the moderator of a group on the Wire platform which regularly posted child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Daues said he began viewing CSAM about four years earlier and was in about 25 Kik groups and five Wire groups that shared CSAM. Daues admitted distributing CSAM in these groups. He also had images and videos containing CSAM on two cell phones.

Daues is scheduled to be sentenced on December 1. The 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 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 woman from the Atlanta area on Wednesday admitted aiding scammers pretending to be law enforcement officers.

Ariel Burden, 33, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of wire fraud. She admitted being part of a group that called victims from phone numbers that appeared to be associated with local law enforcement. The “spoofers” claimed to be law enforcement officers or affiliated with law enforcement and told victims that they had outstanding warrants for missing court appearances. They also falsely claimed that victims needed to pay thousands of dollars to a bondswoman to avoid being arrested. The scammers stayed in contact with the victims until they met with the supposed bondswoman, Burden. Burden, who called herself “Jennifer Davis,” collected the money and provided victims with a receipt that contained fake citation numbers and other false information.

In one example in Burden’s plea agreement, a scammer called a Jefferson County, Missouri victim on Feb. 28, 2024, while pretending to be with the Crystal City Police Department. The victim arrived at Crystal City’s City Hall and paid Burden $12,000 for “bond.” Burden then handed over a receipt with the bogus citation number “ft9 CV 1892 COC CV 1893,” a line noting that the payment had been made to the “Crystal City Court” and a line indicating that
The payment had been accepted by “Jennifer Davis.”

In all, Burden admitted defrauding three victims, including two in Kansas, out of a total of $28,000.

Burden is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 14, 2026. The wire fraud charge carries potential penalty of up to 20 years, a fine of up to $250,000 or both prison and a fine. Burden will also be ordered to repay the money.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, in conjunction with the Jefferson County, Missouri Sheriff’s Office and the McPherson, Kansas Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – A man indicted nearly six years ago and accused of participating in a Jamaican lottery scam has been arrested, U.S. Attorney Thomas C. Albus announced Wednesday.  

Christopher Gibbon, 54, was initially charged by complaint in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on July 26, 2018, and later indicted in December 2019 with one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and bank fraud, four counts of mail fraud and one count of bank fraud.

The indictment says that between Dec. 1, 2016, and July of 2018, Gibbon participated in a scheme in which victims were contacted by phone and email and falsely told that they had won the lottery. Victims were then told that they needed to send money to pay the taxes on their winnings. Gibbon received payments from at least four victims and then forwarded some of that money to co-conspirators in Jamaica, the indictment says. In one example listed in the indictment, a North Carolina resident sent $50,000 to Gibbon's address.

A motion seeking to have Gibbon held in jail until trial says that on July 20, 2018, less than two days after he was interviewed by U.S. Postal Inspectors, Gibbon told his wife that he was going to work but did not show up there and did not return home.

The motion says he was living with a girlfriend in Springfield, Mass. under the name Raseqhenre Heedram but wore a name tag reading Amos Johnson when he was arrested by Postal Inspectors in Connecticut on Aug. 28, 2025.

Gibbon will be detained in jail until trial. On Wednesday, a judge in U.S. District Court in Hartford ordered him sent to St. Louis.

Charges set forth in an indictment or 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.

“This arrest proves the resolve and relentless pursuit Postal Inspectors have in bringing those who defraud victims to justice,” stated Inspector in Charge, Ruth Mendonça, who leads the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which includes the St. Louis Field Office.  “I commend our local, state, and federal partners who assisted in this case and arrest.”

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Marshals Service Jamaica Foreign Field Office and the Connecticut Organized Financial Fraud Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Tuesday sentenced two men to prison for laundering money in the St. Louis area for the Sinaloa drug cartel.

Judge Pitlyk sentenced Carl Von Garrett, 55, of St. Charles, Missouri, to 135 months in prison and Tobiyyah Israel, 39, of Ohio, to 36 months in prison in separate hearings. Both men were found guilty by a jury in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in May of one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of money laundering. Von Garrett was also found guilty of one additional count of money laundering.

Evidence at the trial showed that Von Garrett laundered nearly $1 million in seven transactions in the spring of 2021 for the Sinaloa cartel.  In addition to his prison sentence, Von Garrett faces a money judgment of $744,864, representing the drug proceeds that made it to the cartel. Investigators also seized $211,000 from Israel and $7,040 from Garrett.

During the Von Garrett sentencing hearing, Judge Pitlyk said the large quantity of money in the case reflected significant drug sales and that Von Garrett’s crime was “threatening to the community.”

Luis Miguel Hernandez, 38, of Phoenix, previously pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of money laundering and admitted being driven by Von Garrett to a meeting with an undercover Drug Enforcement Administration task force officer in St. Louis on March 1, 2021. Hernandez delivered $100,095 in drug proceeds and then arranged a series of meetings between Antonio Jones, 51, of Florissant, Missouri, and the task force officer. On March 8, 2021, Jones handed over $100,000. Jones delivered $150,030 on March 17 and $100,000 on March 31. On April 8, Jones delivered $109,740.

Israel was a courier, like Jones, evidence and testimony showed. On April 14, Israel picked up $221,020 from Von Garrett. Von Garrett was then stopped by investigators, who found six phones and a ledger that contained dates and amounts of money roughly corresponding to cash drops, evidence showed. Israel told investigators that he’d been promised $1,000 to pick up the cash, and that he’d done so once before.

Jones then delivered $100,100 on May 18 and another $100,100 on May 25.

Hernandez was sentenced in January to 87 months in prison and Jones was sentenced to 37 months in prison. Jones pleaded guilty to two counts of money laundering.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service, the FBI, the St. Louis County Police, the Bridgeton Police Department, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, and the St. Charles County Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jim Delworth and Ricardo Dixon are prosecuting the case.

This prosecution 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 – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Tuesday sentenced a man who arranged for the sale of methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine to 15 years in prison.

Jerry Massey, 33, pleaded guilty in April to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute meth and fentanyl, five counts of distribution of meth and fentanyl, one count of possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of count of distribution of meth and heroin.

The Drug Enforcement Administration began investigating Massey in January of 2022, and made a series of drug purchases that were arranged by him in St. Louis, St. Louis County and Illinois. The sales included meth and fentanyl on Jan. 18, 2024, January 24, January 31, February 8, February 29, March 7, March 14. On February 14, the DEA purchased fentanyl and cocaine. On March 27, investigators conducted a court-approved search of Massey’s home and found a large amount of cash and 29 pills containing fentanyl, Massey’s plea agreement says.

Darrion Dardon, 32, previously pleaded guilty conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl and distribution of meth and heroin. Darius Smith, 31, pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge. Ronald Finney, 32, and Michael Davis, 34, pleaded guilty to three drug charges and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

In their plea agreements, Davis admitted selling meth and fentanyl on January 18. Smith gave Massey the meth that he sold on January 24. Dardon sold meth and a mixture of heroin, cocaine and xylazine on February 29. Finney sold meth and Davis sold fentanyl during the March 14 transactions.

When Finney’s home in St. Louis County was searched on March 27, investigators found fentanyl, cocaine base and meth, as well as a handgun and drug paraphernalia.  Davis’ home in St. Louis contained fentanyl, a digital scale, a kilogram press, drug paraphernalia, a handgun, meth, cocaine base and cocaine.

Finney and Davis await sentencing. Dardon was sentenced to 84 months in prison and Smith to 96 months.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the St. Louis County Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erin Granger is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Tuesday sentenced a registered sex offender caught with a pistol after a road rage shooting to eight years in prison.

Leroy Richard Walker Jr., 54, of Franklin County, pleaded guilty in April to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He admitted firing a shot from a pistol after he believed a driver passed him and then pulled in front of him on Nov. 25, 2022, as they exited Interstate 44 in Eureka, Missouri.

Walker was also investigated twice for violating the sex offender restrictions barring him from schools and school bus stops. He admitted approaching and speaking with two children who were waiting for the school bus on Nov. 28, 2023, in Franklin County. On May 14, 2024, Walker pulled up in front of a high school in Franklin County, Missouri and began speaking with a 16-year-old girl who was also waiting for the school bus. He offered her a ride home and dropped her at a commercial business. On the way, he put his arm around the victim. The victim told authorities that she got into Walker’s car because she felt pressured by him and believed he could grab or hurt her.

Walker has prior felony convictions for first-degree assault, attempted forcible rape, armed criminal action, burglary, tampering, stealing a motor vehicle and escape.

The Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, the Pacific Police Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson 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 Henry E. Autrey on Tuesday sentenced a northeast Missouri felon who was on supervised release when he was caught twice with drugs and guns to 153 months in prison.

Darek A. Wilson, 40, of Kahoka, in Clark County, pleaded guilty in April in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He admitted that on July 29, 2024, a U.S. Probation Officer was at Wilson’s home when he spotted suspected methamphetamine in Wilson’s bedroom. The officer went on to find a Glock handgun, 61 rounds of ammunition, fentanyl, meth, marijuana, and psilocybin mushrooms. Wilson was on supervised release after pleading guilty on Nov. 10, 2021, to one count of possession with the intent to distribute meth.

An arrest warrant was sought, and when the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Northern Missouri Drug Taskforce and the Kahoka Police Department returned to Wilson’s home, they found 12 firearms hidden in the false ceiling of a bedroom and a safe containing a digital scale, $4,394 in cash, 241.63 grams of meth, 19 grams of psilocybin mushrooms and 15 more guns. Wilson lived 231 feet from a school property.

The U.S. Probation Office, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Northern Missouri Drug Taskforce and the Kahoka Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nauman Wadalawala prosecuted the case.

ST. LOUIS – The former general manager of a Missouri company on Wednesday admitted embezzling $878,000.

Kristina Higgins, 54, pleaded guilty to eight counts of bank fraud and agreed to repay the money. She admitted issuing company checks to pay a total of $878,711 in personal credit card bills and using a stamp to add the company owner’s signature on the checks. In December of 2022, she falsified information to ensure that the checks would be honored when the company enrolled in the bank’s positive pay system, her plea agreement says.

Higgins is scheduled to be sentenced on December 4. Bank fraud is punishable by up to 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $1 million or both prison and fine.

The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf is prosecuting the case. 

ST. LOUIS – A Jefferson County, Missouri man on Friday admitted sexually abusing two girls and recording that abuse.

Benjamin F. Sexton Jr., 48, pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography, one count of coercion and enticement of a minor and one count of receipt of child pornography.

In 2023, the grandfather of one victim discovered explicit communications between that victim and Sexton. The victim told investigators that Sexton sexually abused her between the ages of 7 and 14 and recorded some of that abuse, Sexton admitted as part of his guilty plea. He also solicited sexual images via Snapchat and gave her methamphetamine.

A second victim told law enforcement that Sexton sexually abused her multiple times when she was 15, and investigators found images of the teen in Sexton’s Google account.

Sexton is scheduled to be sentenced on December 2. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson will recommend 27 years in prison for his crimes.

The St. Louis County Special Investigations Unit, the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney 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 – St. Louis Sheriff Alfred Montgomery was indicted Wednesday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on a civil rights charge. He appeared in court Thursday morning and pleaded not guilty.

Montgomery, 28, was indicted on a misdemeanor count of deprivation of rights under color of law, namely the right to be free from unreasonable seizure.

The indictment alleges that on Feb. 14, 2025, Montgomery deprived the acting commissioner of the St. Louis City Justice Center of her right to be free from unlawful detention by a person acting under color of law, when he directed and participated in the restraint and detention of her.

The charge is punishable by up to one year in prison, a fine of up to $1,000 or both prison and a fine..

A charge set forth in an indictment is merely an accusation and does not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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

ST. LOUIS – A mail carrier on Thursday admitted stealing checks from the mail and selling the key that allowed her co-conspirators to steal mail.

Cambria M. Hopkins, 30, of Florissant, Missouri, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of unlawful use of a mail key. Hopkins, a postal carrier based in Clayton, joined a conspiracy to steal mail to obtain personal and business checks, knowing that they would be used to commit fraud. On March 20, 2022, Hopkins sold her “arrow key,” which allows access to U.S. Postal Service collection boxes, to Malik A. Jones. She also told Jones which boxes the key would open. Jones then paid others to steal mail using Hopkins’ key.

Hopkins also stole mail at the Post Office and mail that she encountered on her route. From roughly August 2022 to August 2023, Hopkins sold checks to Jones multiple times. He paid her in cash, via CashApp or in groceries.

Hopkins is scheduled to be sentenced on December 1. The conspiracy charge carries a potential penalty of up to 5 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both prison and a fine. The mail key charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.

Jones, now 28, pleaded guilty October 25 to bank fraud and aggravated identity theft and is awaiting sentencing. He admitted recruiting other people who would then allow him to use their bank accounts to deposit forged and fraudulent checks that had been stolen from the mail.

The U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General and U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – A man from DeSoto, Missouri on Thursday pleaded guilty to child pornography charges involving three victims.

Dylan James, 25, pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography. He admitted recording a sexual act with a 13-year-old in 2024 and then distributing that recording.

Investigators later discovered evidence of two more victims on James’ phone. The second victim, who was 15, told investigators that James gave her alcohol and “possibly some vapes” in exchange for sexually explicit images. The third victim was 16 when James watched a livestream of her engaging in sex acts with her boyfriend. He later paid her for additional videos, James’ plea agreement says.

James is scheduled to be sentenced on December 2. The production charge carries a mandatory minimum prison term of 15 years. The distribution charge carries a potential penalty of 5 to 20 years.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the St. Louis County 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.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Wednesday sentenced a convicted felon from St. Louis who was caught by police with three guns to 12 years in prison.

Derrick Lamar Rodgers, 34, pleaded guilty in May in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He admitted being caught with three guns on May 24, 2024, when he was arrested by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department’s Fugitive Apprehension Strike Team. Rodgers, who was being sought on multiple warrants, had a 9mm handgun and plastic baggies with synthetic cannabinoid in a cross-body satchel. Officers also found a shotgun and a stolen Hi-Point 9mm handgun. Rodgers is a felon and is thus barred from possession of a firearm.

In court Wednesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Lake said Rodgers has an “atrocious” criminal history filled with violent acts, particularly against women.

Per an agreement between both sides, Judge Autrey ran Rodgers’ sentence concurrent with pending cases in St. Louis Circuit Court.

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

ST. LOUIS – A woman from Franklin County, Missouri on Wednesday admitted using stolen mail to commit bank and check fraud.

Miranda Burgess, 30, pleaded guilty to all 13 counts that she faces: one count of aggravated identity theft, three counts of possession of stolen mail and nine counts of bank fraud.

As early as Feb. 1, 2022, Burgess obtained mail that had been stolen from a Missouri victim, including mail with information about the victim’s bank accounts. Burgess used that information to transfer funds from the victim’s bank to her own accounts with Acorns, Green Dot, M1 Finance, Square and Wave, her plea agreement says. Burgess initiated $76,270 in fraudulent electronic transfers, but $50,000 was later returned to the victim.

Burgess also deposited counterfeit checks bearing the victim’s name, forged electronic signature and account number, costing the victim $1,200

Burgess is scheduled to be sentenced on December 3. Bank fraud is punishable by up to 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $1 million or both prison and fine and possession of stolen mail matter carries a penalty of up to five years and a $250,000 fine. Aggravated identity theft is punishable by a mandatory two years in prison, consecutive to the prison sentence for all other charges.

She will also be ordered to repay the money.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Arnold Police Department and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Ladendorf is prosecuting the case. 

ST. LOUIS – An assistant professor of pathology and immunology at the Washington University School of Medicine on Wednesday admitted embezzling $412,000 from his employer.

Gary Grajales-Reyes, MD-PhD, who maintained an office and research laboratory at the School of Medicine (WashU Medicine), pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to three counts of wire fraud.        

The scheme involved Grajales-Reyes submitting false requisition requests to WashU Medicine for internal and external hard drives and graphics cards falsely claiming that the computer equipment was for his WashU Medicine research laboratory.  Relying upon the false requisition requests, WashU Medicine purchased the requested computer equipment from its vendor, which then shipped the computer equipment directly to Grajales-Reyes’ research laboratory.  WashU Medicine then paid for the computer equipment.  After Grajales-Reyes received the falsely obtained computer equipment he sold the equipment by two different methods, without the knowledge or authority of WashU Medicine.  He sold some of the computer equipment through his personal eBay site, and he also sold some of the computer equipment to an Amazon based third-party seller.  He used the money obtained by selling the computer equipment for his own personal expenses unrelated to the work and operations of WashU Medicine, and without the knowledge or authority of WashU Medicine.  Over the period of his scheme, Grajales-Reyes submitted 73 false requisition requests to WashU Medicine for internal and external hard drives and graphics cards, which included approximately 761 different computer parts.  As a result of his scheme, WashU Medicine and Washington University paid approximately $412,163 for the computer parts, which Grajales-Reyes then sold for money which he used for his own personal expenses, unrelated to the work and operations of WashU Medicine.  Federal law enforcement seized a substantial quantity of collectible trading cards from Grajales-Reyes’ laboratory. He had purchased the cards with some of the funds he obtained from selling the computer parts.    

Grajales-Reyes is scheduled to be sentenced on December 4. Each count carries a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both prison and a fine.

The FBI investigated the case, with the cooperation and assistance of Washington University. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith is prosecuting the case. 

ST. LOUIS – A jury in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on Tuesday convicted a St. Louis man of all of the charges he faced for stealing more than $200,000 worth of online merchandise from Kohl’s.

According to evidence and testimony at the trial, Marshall Lampkin, 35, devised a scheme to use “Kohl’s Cash” twice. First, Lampkin would use Kohl’s Cash to purchase merchandise in a Kohl’s store, generally for more than $1,000. He then immediately used the same Kohl’s Cash to order merchandise online, knowing that the in-person transaction had not yet registered. Lampkin then returned the items he purchased in the store for a refund in Kohl’s Cash, so he could repeat his scam, evidence and testimony showed. Lampkin used the scheme more than 100 times in 2021 and 2022, at 40 different stores in 13 states, the trial showed.

He had his online purchases, which included flooring, furniture, small appliances and other items, shipped to storage units in St. Louis and a relative’s house in Illinois, evidence and testimony showed. He later sold or tried to sell those items by advertising them on Facebook.
 

Investigators also recovered hundreds of thousands of dollars in Kohl’s  merchandise packed into Lampkin’s storage units. 

The trial began Monday. In less than seven minutes, jurors found Lampkin guilty of five counts of mail fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced in December.

The U.S. Secret Service and the St. Louis County Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Ladendorf and Derek Wiseman are prosecuting the case. 

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark on Tuesday sentenced a man who built a drug trafficking organization that brought hundreds of pounds of fentanyl and methamphetamine to the St. Louis area to 27 years in prison.

Stephen Griffin Jr., 51, received a 25-year sentence for the main case, filed in 2021, and two more years for violating his supervised release in a 2015 heroin trafficking case.

In all, 20 people were indicted. Griffin’s top lieutenant, Troy Mills, 22, was also sentenced Tuesday to 16 years in prison on meth and fentanyl conspiracy charges and a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Crystal Miller, 37, of Florissant, who ran stash houses, was sentenced in December of 2023 to 20 years in prison. Twelve others have been sentenced. The remaining five defendants will be sentenced in October and November.

During the investigation, investigators seized about 39 firearms, 499 pounds of meth, 22 pounds of heroin, 49 pounds of fentanyl, four vehicles, ammunition, and more than $500,000 in assets.

Griffin pleaded guilty in April to two counts of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, two counts of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He admitted being part of a large-scale drug trafficking organization that brought meth and fentanyl from Arizona and California to the Eastern District of Missouri.

Initially, Griffin’s organization received meth and fentanyl in the mail, in multiple-kilogram packages, his plea agreement says. Those packages were taken to “stash” houses, where they were prepared for sale. Griffin and his co-conspirators also used a home health care business in a shopping center in Northwoods, Missouri as a base of operations where they coordinated shipments and sales of drugs, collected and stored drug proceeds, communicated with coconspirators, sources of supply and customers, and as a centrally located location to congregate between drug sales. Griffin’s organization later developed a second source of drugs in Arizona, and would obtain multiple-kilogram quantities of meth and fentanyl via the mail or couriers. Mills obtained drugs from Griffin and sold them to others.

In March of 2021, Griffin was arrested leaving a “stash” apartment with about one kilo of meth, a gun and multiple cell phones. Inside the apartment, investigators found about seven kilos of meth, 15 grams of fentanyl, a drug press and scales.

“Stephen Griffin rolled the dice when he started pushing fentanyl and methamphetamine in the St. Louis region,” Drug Enforcement Administration St. Louis Division Special Agent in Charge Michael Davis said. “His selfish greed destroyed families who were impacted by the fallout of his poisonous sales. Today, he faces the consequences of those actions. Griffin’s 21 years in federal prison will allow him plenty of time to reflect on the lives he ruined, including his own.”

“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service mission is to protect the nation’s mail system.  With the collaborative efforts of our federal law enforcement partners, Postal Inspectors investigate those utilizing the U.S. Mail for illicit activities, including the distribution of narcotics.  Today’s sentencing reflects the diligent investigative work by Postal Inspectors and our law enforcement partners,” said Inspector in Charge, Ruth Mendonça, who leads the Chicago Division, which includes the St. Louis Field Office.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Marshals Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Casey is prosecuting 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. 

ST. LOUIS – A man accused of conspiring to steal or try to steal 16 homes and a duplex with bogus deeds appeared in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Thursday and pleaded not guilty to two separate indictments.

James L. Townes Jr., 50, of Berkeley, was originally charged by complaint on June 10, 2025. He was indicted by a grand jury on June 25 with one count of mail fraud, one count of access device fraud, one count of unlawful production of an authentication feature, four counts of identity theft and four counts of aggravated identity theft. An August 6 superseding indictment charged Townes with a total of 25 counts, including conspiracy, mail fraud, access device fraud, fraudulently effecting transactions, unlawful production of an authentication feature, identity theft and aggravated identity theft.

Townes was indicted in a separate case on August 6 with one count of mail fraud, five counts of wire fraud and four counts of theft of government funds.

The superseding indictment accuses Townes and Charnay Bartlett, 29, of using a series of deeds to fraudulently transfer the ownership of 16 residences and a duplex between September 2018, and April 2025. Townes and Bartlett stole the identities of the true owners and fraudulently notarized the documents and forged signatures to perpetuate the transfers, the indictment says. Townes continued to fraudulently transfer the properties after his notary license was suspended, the indictment says.

Bartlett faces one count of conspiracy, one count of fraudulently effecting transactions, four counts of unlawful production of an authentication feature and four counts of identity theft.

The second indictment accuses Townes of falsely claiming to be disabled from February 2017, through August 6, 2025. Townes, it says, claimed not to have a bank account or any resources and said he could not walk more than five or 10 steps, do any household chores or lift, squat, bend, climb stairs, concentrate or complete tasks. During that time, Townes ran Tied Tight Entertainment and acted as the registered agent of 13 other LLCs, owned two investment accounts, became commissioned as a notary public and filed property deeds, the indictment says.

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

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General, the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General, the St. Louis County Police Department and the Hazelwood Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – A man from Arkansas has been indicted in St. Louis and accused of burglarizing more than 20 rural schools and businesses in Missouri and Iowa.

Curtis Lee Barton, 40, was indicted Wednesday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on one count of conspiracy to transport stolen property in interstate commerce and three counts of interstate transportation of stolen property.

The indictment says Barton and a co-conspirator stole a total of at least $50,000 from May 2023 through April 2025. Some of the money stolen from schools had been set aside for impoverished children and for the Special Olympics, the indictment says.

The indictment lists several examples of Missouri schools that were burglarized, including the Feb. 25, 2025, theft of about $5,752 from a school in Lewistown, the April 22, 2025, theft of about $13,000 from a school in Brookfield, and the April 26, 2025, theft of $4,000 from a school in Shelbyville. On April 26, 2025, Barton also stole about $1,000 from a safe in an Adair County school, the indictment says.

The indictment says Barton researched both his targets and the sheriff’s offices or police departments in those areas in advance. He broke into the schools in the middle of the night to avoid detection, the indictment says.

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 Wapello County (Iowa) Iowa Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is prosecuting the case. 

ST. LOUIS – Five people accused of involvement in a drug distribution ring that smuggled kilograms of cocaine to St. Louis and other areas were arrested Tuesday.

Christopher D. Taylor, 35; Stanford “Stan” Times, 36; Vincent “Lil V” Woods, 38; and Terry Smith, 49, were arrested in the St. Louis area. Rene Garcia, 47, was arrested in Texas.

Arturo Villalobos, now 33, of Texas, has been in custody since April, when he was charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to distribute cocaine. He was indicted with that same charge on April 30. A superseding indictment on July 24 added charges against the others.

Times, Woods, Garcia, Grant “50” Berry, 47, and Nabor Deleon, 34, of Texas, now face one cocaine conspiracy count and one count of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. Villalobos, Berry and Deleon face a second possession count. Taylor, Smith, and Wally Burciaga, 30, face just the cocaine conspiracy count. Berry, Deleon and Burciaga have not yet been arrested.

The indictment accuses all of them in involvement in a cocaine conspiracy from October 2024 to July 2025.

Motions seeking to hold the men in jail until trial say Villalobos was caught with a duffel bag containing 19 kilograms of cocaine, as well as $100,000 cash, part of a history of traveling the country transporting drugs and collecting drug payments. Only a few days later, he traveled to St. Louis to collect payment for a prior shipment of cocaine, the motion says.

Berry, who was caught with 13 kilograms of cocaine, supplied illegal drugs to Woods and Times, who supplied Taylor and Smith, the motions say. A man who purchased cocaine from Taylor was the target of a shooting on Interstate 55 in St. Louis on Nov. 23, 2024, the motions say. The buyer’s car was hit about 26 times. One round entered the northbound lanes of the highway, striking and killing an innocent bystander, the motions say.

Burciaga, an escaped federal prison inmate, was the source of supply of the drugs in Mexico, and Garcia and Deleon are truck drivers who transported the drugs, the motions say.

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

The Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Jefferson County Municipal Enforcement Group, the Overland Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Torrie J. Schneider Phillip Voss are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.