Eastern District of Missouri

ST. LOUIS – An illegal alien who distributed cocaine in St. Louis for a Mexican cartel was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in prison.

Jose Luis Mata-Cedillo, 40, pleaded guilty in June to four felony counts: conspiracy to distribute cocaine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, illegal reentry after deportation as an aggravated felon and being a felon in possession of a firearm. As part of his plea agreement, Mata-Cedillo admitted working for a large-scale, multi-country drug trafficking organization as a distributor in St. Louis. After a courier was intercepted in Junction City, Kansas with 27 kilograms of cocaine, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations began learning about Mata-Cedillo’s drug activities in St. Louis. On April 26, 2025, Mata-Cedillo provided a confidential informant with 5 kilos of cocaine. Later that night, investigators intercepted a courier who had been paid by Mata-Cedillo, seizing $54,600 in cash and about 10 kilos of cocaine. Three days later, he paid another courier, who was then stopped with $66,680, his plea says. In mid-May, agents learned that Mata-Cedillo was trying to order 50 kilos of methamphetamine from Mexico. Mata-Cedillo was arrested at the scheduled delivery point with a loaded 9mm Glock handgun.

Mata-Cedillo was involved in the receipt of at least 37 kilograms of cocaine and 50 kilograms of methamphetamine, a sentencing memo filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Torrie J. Schneider says. He was financially irresponsible and owed the Mexican cartel large sums of cash. He earned the nickname “El Mentiroso,” or “The Liar” because he so often lied about having the cartel’s money, the memo says, and had a cartel babysitter live with and monitor him for weeks during the investigation.

Mata-Cedillo was caught at the border in El Paso in 2008 and removed to Mexico. He entered the country again and was deported in 2020 after being released from a 78-month prison sentence he received in the West District of Washington after being convicted of another drug conspiracy charge. He was living in St. Louis under someone else’s name at the time of his arrest.

Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Junction City (Kansas) Police Department, the Illinois State Police and the Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Torrie J. Schneider prosecuted the case.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Joshua M. Divine on Wednesday sentenced a former tax preparer to 56 months in prison for preparing false tax returns and ordered her to repay $270,793.

Latasha L. Frison, 39, owned a tax preparation business in downtown St. Louis under various names including Taxed Rite. Evidence and testimony at her trial, which concluded July 1 with guilty verdicts on 16 counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation and presentation of false and fraudulent tax returns, showed that Frison falsified those tax returns in multiple ways. She made up businesses out of thin air and claimed tens of thousands of dollars in fake business expenses on Schedule C forms, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow wrote in a sentencing memo. She “exploited a COVID-19 tax credit intended to provide tax relief to those who were sick or caring for loved ones sick during the pandemic.” She “fabricated ludicrous amounts of creditable gas purchases by her clients—in one instance, claiming that a full-time liquor store cashier purchased 40,000 gallons of fuel in a single year,” the memo says.

The trial showed that Frison falsified information on 16 tax returns for six taxpayers for tax years between 2020 and 2023, triggering hundreds of thousands of dollars in refunds to which they were not entitled. Eight additional returns were identified during the criminal investigation that contained similar falsehoods, and 37 more were civilly audited by the IRS and found to contain false information, according to court filings and statements in court Wednesday.

Clow told Judge Divine that “significant statistical aberrations” in Schedule C and tax credits that were similar to those that triggered the initial investigation surfaced in returns dating back to when Frison first opened her tax business in late 2017. Returns prepared by Frison included an unusually high percentage of credits as compared to state and national averages, Clow said.

Frison charged some of her clients exorbitant fees, the sentencing memo says. Frison told one client who owed the IRS over $20,000 that it would cost $700 to prepare her taxes, then charged $5,000 after falsifying the return and obtaining a tax refund of $22,000. In a four-year period, she received at least $240,000 in fees. She spent over $145,000 at St. Louis-area casinos, the memo says. At trial, Frison lied under oath when she blamed clients for the false information in the returns, the memo says.

“Stopping fraud against taxpayer funds and keeping the tax system fair are top priorities for IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI),” said Kansas City Field Office Special Agent in Charge William Steenson.  “Latasha Frison operated a tax preparation business that profited by filing falsified information on her clients’ tax returns and caused thousands of dollars in refunds the clients were not entitled to. The tax loss to the Treasury and the tax nightmare created for the clients demands accountability. Through the partnership of IRS-CI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, taxpayers now have justice.”

Frison lived in Cahokia at the time of her crimes and now lives in Texas.

The case was investigated by IRS - Criminal Investigation.

CAPE GIRARDEAU – A Cape Girardeau County, Missouri man who placed a hidden camera in a residential bathroom was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in prison.

Ross Andrew Schaefer, 50, will be on supervised release for 20 years after his release from prison. Schaefer pleaded guilty in June in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to one count of production or attempted production of child pornography. He admitted placing the camera in the bathroom beginning at least in 2022, when his victim was 12 years old. Investigators discovered videos on Schaefer’s phone and a thumb drive.

The Cape Girardeau County Sheriff’s Office, the Children’s Division of the Missouri Department of Social Services and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hunter prosecuted the case.

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

ST. LOUIS – A man who was twice involved with trying to transport kilograms of methamphetamine to St. Louis was sentenced Monday to 200 months in prison.

Courtney D. McDonald, 30, pleaded guilty in April to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. He admitted paying an undercover agent of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations $1,005 on Jan. 24, 2025, for the delivery of a 2006 Toyota Highlander that had once been packed with 55.18 kilograms of meth. The New Mexico State Police had intercepted the Highlander two days earlier and removed the meth.

On May 21, 2025, Drug Enforcement Administration agents arrested McDonald in Kansas City, Missouri after he got off a train. A drug-sniffing K-9 alerted to McDonald’s suitcase, which contained about 18 kilos of meth. McDonald’s backpack contained 3.27 grams of cocaine and $4,873 in cash.

Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the New Mexico State Police investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul D’Agrosa prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe. Coordinated by U.S. Attorneys’ offices in each of the 94 federal districts, PSN is tailored to particular communities to strategically address specific violent crime and public safety challenges. As a key component of Operation Take Back America, PSN serves a central role in the Department’s commitment to make our country safe. PSN emphasizes three core principles: rapid federal response to violent crime and criminal offenders; strong, strategic partnerships among law enforcement at all levels; and accountability and deterrence through the prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offenses and other strategies. These efforts complement and strengthen President Trump’s Homeland Security Task Forces, ensuring a comprehensive federal response to the most pressing public safety issues facing communities.

ST. LOUIS – Two men have been accused of recruiting homeless persons to cash checks at St. Louis-area financial institutions that had been stolen from the mail.

Eight people have been indicted in connection with the investigation and accused of depositing U.S. Treasury checks with a total value of $3.4 million and then withdrawing or attempting to withdraw the money. Samuel Stewart, 27, of St. Louis, was indicted May 6 on one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, five counts of bank fraud, ten counts of possession of stolen mail, eight counts of aggravated identity theft and nine counts of forging endorsement on Treasury checks. Royce Finger, 22, of Maryland Heights, faces one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, six counts of bank fraud, ten counts of possession of stolen mail, eight counts of aggravated identity theft and nine counts of forging endorsement on Treasury checks.

The final defendant to be arrested, David Sims, appeared in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Thursday for a detention hearing.

The indictment says that from as early as November 2024 through January 2026, Stewart and Finger received Treasury checks that had been stolen in Florida, Minnesota, California and Tennessee. They then created fraudulent driver’s licenses, U.S. passports and other identification documents so the checks could be cashed, the indictment says. The pair provided housing and clothing to their co-conspirators, the indictment says. They took them to the banks after coaching them so they could answer questions from bank staff about why the checks bore addresses in other states, the indictment says. The defendants told bank employees that they had recently moved to the St. Louis and provided fake utility bills and identification to bolster the lies, the indictment says.

Sims, 68, Jose Marti, 37, and Christopher Brown, 50, face various counts of all five charges. Cynthia Conner, 51, Ryan Ewald, 47, and Lisa Taca, 48, also face various counts of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, possession of stolen mail and aggravated identity theft. The indictment says they deposited the checks and withdrew the money.

In one example provided in the indictment, Stewart and Finger gave Sims a fake ID that he used to deposit a stolen $937,809 Treasury check. The defendants then caused the withdrawal of $597,890. On July 21, 2025, Stewart and Finger gave Sims a fake passport and a stolen $669,185 Treasury check, the indictment says. Sims later returned to the bank and withdrew $6,500.

The conspiracy and bank fraud charges are punishable by up to 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine or both prison and a fine. The forging charge is punishable by up to 10 years and the same fine. Possession of stolen mail carries a penalty of up to five years and/or a $250,000 fine and aggravated identity theft carries a mandatory two years in prison consecutive to any other sentence.

All defendants have appeared in court and pleaded not guilty. 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.

IRS Criminal Investigations, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jolene Taaffe is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – Two Chinese nationals turned themselves in Thursday on charges that accuse one of a naturalization crime and both of a firearm crime.

Biqi “Ashley” Huang, 25, and Wentian Du, 35, were indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on September 9. Huang now faces one count of making a false statement in a naturalization proceeding and one count of fraudulent acquisition of a firearm. Du faces one count of being an alien in possession of a firearm.

Both appeared in court Thursday and pleaded not guilty.

The indictment says Huang made a false statement under oath in a matter relating to naturalization between August 1, 2025, and July 27, 2026. It also says she made a false statement to a firearm dealer on May 28, 2026, in connection with the purchase of a firearm. Du illegally possessed a firearm between June 1 and August 26 of 2026, the indictment says.

Motions seeking to detain both in jail until trial say Huang entered the U.S. on a student visa on July 13, 2023, and attended graduate school in St. Louis. She married on May 22, 2024, and received her Legal Permanent Resident status after misrepresenting the status of her marriage in an Oct. 14, 2025 interview and on her LPR application, her motion says. Du was issued a B1/B2 nonimmigrant visa in September 2022 and entered the U.S. on Oct. 2, 2022. About a year later, he applied for asylum, his motion says.

In June, Huang moved to New York and met Du, her motion says. She subsequently applied to join the U.S. Air Force, telling a recruiter that she wanted to join to get her citizenship as soon as possible, then divorce and marry Du, the motion says. During the investigation, FBI agents realized that Du tried to purchase a firearm on Oct. 18, 2025, the motions say. The purchase was denied and Du was notified why. He rented a firearm at least 13 times and his credit card was used on May 29, 2026, to buy a 9mm pistol, the motion says. Huang filled out a form falsely stating that she was the actual buyer, the motions say.

Making a false statement in a naturalization proceeding is punishable by up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 or both prison and a fine. The firearm charges against Du and Huang are punishable by up to 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 or both prison and a fine.

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

The FBI investigated the case, with the assistance of the U.S. Air Force Office of Special Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Colleen Lang is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – A convicted felon from Berkeley, Missouri on Tuesday admitted being caught with two guns in a stolen car after a shootout and police chase last year.

Ja’Lon Pittman, 22, of Berkeley, pleaded guilty 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 a stolen AK-style pistol and a Glock pistol on July 28, 2025. Earlier that day, a man told the Columbia, Missouri police that Pittman had taken his Chrysler 300 without his permission, and possibly his watch and gun. The victim told officers that he located Pittman and during a confrontation, the two exchanged gunfire. Police notified the Missouri State Highway Patrol that Pittman may be heading to the St. Louis area, and troopers spotted him and tried to stop him on Interstate 70. Pittman sped away, driving in excess of 120 m.p.h. and weaving in and out of traffic before crashing near the Blanchette Bridge. Pittman ran away but was found hiding under a van in a nearby parking lot. Investigators found the victim’s Romarm Cugir Micro Draco pistol in the car and a Glock in a bag that Pittman discarded. Pittman was wearing the stolen watch.

The Columbia Police Department, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Szczucinski prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe. Coordinated by U.S. Attorneys’ offices in each of the 94 federal districts, PSN is tailored to particular communities to strategically address specific violent crime and public safety challenges. As a key component of Operation Take Back America, PSN serves a central role in the Department’s commitment to make our country safe. PSN emphasizes three core principles: rapid federal response to violent crime and criminal offenders; strong, strategic partnerships among law enforcement at all levels; and accountability and deterrence through the prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offenses and other strategies. These efforts complement and strengthen President Trump’s Homeland Security Task Forces, ensuring a comprehensive federal response to the most pressing public safety issues facing communities.

ST. LOUIS – A man who possessed child sexual abuse material, including images generated by AI, was sentenced Wednesday to 18 years in prison.

U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark also ordered Michael A. Huseman, 32, to pay $23,000 in restitution to five identified victims. Huseman possessed over 22,000 files containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on two cell phones and two laptops. Investigators also found 6,000 anime files depicting children being sexually abused and well as over 400 files of AI-generated CSAM. Included among the CSAM are about 201 files depicting child abuse victims who have been identified by law enforcement.

Huseman also told someone to delete almost 5,000 social media communications that Judge Clark said were likely not favorable to his case.

Huseman, of Manchester, pleaded guilty in June in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of receiving child pornography.

The Manchester Police Department, the Regional Computer Crimes Education and Enforcement Group of Greater St. Louis and the FBI 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 – A man who fled the St. Louis area in 2018 after learning that he was being investigated for participating in a Jamaican lottery scam pleaded guilty Wednesday.

Christopher Gibbon, 55, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in January to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. He admitted receiving packages containing cash, checks and money orders from victims, as well as at least one wire transfer. He also admitted that co-conspirators in Jamaica called victims falsely claiming that the victims had won the lottery but needed to send taxes and fees to Gibbon before they could collect their prizes. Gibbon admitted receiving about $96,302 from eight victims between Dec. 19, 2016, and July 9, 2018, his plea says. Gibbon kept 20% of the money before electronically transferring the rest to co-conspirators. Gibbon received fake letters from conspirators via WhatsApp that purported to be from U.S. government officials asserting that the lottery was legitimate. He mailed those letters from the U.S. because victims would have become suspicious if the letters came from Jamaica.

On July 5, 2018, a New Jersey victim handed an envelope to a Postal Service employee addressed to Gibbon and said she was mailing to money to become a millionaire. She returned with more packages on July 6 and July 9, triggering the investigation, his plea says.

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 and disappeared, according to court filings. He was arrested in 2025 in Connecticut.

Gibbon is scheduled to be sentenced on December 21. The charge carries a potential penalty of up to 30 years in prison, a fine of up to $1 million, or both prison and a fine.

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 Gwen Carroll is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – A former Missouri Department of Transportation supervisor at the Normandy, Missouri maintenance facility has been indicted and accused of misusing state-issued credit cards to make $50,000 in personal purchases, including watches, clothing, cologne, shoes, and accessories for his personal vehicles.

Artemus Jamal “AJ” Jackson, 37, of Florissant, is also accused of stealing two newly purchased mowers and a newly purchased trailer from the MoDOT maintenance facility, valued at nearly $30,000.

Jackson was indicted Wednesday in U.S. District Court in St. Louis with four counts of mail fraud. The indictment says Jackson misused MoDOT issued credit cards from December 2022 through July 2026.

Jackson made about 248 personal purchases using the cards, including electronic equipment, cologne, watches, clothing, shoes and equipment and accessories for his personal Yamaha Raptor ATV, Suzuki motorcycle and GMC Sierra 1500 truck, the indictment says.

To conceal those purchases, Jackson made false entries and edits on vendor invoices to make it appear as if the transactions were for legitimate MoDOT expenses, the indictment says. Jackson approved by signature the transactions and then submitted the false invoices to his supervisor to trick the supervisor into believing that the purchases were legitimate, the indictment says.

Further, in May of 2026, Jackson bought two mowers, one that cost $9,954 and another for $13,959, that were then delivered to MoDOT, the indictment says. He stole the mowers on May 17, 2026, and staged a burglary to make it appear as if someone else had taken them, the indictment says.  MoDOT began an investigation, and the indictment says that Jackson became concerned that his theft of the mowers would be discovered, so he moved them from the wooded area where he had hidden them to the shoulder of Interstate 70 at Hanley Road, and left a handwritten note on one of the mowers that read, “NORMANDY! MOWERS! MODOT!!!”  He also called in an anonymous tip about the mowers’ location, using a fake voice, and claimed in another call that he’d been told by a local elected official about the location of the mowers, the indictment says.

During MoDOT’s investigation of the missing mowers, Jackson was asked on May 28 about the location of a 14-foot Big Tex trailer and accessories that he’d purchased in 2025 with $5,411 in MoDOT funds, the indictment says. Jackson initially falsely claimed the trailer was stored at a MoDOT facility in Bellefontaine Neighbors and, concerned that his theft of the trailer would be discovered, drove it the next day from the area where he’d concealed it to a location blocking a lane on Missouri Highway 367 (Lewis and Clark Boulevard) in Bellefontaine Neighbors, the indictment says. The Bellefontaine Neighbors Police Department recovered the trailer and video surveillance in the area showed Jackson towing the trailer with his personal truck to the location where he dumped it, and then later driving without the trailer, the indictment says.

Jackson started work at MoDOT on Dec. 9, 2013. He was promoted to maintenance supervisor on Oct. 1, 2022, and terminated on July 24, 2026.

Each count of mail fraud is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 or both prison and a fine.

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

The United States Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General, and the Missouri Department of Transportation Audits and Investigations Division investigated the case, with the cooperation of the Missouri State Auditor’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Hal Goldsmith is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark on Tuesday sentenced a man to 51 months in prison for using stolen personal information he obtained on the dark web to buy five vehicles worth $333,000 at dealers around the country.

Judge Clark also ordered Michael Calvin, 45, to pay $193,000 in restitution. Some of the vehicles have not been recovered and the dealers incurred costs in recovering others.

Calvin purchased victims’ stolen personal information and a template of a Missouri driver’s license on the dark web and then created fake licenses and identification cards to use in his scheme. From Nov. 1, 2023, to Aug. 31, 2024, Calvin used fake identification and the stolen personal information to purchase cars online, as shown below:

Calvin was shot in St. Louis on Aug. 13, 2024, while trying to sell the Durango, according to court documents. He was living at a Rolla motel at the time of his arrest. He pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in May to two counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service; the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department; the Missouri State Highway Patrol; the Ohio State Highway Patrol; and police departments in Eureka, Independence, Raymore, Richmond Heights, Rolla and St. Ann in Missouri; as well as Davenport, Iowa; El Reno, Okla.; Fond du Lac, Wisc.; and Lombard, Ill. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Roy prosecuted the case.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Zachary M. Bluestone on Tuesday sentenced an illegal immigrant who ran a Ponzi scheme that bilked investors in Missouri and elsewhere out of millions of dollars to 11 years in prison.

Judge Bluestone also ordered Siddharth Jawahar, 38, to pay $31.35 million in restitution to victims.

Judge Bluestone cited the “enormous” losses and the lengthy duration of Jawahar’s fraud and echoed a victim who said Jawahar “weaponized” investors’ trust. He also said Jawahar’s failure to begin repaying victims was a major factor.

Jawahar ran a Texas-based investment company called Swiftarc Capital LLC. In 2015, he began investing client funds in a single investment, Philip Morris Pakistan (PMP). Eventually, 99% of client funds were consolidated into PMP. When the value of PMP declined, Jawahar did not tell investors and falsely claimed that his investors were making profits. Investors were also falsely led to believe that he’d invested their money in a specific company or companies but he never made the promised investments.

From about July 2016 through December 2023, Jawahar took in more than $35 million from Swiftarc investors but invested only about $10 million.

Jawahar used money from new investors to repay older investors and to fuel an extravagant lifestyle that included travel on private jets, stays at luxury hotels, a luxury apartment in Austin and New York City, memberships at multiple private clubs across the country, spending sprees at clothing stores and expensive outings at fancy restaurants.

After his indictment, Jawahar tried to obstruct justice by trying to coach a victim into giving a favorable statement to the FBI, lying about his immigration status and finances and trying to get his sister to remotely wipe his iPhone to hide evidence.

Jawahar also managed additional entities that he utilized during his scheme, including Swiftarc Fund LP, Swiftarc LLC, Swiftarc Holdings, SJ Investment Holdings LLC, Order of Magnitude Ventures LLC, Extra Sensory Perception Inc., Swiftarc Growth Fund LP, Swiftarc Opportunities Fund LP, SJ Investment Holdings LLC, SV Labs SPV 1 LP, Swiftarc Venture Labs Fund GP LLC, SJDB Ventures LLC, Swiftarc Ventures LLC, Swiftarc Venture Labs Fund LP, Swiftarc Telehealth Labs Fund LP, NI Stubbs LLC and Swiftarc Beauty Fund LP.  

He pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in January to three counts of wire fraud.

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

ST. LOUIS – A convicted felon from St. Louis on Thursday admitted being caught in a stolen car with two shotguns.

Maurice Brown Jr., 27, pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. On April 12, 2026, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers learned that a recently stolen Audi A4 was spotted driving in St. Louis. After following the car, Brown was seen by officers walking away from the car and a local resident identified him as the driver. Brown had an active warrant and was on probation at the time. When officers searched Brown, they found the keys to the car in his pocket. In the car, they found two shotguns. As a felon, Brown is barred from possessing firearms.

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

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe. Coordinated by U.S. Attorneys’ offices in each of the 94 federal districts, PSN is tailored to particular communities to strategically address specific violent crime and public safety challenges. As a key component of Operation Take Back America, PSN serves a central role in the Department’s commitment to make our country safe. PSN emphasizes three core principles: rapid federal response to violent crime and criminal offenders; strong, strategic partnerships among law enforcement at all levels; and accountability and deterrence through the prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offenses and other strategies. These efforts complement and strengthen President Trump’s Homeland Security Task Forces, ensuring a comprehensive federal response to the most pressing public safety issues facing communities.

ST. LOUIS – A man who possessed child sexual abuse material and uploaded it to Snapchat was sentenced Thursday to 14 years in prison followed by 20 years of supervised release.

Joshua J. Klenke, 21, of St. Charles, pleaded guilty in June in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of receiving child pornography. He admitted uploading child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to Snapchat. After an investigation sparked by CyberTips from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, investigators found videos and pictures containing CSAM on Klenke’s phone, as well as a picture of him kissing a 4-year-old girl on the lips. Klenke, who worked for a cleaning company, encountered the girl in a client’s home.

The St. Charles County Police Department and the FBI 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.

CAPE GIRARDEAU – A Southeast Missouri man who recorded his sexual abuse of children was sentenced Thursday to 40 years in prison.

Lantz D. Crawford, 26, of Ripley County, near Doniphan, recorded his sexual abuse of five girls, ages 2, 4, 5, 6 and 6, between the summer of 2024 and late 2025. In December of 2025, the mother of the 4-year-old girl contacted the Ripley County Sheriff’s Office after her daughter reported the abuse. Crawford’s phone was seized and investigators found child sexual abuse material (CSAM) depicting young children.

“This is one of the worst cases involving crimes against children I’ve encountered in my 23 years with the FBI, period. The abhorrent sexual abuse inflicted on these five preschool-aged children is beyond the pale,” said Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker of the FBI St. Louis Division. “Lantz Crawford deliberately positioned himself to gain access to vulnerable children. He exploited the trust of single mothers who believed he was offering a helping hand, volunteering to watch their children or drive them places, when in reality, he was creating opportunities to prey upon them.”

Crawford pleaded guilty in June in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to five counts of production of child pornography.

The Ripley County Sheriff’s Office, the FBI and the Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hunter prosecuted the case.

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

ST. LOUIS – Jurors in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on Wednesday found a St. Louis County felon caught with two guns guilty of a firearm charge.

Evidence and testimony at the trial, which started Tuesday, showed that a Hazelwood police officer stopped Paris D. McPeters on June 18, 2024, after he failed to stay in his lane. After learning that McPeters had an active warrant, the officer arrested him.  Before the vehicle was towed, the officer asked McPeters whether there were guns or drugs in the vehicle and McPeters responded, “yeah.” A search revealed a 5.56-caliber semi-automatic rifle with a loaded 100-round drum magazine, five additional loaded large capacity magazines, a .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol with a loaded 50 round drum magazine and extra ammunition, evidence and testimony showed. McPeters has numerous prior convictions. As a felon, he is barred from possessing firearms.

McPeters, 44, was found guilty of one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He is scheduled to be sentenced December 9. The charge carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison.

The Hazelwood Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys J. Christian Goeke and Joseph Green are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe. Coordinated by U.S. Attorneys’ offices in each of the 94 federal districts, PSN is tailored to particular communities to strategically address specific violent crime and public safety challenges. As a key component of Operation Take Back America, PSN serves a central role in the Department’s commitment to make our country safe. PSN emphasizes three core principles: rapid federal response to violent crime and criminal offenders; strong, strategic partnerships among law enforcement at all levels; and accountability and deterrence through the prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offenses and other strategies. These efforts complement and strengthen President Trump’s Homeland Security Task Forces, ensuring a comprehensive federal response to the most pressing public safety issues facing communities.

ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis mail carrier has been accused of dumping at least 30,000 pieces of mail in vacant lots since 2024.

Armond Paige, 54, was indicted on September 2 in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on one count of delay or destruction of mail by a postal employee. The indictment says that Paige dumped mail in vacant, weedy lots rather than delivering it. From roughly 2024 to April 29, 2026, Paige discarded at least 30,000 pieces of mail in various vacant lots, the indictment says. At the time, Paige was working out of the Maryville Gardens Post Office on Meramec Street in south St. Louis.

Paige appeared in court Tuesday and pleaded not guilty.

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 five years in jail, a fine of up to $250,000, or both prison and a fine.

The investigation is being conducted by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwen Carroll is prosecuting the case.

CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. on Tuesday sentenced a southeast Missouri man to 20 years in prison for his role in the armed robbery of two businesses and their patrons in 2024.

Tarrence Raybon, 41, and two other men robbed a tobacco and liquor store in Kennett on Jan. 17, 2024. The two other men were armed. One grabbed a man and threw him to the ground while pointing a gun at him. They stole cash and a cell phone from victims and cash and lottery tickets from the store. Raybon was out on bond and wearing a GPS monitoring device on his ankle, which showed him at store at the time it was robbed.

Four days later, Raybon and two other men robbed another Kennett business. One man held a gun to a victim’s head while Raybon stole cash from the store’s office. Raybon used bolt cutters to break into video gambling machines and steal cash while his accomplices held employees and patrons at gunpoint. They also stole cash, a gun and a cell phone from victims. Raybon's ankle monitor again put him at the scene of the robbery. Both robberies were also captured on video.

On Feb. 27, 2024, Raybon and two other people were in a stolen car and being pursued by Pemiscot County Sheriff’s deputies and officers with the Portageville Police Department. The driver of the vehicle crashed. After Raybon fled on foot, officers found his driver’s license and a distinctive chrome Lorcin .380 handgun used during both robberies. 

Raybon, of Kennett, in Dunklin County, pleaded guilty in June in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to two counts of robbery and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The Kennett Police Department, the Dunklin County Sheriff’s Office, the Pemiscot County Sheriff’s Office, the Portageville Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Shelton prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe. Coordinated by U.S. Attorneys’ offices in each of the 94 federal districts, PSN is tailored to particular communities to strategically address specific violent crime and public safety challenges. As a key component of Operation Take Back America, PSN serves a central role in the Department’s commitment to make our country safe. PSN emphasizes three core principles: rapid federal response to violent crime and criminal offenders; strong, strategic partnerships among law enforcement at all levels; and accountability and deterrence through the prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offenses and other strategies. These efforts complement and strengthen President Trump’s Homeland Security Task Forces, ensuring a comprehensive federal response to the most pressing public safety issues facing communities.

ST. LOUIS – A Moberly, Missouri man was sentenced to 27 months in prison Tuesday and ordered to repay the $284,000 that he fraudulently obtained via a pandemic rental assistance scam.

Steven W. Hendren, 34, submitted numerous fraudulent applications for State Assistance for Housing Relief (SAFHR) rental assistance to the Missouri Housing Development Commission from March 2021 through June 2024. Hendren falsely listed himself as a landlord in the loan applications and included fake lease agreements and financial statements. He also submitted other applications in which he fraudulently inflated rent amounts and altered lease agreements and financial statements.

The SAFHR program was designed to provide emergency assistance for rent, utility bills and other expenses during the pandemic. Hendren received $284,840, much of which he used for personal expenses including the purchase of a 2020 GMC Yukon.

Hendren pleaded guilty in June in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one felony count of wire fraud.

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

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

ST. LOUIS – A caregiver from Dent County, Missouri on Friday admitted stealing at least $321,000 from a client.

Loretta Pyeatt, 52, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of fraud in connection with access devices. She admitted that she worked for the victim from roughly July 2023 to September 2025. At the time she started, the victim had at least $232,026 and was receiving Social Security Administration retirement benefits and Veteran’s Affairs benefits monthly. He gave Pyeatt his debit cards so she could buy groceries for him. Pyeatt, however, used the card to make cash withdrawals and additional unauthorized purchases. Before Pyeatt started working for the victim, he had 20 to 30 debit transactions per month. That ballooned to as many as 330 transactions per month. By July 2025, the victim’s account balance had declined to less than $5,600.

Pyeatt is scheduled to be sentenced on December 9. The charge carries a potential penalty of up to 15 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both prison and a fine.

The Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General and the Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jolene Taaffe is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – A man who was the original purchaser of 27 guns that were later recovered at crime scenes in three states was sentenced Wednesday to five years in prison.

Lamondre Haynes, 33, bought 27 firearms that were recovered by law enforcement in Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri while in the possession of individuals being arrested for drug violations, violent assaults and gun possession crimes. Haynes identified himself as the “actual transferee/buyer” of each gun on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Form 4473 - Firearms Transaction Record. Among those purchases were two Glock pistols Haynes bought on April 2, 2025, while accompanied by a convicted felon from Illinois. At least some of the cash for the purchase came from the felon. On May 1, 2025, Haynes bought two Glock pistols and two AK-style pistols from two different stores. One of the Glock pistols was recovered in Columbia, Illinois after being used in a carjacking during which the victim was shot.

Twenty-nine of the guns have not been recovered.

“Twenty-seven firearms purchased by one individual ended up in the hands of law enforcement across three states,” said Special Agent in Charge Bernard “Butch” Hansen, of the ATF Kansas City Field Division. “That kind of proliferation demonstrates how quickly illegally diverted firearms can spread into communities and contribute to violent crime. ATF is committed to identifying those who fuel the illegal firearms market and working with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to hold them accountable.”

Haynes, of Ferguson, Missouri, pleaded guilty in June in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of making a false statement to a federally licensed firearms dealer.

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

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe. Coordinated by U.S. Attorneys’ offices in each of the 94 federal districts, PSN is tailored to particular communities to strategically address specific violent crime and public safety challenges. As a key component of Operation Take Back America, PSN serves a central role in the Department’s commitment to make our country safe. PSN emphasizes three core principles: rapid federal response to violent crime and criminal offenders; strong, strategic partnerships among law enforcement at all levels; and accountability and deterrence through the prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offenses and other strategies. These efforts complement and strengthen President Trump’s Homeland Security Task Forces, ensuring a comprehensive federal response to the most pressing public safety issues facing communities.

ST. LOUIS – A former gymnastics coach on Wednesday admitted engaging in unlawful sexual activity with two 13-year-olds.

Marco A. Zomphier, 32, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to two counts of coercion and enticement of a minor. He admitted meeting the first victim in 2012, when she was a member of a YMCA dance/gymnastics program and Zomphier was a coach/member of that program. They began communicating via text messages, the ooVoo video call app and the Kik messaging app. Zomphier praised his victim in those communications, flirted with her and professed his love for her. “I love you…. You’re the only girl I want to be Mrs. Zomphier,” he wrote at one point.

Zomphier convinced the victim to have him over at her house. There, he molested her but was unsuccessful in coercing her to have sex with him, his plea agreement says. On one occasion at her home, he tried to push her into her bedroom. Zomphier’s abuse of the victim ended around May of 2013.

In late 2021, the second victim met Zomphier at the Collinsville gymnastics program where he was a coach. They began communicating via Snapchat. Zomphier’s messages became more sexual in nature in January of 2022. They engaged in unlawful sexual activity in the parking lot of a store near her home and at his home in Bethalto, Illinois.

Zomphier is scheduled to be sentenced on December 2. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will recommend a sentence of 25 years in prison.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the St. Louis County Police Department, the Bethalto 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 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, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

CAPE GIRARDEAU – A man from Bollinger County, Missouri was sentenced Tuesday to 12 years in prison for using threats to coerce two 13-year-old girls into sending him nude images.

Terry Michael Howard, 21, of Marble Hill, pleaded guilty in May in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to one count of enticing a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct. He admitted communicating with the two teens via Snapchat in December of 2024, when he was 19. Howard claimed to be the father of a 13-year-old boy who the victims knew. He threatened to hurt or kill the boy if they did not send him sexually explicit material. In January 2025, the Bollinger County Sheriff’s Office received a report about the allegations and investigated, resulting in Howard’s confession. The FBI located records of the chats, and Howard’s threats. Howard told investigators that he initially did this as a joke and stopped when he realized the girls were scared.

“Terry Michael Howard actually knew both minors but pretended to be someone else online to trick them. He threatened to harm a third juvenile if the two victims didn’t produce sexually explicit images,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Joe Weston of the FBI St. Louis Division. “I commend both 13-year-old victims for their bravery. Even though they were the ones who were sexually exploited, they called 911 because they were worried another person would be harmed.”

After his release from prison, Howard will be on supervised release for 20 years and will be required to register as a sex offender.

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

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

ST. LOUIS – A man from Hannibal, Missouri on Tuesday admitted possessing child sexual abuse material that was discovered after he threatened a former paramour.

Joseph E. Courtney, 38, admitted in his guilty plea that he threatened the woman on Sept. 10, 2024. Among other messages, Courtney wrote, “I sleep and wake up with thoughts of killing you.” After his arrest for threatening behavior, investigators conducted a court-approved search of his phone and spotted possible child sexual abuse material (CSAM). A second search warrant then uncovered 62 videos containing CSAM, including the sexual assault of crying children. 

Courtney pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of possession of child pornography. He is scheduled to be sentenced on December 2. The charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

The Hannibal Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the 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, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

ST. LOUIS – A man from Jefferson County, Missouri on Wednesday admitted requesting and receiving child sexual abuse material from a teen and then forcing her to produce more.

David Paeper, 20, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of receiving child pornography. He admitted meeting a 15-year-old girl on Instagram and requesting and receiving sexually explicit images of her. When she later refused his request for more images, he threatened to send the initial explicit images to her mother unless she produced more.

The Rogers (Arkansas) Police Department traced Paeper’s Instagram account and the St. Louis County Police Department found and interviewed Paeper. They also found images of the teen on Paeper’s phone.

Paeper is scheduled to be sentenced on December 1. The charge is punishable by five to 20 years in prison.

The Rogers (Arkansas) Police Department 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 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, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark on Wednesday sentenced a man caught with more than one-half pound of methamphetamine to 140 months in prison.

Nathan Hollis Price, 49, was caught on May 20, 2024, after investigators with the Franklin County Sheriff's Office learned that he was bringing the meth from St. Charles to the motel in Sullivan where he was staying. They conducted a traffic stop and found three bags containing a total of 245.9 grams of pure meth. They found two scales and a glass pipe in his motel room.

The amount of meth was “clearly an amount that he intended to distribute further,” a sentencing memo written by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Rebar says.

Price pleaded guilty in May in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine.

The Franklin County Sheriff's Office and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Rebar is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – A jury in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on Wednesday convicted the former visiting pastor of a Missouri church of all 20 of the counts that he faced related to his orchestration of a $1.2 million pandemic loan fraud scheme as well as a more than $600,000 auto and personal loan fraud scheme.

After jurors deliberated for about an hour, they found Kenneth C. Sparks III, 56, guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, six counts of wire fraud, three counts of aggravated identity theft and 10 counts of money laundering.

The trial started Monday. Evidence and testimony showed that Sparks was invited to Faith Walk Ministry in Paris, Missouri, to preach for three days. He stayed three years, all the while using the church, its employees and parishioners to launch a “full-time fraud operation,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman told jurors in closing arguments. Sparks claimed to be a prophet and an apostle of God, whose word could not be questioned. “Kenneth Sparks impersonated God himself in order to steal millions of dollars in public funds during the worst days of the pandemic,” Wiseman said.

Sparks first fraudulently obtained an Economic Injury Disaster Loan for himself shortly after the pandemic hit. He then “exploited the faith of his congregation” by asking and receiving for parishioners’ personal and bank account information and using that to apply for additional loans, Wiseman said. He also directed them to open accounts at a credit union to receive the money and had them sign blank checks. Sparks told parishioners and church employees that he would use the information to fix their credit and/or obtain grants to build a megachurch, evidence and testimony showed. About 40 fraudulent EIDL and Paycheck Protection Program loans would eventually be obtained.

In testimony Wednesday, IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent Aaron Joifrita said $1.2 million in pandemic loans were obtained in the name of parishioners and church employees. Loan applications contained numerous falsehoods. The applications were filled out by church employees, with the help of two other Sparks’ co-conspirators from outside the church who supplied false tax and employment documents. Parishioners were also supplied with “scripts” in case they were questioned by bank officials about the loans. Just over $1 million went to Sparks, who wrote $313,000 in checks to himself and obtained $172,000 via cash withdrawals or advances in addition to spending $168,000 at luxury retailers, $127,000 on real estate and $47,000 on jewelry, including a diamond-studded Rolex watch, evidence showed.

Sparks also used many of the same methods to direct a scheme that took out $685,000 in personal and auto loans in his name and the names of others.

Sparks is scheduled to be sentenced on December 1. Ten other defendants have either pleaded guilty or accepted responsibility in the case.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Derek Wiseman and Karin Schute are prosecuting the case.

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

ST. LOUIS – A convicted felon on Wednesday admitted possessing a firearm that was first brought to authorities’ attention during a domestic disturbance.

Matthew Orasco, 46, pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. On Aug. 17, 2025, Brentwood Police Department officers responded to reports of a domestic disturbance. Upon arrival at Orasco’s home, they saw that his girlfriend had bruises under her eyes, a cut lip that had been stitched up, swelling on the side of her head and a red eye. She said that Orasco had assaulted her. Officers then learned that Orasco, a convicted felon, was keeping a handgun at a neighbor’s house. Officers found the .357 Magnum revolver and ammunition and learned that Orasco would ask for the pistol and then return it to the neighbor for safekeeping.

Orasco is scheduled to be sentenced on December 2. The charge carries a penalty of up to 15 years in prison.

The Brentwood Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Lane is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe. Coordinated by U.S. Attorneys’ offices in each of the 94 federal districts, PSN is tailored to particular communities to strategically address specific violent crime and public safety challenges. PSN serves a central role in the Department’s commitment to make our country safe. PSN emphasizes three core principles: rapid federal response to violent crime and criminal offenders; strong, strategic partnerships among law enforcement at all levels; and accountability and deterrence through the prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offenses and other strategies. These efforts complement and strengthen President Trump’s Homeland Security Task Forces, ensuring a comprehensive federal response to the most pressing public safety issues facing communities.

ST. LOUIS – The co-owner of a St. Louis bar on Monday admitted obtaining a credit card in the name of one of his co-owners and using it to charge nearly $30,000.

Anthony Saputo, 44, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of engaging in illegal transactions with an access device. Saputo admitted that on Sept. 9, 2021, while another of the bar’s co-owners was out of the country, he applied for and obtained an American Express card by using her name and Social Security number without her knowledge or authorization. In the next two months, Saputo charged nearly $30,000 on the card, including a $3,000 cash advance that he used to pay his rent and car loan. Some of the charges were also business expenses related to the opening of the bar. Saputo failed to pay the balance, incurring significant penalties and interest.

Saputo, of St. Louis County, is scheduled to be sentenced on December 1. As part of his plea agreement, he has agreed to release any ownership interest in the LLC that owns the bar. He will also be ordered to pay restitution.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwendolyn Carroll is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – A sex offender on Thursday admitted being caught with two children in a Missouri state park, triggering an investigation that uncovered child sexual abuse material.

Michael E. Barton, 46, of Washington County, admitted in his plea agreement that on Nov. 12, 2023, he was spotted by a Missouri State Park Ranger in Elephant Rocks State Park. The ranger ran Barton’s license plate and learned that he was a sex offender who, by law, is not allowed within 500 feet of a park with a playground. The ranger conducted a traffic stop and spotted two boys, ages 8 and 12, in the car who are not related to Barton. Barton provided the passcode to one of his cellphones, leading the ranger to discover a YouTube account that Barton had not registered and photos of the older boy shirtless.

The ranger also found photos of a second phone that included SnapChat conversations with the older boy that included adult pornography. When confronted with the ranger’s findings, Barton ran for his vehicle and grabbed the older boy’s arm but was shocked with a Taser and handcuffed. The ranger found and searched Barton’s second phone, with his consent, and uncovered photos and videos of the older boy, including videos taken with a camera Barton had hidden in his home.

Barton pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of possession of child pornography and one count of failure to update the sex offender registry.

Barton is scheduled to be sentenced on November 18. The possession charge is punishable by 10 to 20 years in prison and the failure to register charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The Missouri State Park Rangers and the Missouri State Highway Patrol 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 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, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

CAPE GIRARDEAU – A convicted felon from Poplar Bluff, Missouri who was caught with a gun after selling methamphetamine to investigators was sentenced Wednesday to 40 months in prison.

On Dec. 3, 2025, the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force and the Butler County Sheriff’s Department conducted a court-approved search of the home of Dorothy Mae Neeley. Neeley had recently sold a small amount of meth to someone working with the Task Force. She was arrested on an unrelated warrant and turned over about 5 grams of a mixture containing meth, according to her plea agreement. She also told investigators that she had a firearm in her bedroom, and they found a disassembled sawed-off shotgun. Neeley is a convicted felon, having been imprisoned four times, and is thus barred from possessing a firearm.

Neeley, 50, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau in May to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force and the Butler County Sheriff’s Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Willis prosecuted the case.

ST. LOUIS – A convicted felon on Wednesday admitted exchanging gunfire with a customer of the St. Louis fast food restaurant where he worked.

Tony Robinson, 28, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He admitted that on Dec. 17, 2025, he got into an argument with a customer of the fast-food restaurant where he was working. After a manager intervened, Robinson walked away from the drive-thru window and put his headset on the counter. The customer was standing outside, looking through the window of the dining room. Robinson then walked outside with a hand in his pocket. The customer backed up and opened fire. Robinson pulled a gun from his pocket and returned fire. Both men continued shooting as they fled. The customer ran away and Robinson went back inside before firing through the window of the restaurant’s dining room.

Robinson ran from the restaurant into a nearby church and hid his gun in a stairwell. When St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers found Robinson, he initially lied and said he threw his gun into a sewer. Officers found his gun, a .45-caliber Glock pistol. Police interviewed the customer, who also said he was acting in self-defense. Officers found four .45-caliber cartridge casings and nine 9mm casings. There were bullet holes in the windshield and hood of the customer’s car and in the restaurant window.

Robinson is scheduled to be sentenced on November 19. He faces up to 15 years in prison.

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

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe. Coordinated by U.S. Attorneys’ offices in each of the 94 federal districts, PSN is tailored to particular communities to strategically address specific violent crime and public safety challenges. As a key component of Operation Take Back America, PSN serves a central role in the Department’s commitment to make our country safe. PSN emphasizes three core principles: rapid federal response to violent crime and criminal offenders; strong, strategic partnerships among law enforcement at all levels; and accountability and deterrence through the prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offenses and other strategies. These efforts complement and strengthen President Trump’s Homeland Security Task Forces, ensuring a comprehensive federal response to the most pressing public safety issues facing communities.

ST. LOUIS – A convicted felon from Georgia has been arrested and accused of possessing about 53 kilograms of cocaine and two firearms.

Chad E. “J-Bo” Brown, 54, was charged by complaint in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on August 14 with one count of possession with the intent to distribute more than 10 kilograms of cocaine. He appeared in court Monday.

The complaint and affidavit say that the day before Brown’s arrest, the Drug Enforcement Administration learned of a cocaine shipment that had arrived in St. Louis and suspected that Brown was using a St. Louis County home as a drug stash house. Agents conducted a court-approved search of the home on August 14 and found about 49 kilos of cocaine in duffel bags in a bedroom closet and four more kilos in the kitchen, the affidavit says. Two guns were found in a bedroom.

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

The investigation is being conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration and was initiated by the St. Louis Gateway Strike Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Delworth is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis, Missouri man appeared in court Thursday to answer charges accusing him of a fatal 2024 carjacking.

Terry Thomas, 21, was indicted on July 16, 2025, with one count of carjacking resulting in death, one count of use of a firearm during a crime of violence and one count of causing death through the use of a firearm. He pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Thursday.

The indictment accuses Thomas of stealing a Kia Stinger on May 6, 2024, in Jennings, Missouri, resulting in a man’s death.

A motion seeking to have Thomas held in jail until trial says the victim was shot five times. The stolen Stinger was found abandoned by Creve Coeur at 2:46 a.m., about six hours after the carjacking. Thomas was arrested by police on June 20, 2024.

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

The St. Louis County Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Torrie J. Schneider is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe. Coordinated by U.S. Attorneys’ offices in each of the 94 federal districts, PSN is tailored to particular communities to strategically address specific violent crime and public safety challenges. As a key component of Operation Take Back America, PSN serves a central role in the Department’s commitment to make our country safe. PSN emphasizes three core principles: rapid federal response to violent crime and criminal offenders; strong, strategic partnerships among law enforcement at all levels; and accountability and deterrence through the prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offenses and other strategies. These efforts complement and strengthen President Trump’s Homeland Security Task Forces, ensuring a comprehensive federal response to the most pressing public safety issues facing communities.

CAPE GIRARDEAU – A man from Wayne County, Missouri on Tuesday admitted distributing child sexual abuse material that he produced as a minor.

Tanner Stevens, 23, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to one count of receiving child pornography. He admitted viewing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) beginning when he was 13 or 14. Stevens took pictures of two minors when he was a minor and uploaded them to X when he was 21. The investigation began when the Missouri State Highway Patrol Special Victims Unit received a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding someone who uploaded CSAM into Google Photos. Investigators traced the account to Stevens. Stevens’ cellular phone contained over 100 videos and over 400 images containing CSAM.

Stevens is scheduled to be sentenced on November 17. The charge carries a penalty of five to 20 years in prison.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hunter 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. For more information, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

ST. LOUIS – A man from Venice, Illinois was sentenced Tuesday to 154 months in prison for the armed robbery and carjacking of one man in St. Louis in 2024 and for shooting at another man an hour later.

On Sept. 4, 2024, Harry Moore, 21, was driving a Cadillac that had been stolen in Belleville, Illinois, and was accompanied by two other armed people, including a juvenile. They spotted an SUV in the Tower Grove East neighborhood in St. Louis and decided to rob the driver. Moore’s two passengers got out and demanded the victim’s wallet, iPhone and keys. Then Moore, who was also armed, got out and demanded that the victim unlock his phone and provide his debit card PIN so that the three could loot his accounts. Moore then drove to a gas station, followed by his accomplices, and used the victim’s debit card to withdraw more than $200 from an ATM. He used the victim’s phone to transfer $200 from the victim to an associate via Cash App.

About an hour later, Moore was in the front passenger seat of the stolen SUV when he spotted someone from a rival group walking near Ballpark Village in downtown St. Louis. Moore opened fire with a .45-caliber handgun as his target fled into a parking garage. Later that day, investigators found the juvenile and the SUV in East St. Louis.

On Oct. 10, 2024, Moore was arrested inside a home in Cahokia Heights, Illinois. Investigators found three firearms there, including the Glock used in the shooting.

Moore’s conduct risked the lives of his victims and anyone near the shooting, Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Martin said in court Tuesday. The carjacking and shooting followed a “staggering amount of crimes” that began at a young age, Martin said, adding that Moore was one of a small subset of individuals responsible for a large amount of violent crime.

Moore, 21, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in April to one felony count of carjacking and one felony count of possession and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a violent crime.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the FBI and the St. Clair County (Illinois) Sheriff’s Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Martin prosecuted 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.

ST. LOUIS – Two men have been accused of shooting at St. Louis Metropolitan police officers and ATF agents last month.

Justin R. Price, 19, and Alexavier Bishop, 19, both of Florissant, were charged by complaint in U.S. District Court in St. Louis Thursday with aiding and abetting the assault of federal agents and aiding and abetting the discharge of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. Price appeared in court Friday. Bishop is in custody.

The officers and agents were conducting a traffic stop at Oriole and Thekla Avenues in St. Louis on July 28 when just after 9 p.m. a Ford Fusion stopped about one block away and someone fired 12 shots with an automatic weapon. Police pursued the Fusion, which was abandoned in the 1500 block of Sells Avenue. An affidavit filed in support of the complaint says that Bishop, Price and one other person were in the Fusion but escaped, the affidavit says.

About 90 minutes before the shooting, Price and Bishop were spotted pulling on the door handles of parked vehicles in the 1700 block of McLaran Avenue, about one mile away, and appeared to be armed, the affidavit says.

“It is a miracle that the police officers, ATF agents and bystanders were not wounded in this incident,” said U.S. Attorney Thomas C. Albus. “You can be assured that we are treating this assault with the utmost seriousness. We are grateful for the hard work of investigators and the assistance of the public, and we hope that the public will continue to help us in this ongoing investigation.”

“The fact that no one was struck by the 12 rounds fired at St. Louis police officers and ATF agents that night was extraordinarily fortunate, but it does not diminish the seriousness of this alleged attack,” said ATF Kansas City Field Division Special Agent in Charge Bernard Hansen. “This case reflects the determined work of state, local and federal partners, along with community members who came forward to help. We are especially grateful for SLMPD’s investigative work and for the diligence of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in reviewing the evidence and securing these charges as the investigation continues.”

“An attack on law enforcement is an attack on the people working every day to keep our neighborhoods safe. These arrests demonstrate what is possible when local, state and federal law enforcement work together, supported by a community willing to come forward and help, with a shared commitment to accountability,” said St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert J. Tracy. “I am grateful to the many law enforcement partners involved in this investigation, along with our nationally recognized SLMPD Crime Laboratory, for working relentlessly to identify those allegedly responsible and move this case forward.”

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

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, the St. Louis County Police Department, the Alton Police Department and the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office were involved in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul D’Agrosa is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – A Florissant man on Monday admitted setting fires in a hotel near Ferguson, Missouri in 2025.

Brandon Dallas Smith, 40, admitted purchasing a cup of gasoline from a convenience store at 2:26 a.m. on March 26, 2025, and then using that gas to ignite several fires at the hotel. Two of the fires were ignited outside of hotel room doors. Hotel guests put out the fires before the fire department arrived, but the hotel was damaged.

Smith pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of use of a facility of interstate commerce with intent to commit a crime of violence in furtherance of arson.

He is scheduled to be sentenced on November 18.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the St. Louis County Police Department and the St. Louis County Bomb and Arson Squad investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Finlen is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – A man from Sparta, Illinois has been accused of promoting and facilitating the prostitution of a woman found dead of an overdose in 2025.

Jared Anders, 30, was indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on July 22 on three felonies: sex trafficking, use of interstate commerce with intent to distribute prostitution and use of interstate facilities to promote prostitution. He appeared in court Friday and pleaded not guilty.

The indictment alleges that Anders benefited financially from the prostitution of the victim between Feb. 1, 2025, and May 22, 2025. 

A motion seeking to have Anders held in jail until trial says that the investigation began on May 22, 2025, when the victim was found dead of an overdose in a hotel in Edmundson, Missouri, near St. Louis Lambert International Airport. The victim’s picture had been posted on multiple online prostitution sites, the motion says, and she and Anders had been communicating about her prostitution activities and the drugs that she said she needed to keep working as a prostitute.

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 Edmundson Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service 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. For more information, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

ST. LOUIS – A former North County Police Cooperative officer on Monday admitted sexually assaulting 18 men after detaining or arresting them.

Marcellis Blackwell, 36, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to 18 counts of deprivation of rights under color of law, namely the right to bodily integrity. All of the counts involved abusive sexual contact and fifteen involved the kidnapping of the victims.

As part of his plea agreement, Blackwell admitted that between Nov. 8, 2022, and June 5, 2023, while working as an officer with the North County Police Cooperative, Blackwell sexually assaulted 18 men. The assaults typically followed traffic stops or arrests. In one case, Blackwell detained two men after a traffic accident, groping one in the back seat of his police vehicle before taking his other victim to a remote location. Sixteen of his victims were handcuffed at the time. Fifteen were taken to a remote location, including a high school and the back parking lot of Blackwell’s department, after he deactivated his body-worn camera. On 13 occasions Blackwell falsified reports by claiming that his body-worn camera had been active during his entire interaction with the arrestees.

The investigation began on June 4, 2023, when one of Blackwell’s victims from the previous day contacted the North County Police Cooperative. As more victims came forward, the FBI took over the investigation.

Blackwell is scheduled to be sentenced on November 24. The U.S. Attorney’s office will request a sentence of 30 years in prison.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine Krug and Jennifer Szczucinski are prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Maria A. Lanahan on Wednesday sentenced a St. Louis bus driver to 15 years in prison for engaging in sex acts with a 12-year-old Michigan girl.

After meeting the victim via social media in 2023, Harold Paul White, now 56, drove to Michigan to pick her up and bring her back to St. Louis. White engaged in illegal sex acts with the minor at his apartment in St. Louis and recorded those acts with a phone. When the victim realized that she had been reported missing, White bought her a bus ticket home.

“This is the second child predator we've sent to federal prison in as many days, underscoring the persistent threat these offenders pose to our communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker of the FBI St. Louis Division. “Child exploitation is not an isolated problem; it is a daily reality that the FBI and our law enforcement partners confront across the country. Parents need to understand that a child's bedroom is no longer a barrier between them and those who would do them harm. Online platforms give predators constant access to potential victims, making vigilance, communication, and reporting more important than ever.”

White pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in May to one count of interstate travel with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

The FBI and local police investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dianna Edwards prosecuted the case.

ST. LOUIS – A businessman and former St. Louis aldermanic candidate on Wednesday admitted committing Social Security disability fraud by falsely claiming to be unable to work for years.

Justin Idleburg, 47, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of theft of government money. He admitted that from January 2019 to May 2024, he failed to report his business activities and income from grants to the Social Security Administration (SSA) and exaggerated his symptoms to remain medically eligible for benefits. He fraudulently received a total of $51,388.50.

Idleburg initially began receiving Social Security disability benefits in January 2007. His disability determination was reviewed in 2018 and 2024, when he reported mental health symptoms and difficulty getting along with others. Despite those claims, beginning as early as 2017, Idleburg was involved in multiple community organizations, organized and attended public events, ran for the St. Louis Board of Alderman in 2019 and started two businesses, he admitted in his plea agreement. In March 2019, he formed Idleburg Consultants, LLC and listed himself as the principal. In 2020 his social media showed him volunteering at the polls for an election event. In 2022 Idleburg posted a photo of a chancellor’s certificate he received from the University of Missouri St. Louis in economic development.

In August of 2023, Idleburg registered Cabanne District Community Development Corporation and listed himself as president. He applied for and received $67,000 in grants for his business and deposited the grants in bank accounts he failed to disclose to the SSA. In 2023 he also participated in multiple media interviews regarding his businesses and spoke to lawmakers in Jefferson City regarding cultural bias in the energy sector.

Idleburg is scheduled to be sentenced on November 5. The charge carries a potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

The Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General’s Cooperative Disability Investigations program investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jolene Taaffe is prosecuting the case.

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

ST. LOUIS – A convicted felon from East St. Louis on Tuesday admitted shooting a homeless man in 2024.

Travion X. Cutler, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. He admitted that on Oct. 21, 2024, he was walking around a tent in downtown St. Louis when the man who shared the tent returned from showering at a friend’s house. The victim’s tentmate was inside the tent. Cutler fired a single shot, striking the victim in the abdomen. Police quickly located Cutler, who turned and ran, dropping a .40 caliber handgun after he fell into some bushes. He was then arrested. Cutler is a felon and is thus barred from possessing firearms.

Cutler is scheduled to be sentenced on November 4. The charge carries a potential penalty of up to 15 years in prison.

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

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe. Coordinated by U.S. Attorneys’ offices in each of the 94 federal districts, PSN is tailored to particular communities to strategically address specific violent crime and public safety challenges. As a key component of Operation Take Back America, PSN serves a central role in the Department’s commitment to make our country safe. PSN emphasizes three core principles: rapid federal response to violent crime and criminal offenders; strong, strategic partnerships among law enforcement at all levels; and accountability and deterrence through the prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offenses and other strategies. These efforts complement and strengthen President Trump’s Homeland Security Task Forces, ensuring a comprehensive federal response to the most pressing public safety issues facing communities.

ST. LOUIS – A convicted felon from St. Louis on Tuesday admitted being caught three times with firearms after traffic stops.

Darrion Boyd-Barnes, 29, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. On Sept. 22, 2022, he was stopped by St. Louis police in a vehicle with an expired temporary tag. After officers discovered that he had given them a false name and had an active arrest warrant, they arrested him and found a loaded Glock 29 10mm pistol.

On April 16, 2025, Boyd-Barnes was a passenger in a vehicle pulled over for having an improper license plate. St. Louis police officers again learned that Boyd-Barnes had an active arrest warrant and found a loaded Palmetto State Armory Dagger 9mm handgun.

On Nov. 12, 2025, St. Louis police pulled Boyd-Barnes over in a Jeep after he ran three stop signs. When officers asked him to get out of the vehicle, he sped off, eventually stopping at his girlfriend’s house in St. Louis County. Multiple police agencies responded to the scene. Boyd-Barnes refused multiple times to leave the house and then escaped. Police found 29 firearms in the home, including AR-style pistols and rifles, a shotgun, multiple stolen pistols and five pistols that had been illegally converted into fully automatic weapons with a machinegun conversion device.

Boyd-Barnes is scheduled to be sentenced on November 4. The charge carries a potential penalty of up to 15 years in prison.

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

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe. Coordinated by U.S. Attorneys’ offices in each of the 94 federal districts, PSN is tailored to particular communities to strategically address specific violent crime and public safety challenges. As a key component of Operation Take Back America, PSN serves a central role in the Department’s commitment to make our country safe. PSN emphasizes three core principles: rapid federal response to violent crime and criminal offenders; strong, strategic partnerships among law enforcement at all levels; and accountability and deterrence through the prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offenses and other strategies. These efforts complement and strengthen President Trump’s Homeland Security Task Forces, ensuring a comprehensive federal response to the most pressing public safety issues facing communities.

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Tuesday sentenced an Ohio man to 160 months in prison for engaging in sex acts with a Missouri minor.

Andrew Raymond Crum, 33, of Toledo, originally met the girl on an online gaming platform when she was 14 years old, in 2021. Crum began driving to Missouri to have sex with the girl in February of 2024, when she was 16. He also exchanged sexually explicit images and videos with the victim via Snapchat, where he used the name “Sassy Man.”

The FBI was alerted in October of 2024 about Crum’s plans to return to Missouri and located and contacted the victim and her mother.

“Thanks to an anonymous tip to the FBI, we were able to stop Andrew Raymond Crum from continuing to sexually exploit a teenage victim,” said Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker of the FBI St. Louis Division. “Crum believed he would never be caught. He was wrong. Tips from the public are often the key to rescuing victims and identifying offenders. The FBI and our law enforcement partners will relentlessly pursue those who prey on children. When they are convicted in federal court, there is no parole.”

Crum pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in April to one count of coercion or enticement of a minor.

The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dianna 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 man from Jefferson County, Missouri on Monday admitted suppling the drugs that killed another man in 2024.

Daryn Joshua Odell Karnes, 21, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of distribution of fentanyl. He admitted driving to a home in Jefferson County on Jan. 5, 2024, and selling $100 worth of capsules containing fentanyl, heroin and xylazine to a couple, including a woman who had previously purchased fentanyl from him. The couple did not have enough money for the drugs and wrapped a $1 bill around paper to make it appear as if it was a wad of currency. The male later overdosed and died of fentanyl, heroin and xylazine intoxication. Under the plea agreement, Karnes agreed that the male would not have died but for the fentanyl. First responders found seven remaining capsules.

The transaction was arranged via Karnes’ “Luh Daryn” account on Facebook, and he later demanded full payment from the male victim. He also told a third party that the victim and his girlfriend would get “hurt” for not paying for the drugs.

Karnes is scheduled to be sentenced on November 17. The charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mohsen Pasha is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – An adult day care provider has been indicted and accused of defrauding Missouri Medicaid out of $1.47 million.

Tony King, 63, was indicted July 22 on five counts of health care fraud. King turned himself in Thursday and appeared in U.S. District Court in St. Louis, where he pleaded not guilty.

The indictment says King operated Agape Love Adult Day Care LLC, holding out the company as a provider in Missouri’s Adult Day Care Waiver (ADCW) program. That program provides for continuous care and supervision of older and disabled adults for up to 10 hours per day, five days a week to provide a community-based alternative to those who might otherwise be placed in a nursing facility. The Missouri Medicaid Program reimburses for ADCW services including planned group activities, food service and transportation.

The indictment says King submitted false claims for reimbursement to Missouri Medicaid for services that were never provided. King falsely claimed that Agape provided 10 hours of care per day when the company only provided half that amount, the indictment says. King also submitted claims for providing day care services to patients that were either not present at Agape or were hospitalized. The indictment says that King submitted a total of $1.47 million in false claims from at least as early as February 2021 through March 2026.

King, formerly of St. Louis County, now lives in Georgia.

Health care fraud is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and a fine. Restitution is mandatory.

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

The FBI, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General and Missouri Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karin Schute is prosecuting the case.

ST. LOUIS – A woman from Florissant, Missouri on Wednesday admitted stealing $170,000 in Social Security benefits after the death of a relative.

Laneka Holmes, 45, of Florissant, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of theft of government money. She admitted that the death of a relative on May 23, 2017, was not reported to the Social Security Administration, as required. The relative’s Social Security payments were being deposited into an account held jointly with Holmes, and Holmes took those funds from May 2017 until April 2025. Holmes admitted unlawfully receiving a total of $170,574.

At her October 21 sentencing, Holmes faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both prison and a fine. She will also be ordered to repay the money.

The Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jolene Taaffe is prosecuting the case. 

CAPE GIRARDEAU – A man who threatened employees of the Social Security Administration twice in 2025 was sentenced Tuesday to a year and a day in prison.

After his release from prison, Timothy Wells Stevens, 57, will be on supervised release for two years.

On Oct. 1, 2025, Stevens was told in a phone call with an SSA employee in Pennsylvania that there was no record showing that he was due payments. Stevens said that if he did not receive payments, “I’m commin’ gunning for you all.” The employee told Stevens that the SSA takes all threats seriously, and he responded “No, I am going gunnin’ trust me, and I’m going to blow up every (expletive) office around here.”

About 30 minutes later Stevens called again and reached an SSA employee in California. During that call, he said, “Cause I’m telling you now, if I have to sell my place I’ve owned for 17 years and go live under a bridge, I’m hunting every last one of you (expletives) down and I’m gonna blow you up,” his plea agreement says.

Stevens, of Wayne County, Missouri, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to two counts of transmitting a threatening communication in interstate commerce.

The Federal Protective Police and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Willis prosecuted the case.

ST. LOUIS – A former Northwoods, Missouri police officer was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison for the assault of a handcuffed man in 2023.

Jurors in April found Samuel Davis, 28, guilty of one count of deprivation of rights under color of law, one count of witness tampering by way of misleading conduct for making a misleading statement to a police dispatcher and one count of falsifying records in a federal investigation for turning off his body-worn camera.

“Today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of the defendant’s crime,” said Harmeet K. Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division.  “Law enforcement officers are given immense public trust to discharge their vital duties.  We will hold accountable those who violate that trust and abuse their authority.”

“Civil rights crimes by police erode the public’s trust in law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Thomas C. Albus. “We will continue to hold law enforcement officers to high standards and protect the civil rights of all people.”

"Samuel Davis flagrantly violated the law he swore to uphold. The victim complied with officers' commands and was already in handcuffs, yet Davis still chose to beat and tase him," said Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker of the FBI St. Louis Division. "Every law enforcement officer has a duty to enforce the law while safeguarding the constitutional rights and dignity of every person. Davis' actions betrayed that responsibility and undermined the public trust that officers work tirelessly to earn. That is why the FBI remains steadfast in investigating allegations of excessive force and holding those who abuse their authority accountable."

Northwoods police were called to a Walgreens store on the evening of July 4, 2023, about C.G., a man accused of shoplifting and trespassing and someone known to Davis. Davis handcuffed C.G., who was compliant and cooperative, and then placed him in Davis’ police vehicle. Evidence and testimony at the trial showed that instead of taking him to jail, Davis turned off his body worn camera, drove C.G. to an empty field in a desolate area of Kinloch, pepper-sprayed him in the eyes, threw him to the ground and struck him repeatedly in the body and face with his metal baton, breaking his jaw and causing him extreme pain. When Davis spotted a passerby, he shocked the victim with a Taser and threatened to kill him if he returned to Northwoods. He then falsely told his dispatcher that C.G. was not present when he arrived at the Walgreens. When the passerby returned to the scene of the attack, she found C.G., bloodied and crying out for help.

Davis beat C.G. because he wanted to scare him and ensure that he would not return to Northwoods, a sentencing memorandum filed by the U.S. Attorney’s office says. The victim was smaller and weaker than Davis, was left in an isolated area and had no cell phone or way to call for help after the beating. Davis “hurt him with almost every tool at his disposal,” then lied to a dispatcher, supervisors, investigators and the jury about the attack, Trial Attorney Taylor Payne of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section said in court Thursday.

The FBI and the St. Louis County Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Krug for the Eastern District of Missouri and Trial Attorney Taylor Payne of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section prosecuted the case.