District of New Jersey

TRENTON, N.J. – A Mercer County, New Jersey, man was arrested and charged with illegally possessing firearms and possessing with the intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Jose Colon-Matos, 33, of Trenton, is charged by complaint with one count of being a previously convicted felon in possession of two firearms, one count of possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl, one count of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, and one count of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He made his initial appearance on January 6, 2025, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Tonianne J. Bongiovanni in Trenton federal court and was detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for January 10, 2025.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On May 15, 2024, following an investigation into narcotics activity in Hamilton Township in Mercer County, law enforcement officers conducted a court-ordered search of an apartment used by Colon-Matos during which they recovered from a safe in the apartment two loaded firearms, including one with an obliterated serial number, distribution quantities of suspected fentanyl and cocaine, and approximately $9,000.00 in United States currency. The narcotics were subsequently tested by the New Jersey State Police forensic laboratory, which returned positive results for fentanyl and cocaine.

The charge of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm carries a potential maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. The counts of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine each carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. The charge of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, which must run consecutively to any other sentence imposed, and a maximum potential penalty of life imprisonment, and a fine of $250,000.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Brian Driscoll in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked the Hamilton Township Police Division, under the direction of Chief Kenneth R. DeBoskey, and the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, for their assistance in the investigation.

The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Garelick of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Defense counsel: Andrea G. Aldana, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Office of the Federal Public Defender.

NEWARK, N.J. - A Vermont company will pay $628,328 to resolve allegations that it sold substandard items to the United States Army, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger announced today.

The settlement resolves allegations that from July 13, 2018 through November 21, 2019, Live Wire, LLC made false claims in conjunction with contracts awarded to it by the United States Army.  Live Wire contracted with the Army to sell electronic communications headsets and admits in the settlement that it provided non-compliant headsets that were not tested to the appropriate military specifications prior to their sale.  Upon discovering that the headsets were not properly tested, Live Wire self-disclosed that information to the Government and cooperated with the investigation.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the United States Department of Defense, Office of Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, Northeast Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Hegarty, and special agents of the United States Army, Army Criminal Investigation Division, Northeast Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Joel Kirch, for the investigation of the allegations against Live Wire.    

The United States is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark C. Orlowski of the U.S. Attorney’s Health Care Fraud Unit in Newark.
 

NEWARK, N.J. – A Virginia man was sentenced today to 180 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger announced today.

Djavon Holland, 37, of Virginia, was convicted on April 15, 2024, by a federal jury of two counts of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl following trial before U.S. District Judge Peter G. Sheridan in Trenton federal court. U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial:

In August 2021, law enforcement officials received information that Holland was engaged in narcotics trafficking in or around the Virginia area and New Jersey. On Aug. 12, 2021, a confidential source working with the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office contacted Holland to arrange a meeting with a confidential source working with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). On several occasions, Holland drove to New Jersey and sold fentanyl to ATF’s confidential source.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Kirsch sentenced Holland to 4 years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the ATF, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge L.C. Cheeks Jr., and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Ocean County Prosecutor Bradley D. Billhimer, with the investigation leading to the sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Megan N. Linares and Jenny Chung of the Office’s Criminal Division in Newark.

Defense counsel: Pro Se; Michael Alexander Thomas Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark, Standby Counsel

NEWARK, N.J. – The United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, Philip Sellinger, announced his resignation today, effective at 11:59 p.m., Jan. 8, 2025.  Mr. Sellinger made the following statement regarding his departure and tenure in office:

Serving as the United States Attorney has been the honor of a lifetime.  My sincere thanks to President Biden for appointing me the temporary steward of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.  I leave knowing the storied traditions of this Office will continue through our dedicated career Assistant U.S. Attorneys and staff.  Here is just a fraction of their accomplishments over the past three years.

Violent Crime

Targeting New Jersey’s violent street gangs has been a top priority of my administration. Building on the Office’s strong tradition in this area, our Violent Crime Initiatives (“VCIs”) in Newark, Jersey City, Camden, and Paterson bring together our federal and local law enforcement partners to identify, investigate and prosecute the perpetrators driving shootings and the lethal drug trade in our communities.  Rather than broadly imposing mandatory minimum sentences, we have reserved the most severe sentences for these drivers of violence. This targeted approach has proven extremely effective.  Shootings and murders in New Jersey have fallen steadily year over year.  The total number of shooting victims statewide fell from 1,166 in 2021, to 733 in 2023, and murder victims fell from 250 in 2021, to 190 total in 2023.  In 2024, shootings and murders continue to decline.

And because our responsibility to protect vulnerable members of the community extends well beyond gang violence, after nearly a decade of skillful appellate advocacy, we obtained significant sentences for a husband and wife who inflicted years of devastating abuse on their three young foster children while living at the Picatinny Arsenal and elsewhere.

Civil Rights

I created the first standalone Civil Rights Division at any U.S. Attorney’s Office, bringing civil and criminal AUSAs together to combat hate and protect civil rights, including the alarming rise in hate incidents against our Black, Jewish and Muslim communities. We advanced the civil rights of the people of New Jersey in several areas.

We obtained the hate crime conviction of a man who committed a string of violent assaults—including carjackings—on visibly identifiable members of the Orthodox Jewish community around Lakewood, New Jersey.  We obtained the conviction of a man who admitted to publishing a manifesto containing threats to attack a synagogue and Jewish people.  And we secured a hate crime conviction against a man who admitted to breaking into the Center for Islamic Life at Rutgers University, during the Eid-al-Fitr holiday, where he destroyed religious artifacts. We also charged an individual with throwing a Molotov cocktail at a Jewish temple, which charges remain pending.

We brought civil lawsuits to end systemic racism of communities of color by major banks in and around Newark and New Brunswick, obtaining remedies likely to result in $250 million in loans for the residents of Black, Hispanic, and Asian neighborhoods. We issued findings that New Jersey Veterans Homes provided grossly inadequate conditions resulting in some of the highest death rates in the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic and secured a consent decree to protect the constitutional rights of the veterans.  And after issuing a Findings Report regarding systemic violations of Fourth Amendment rights by the Trenton Police Department, we have taken significant steps to end unconstitutional policing in Trenton. 

We also brought lawsuits securing the right of religious organizations to build temples and mosques in the face of discriminatory zoning policies.  And we protected voting rights for Spanish speakers in Union County, and access to the polls for individuals with disabilities in Hudson and Morris Counties.

Economic Crimes and Government Fraud

My Office led the investigation into TD Bank’s pervasive failures to prevent money laundering networks from using the bank to move massive sums of illicit funds.  Our investigation established that the bank did not monitor 92% of its funds, totaling $18 trillion, for a period of years.  This allowed criminal money laundering networks to move over $670 million through the bank. The investigation recently culminated in TD Bank’s landmark guilty plea to violating the Bank Secrecy Act and conspiring to commit money laundering, resulting in over $1.8 billion in criminal penalties.  We prosecuted and obtained convictions of a shadow CEO of a real estate firm for perpetrating a Ponzi scheme that scammed thousands of victims out of $658 million and an Army reservist who defrauded and stole from Gold Star families.  We prosecuted several other securities fraud, insider trading and market manipulation cases.

And we charged the chief executive officer and a foreperson of a construction company hired by the city of Newark to replace lead pipes, whom we allege intentionally left lead pipes in the ground, endangering public health.

Cyber Crime

During my administration, our Cybercrime Unit achieved international prominence, leading the investigation of LockBit, then the most prolific and destructive ransomware group in the world. LockBit victims included hospitals, schools, nonprofit organizations, critical infrastructure facilities, and government and law-enforcement agencies across nearly 120 countries, including Washington D.C.’s Metropolitan Police Department.  Before being disrupted through the efforts of our Office and our international partners, LockBit had extracted over $500 million in ransom payments worldwide and caused billions of dollars in broader losses.  We charged seven LockBit members, including its leader, and have obtained two convictions to date.

National Security

Our National Security Unit, working in partnership with the FBI and our state and local partners, has protected New Jersey from domestic and international threats.

We swiftly charged a former Marine for his threats to commit mass shootings targeting white people in New Jersey. We successfully prosecuted two individuals for concealing material support to designated foreign terrorist organizations Hamas and Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS). And we also charged three Chinese intelligence officers, along with a Chinese national, with conspiracy to act in the United States as agents of China.  Among other things, the conspirators allegedly attempted to recruit an individual who was a former federal law enforcement officer and state homeland security official, and was then serving as a professor at an American university.

Health Care Fraud and Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement

Our Health Care Fraud Unit prosecuted individuals and companies responsible for defrauding government and private health care plans; government contract and customs fraud; unlawful kickback schemes; and fraudulently obtaining millions in federal COVID-19 relief loans.  Our Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Unit aggressively prosecuted the crooked doctors, pharmacies, and sales representatives who put opioids on the street.

Civil Litigation and Asset Recovery

Our Civil Division successfully represented various branches of the United States government in a wide variety of civil and administrative litigation.  Quite apart from the $1.8 Billion criminal penalty recovered from TD Bank, for fiscal years 2022, 2023 and 2024, the District of New Jersey collected a total of over $599 million in criminal and civil debts, including restitution for victims, criminal fines, civil penalties, and in cases the office handled jointly with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices and components of the Department of Justice. 

Office Transformation

Because of the office’s demonstrated track record, we secured a rare opportunity to hire more AUSAs and support staff.  With over 165 AUSAs, the Office is now the largest, and the most impactful, it has ever been. At the same time, building on the office’s longstanding strengths in eLitigation, and U. S. Attorney Sellinger’s role as Chair of the DOJ-wide Elitigation Advisory Council, the office has substantially upgraded its capacity for electronic review of evidence.

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The attorneys and staff members of this Office are some of the finest public servants in the country.  They work extraordinarily hard, uphold the highest standards of excellence, and ceaselessly pursue the cause of justice.  It is their dedication and commitment that has enabled this Office to achieve so much over the past three years.

Acting U.S. Attorney

Upon United States Attorney Sellinger’s departure, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna will become Acting U.S. Attorney.

Pending Charges

With respect to all individuals and entities noted above against whom charges remain pending, the charges and allegations contained in the charging instruments are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

NEWARK, N.J. – Two Greek shipping companies pleaded guilty today to violating the Act to Prevent Pollution from Ships (APPS), falsifying records and obstruction of justice. The charges arose out of two United States port calls in which crew members of the Motor Tanker Kriti Ruby presented false records to the U.S. Coast Guard to conceal illegal transfers and discharges of oily bilge water from the vessel.

In accordance with the plea, United States District Judge Esther Salas sentenced Avin International Ltd. and Kriti Ruby Special Maritime Enterprises to pay a criminal fine of $3,375,000 and a $1,250,000 community service payment to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. She also sentenced them to serve five-year terms of probation during which they will be subject to environmental compliance plans with a monitorship to ensure future compliance.

The companies pleaded guilty for violating APPS in May and September 2022 during port calls by the Kriti Ruby to Jacksonville, Florida, and the Sewaren Terminal of the port of Newark, respectively. The companies also pleaded guilty to falsification of records and obstruction of justice in connection with the September 2022 port call.

The Kriti Ruby’s former chief engineer, Konstantinos Atsalis, was sentenced today to time served and ordered to pay a $5,000 fine after previously pleading guilty to charges related to the discharge of oily waste into the sea — including concealing the pollution by falsifying records — from the Kriti Ruby near the petroleum terminal in Sewaren, New Jersey. Second engineer Sonny Bosito was sentenced to time served for concealing pollution by falsifying records.

“Maritime pollution is extremely harmful to the environment, and so difficult to detect, especially when the polluters take elaborate steps to falsify records to conceal their crimes.  Law protecting our seas exist for a reason, and we will work together with our enforcement partners to ensure they are followed, and violators are punished.”

U.S. Attorney Sellinger

“Prioritizing profits over the environment by discharging oily waste into the sea and working to cover up that pollution is illegal,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “We are committed to enforcing the law and fighting against maritime pollution.”

“Today’s plea demonstrates our unwavering commitment, in partnership with the Environmental Crimes Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, to ensuring compliance of critical domestic oil pollution laws and holding violators of these laws accountable,” said Rear Admiral Michael E. Platt, Commander of the U.S. Coast Guard’s First District. “Please assist the Coast Guard in these vital efforts by promptly reporting any suspicions of similar illegal activity onboard vessels directly to the Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS).”

According to court documents and statements made in court:

The Kriti Ruby is an ocean-going oil tanker registered in Greece. It is owned by Avin International and operated by Kriti Ruby Special Maritime Enterprises. On multiple occasions between May and September 2022, crew members discharged oily waste into the sea via the ship’s sewage system, bypassing required pollution prevention equipment. They did not, as required, record these discharges in the vessel’s oil record book. To make it difficult for the USCG to discover, crew members concealed most of the pumps and hoses used to conduct the bypass operations in a sealed void space called a “cofferdam.”

As part of his guilty plea, Atsalis admitted to falsifying the vessel’s oil record book and he acknowledged that the vessel’s crew had knowingly bypassed required pollution prevention equipment by discharging oily waste from the vessel’s engine room through its sewage system into the sea. Additionally, he admitted that he directed crew members to hide equipment used to conduct these transfers.

Bosito admitted to causing a false oil record book to be presented to the USCG during its inspection of the Kriti Ruby. He also admitted to directing crew members to hide equipment used to conduct transfers from the bilge wells to the sewage tank before the USCG’s inspection.

The USCG’s Investigative Service investigated the case.  Individuals can report suspicious activity onboard vessels to CGIS TIPS at www.p3tips.com/878.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph Stern and Kathleen P. O’Leary and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine E. Ward for the District of New Jersey and Senior Trial Attorney Kenneth E. Nelson and Trial Attorney Lauren D. Steele of the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crimes Section prosecuted the case.

NEWARK, N.J. – An indictment was unsealed today charging a former executive of a publicly traded company with securities fraud and insider trading, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Dale Chappell, 54, a former United States citizen and current resident of Switzerland, was charged by indictment with five counts of securities fraud. Chappell was formerly the Chief Scientific Officer and member of the Board of Directors of Humanigen, Inc., a publicly traded clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with offices in New Jersey and California.  Chappell was arrested on December 20 in Switzerland based on the U.S. criminal charges. The United States will seek Chappell’s extradition to stand trial in the District of New Jersey.

According to court documents, between June and August of 2021, Chappell avoided more than $38 million in losses by selling millions of shares of Humanigen stock while in possession of material, nonpublic information about Humanigen’s application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval a drug to treat COVID-19 called Lenzilumab. Chappell—who sold the Humanigen shares through funds that he controlled—is alleged to have engaged in an insider trading scheme in which he fraudulently used Rule 10b5-1 trading plans to trade Humanigen stock.

The indictment alleges that in March 2021, Humanigen announced that it planned to seek emergency-use authorization (EUA) for Lenzilumab. However, between April and May of 2021, FDA staff allegedly informed Humanigen that it was unlikely to meet the criteria for issuance of an EUA. As alleged, knowing that Humanigen had not disclosed this information publicly, Chappell sold the funds’ Humanigen stock, and later also implemented Rule 10b5-1 plans to trade more Humanigen stock holdings. After Humanigen publicly announced that the FDA had declined EUA approval for Lenzilumab, Humanigen’s stock price declined approximately 50%.

“Our office is committed to holding accountable those who profit based on insider information.  Combatting securities fraud and protecting the integrity of the markets continues to be a priority for this office.”

U.S. Attorney Sellinger

Chappell is charged with one count of engaging in a securities fraud scheme and four counts of securities fraud for insider trading. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison on the securities fraud charge and 20 years in prison on each of the insider-trading charges.

The case is part of a data-driven initiative led by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section to identify executive abuses of 10b5-1 trading plans. Chappell’s alleged trading was identified by the Fraud Section through its data-analytics tools. A Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, which allows a corporate insider of a publicly traded company to set up a plan for selling company stock, can offer an executive a defense to insider-trading charges. However, the defense is unavailable if the executive is in possession of material nonpublic information at the time he or she enters into the 10b5-1 trading plan. Additionally, a plan does not protect an executive if the trading plan was not entered into in good faith or was entered into as part of an effort or scheme to evade the prohibitions of Rule 10b5‑1.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Nelson I. Delgado, with the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine M. Romano of the Health Care Fraud Unit in Newark and Trial Attorneys Matthew Reilly and David Austin of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County man has been indicted for firearms and narcotics offenses, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Raishaun Lofton, 30, of Newark, New Jersey, was charged by indictment with one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, one count of possession of ammunition by a convicted felon, one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  He appeared today before United States Magistrate Judge Almonte in Newark federal court and was detained.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On February 22, 2024, during an investigation, police officers recovered from Lofton a privately made firearm with no serial number, nine rounds of 9mm ammunition, 81 glassine envelopes containing fentanyl, and plastic jugs commonly used to distribute illegal drugs.  On April 22, 2024, video surveillance footage depicted Lofton firing a different firearm into the air during an argument.  One of the bullets from the firearm that Lofton shot entered a nearby living room where a family with two children was watching a movie.  During the subsequent investigation, law enforcement recovered the firearm that Lofton had fired.

The two counts of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon each carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.  The count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $1,000,000.  The count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, which must run consecutively to the sentence imposed on the other counts, a maximum sentence of life in prison, and a maximum fine of $250,000.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Nelson I. Delgado in Newark, and police officers and detectives of the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda, with the investigation that led to the charges.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli Jacobs of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Defense counsel: Tatiana Nnaji, Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark

Note: View a copy of the indictment here.

An indictment was unsealed today charging a former U.S. citizen with engaging in an insider trading scheme involving the stock of Humanigen Inc., a publicly traded biopharmaceutical company. Dale Chappell, 54, who was formerly the chief scientific officer and member of the Board of Directors of Humanigen, was arrested on Dec. 20 in Switzerland based on the U.S. criminal charges. The United States will seek Chappell’s extradition to stand trial in the District of New Jersey.

According to court documents, between June and August of 2021, Chappell avoided more than $38 million in losses by selling millions of shares of Humanigen stock while in possession of material nonpublic information about Humanigen’s application to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for approval of a drug to treat COVID-19 called Lenzilumab. Chappell — who sold the Humanigen shares through funds that he controlled — is alleged to have engaged in an insider trading scheme in which he fraudulently used Rule 10b5-1 trading plans to trade Humanigen stock.

The indictment alleges that, in March 2021, Humanigen announced that it planned to seek emergency use authorization (EUA) for Lenzilumab. However, between April and May 2021, FDA staff allegedly informed Humanigen that Humanigen was unlikely to meet the criteria for issuance of an EUA. As alleged, knowing that this information was not disclosed publicly by Humanigen, Chappell sold the funds’ Humanigen stock, and later also implemented Rule 10b5-1 plans to trade more Humanigen stock holdings. After Humanigen publicly announced that the FDA had declined EUA approval for Lenzilumab, Humanigen’s stock price declined approximately 50%.

Chappell is charged with one count of engaging in a securities fraud scheme and four counts of securities fraud for insider trading. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison on the securities fraud scheme charge and 20 years in prison on each of the insider trading charges. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The case is part of a data-driven initiative led by the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section to identify executive abuses of 10b5-1 trading plans. Chappell’s alleged trading was identified by the Fraud Section through its data-analytics tools. A Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, which allows a corporate insider of a publicly traded company to set up a plan for selling company stock, can offer an executive a defense to insider-trading charges. However, the defense is unavailable if the executive is in possession of material nonpublic information at the time he or she enters into the 10b5-1 trading plan. Additionally, a plan does not protect an executive if the trading plan was not entered into in good faith or was entered into as part of an effort or scheme to evade the prohibitions of Rule 10b5‑1.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent Wible, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey; and Assistant Director Chad Yarbrough of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division made the announcement.

The FBI is investigating the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs is handling the request for Chappell’s extradition.

Trial Attorneys David Austin and Matthew Reilly of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Romano for the District of New Jersey are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Newark, N.J. – A citizen and resident of Brazil was charged with making extortionate threats to publicize data stolen from the Brazilian subsidiary of a New Jersey company, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Junior Barros De Oliveira, 29, of Curitiba, Brazil was charged with four counts of extortionate threats involving information obtained from protected computers in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1030(a)(7)(B) and four counts of threatening communications in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 875(d) in an indictment unsealed today in Newark federal court.

According to the Indictment:

In March 2020, De Oliveira gained unauthorized access and exceeded authorized access to the computer systems of Victim 1-Brazil, the Brazilian subsidiary of a New Jersey company.  Exploiting this access, De Oliveira obtained confidential customer information relating to approximately 300,000 customers of Victim 1-Brazil.  In September 2020, De Oliveira began contacting U.S. representatives of Victim 1, including its CEO, in an attempt to extort money from Victim 1-Brazil.  De Oliveira demanded over approximately $3,000,000 in Bitcoin in exchange for keeping the stolen data confidential and not publicizing it.

Each of the four counts of making extortionate threats in relation to information obtained from protected computers carry a maximum prison term of 5 years, and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the value of any gain or loss, whichever is greater.  Each of the four counts of threatening communications carry a maximum prison term of 2 years, and a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the value of any gain or loss, whichever is greater.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”)’s Newark Field Office, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Nelson I. Delgado.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney David E. Malagold of the Cybercrime Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Note: A copy of the superseding criminal complaint can be found here.

A superseding criminal complaint filed in the District of New Jersey was unsealed today charging a dual Russian and Israeli national for being a developer of the LockBit ransomware group.

In August, Rostislav Panev, 51, a dual Russian and Israeli national, was arrested in Israel pursuant to a U.S. provisional arrest request with a view towards extradition to the United States. Panev is currently in custody in Israel pending extradition on the charges in the superseding complaint.

“The Justice Department’s work going after the world’s most dangerous ransomware schemes includes not only dismantling networks, but also finding and bringing to justice the individuals responsible for building and running them,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Three of the individuals who we allege are responsible for LockBit’s cyberattacks against thousands of victims are now in custody, and we will continue to work alongside our partners to hold accountable all those who lead and enable ransomware attacks.”

“The arrest of Mr. Panev reflects the Department's commitment to using all its tools to combat the ransomware threat,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “We started this year with a coordinated international disruption of LockBit — the most damaging ransomware group in the world. Fast forward to today and three LockBit actors are in custody thanks to the diligence of our investigators and our strong partnerships around the world. This case is a model for ransomware investigations in the years to come.”

“The arrest of alleged developer Rostislav Panev is part of the FBI’s ongoing efforts to disrupt and dismantle the LockBit ransomware group, one of the most prolific ransomware variants across the globe,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The LockBit group has targeted both public and private sector victims around the world, including schools, hospitals, and critical infrastructure, as well as small businesses and multi-national corporations.  No matter how hidden or advanced the threat, the FBI remains committed to working with our interagency partners to safeguard the cyber ecosystem and hold accountable those who are responsible for these criminal activities.” 

“The criminal complaint alleges that Rostislav Panev developed malware and maintained the infrastructure for LockBit, which was once the world’s most destructive ransomware group and attacked thousands of victims, causing billions of dollars in damage,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Along with our domestic and international law enforcement partner actions to dismantle LockBit’s infrastructure, the Criminal Division has disrupted LockBit’s operations by charging seven of its key members (including affiliates, developers, and its administrator) and arresting three of these defendants — including Panev. We are especially grateful for our partnerships with authorities in Europol, the United Kingdom, France, and Israel, which show that, when likeminded countries work together, cybercriminals will find it harder to escape justice.”

“As alleged by the complaint, Rostislav Panev for years built and maintained the digital weapons that enabled his LockBit coconspirators to wreak havoc and cause billions of dollars in damage around the world,” said U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey. “But just like the six other LockBit members previously identified and charged by this office and our FBI and Criminal Division partners, Panev could not remain anonymous and avoid justice indefinitely. He must now answer for his crimes. Today’s announcement represents another blow struck by the United States and our international partners against the LockBit organization, and our efforts will continue relentlessly until the group is fully dismantled and its members brought to justice.”

According to the superseding complaint, documents filed in this and related cases, and statements made in court, Panev acted as a developer of the LockBit ransomware group from its inception in or around 2019 through at least February 2024. During that time, Panev and his LockBit coconspirators grew LockBit into what was, at times, the most active and destructive ransomware group in the world. The LockBit group attacked more than 2,500 victims in at least 120 countries around the world, including 1,800 in the United States. Their victims ranged from individuals and small businesses to multinational corporations, including hospitals, schools, nonprofit organizations, critical infrastructure, and government and law-enforcement agencies. LockBit’s members extracted at least $500 million in ransom payments from their victims and caused billions of dollars in other losses, including lost revenue and costs from incident response and recovery.

LockBit’s members comprised “developers,” like Panev, who designed the LockBit malware code and maintained the infrastructure on which LockBit operated. LockBit’s other members, called “affiliates,” carried out LockBit attacks and extorted ransom payments from LockBit victims. LockBit’s developers and affiliates would then split ransom payments extorted from victims.

As alleged in the superseding complaint, at the time of Panev’s arrest in Israel in August, law enforcement discovered on Panev’s computer administrator credentials for an online repository that was hosted on the dark web and stored source code for multiple versions of the LockBit builder, which allowed LockBit’s affiliates to generate custom builds of the LockBit ransomware malware for particular victims. On that repository, law enforcement also discovered source code for LockBit’s StealBit tool, which helped LockBit affiliates exfiltrate data stolen through LockBit attacks. Law enforcement also discovered access credentials for the LockBit control panel, an online dashboard maintained by LockBit developers for LockBit’s affiliates and hosted by those developers on the dark web.

The superseding complaint also alleges that Panev exchanged direct messages through a cybercriminal forum with LockBit’s primary administrator, who, in an indictment unsealed in the District of New Jersey in May, the United States alleged to be Dimitry Yuryevich Khoroshev (Дмитрий Юрьевич Хорошев), also known as LockBitSupp, LockBit, and putinkrab. In those messages, Panev and the LockBit primary administrator discussed work that needed to be done on the LockBit builder and control panel.

Court documents further indicate that, between June 2022 and February 2024, the primary LockBit administrator made a series of transfers of cryptocurrency, laundered through one or more illicit cryptocurrency mixing services, of approximately $10,000 per month to a cryptocurrency wallet owned by Panev. Those transfers amounted to over $230,000 during that period.

In interviews with Israeli authorities following his arrest in August, Panev admitted to having performed coding, development, and consulting work for the LockBit group and to having received regular payments in cryptocurrency for that work, consistent with the transfers identified by U.S. authorities. Among the work that Panev admitted to having completed for the LockBit group was the development of code to disable antivirus software; to deploy malware to multiple computers connected to a victim network; and to print the LockBit ransom note to all printers connected to a victim network. Panev also admitted to having written and maintained LockBit malware code and to having provided technical guidance to the LockBit group.

The LockBit Investigation

The superseding complaint against, and apprehension of, Panev follows a disruption of LockBit ransomware in February by the United Kingdom (U.K.)’s National Crime Agency (NCA)’s Cyber Division, which worked in cooperation with the Justice Department, FBI, and other international law enforcement partners. As previously announced by the Department, authorities disrupted LockBit by seizing numerous public-facing websites used by LockBit to connect to the organization’s infrastructure and by seizing control of servers used by LockBit administrators, thereby disrupting the ability of LockBit actors to attack and encrypt networks and extort victims by threatening to publish stolen data. That disruption succeeded in greatly diminishing LockBit’s reputation and its ability to attack further victims, as alleged by documents filed in this case.

The superseding complaint against Panev also follows charges brought in the District of New Jersey against other LockBit members, including its alleged primary creator, developer, and administrator, Dmitry Yuryevich Khoroshev. An indictment against Khoroshev unsealed in May alleges that Khoroshev began developing LockBit as early as September 2019, continued acting as the group’s administrator through 2024, a role in which Khoroshev recruited new affiliate members, spoke for the group publicly under the alias “LockBitSupp,” and developed and maintained the infrastructure used by affiliates to deploy LockBit attacks. Khoroshev is currently the subject of a reward of up to $10 million through the U.S. Department of State’s Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) Rewards Program, with information accepted through the FBI tip website at www.tips.fbi.gov/.

A total of seven LockBit members have now been charged in the District of New Jersey. Beyond Panev and Khoroshev, other previously charged LockBit defendants include:

• In July, two LockBit affiliate members, Mikhail Vasiliev, also known as Ghostrider, Free, Digitalocean90, Digitalocean99, Digitalwaters99, and Newwave110, and Ruslan Astamirov, also known as BETTERPAY, offtitan, and Eastfarmer, pleaded guilty in the District of New Jersey for their participation in the LockBit ransomware group and admitted deploying multiple LockBit attacks against U.S. and foreign victims. Vasiliev and Astamirov are presently in custody awaiting sentencing.
• In February, in parallel with the disruption operation described above, an indictment was unsealed in the District of New Jersey charging Russian nationals Artur Sungatov and Ivan Kondratyev, also known as Bassterlord, with deploying LockBit against numerous victims throughout the United States, including businesses nationwide in the manufacturing and other industries, as well as victims around the world in the semiconductor and other industries. Sungatov and Kondratyev remain at large.
• In May 2023, two indictments were unsealed in Washington, D.C., and the District of New Jersey charging Mikhail Matveev, also known as Wazawaka, m1x, Boriselcin, and Uhodiransomwar, with using different ransomware variants, including LockBit, to attack numerous victims throughout the United States, including the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department. Matveev remains at large and is currently the subject of a reward of up to $10 million through the U.S. Department of State’s TOC Rewards Program, with information accepted through the FBI tip website at www.tips.fbi.gov/.

The U.S. Department of State’s TOC Rewards Program is offering rewards of:

• Up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction in any country of Khoroshev;
• Up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Matveev;
• Up to $10 million for information leading to the identification and location of any individuals who hold a key leadership position in LockBit; and
• Up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction in any country of any individual participating or attempting to participate in LockBit.

Information is accepted through the FBI tip website at tips.fbi.gov.

Khoroshev, Matveev, Sungatov, and Kondratyev have also been designated for sanctions by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for their roles in launching cyberattacks.

Victim Assistance

LockBit victims are encouraged to contact the FBI and submit information at www.ic3.gov/. As announced by the Department in February, law enforcement, through its disruption efforts, has developed decryption capabilities that may enable hundreds of victims around the world to restore systems encrypted using the LockBit ransomware variant. Submitting information at the IC3 site will enable law enforcement to determine whether affected systems can be successfully decrypted.

LockBit victims are also encouraged to visit www.justice.gov/usao-nj/lockbit for case updates and information regarding their rights under U.S. law, including the right to submit victim impact statements and request restitution, in the criminal litigation against Panev, Astamirov, and Vasiliev.

The FBI Newark Field Office, under the supervision of Acting Special Agent in Charge Nelson I. Delgado, is investigating the LockBit ransomware variant. Israel’s Office of the State Attorney, Department of International Affairs, and Israel National Police; France’s Gendarmerie Nationale Cyberspace Command, Paris Prosecution Office — Cyber Division, and judicial authorities at the Tribunal Judiciare of Paris; Europol; Eurojust; the U.K.’s NCA; Germany’s Landeskriminalamt Schleswig-Holstein, Bundeskriminalamt, and the Central Cybercrime Department North Rhine-Westphalia; Switzerland’s Federal Office of Justice, Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Canton of Zurich, and Zurich Cantonal Police; Spain’s Policia Nacional and Guardia Civil; Japan’s National Police Agency; Australian Federal Police; Sweden’s Polismyndighetens; Canada’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police; Politie Dienst Regionale Recherche Oost-Brabant of the Netherlands; and Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation have provided significant assistance and coordination in these matters and in the LockBit investigation generally.

Trial Attorneys Debra Ireland and Jorge Gonzalez of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew M. Trombly, David E. Malagold, and Vinay Limbachia for the District of New Jersey are prosecuting the charges against Panev and the other previously charged LockBit defendants in the District of New Jersey.

The Justice Department’s Cybercrime Liaison Prosecutor to Eurojust, Office of International Affairs, and National Security Division also provided significant assistance.

Additional details on protecting networks against LockBit ransomware are available at StopRansomware.gov. These include Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Advisories AA23-325A, AA23-165A, and AA23-075A. 

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Defendant Rostislav Panev in Custody Pending Extradition from Israel to the United States

NEWARK, N.J. – A superseding criminal complaint filed in the District of New Jersey was unsealed today charging a dual Russian and Israeli national for being a developer of the LockBit ransomware group, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

In August, Rostislav Panev, 51, a dual Russian and Israeli national, was arrested in Israel pursuant to a U.S. provisional arrest request with a view towards extradition to the United States. Panev is currently in custody in Israel pending extradition on the charges lodged in the superseding complaint.

“As alleged by the complaint, Rostislav Panev for years built and maintained the digital weapons that enabled his LockBit coconspirators to wreak havoc and cause billions of dollars in damage around the world. But just like the six other LockBit members previously identified and charged by this office and our FBI and Criminal Division partners, Panev could not remain anonymous and avoid justice indefinitely. He must now answer for his crimes. Today’s announcement represents another blow struck by the United States and our international partners against the LockBit organization, and our efforts will continue relentlessly until the group is fully dismantled and its members brought to justice.”

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger

“The Justice Department’s work going after the world’s most dangerous ransomware schemes includes not only dismantling networks, but also finding and bringing to justice the individuals responsible for building and running them,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “Three of the individuals who we allege are responsible for LockBit’s cyberattacks against thousands of victims are now in custody, and we will continue to work alongside our partners to hold accountable all those who lead and enable ransomware attacks.”

“The arrest of Mr. Panev reflects the Department's commitment to using all its tools to combat the ransomware threat,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “We started this year with a coordinated international disruption of LockBit — the most damaging ransomware group in the world. Fast forward to today and three LockBit actors are in custody thanks to the diligence of our investigators and our strong partnerships around the world. This case is a model for ransomware investigations in the years to come.”

“The arrest of alleged developer Rostislav Panev is part of the FBI’s ongoing efforts to disrupt and dismantle the LockBit ransomware group, one of the most prolific ransomware variants across the globe,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “The LockBit group has targeted both public and private sector victims around the world, including schools, hospitals, and critical infrastructure, as well as small businesses and multi-national corporations. No matter how hidden or advanced the threat, the FBI remains committed to working with our interagency partners to safeguard the cyber ecosystem and hold accountable those who are responsible for these criminal activities.”

“The criminal complaint alleges that Rotislav Panev developed malware and maintained the infrastructure for LockBit, which was once the world’s most destructive ransomware group and attacked thousands of victims, causing billions of dollars in damage,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Along with our domestic and international law enforcement partner actions to dismantle LockBit’s infrastructure, the Criminal Division has disrupted LockBit’s operations by charging seven of its key members (including affiliates, developers, and its administrator) and arresting three of these defendants — including Panev. We are especially grateful for our partnerships with authorities in Europol, the United Kingdom, France, and Israel, which show that, when likeminded countries work together, cybercriminals will find it harder to escape justice.”

“For five years, Panev helped to grow LockBit into a ransomware machine of deception and extortion,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Nelson I. Delgado of the FBI Newark Field Office.  “His reach was far and wide but FBI Newark and our international law enforcement partners were able to disrupt his reign. Panev’s arrest marks a victory against these conspirators, and is a step towards upholding justice and neutralizing these criminals.”

According to the superseding complaint, documents filed in this and related cases, and statements made in court, Panev acted as a developer of the LockBit ransomware group from its inception in or around 2019 through at least February 2024. During that time, Panev and his LockBit coconspirators grew LockBit into what was, at times, the most active and destructive ransomware group in the world. The LockBit group attacked more than 2,500 victims in at least 120 countries around the world, including 1,800 in the United States. Their victims ranged from individuals and small businesses to multinational corporations, including hospitals, schools, nonprofit organizations, critical infrastructure, and government and law-enforcement agencies. LockBit’s members extracted at least $500 million in ransom payments from their victims and caused billions of dollars in other losses, including lost revenue and costs from incident response and recovery.

LockBit’s members comprised “developers,” like Panev, who designed the LockBit malware code and maintained the infrastructure on which LockBit operated. LockBit’s other members, called “affiliates,” carried out LockBit attacks and extorted ransom payments from LockBit victims. LockBit’s developers and affiliates would then split ransom payments extorted from victims.

As alleged in the superseding complaint, at the time of Panev’s arrest in Israel in August, law enforcement discovered on Panev’s computer administrator credentials for an online repository that was hosted on the dark web and stored source code for multiple versions of the LockBit builder, which allowed LockBit’s affiliates to generate custom builds of the LockBit ransomware malware for particular victims. On that repository, law enforcement also discovered source code for LockBit’s StealBit tool, which helped LockBit affiliates exfiltrate data stolen through LockBit attacks. Law enforcement also discovered access credentials for the LockBit control panel, an online dashboard maintained by LockBit developers for LockBit’s affiliates and hosted by those developers on the dark web.

The superseding complaint also alleges that Panev exchanged direct messages through a cybercriminal forum with LockBit’s primary administrator, who, in an indictment unsealed in the District of New Jersey in May, the United States alleged to be Dimitry Yuryevich Khoroshev (Дмитрий Юрьевич Хорошев), also known as LockBitSupp, LockBit, and putinkrab. In those messages, Panev and the LockBit primary administrator discussed work that needed to be done on the LockBit builder and control panel.

Court documents further indicate that, between June 2022 and February 2024, the primary LockBit administrator made a series of transfers of cryptocurrency, laundered through one or more illicit cryptocurrency mixing services, of approximately $10,000 per month to a cryptocurrency wallet owned by Panev. Those transfers amounted to over $230,000 during that period.

In interviews with Israeli authorities following his arrest in August, Panev admitted to having performed coding, development, and consulting work for the LockBit group and to having received regular payments in cryptocurrency for that work, consistent with the transfers identified by U.S. authorities. Among the work that Panev admitted to having completed for the LockBit group was the development of code to disable antivirus software; to deploy malware to multiple computers connected to a victim network; and to print the LockBit ransom note to all printers connected to a victim network. Panev also admitted to having written and maintained LockBit malware code and to having provided technical guidance to the LockBit group.

The LockBit Investigation

The superseding complaint against, and apprehension of, Panev follows a disruption of LockBit ransomware in February by the U.K. National Crime Agency (NCA)’s Cyber Division, which worked in cooperation with the Justice Department, FBI, and other international law enforcement partners. As previously announced by the Department, authorities disrupted LockBit by seizing numerous public-facing websites used by LockBit to connect to the organization’s infrastructure and by seizing control of servers used by LockBit administrators, thereby disrupting the ability of LockBit actors to attack and encrypt networks and extort victims by threatening to publish stolen data. That disruption succeeded in greatly diminishing LockBit’s reputation and its ability to attack further victims, as alleged by documents filed in this case.

The superseding complaint against Panev also follows charges brought in the District of New Jersey against other LockBit members, including its alleged primary creator, developer, and administrator, Dmitry Yuryevich Khoroshev. An indictment against Khoroshev unsealed in May alleges that Khoroshev began developing LockBit as early as September 2019, continued acting as the group’s administrator through 2024, a role in which Khoroshev recruited new affiliate members, spoke for the group publicly under the alias “LockBitSupp,” and developed and maintained the infrastructure used by affiliates to deploy LockBit attacks. Khoroshev is currently the subject of a reward of up to $10 million through the U.S. Department of State’s Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) Rewards Program, with information accepted through the FBI tip website at www.tips.fbi.gov/.

A total of seven LockBit members have now been charged in the District of New Jersey. Beyond Panev and Khoroshev, other previously charged LockBit defendants include:

• In July, two LockBit affiliate members, Mikhail Vasiliev, also known as Ghostrider, Free, Digitalocean90, Digitalocean99, Digitalwaters99, and Newwave110, and Ruslan Astamirov, also known as BETTERPAY, offtitan, and Eastfarmer, pleaded guilty in the District of New Jersey for their participation in the LockBit ransomware group and admitted deploying multiple LockBit attacks against U.S. and foreign victims. Vasiliev and Astamirov are presently in custody awaiting sentencing.
• In February, in parallel with the disruption operation described above, an indictment was unsealed in the District of New Jersey charging Russian nationals Artur Sungatov and Ivan Kondratyev, also known as Bassterlord, with deploying LockBit against numerous victims throughout the United States, including businesses nationwide in the manufacturing and other industries, as well as victims around the world in the semiconductor and other industries. Sungatov and Kondratyev remain at large.
• In May 2023, two indictments were unsealed in Washington, D.C., and the District of New Jersey charging Mikhail Matveev, also known as Wazawaka, m1x, Boriselcin, and Uhodiransomwar, with using different ransomware variants, including LockBit, to attack numerous victims throughout the United States, including the Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Police Department. Matveev remains at large and is currently the subject of a reward of up to $10 million through the U.S. Department of State’s TOC Rewards Program, with information accepted through the FBI tip website at www.tips.fbi.gov/.

The U.S. Department of State’s Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) Rewards Program is offering rewards of:

• Up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction in any country of Khoroshev;
• Up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Matveev;
• Up to $10 million for information leading to the identification and location of any individuals who hold a key leadership position in LockBit; and
• Up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction in any country of any individual participating or attempting to participate in LockBit.

Information is accepted through the FBI tip website at tips.fbi.gov.

Khoroshev, Matveev, Sungatov, and Kondratyev have also been designated for sanctions by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control for their roles in launching cyberattacks.

Victim Assistance

LockBit victims are encouraged to contact the FBI and submit information at www.ic3.gov. As announced by the Department in February, law enforcement, through its disruption efforts, has developed decryption capabilities that may enable hundreds of victims around the world to restore systems encrypted using the LockBit ransomware variant. Submitting information at the IC3 site will enable law enforcement to determine whether affected systems can be successfully decrypted.

LockBit victims are also encouraged to visit www.justice.gov/usao-nj/lockbit for case updates and information regarding their rights under U.S. law, including the right to submit victim impact statements and request restitution, in the criminal litigation against Panev, Astamirov, and Vasiliev.

The FBI Newark Field Office, under the supervision of Acting Special Agent in Charge Nelson I. Delgado, is investigating the LockBit ransomware variant. Israel’s Office of the State Attorney, Department of International Affairs, and Israel National Police; France’s Gendarmerie Nationale Cyberspace Command, Paris Prosecution Office — Cyber Division, and judicial authorities at the Tribunal Judiciare of Paris; Europol; Eurojust; the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency; Germany’s Landeskriminalamt Schleswig-Holstein, Bundeskriminalamt, and the Central Cybercrime Department North Rhine-Westphalia; Switzerland’s Federal Office of Justice, Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Canton of Zurich, and Zurich Cantonal Police; Spain’s Policia Nacional and Guardia Civil; Japan’s National Police Agency; Australian Federal Police; Sweden’s Polismyndighetens; Canada’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police; Politie Dienst Regionale Recherche Oost-Brabant of the Netherlands; and Finland’s National Bureau of Investigation have provided significant assistance and coordination in these matters and in the LockBit investigation generally.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew M. Trombly, David E. Malagold, and Vinay Limbachia for the District of New Jersey and Trial Attorneys Debra Ireland and Jorge Gonzalez of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) are prosecuting the charges against Panev and the other previously charged LockBit defendants in the District of New Jersey.

The Justice Department’s Cybercrime Liaison Prosecutor to Eurojust, Office of International Affairs, and National Security Division also provided significant assistance.

Additional details on protecting networks against LockBit ransomware are available at StopRansomware.gov. These include Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Advisories AA23-325A, AA23-165A, and AA23-075A. 

The charges and allegations contained in the superseding complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Defense counsel: Frank Arleo, Esq.

Agreement Removes Discriminatory Barriers to Individuals with Vision and Hearing Disabilities

NEWARK, N.J. –  The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey secured a settlement agreement to resolve allegations that Advanced ENT & Allergy discriminated against a prospective patient who is deaf and has low vision in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  Following an investigation, the U.S. Attorney’s Office found that Advanced ENT & Allergy, which has eleven offices in southern New Jersey, violated the ADA by refusing to provide in-person sign language interpretation services where doing so was necessary for deaf and low vision patients to effectively communicate.  Instead, the practice relied exclusively on screen-based, remote interpretation, even when those services could not accommodate patients and prospective patients who could not effectively see a screen due to their vision disability.  These findings are based, in part, on evidence gathered by the U.S. Department of Justice Fair Housing Testing Program.

Under the settlement agreement, Advanced ENT & Allergy will, among other things, implement a non-discrimination policy to ensure that individuals with disabilities are afforded full and equal opportunities to its benefits and services.  The medical practice will also ensure that it will provide in-person interpretation services to patients and prospective patients with disabilities who require that service to effectively communicate.  Advanced ENT & Allergy will also provide mandatory ADA training to its employees.  It is anticipated that Advanced ENT & Allergy will be acquired by ENT and Allergy Associates, LLP effective January 1st, and will do business under that new name. ENT and Allergy Associates had no role in conduct at issue in the complaint.

The ADA prohibits places of public accommodation, such as Advanced ENT & Allergy, from discriminating on the basis of disability in the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, or accommodations.

Individuals who believe they may have been victims of discrimination may file a complaint with the U.S Attorney’s Office’s Civil Rights Division at http://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/civil-rights-enforcement/complaint.

Additional information about the ADA can be found at www.ada.gov, or by calling the Department of Justice’s toll-free ADA information line at 800-514-0301 or 800-514-0383 (TDD).

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily B. Goldberg of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Civil Rights Division.

TRENTON, N.J. – A Utah man was sentenced today to 57 months in prison for his role in two criminal schemes, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Timothy Gibson, 48, of Lehi, Utah, previously pleaded guilty in Trenton federal court to Count One of a five-count indictment, which charged him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his role in a multi-million dollar credit card fraud scheme that occurred in New Jersey; and to a three-count information which charged him with making false statements to a bank as part of a scheme that took place in Utah.  Judge Georgette Castner imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

The credit card fraud scheme:

Gibson and his conspirators solicited personal information from straw credit card applicants so the members of the conspiracy could submit falsified credit card applications to obtain credit cards.  The credit cards were then used to make purchases that generated rewards points from the credit card company.  In general, purchases were made on the credit cards and were then cancelled after the rewards points posted but before the credit card payments for the purchases were due.  Other “purchases” on the cards were in fact sham transactions run through Gibson’s business’s merchant account.

Gibson and his conspirators solicited straw credit card applicants by offering to purchase credit card offers the applicants received in the mail.  They then asked the straw credit card applicants to provide their personal identifying information, and used that information to open numerous credit cards in the names of fictitious businesses created with falsified financial and employment information, straw e-mail addresses, and fake business addresses.  Straw cardholders sent Gibson and his conspirators the credit card account information in exchange for payment.  Gibson also used his business’s credit card merchant account to charge the fraudulent credit cards for sham purchases that he knew were not legitimate, all in an effort to generate rewards points on those cards.  The conspirators added themselves to the credit card accounts as authorized users, and transferred rewards points to accounts they controlled.  The conspirators cancelled the points-generating purchases before the credit card payment was due.

The conspiracy involved more than 8,000 fraudulent accounts in the names of more than 1,500 straw cardholders that obtained more than 800 million rewards points, which were worth more than $8 million.

Charges remain pending against Aharon Lev, a/k/a “Aaron Lev,” a/k/a “Aron Lev,” a/k/a “David Gold,” a/k/a “David Monroe,” 37, of Lakewood, New Jersey.  The charges against Lev are merely accusations and he is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The false statements to a bank:

In March 2020, the CARES Act established several new temporary programs and provided for the expansion of others to address the COVID-19 outbreak.  One new program was the Small Business Association’s (“SBA”) Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”), a loan program designed to provide an incentive for small businesses to keep workers on payroll during the pandemic.  Borrowers were required to submit an application form through an SBA-approved entity.  

In May 2020, Gibson falsely reported the number of employees and the average monthly payroll of a business with which he was associated in order to obtain a loan through the PPP program, and advised multiple businesses on how they could do the same.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Castner sentenced Gibson to three years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan; and postal inspectors of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Newark, under the direction of Inspector in Charge Christopher A. Nielsen Philadelphia Division.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Specht of the Special Prosecutions Division.
 

NEWARK, N.J. – A member of the Rutgers neighborhood street gang operating in the area of Triangle Park in Jersey City, New Jersey, is charged for his role in shooting rival gang members, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Micah Reid, aka “Nips,” 33, of Jersey City is charged by complaint with one count of violent crime in aid of racketeering activity and one count of discharging of a firearm during a crime of violence.  Reid made his initial appearance today before U.S. Magistrate Judge James B. Clark, III in Newark federal court and was detained.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Reid is a high-ranking member and associate of the Rutgers neighborhood street gang, which operates in the area of Triangle Park in Jersey City.  The gang has historically engaged in retaliatory acts of violence against rival neighborhood street gangs operating in the area of the Salem Lafayette Apartments and the area of Wilkinson Avenue, Ocean Avenue, Martin Luther King Drive, and Wegman Parkway.  

On October 1, 2023, Reid, driving a stolen vehicle, shot at members and associates of rival street gangs who were exiting a nightclub on Culver Avenue in Jersey City.  In total, six individual suffered gunshot wounds.  Law enforcement later recovered the firearm used in the shooting from Reid’s residence while executing a search warrant.  

Reid faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison on the violent crime in aid of racketeering charge, and a statutory mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum sentence of life in prison on the firearm offense, which must run consecutively to any other sentence imposed.  Both offenses carry a maximum fine of $250,000.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited investigators of the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Esther Suarez, special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge L.C. Cheeks Jr., and the Jersey City Police Department, under the direction of Director James Shea, with the investigation leading to the charges.

This investigation was conducted as part of the Jersey City Violent Crime Initiative (VCI). The VCI was formed in 2018 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Jersey City Police Department, for the sole purpose of combatting violent crime in and around Jersey City.  As part of this partnership, federal, state, county, and city agencies collaborate to strategize and prioritize the prosecution of violent offenders who endanger the safety of the community.  The VCI is composed of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the ATF, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New Jersey Division, the U.S. Marshals, the Jersey City Police Department, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office, New Jersey State Parole, the Hudson County Jail, and the New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alison Thompson of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
 

CAMDEN, N.J. – A father and son today admitted to orchestrating a large-scale market manipulation scheme related to two publicly traded companies, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Peter Coker, Sr., 82, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and Peter Coker, Jr., 56, formerly of Hong Kong, China, both pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Christine P. O’Hearn to securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

James Patten, 65, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina previously pleaded guilty to the same charges.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From 2014 through September 2022, Peter Coker Sr., Peter Coker Jr., and Patten conspired to enrich themselves through a scheme to manipulate securities prices via a pattern of coordinated trading, which injected inaccurate information into the marketplace, creating false impressions of supply and demand for these securities.

As part of the securities fraud scheme, the defendants targeted two publicly traded companies—Hometown International Inc. and E-Waste Corp.—which were both traded on the OTC Link Alternative Trading System, also known as the OTC Marketplace. The OTC Marketplace is an alternative trading system that contains three tiers of markets, which are largely based on the quality and quantity of the listed companies’ information and disclosures.

Coker Sr., Coker Jr., and Patten took steps to gain control of both entities’ management and stock with the ultimate intention of entering reverse mergers, a transaction through which an existing public company merges with a private operating company. A successful reverse merger would allow the defendants to sell shares of each entity at a significant profit.

In or around 2014, two New Jersey residents began the process of opening a local deli in Paulsboro, New Jersey. One of the individuals discussed his interest in opening the deli with Patten, a long-time friend, who suggested the creation of Hometown International, an umbrella corporation, under which the deli would operate as a wholly owned subsidiary. Unbeknownst to the deli owners, after Hometown International was formed, Patten and his associates began positioning Hometown International as a vehicle for a reverse merger that would yield substantial profit to them.

Around October 2019, Hometown International began selling shares on the OTC Marketplace. Shortly thereafter, Patten, Coker Sr., and Coker Jr. undertook a calculated scheme to gain control of Hometown International’s management and its shares from the deli owners. Coker Sr., Coker Jr., and Patten took similar actions to gain control of E-Waste Corporation’s stock and management.

Once the defendants gained control of Hometown International and E-Waste’s shares, they arranged for the transfer of millions of shares of stock to a number of nominee entities, including entities controlled by Coker Jr., in an effort to mask their control of the shares.

In addition, the defendants transferred shares to family members, friends, and associates and gained control over their trading accounts by obtaining their log-in information in order to conceal the defendants’ involvement. The defendants then used those accounts to commit a number of coordinated trading events, often referred to as match and wash trades, to trade in Hometown International and E-Waste Corp.’s stock on both sides of the transaction.

These tactics artificially inflated the price of Hometown International and E-Waste’s stock by giving the false impression that there was a genuine market interest in the stock. Their scheme had the ultimate impact of artificially inflating Hometown International’s stock by approximately 939 percent and E-Waste’s stock by approximately 19,900 percent.

The securities fraud count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $5 million fine. The conspiracy to commit securities fraud carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense whichever is greatest.

Judge O’Hearn scheduled Coker, Jr.’s sentencing for April 2, 2025 and Coker Sr.’s sentencing for May 13, 2025.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI’s Philadelphia Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs, and special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan in Newark, with the investigation. He also thanked special agents from FBI Charlotte, FBI Los Angeles, FBI San Francisco, FBI Denver, and FBI Knoxville, for their assistance.

The government is represented by Lauren E. Repole, Chief of the Economic Crimes Unit, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Webman of the Economic Crimes Unit. 
 

NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County, New Jersey, man today admitted distributing cocaine, possessing with intent to distribute cocaine and heroin, and possessing three firearms, including two assault rifles with high capacity magazines, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Azmar Carter, a/k/a “Bizzy,” 32, of East Orange, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo to a superseding information charging him with two counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon, and possession with intent to distribute heroin and cocaine.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

In 2021, law enforcement began investigating a drug trafficking organization that operates primarily in and around Orange, New Jersey and distributes narcotics throughout Essex County. During the investigation, Carter distributed cocaine to law enforcement in May 2021 and in July 2021. Subsequently, on August 18, 2021, law enforcement searched Carter’s residence and car in East Orange, New Jersey and recovered the following items: one Draco AK 47 rifle; one Smith and Wesson AR rifle; one .40 caliber pistol; ninety-four rounds of associated ammunition; a distribution quantity of heroin and cocaine; and approximately $7,177.00.

The drug trafficking offenses carry a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, and a fine of $1 million.  The possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted a felon offense carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison, and a maximum fine of $250,000.  Sentencing is scheduled for April 30, 2024.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents and members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Newark Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge L.C. Cheeks, Jr.; members of the Orange Police Department, under the direction of Police Director Todd Warren, Chief Vincent Vitiello and Captain Brian Mooney; members of the Elizabeth Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Giacomo Sacca and Police Director Earl J. Graves; members of the East Orange Police Department, under the direction of Chief Phyllis Bindi; member of the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda and Chief of Police Sharonda Morris; and the Belleville Police Department, under the direction of Chief Mark Minichini, with the investigation leading to the charges and arrests.

This case is part of Operation Orange, which is a part of the Newark Violent Crime Initiative (VCI), which was formed in August 2017 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, and the City of Newark’s Department of Public Safety for the purpose of combatting violent crime in and around Newark. As part of this partnership, federal, state, county, and city agencies collaborate and pool resources to prosecute violent offenders who endanger the safety of the community. The VCI is composed of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the ATF, the DEA, the U.S. Marshals, the Newark Department of Public Safety, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, N.J. State Parole, Union County Jail, N.J. State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center, N.J. Department of Corrections, the East Orange Police Department, the Orange Police Department and the Irvington Police Department.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Levin, Chief of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.

Defense counsel: Christopher D. Adams, Esq.
 

NEWARK, N.J. – Two Essex County men today admitted their respective roles as members of a drug trafficking organization responsible for the importation and distribution of hundreds of kilograms of fentanyl analogues, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Defendants Thomas Padovano, 50, and Bartholomew Padovano, 72, of Newark, New Jersey pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton in Newark federal court to drug trafficking conspiracy and international promotional money laundering conspiracy.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Thomas Padovano and Bartholomew Padovano admitted that from approximately January 2014 through September 2020, they and other members of the drug trafficking organization agreed to import and distribute various controlled substances and controlled substance analogues, including fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, methylone, and ketamine. Members of the conspiracy placed orders with a source in China and agreed to distribute, and did distribute, the controlled substances and analogues in New Jersey, both in bulk and in the form of counterfeit pharmaceutical pills that actually contained fentanyl analogues. The Padovano defendants additionally admitted to having engaged in financial transactions aimed at concealing the origin and true ownership of more than $500,000 in drug proceeds.

The charge of drug trafficking conspiracy to which Thomas Padovano pleaded guilty carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of life in prison, and a fine of up to $10 million. The charge of drug trafficking conspiracy to which Bartholomew Padovano pleaded carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 5 years in prison, a maximum potential penalty of 40 years in prison, and a fine of up to $5 million. The charge of domestic concealment money laundering conspiracy to which both Padovano defendants pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000. Sentencing for both defendants is scheduled for May 6, 2025.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) – Newark, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea. He also thanked HSI in Philadelphia, the Federal Bureau of Investigation – Newark Division, U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Newark, IRS-Criminal Investigation, the Newark Police Department, and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office for their assistance.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sammi Malek and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Hasapidis-Sferra of the Criminal Division in Newark and Trial Attorney Stephen Sola, Chief of the Money Laundering and Forfeiture Unit of the Justice Department’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section. The case is being prosecuted jointly by the United States Attorney’s Office, District of New Jersey and the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) of the United States Department of Justice.

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

NEWARK, N.J. – A German man was sentenced today to 240 months in prison for traveling to New Jersey for the purpose of engaging in sexual conduct with a minor, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Christian Stefan Walther, 40, of Erfurt, Germany, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court to an information charging him with travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Law enforcement authorities began investigating Walther around January 2023 for child exploitation offenses. Two undercover officers communicated with Walther via email, phone, and an encrypted messaging app concerning Walther’s desire for sexual encounters with young children. Walther sent an undercover officer two videos, each of which depicted an adult male engaging in sexual conduct with a prepubescent aged female child. Walther also expressed his desire to engage in sexual conduct with children aged 8 to 12, described in graphic detail the sex acts he planned to commit against the children, and explained that he had lied to his friends in Germany about the purpose of his trip to the United States. Walther agreed to pay U.S. currency for access to the children.

On March 23, 2023, Walther traveled from Germany to New Jersey to meet the undercover officers in advance of what he believed would be a sexual encounter with one or more children at a hotel.  Upon his arrest, Walther admitted that he traveled to the United States to have sex with children under 12.  

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charge. He also thanked officers of the New Jersey State Police, under the leadership of Col. Patrick J. Callahan, for its assistance.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Specht of the Special Prosecutions Division.
 

NEWARK, N.J. – Two Brooklyn, New York, men were sentenced to lengthy prison terms today for their roles in three gunpoint robberies of check cashing locations in different parts of New Jersey in 2021 and 2022, as well as conspiring to commit robberies in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Ramel Harris, a/k/a Ramel Harrison, 43, of Brooklyn, and Neville Brown, 40, of Brooklyn, were both sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi in Newark federal court to 186 months in prison.  Both men previously pleaded guilty before Judge Cecchi to three counts of an Indictment charging them with Hobbs Act conspiracy, Hobbs Act robbery, and using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, namely the Hobbs Act robbery.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On several dates between January 2021 and January 2022, two individuals, later identified as Harris and Brown, attempted to rob a check cashing location in Nanuet, New York, and thereafter successfully robbed three check cashing locations in Parsippany, New Jersey, Old Bridge, New Jersey, and Hackettstown, New Jersey while brandishing a firearm and using zip ties to restrain female employees at each location.  During those robberies, Harris and Brown stole approximately $563,566.35.      

During the subsequent investigation, law enforcement learned that the conspirators surveilled check cashing locations in the following locations: Mount Kisco, New York, Allentown, Pennsylvania and West Chester, Pennsylvania.  Law enforcement obtained video surveillance footage that ultimately linked Harris and Brown to the robberies.  Furthermore, historical cell phone records indicate that Harris’s and Brown’s cellular telephones were in or around the locations of the various robberies around the times that they were committed. 

In addition to the prison term, Judge Cecchi sentenced Harris and Brown to five years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited members of the FBI’s New Jersey field office, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Nelson I. Delgado; members of the FBI’s New York field office, under the leadership of Assistant Director In Charge James E. Dennehy; members of the FBI’s Philadelphia field office, under the leadership of Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs; members of the Hackettstown Police Department, under the direction of Police Chief Aaron Perkins; members of the Old Bridge Police Department, under the leadership of Chief of Police Thomas J. Montagna; members of the Parsippany-Troy Hills Police Department, under the leadership of Police Chief Richard Pantina; members of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, under the leadership of Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll; members of the Clarkstown Police Department, under the leadership of Police Chief Jeffrey Wanamaker; members of the Westchester County (New York) Department of Public Safety; and members of the Borough of West Chester (Pennsylvania) Police Department, with the investigation leading to the charges.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Levin, Chief of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.
 

NEWARK, N.J. – Two brothers were re-sentenced to 360 months for committing two armed bank robberies and conspiring to commit a third armed robbery of an armored car in 1997-1998, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Charles Rodriguez, 58, of New Jersey and Joseph Rodriguez, 57, of New Jersey were originally convicted by a jury after an approximately six week trial in 1999 for conspiracy to commit two bank robberies and attempted robbery of an armored car, the two bank robberies, using firearms during the bank robberies, carjacking, an attempted robbery of an armored car, using firearms in relation to the attempted robbery of an armored car, and being felons in possession of firearms.  Charles and Joseph Rodriguez were originally sentenced on March 30, 2000 to life sentences.

Based on a challenge to the sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 2255, Judge Claire C. Cecchi dismissed one of the counts, Count Eight, for using firearms in relation to the attempted robbery of an armored car, due to intervening changes in the law.  Therefore, Charles and Joseph Rodriguez were re-sentenced on the remaining counts.

On July 19, 1997, four armed men—including Charles and Joseph Rodriguez—wearing masks and body armor and heavily armed with rifles and a handgun robbed the Corestates Bank branch in Woodlynne, New Jersey, terrorizing numerous civilian victims.  The robbers hit multiple victims with the stock of their rifles, pointed firearms at victims’ faces, and threatened the kill them. After completing the robbery, the robbers got into a stolen vehicle and drove to an empty parking lot.  There, they abandoned the vehicle, set it on fire, and switched to a second stolen vehicle.  The robbers stole $64,039 from the bank.

On May 23, 1998, three armed men—including Charles and Joseph Rodriguez— wearing masks and tactical gear robbed the Commerce Bank branch in Moorestown, New Jersey.  Arriving shortly before the bank opened for business, the robbers shot out the plate glass entrance doors, pointed their firearms at victims, and threatened to shoot them.  The robbers also fired three shots into the ceiling of the bank and six shots at a plexiglass door in front of a vault.  After the robbery, the robbers first attempted to flee on a stolen vehicle.  When the stolen vehicle stalled, they demanded the car keys of a bank employee at gun point.  They stole the employee’s car and drove a short distance before switching to another vehicle.  The robbers stole $15,373 from the bank.

On September 1, 1998, Charles and Joseph Rodriguez, along with a co-defendant, Jose Soto, attempted to rob an armored car at the Walt Whitman rest stop on the New Jersey Turnpike in Cherry Hill.  When the defendants arrived at the rest stop, they were dressed in tactical gear, including bullet proof vests, and were carrying numerous firearms, including two machine guns.  In total, they brought approximately 1,000 rounds of ammunition to the intended robbery.  Due to law enforcement intervention, Charles and Joseph Rodriguez were prevented from committing the intended robbery.

On November 18, 2022, Judge Cecchi sentenced Jose Soto to time served—approximately 289 months— for charges connected to the attempted robbery of an armored car.  He was acquitted of the two bank robberies.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Nelson I. Delgado in Newark, with the assistance leading to the re- sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Clara Kim of the Special Prosecutions Division in Newark and Norman Gross of the Camden Office. 
 

TRENTON, N.J. – A leader of the Cape Town Zone of the Neo Black Movement of Africa, also known as “Black Axe,” who was extradited from South Africa to the United States on wire fraud and money laundering charges, had his initial appearance today in Trenton federal court, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Enorense Izevbigie, aka “Richy Izevbigie,” aka “Lord Samuel S Nujoma,” 49, originally from Nigeria, is charged in a superseding indictment with two counts of wire fraud, wire fraud conspiracy, and money laundering conspiracy, spanning from 2011 to 2021. He had his initial appearance today, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Tonianne J. Bongiovanni in Trenton federal court and was detained pending trial.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Izevbigie was a leader of the Neo Black Movement of Africa, also known as “Black Axe,” an organization headquartered in Benin City, Nigeria that operates in various countries. Black Axe is organized into regional chapters known as “zones,” and Izevbigie was a leader within the Cape Town, South Africa, Zone.   

From at least 2011 through 2021, Izevbigie and other conspirators worked together from Cape Town to engage in widespread internet fraud involving romance scams and advance fee schemes. Many of these fraudulent narratives involved claims that an individual was traveling to South Africa for work and needed money or other items of value following a series of unfortunate and unforeseen events, often involving a construction site or problems with a crane. The conspirators used social media websites, online dating websites, and voice over internet protocol phone numbers to find and talk with victims in the United States, while using a number of aliases. 

The conspirators’ romance scam victims believed they were in romantic relationships with the person using the alias and, when requested, the victims sent money and items of value overseas, including to South Africa. Sometimes, when victims expressed hesitation in sending money, the conspirators used manipulative tactics to coerce the payments, including by threatening to distribute personally sensitive photographs of the victim.

The conspirators used the bank accounts of victims and individuals with United States-based financial accounts to transfer the money to South Africa. On certain occasions, the conspirators convinced victims to open financial accounts in the United States that the conspirators would then be permitted to use themselves. In addition to laundering money derived from romance scams and advance fee schemes, the conspirators also worked to launder money from business email compromises. In addition to their aliases, the conspirators used business entities to conceal and disguise the illegal nature of the funds.

The wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud charges each carry a maximum term of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. The money laundering conspiracy charge carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the property involved in the transaction, whichever is greatest.              

Izevbigie, along with six named co-defendants, were arrested in South Africa in 2021.  The six named co-defendants are awaiting extradition to the United States.

Anyone who believes they may be a victim may visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/blackaxe for information about the case, including a questionnaire for victims to fill out and submit.  

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Nelson I. Delgado in Newark; and the FBI Legal Attaché Office at the United States Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, under the direction of Legal Attaché John Connell; special agents of the U.S. Secret Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron Hatley in Newark, Resident Agent in Charge Todd Bratz in the Pretoria Resident Office, and Special Agent in Charge William Mancino of the Criminal Investigative Division, with the investigation leading to the charges.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger also thanked officials in South Africa for their assistance including the South African Directorate of Priority Crime Investigations (HAWKS), the South African Police Service, the South African National Prosecuting Authority & Asset Forfeiture Unit, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development for the Republic of South Africa, and INTERPOL for their assistance in this case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of Izevbigie to the United States. 

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

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard G. Shephard of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton.

The charges and allegations contained in the superseding indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

NEWARK, N.J. – A Newark business owner admitted bribing a former city official in exchange for that official’s assistance in acquiring and redeveloping Newark-owned properties, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Frank Valvano, Jr., 57, of Florham Park, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court to two counts of an indictment charging him with honest services fraud and bribery.

“As he admitted in court, Frank Valvano, Jr. provided cash, jewelry, and other benefits to a public official in exchange for the official’s use of his influence to further Valvano’s private business interests, defrauding the people of Newark of their right to the official’s honest services. He corrupted the public official’s independent judgment and violated the public trust for his own financial gain. Our office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to make sure that the people of New Jersey are protected from public officials whose greed overrides their sworn duty to serve the people and from the individuals who bribe those officials.”

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger

According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:

Valvano admitted bribing Carmelo Garcia – who served as deputy mayor and director of the Newark Department of Economic and Housing Development (DEHD) and executive vice president and chief real estate officer of the Newark Community Economic Development Corporation (NCEDC) – in exchange for Garcia’s assistance with the acquisition and redevelopment of city-owned property.

From 2017 through April 2019, Valvano, Irwin Sablosky, and others provided significant monetary payments and other benefits to Garcia while he was serving as a high-level Newark official, and prior to that, as an executive officer of the NCEDC (now known as Invest Newark), in exchange for Garcia’s use of his official positions and influence within the city of Newark and the NCEDC to advance real estate development matters of interest to Sablosky and Valvano. These matters included obtaining preliminary designation letters for Sablosky and Valvano and securing Newark-approved redevelopment agreements (RDAs) that allowed them to purchase and acquire various Newark-owned properties for redevelopment, and to ensure that Garcia did not use his influence and authority to act against their interests. In addition to cash, Valvano and Sablosky also gifted Garcia jewelry, including multiple high-end watches and chains, from their pawnbroker and jewelry business. They also paid for Garcia’s expenses on a trip to Miami, Florida.

Phone records and text messages obtained by law enforcement show extensive communication between Garcia, Valvano, Sablosky, and others throughout this period of time, including text messages in which Garcia arranged to personally collect cash provided by  Valvano and Sablosky. In one instance, in June 2018, Valvano and Sablosky, through an intermediary, supplied Garcia, then the city’s acting deputy mayor and director of the city’s DEHD, $25,000 in cash as part of the stream of bribes provided to Garcia.

The Travel Act charge in Count 19 of the indictment carries a maximum potential penalty of 5 years in prison. The bribery charge in Count 26 carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. All charges are punishable by a fine of $250,000 or twice the amount of the pecuniary gain from the offense. Sentencing is scheduled for April 16, 2025.

Valvano originally was charged by indictment in October 2021 with Sablosky, 64, of Springfield, New Jersey, and Garcia, 49, of Hoboken, New Jersey. Garcia previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the city of Newark and the NCEDC of Garcia’s honest services, honest services wire fraud, and receiving bribes in connection with the business of a federally funded local government and organization and is awaiting sentencing. Sablosky previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to honest services wire fraud and bribery and is awaiting sentencing. 

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI’s Newark Field Office, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Nelson I. Delgado; special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer I. Piovesan, and special agents of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Vicky Vazquez, with the investigation leading to today’s plea.

The government is represented by Elaine K. Lou, Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division, and Katherine J. Calle and Edeli Rivera of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Special Prosecutions Division.
 

NEWARK, N.J. – A New York-based businessman admitted his role in a health care fraud and illegal kickback conspiracy, Attorney for the United States Vikas Khanna announced today.

Mansinh Chaudhari, aka “Monsi Koova,” 55, of Illinois, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Michael E. Farbiarz in Newark federal court to an information charging him with conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to violate the Federal Anti-Kickback statute.

According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:

Chaudhari owned, operated, and had a financial interest in a New York-based consulting company that purchased information associated with prospective Medicare beneficiaries amounting to a guarantee that Medicare would reimburse the purchase of COVID-19 tests. Chaudhari then sold beneficiary information to medical providers in New Jersey, Tennessee, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, and elsewhere, so the medical providers could use that information to submit or cause the submission to Medicare of claims for up to eight OTC COVID-19 tests per month that beneficiaries did not need and had not ordered.

Chaudhari and the medical providers attempted to conceal their arrangements by entering into sham agreements. He also issued fraudulent invoices to the medical providers that solicited payment for marketing, consulting, or fulfillment. In total, Chaudhari and his conspirators caused a loss to Medicare of more than $5.3 million.

Conspiracy to commit health care fraud is punishable by a maximum of 10 years in prison and conspiracy to violate the Federal Anti-Kickback Statute is punishable by a maximum of five years in prison. Each count is also punishable by a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest. Sentencing is scheduled for April 29, 2025.

Attorney for the United States Khanna credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Nelson I. Delgado in Newark; the Department of Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Naomi Gruchacz; the U.S. Department of Defense, Office of the Inspector General, Defense Criminal Investigative Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Patrick Hegarty; and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christopher F. Algieri with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Specht of the Special Prosecutions Division under the supervision of the Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Unit.

24-451                                                

Defense counsel: Paul D’Emilia Esq., New York

NEWARK, N.J. – Pantaleo “Leo” Pellegrini, the former Hoboken Director of Health and Human Services and Director of the Department of Environmental Services, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Michael E. Farbiarz in Newark federal court to an information charging him with embezzling money from the City of Hoboken and filing a false tax return.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

While working for the City of Hoboken, Pellegrini embezzled money from the City of Hoboken by diverting payments intended for the City of Hoboken to bank accounts he controlled. Pellegrini also embezzled money from the City of Hoboken by submitting invoices for his personal business expenses, which City of Hoboken unknowingly paid.  Additionally, Pellegrini did not report the embezzled money on his personal tax returns, and thereby made and subscribed a false personal tax return.

Pellegrini had oversight over the City of Hoboken’s Division of Cultural Affairs’ Division of Health; Division of Parks, Recreation & Public Works; Division of Rent Leveling and Stabilization; and Division of Senior Services.  He therefore had oversight responsibilities related to certain public recreational facilities, including soccer fields that could be reserved by both Hoboken and non-Hoboken residents for a fee paid to the City of Hoboken.   Through this arrangement, the City of Hoboken Department of Parks, Recreation & Public Works sponsored a non-profit recreation soccer league open to all Hoboken residents aged 5 to 13 (the “Youth Soccer League”), which was funded by the City of Hoboken and participant fees.  Also during the charged time period, an adult soccer league open to Hoboken and non-Hoboken residents (the “Adult Soccer League”) was in operation, which was funded from participant fees.

Pellegrini developed a scheme to divert the Adult Soccer League’s participant fee payments intended for the City of Hoboken to a business account on which he was a signatory (the “Pellegrini Soccer Business Account”) and which was registered to a soccer-related entity linked to him (the “Pellegrini Soccer Business Entity”).  At various times, Pellegrini told an individual who operated the Adult Soccer League–“Individual-1”—to sign checks for the rental of public recreation facilities but leave the payee blank for Pellegrini to fill in later.  Pellegrini later filled in the name of the Pellegrini Soccer Business Entity and deposited the checks into the Pellegrini Soccer Business Account, without the knowledge of Individual-1.

During the relevant time period, Pellegrini was also the Owner and President of a private travel soccer club that was open to Hoboken residents and non-Hoboken residents (the “Pellegrini Private Soccer Club”).  Pellegrini also submitted or caused the submission to the City of Hoboken invoices associated with the Pellegrini Private Soccer Club, which Pellegrini falsely or fraudulently represented to the City of Hoboken as invoices eligible for reimbursement by the City of Hoboken.  As a result, the City of Hoboken—at Pellegrini’s direction—unknowingly paid tens of thousands of dollars to the Pellegrini Private Soccer Club’s vendors for the Pellegrini Private Soccer Club’s expenses, and also unknowingly paid tens of thousands of dollars directly to Pellegrini through the Pellegrini Private Soccer Club.

Pellegrini intentionally did not disclose and report the income from the above-described embezzlement scheme, thereby causing his tax returns to understate a substantial amount of the income he received.

The count of embezzlement carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain to the defendant or loss to the victim, whichever is greatest.  The count of filing a false tax return carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain to the defendant or loss to the victim, whichever is greatest. Sentencing is scheduled for April 29, 2025.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Nelson I. Delgado in Newark and special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan in Newark, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark J. McCarren and Matthew Specht of the Special Prosecutions Division.
 

NEWARK, N.J. – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey unsealed charges today against three Nigerian nationals for their roles in a transnational internet-enabled investment fraud scheme, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Augustine Chibuzo Onyeachonam, 30, Stanley Asiegbu, a/k/a “Stanislaus, Asiegbu”, 37, and Chukwuebuka Nweke-Eze, 29, all of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, were each charged by Indictment with one count of wire fraud conspiracy (Count One), two counts of wire fraud (Counts Two and Three), one count of securities fraud conspiracy (Count Four), one count of identity theft conspiracy (Count Five), and four counts of aggravated identity theft (Counts Six through Nine).

These defendants not only defrauded dozens of victims out of millions of dollars of their hard-earned money, but they also impersonated licensed FINRA representatives, spoofed their websites, and misappropriated the seal of the SEC to carry out their fraud,” U.S. Attorney Sellinger said. “My office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to pursue these kinds of scammers no matter where in the world they are and seek justice for their victims.”

According to the Indictment:

From at least as early as in or around 2018 through the present, Onyeachonam, Asiegbu, Nweke-Eze, and others (the “Conspirators”) orchestrated an internet-enabled fraud scheme that targeted victims throughout the United States, including in the District of New Jersey. As part of the fraud scheme, the Conspirators impersonated dozens of individuals registered as broker-dealers with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) and used those stolen identities to solicit investments from members of the public through fraudulent public-facing websites.

The fraudulent, or “spoofed”, websites were registered in the names of the impersonated victim brokers and often included genuine credentials, such as CRD numbers, associated with the victim brokers. At times, the spoofed websites also included links to: (1) the FINRA website associated with the victim brokers that allowed any member of the public to view the victim brokers’ employment history, certifications, licenses, or prior violations; and (2) fake social media accounts created by the Conspirators in the names of the victim brokers.  At times, the spoofed websites also displayed, without authorization, the seal of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).  The Conspirators would further use the SEC seal in email communications with victims.

The Conspirators lured victims of the fraud scheme to the spoofed websites by touting the services of the victim brokers in the comment sections of online articles or videos discussing financial and cryptocurrency investment-related topics. At times, the Conspirators would include links to one or more of the spoofed websites.

When a fraud victim visited a spoofed website, he or she was directed to communicate with an individual they believed to be a legitimate broker-dealer by contacting a telephone number or email address listed on the spoofed website. The Conspirators, posing as the victim brokers, then communicated with fraud victims and, among other things: (1) told fraud victims that their money would be invested in various stocks and cryptocurrencies; and (2) guaranteed fraud victims returns on their investments of up to 25%. The Conspirators used voice-changing software applications to impersonate certain female victim broker dealers when communicating by telephone.

When a fraud victim decided to invest money with one of the Conspirators posing as a victim broker, the fraud victim was told to: (1) open an account at a particular cryptocurrency trading platform; (2) purchase cryptocurrency assets through that platform; and (3) send the cryptocurrency assets to a particular cryptocurrency wallet address for the purpose of investment. In reality, the funds transferred by the fraud victims to the Conspirators were not invested but were stolen by the Conspirators. At times, fraud victims’ funds were stolen directly from the account(s) opened by them at a particular cryptocurrency exchange.

As part of the fraud scheme, the Conspirators further created fraudulent online investment platforms that falsely displayed monthly returns associated with the fraud victims’ investments. A fraud victim visiting one of the fraudulent investment platforms typically would observe substantial returns on their investment. At times, when a fraud victim requested to withdraw funds from their account, they would be asked by the Conspirators to pay additional money in fees or taxes to withdraw the funds. After paying these fees, the funds would still not be released.

In total, the Conspirators caused dozens of fraud victims to transmit funds that they believed to be for investments in the aggregate amount of at least approximately $3 million.

The wire fraud conspiracy charged in Count One carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine; the wire fraud charged in Counts Two and Three of the Indictment each carry a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, the conspiracy to commit securities fraud charged in Count Four of the Indictment carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine; the conspiracy to commit identity theft charged in Count Five of the Indictment carries a maximum potential penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine; and the aggravated identity theft counts charged in each carry a mandatory minimum sentence of two years and a $250,000 fine.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission today filed a civil complaint against all three defendants based on the same conduct.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI – Newark Atlantic City Resident Agency, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Nelson I. Delgado, with the investigation leading to the indictment.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony P. Torntore and Andrew Kogan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Cybercrime Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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NEWARK, N.J. – A Newark jury convicted three New Jersey men for their roles in a violent racketeering conspiracy, three murders, and related firearms offenses, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Myron Williams, aka “Money,” aka “Tunchi,” 31, of Newark, Khalil Kelley, aka “Billski,” 25, and Roger Pickett, aka “Zy Gz,” 24, both of Jersey City, were convicted in connection with a multi-count Indictment predicated upon their respective roles in the racketeering conspiracy.  Williams was convicted of racketeering conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, causing death through the use of a firearm, and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.  Kelley was convicted of racketeering conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and causing death through the use of a firearm.  Pickett was convicted of racketeering conspiracy, three counts of murder in aid of racketeering, three counts of discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, three counts of causing death through the use of a firearm, and Hobbs Act robbery.

“These three Marion street gang members brazenly committed three murders in the name of their gang. Two rival gang members were lured to their deaths through social media accounts that gang members used to impersonate the victims’ friends, and a third individual was killed during the course of a robbery committed against him.  The senseless killing of these three men caused incredible danger to the community. Myron Williams, Khalil Kelley, and Roger Pickett now face mandatory life sentences for their crimes, and the District of New Jersey is safer as a result. As this case demonstrates, my office is committed to working closely with the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office and the Jersey City Police Department, alongside our federal law enforcement partners, to protect the community.  This commitment to prosecuting violent crime ensures that serious consequences will follow for individuals who commit violence and have no regard for human life.”  

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger

“Today’s guilty verdicts bring accountability to violent criminals whose actions disregard criminal law, human life, and public safety. ATF remains steadfast in identifying and apprehending those who are terrorizing our neighborhoods with gang violence and disorder. We will continue to work alongside our law enforcement partners and secure the safety of our communities.”

ATF SAC L.C. Cheeks, Jr.

“This verdict is a testament of our commitment in law enforcement to ensure that justice is always served. The defendants in this matter intentionally disregarded human life and instilled fear in neighborhoods across Jersey City. I thank our local, state, and federal partners who continuously work collaboratively with the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office to ensure residents feel safe in their own communities.”

Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Williams, Kelley, and Pickett are all members and associates of the neighborhood street gang associated with the Marion Gardens Housing Complex. Since 2013, they have committed numerous acts of violence, including three separate murders, on March 29, 2021, Nov. 20, 2021, and Nov. 1, 2022.

On March 29, 2021, Kelley and other gang members lured a rival gang member outside by sending him Instagram messages pretending to be the victim’s fellow gang member.  When the victim opened the door to his residence, Kelley and another gang member brandished firearms, and the victim was shot multiple times in the chest, killing him. Pickett and Williams then picked up Kelley and other gang members after they abandoned the murder vehicle in Newark.

On Nov. 20, 2021, Williams, Pickett, and another gang member lured a rival gang member outside by sending him Instagram messages pretending to be the second victim’s fellow gang member. Williams and another gang member shot the victim when he opened the door to his residence.

On Nov. 1, 2022, a gang member facilitated the murder of the third victim by coordinating a narcotics transaction with the victim and an associate of the victim. When the victim and his associate arrived at the Marion Gardens Housing Complex to complete the narcotics transaction, they were robbed of their narcotics supply. During the robbery, Pickett and another gang member held the victim and his associate at gunpoint. After a struggle ensued, Pickett shot and killed the victim while his associate fled. Pickett then fled the Marion Gardens Housing Complex in his vehicle.

Investigators observed and documented hundreds of narcotics transactions in and around the Marion Gardens Housing Complex during the monthslong investigation.  In addition, when Williams was arrested on March 17, 2023, he possessed controlled substances packaged for distribution.

Eight other individuals originally were indicted with Williams, Kelley, and Pickett.  All have since pleaded guilty for their roles in the racketeering enterprise.

The racketeering conspiracy count of which all three were convicted carries a maximum potential penalty of life in prison, and a $10 million fine. Each was also convicted of murder in aid of racketeering, which carries a mandatory life sentence, discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, which carries a mandatory minimum penalty of ten years in prison and a maximum potential penalty of life in prison, and causing death through the use of a firearm, which carries a maximum potential penalty of life in prison. Pickett was also convicted of Hobbs Act robbery, which carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison, and Williams was convicted of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, which also carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for April 22, 2025.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited investigators of the Gang Intelligence Unit and the Homicide Unit of the Major Case Division of Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Esther Suarez and Chief of Detectives James A. Parker, and special agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), under the direction of Special Agent in Charge L.C. Cheeks Jr., and investigators of the Jersey City Police Department, under the direction of Director James Shea, with the investigation leading to the convictions. He also thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Nelson I. Delgado, and the U.S. Marshals, under the direction of U.S. Marshal Juan Mattos, for their assistance.

This investigation was conducted as part of the Jersey City Violent Crime Initiative (VCI). The VCI was formed in 2018 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Jersey City Police Department, for the sole purpose of combatting violent crime in and around Jersey City. As part of this partnership, federal, state, county, and city agencies collaborate to strategize and prioritize the prosecution of violent offenders who endanger the safety of the community. The VCI is composed of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the ATF, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New Jersey Division, the U.S. Marshals, the Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI"), the Jersey City Police Department, the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office, New Jersey State Parole, the Hudson County Jail, and the New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Desiree Grace, Chief of the Criminal Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Maloy and Javon Henry, of the Organized Crime and Gangs Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Newark.
 

A former Florida-based employee of TD Bank N.A. was arrested and charged by criminal complaint yesterday for facilitating money laundering to Colombia through the financial institution.

According to court documents, Leonardo Ayala, 24, worked at a TD Bank store in Doral, Florida, between February and November 2023. Starting in June 2023, Ayala allegedly exploited his position as a bank employee to facilitate money laundering. As alleged, after another TD Bank employee opened accounts in the names of shell companies with nominee owners, Ayala assisted the money laundering network by issuing dozens of debit cards for the accounts in exchange for bribes. Those accounts were then allegedly used to launder millions of dollars in narcotics proceeds through cash withdrawals at ATMs in Colombia.

Ayala made his initial appearance yesterday in Miami federal court, and all future court proceedings will be in New Jersey. He is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey; Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Newark Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Denise Foster of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Caribbean Division; and Special Agent in Charge Patricia Tarasca of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG) New York Region made the announcement.

The IRS-CI Newark Field Office, DEA San Juan Field Office, and FDIC-OIG New York Field Office are investigating the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, IRS-CI Miami Field Office, FDIC-OIG South Florida Field Office, DEA Miami Field Office, and Morristown Police Department provided valuable assistance in the investigation.

Trial Attorneys D. Zachary Adams and Chelsea Rooney of the Bank Integrity Unit of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Marko Pesce for the District of New Jersey are prosecuting the case.

MLARS’s Bank Integrity Unit investigates and prosecutes banks and other financial institutions, including their officers, managers, and employees, whose actions threaten the integrity of the individual institution or the wider financial system.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

NEWARK, N.J. – A former Florida-based employee of TD Bank, N.A. was arrested yesterday for facilitating money laundering to Colombia through the financial institution, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Leonardo Ayala, 24, of Homestead, Florida, is charged by complaint with one count of money laundering conspiracy. Ayala had his initial appearance yesterday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisette M. Reid in Miami federal court and was released on location monitoring and a $100,000 bond.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Ayala worked at a TD Bank store in Doral, Florida, between February and November 2023. Starting in June 2023, Ayala exploited his position as a bank employee to facilitate money laundering. After another TD Bank employee opened accounts in the names of shell companies with nominee owners, Ayala assisted the money laundering network by issuing dozens of debit cards for the accounts in exchange for bribes. Those accounts were then used to launder narcotics proceeds through cash withdrawals at ATMs in Colombia. The investigation has revealed that millions of dollars were laundered to Colombia through accounts Ayala serviced.

The charge of money laundering conspiracy carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000 or twice the amount involved in the offense, whichever is greater.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents and task force officers of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan in Newark; special agents and task force officers of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Denise Foster in San Juan, Puerto Rico; and special agents of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – Office of Inspector General, New York Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Patricia Tarasca with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida; Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation in Miami, Florida; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – Office of Inspector General, South Florida Division; U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Miami, Florida; and Morristown Police Department for their assistance with the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marko Pesce of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark and Trial Attorneys D. Zachary Adams and Chelsea Rooney of the Justice Department’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section.

The charge and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
 

TRENTON, N.J. – A Mercer County man made an initial appearance on charges of three armed robberies of Trenton-area businesses, including one during which the man caused the death of a victim through use of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Paul X. McNeil, 38, of Trenton, was charged by complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, three counts of Hobbs Act robbery, one count of murder during and in relation to a crime of violence, one count of discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and two counts of brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. McNeil made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Tonianne J. Bongiovanni in Trenton federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

McNeil targeted certain local businesses and/or business owners based upon the victims’ access to the businesses’ cash proceeds. On September 30, 2022, as an employee of an auto recycling shop in Ewing, New Jersey, was in the process of collecting the shop’s cash proceeds, McNeil and a coconspirator entered the shop. McNeil pointed a firearm at the employee before he and the coconspirator took from the employee approximately $150,000 of the shop’s cash proceeds and the employee’s lawfully registered firearm. Later that day, McNeil purchased a new car, paying $9,500 in a down payment, comprised of ninety-five $100 bills.

On August 10, 2023, McNeil followed the owner of a Trenton cannabis shop from the shop to the owner’s residence in Lawrence Township. Moments after the cannabis shop owner entered the residence, McNeil followed the owner into the residence and robbed the owner of the cannabis shop’s cash proceeds which the owner had carried into the residence. As overheard by the cannabis owner’s spouse, who was in the residence, the owner stated to McNeil, “No, no, no … please, here, you can have it,” moments before McNeil shot and killed the owner with a firearm. In addition to taking from the owner the cannabis shop’s cash proceeds, McNeil also took from the owner jewelry the owner was wearing at the time of the robbery. Photographs recovered from McNeil’s cellphone depict McNeil wearing the owner’s jewelry, which was recovered later from McNeil’s vehicle.

On September 23, 2023, McNeil entered the Ewing residence of an owner of a Trenton-area house-flipping business. Upon entering the residence, McNeil encountered three victims, including two minors. The owner of the business was not in the residence at the time.  McNeil pointed a handgun at the three victims and demanded money. McNeil then bound the victims’ hands behind their backs with zip ties and forced them at gunpoint into the basement, while he searched the residence. McNeil took approximately $4,500 in cash proceeds from the house- flipping business as well as some personal items belonging to the business owner and the three victims. Law enforcement later recovered from McNeil’s residence approximately $4,000 in cash and some of the personal items belonging to the business’s owner and the three victims.

“These charges allege that the defendant targeted several local business owners for robbery and murdered one of them. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, together with its federal and local law enforcement partners, will spare no effort to investigate and prosecute violent offenders who target the businesses and residents of New Jersey.” 

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger 

"We allege McNeil went into a Ewing business, held it up at gun point, and while the owner was attempting to hand over money McNeil shot and killed him. We also have evidence showing he also took part in several other brutal attacks and robberies. Violent offenders should take this investigation as a warning that the FBI Newark and our law enforcement partners are pursuing criminals who believe they can act with impunity and not face justice,” Acting SAC Nelson I. Delgado said.

The count of murder during and in relation to a crime of violence is punishable by death, or a term of imprisonment up to life. The counts of Hobbs Act robbery and conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery each carry a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison.  The brandishing and discharging of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence counts each carry a maximum potential penalty of life in prison, where the brandishing count has a mandatory minimum sentence of 7 years in prison and the discharging count has a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 year in prison, which sentences must run consecutively to any other term of imprisonment imposed. Each count also carries a fine of up to $250,000.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents and task force officers of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting SAC Nelson I. Delgado, members of the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office Homicide Task Force, under the direction of Acting Mercer County Prosecutor Theresa L. Hilton, and detectives with the Ewing Police Department, under the direction of Chief Albert Rhodes, with the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracey Agnew and Special Assistant Laura Sunyak of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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Defense counsel: Benjamin West, Esq.

NEWARK, N.J. – A Washington, DC, man was arrested for threatening flight attendants during an incident in which he had to be restrained by flight crew and passengers while aboard a flight to Newark Liberty International Airport, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Kedus Yacob Damtew, 38, of Washington, DC, was charged by complaint in Newark federal court with one count of interference with flight crew members and attendants by assault or intimidation. He appeared before Magistrate Judge Matthew J. Sharbaugh in Washington, DC federal court, and was released.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On June 12, 2024, shortly before landing on a flight from Houston, Texas, Damtew removed his shirt; pushed his bare chest into a flight attendant, pinning the flight attendant against the aircraft exit door; shouted epithets and threats of physical violence; and punched an aircraft oven. Damtew then followed the same flight attendant to the rear of the aircraft, where he continued to shout threats and epithets and threw a cup of water. Another flight attendant requested assistance over the airplane’s public address system, prompting several passengers to assist in securing Damtew in flex cuffs in the last row of the plane until the flight landed at Newark.

The charge of interfering with flight crew members and attendants carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Nelson I. Delgado in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charge. He also thanked the Port Authority Police Department, under the direction of Edward T. Cetnar, for its assistance.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli Jacobs of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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Defense counsel: Elizabeth Mullin, Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Washington, DC

NEWARK--The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey has secured agreements with the Hudson and Morris County Boards of Election to ensure that the counties provide accessible polling places to voters with disabilities, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger announced today.  The agreement resolves the United States’ investigations into both counties’ compliance with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by state or local government in its programs or services.

The United States’ investigation identified architectural barriers at multiple polling places in both counties that rendered some of the polling places not fully accessible to voters with disabilities.  The Boards of Elections in both counties have cooperated fully with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to reach these agreements to improve physical accessibility at their respective polling place locations. 

“Ensuring that all eligible citizens can participate in the voting process is one of the most fundamental elements of our democracy.  Voters with disabilities have a right to vote at their local polling places free from barriers to physical accessibility. Our office remains committed to using every tool available to ensure that all eligible New Jersey voters can cast their ballot without barriers.”

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger

Under the settlement agreement, the Election Boards will each employ temporary measures, such as portable ramps and signage, where appropriate, to make their existing polling places accessible.  They will also train poll workers on the ADA’s accessibility requirements, how to use temporary measures to make polling places accessible, and how to survey polling locations for accessibility on Election Day.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office will monitor the Board of Elections’ compliance with the agreements and provide them with technical assistance.  

The United States is represented by Senior Civil Rights Counsel Kelly Horan Florio and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thandiwe Boylan of the U.S. Attorney’s Civil Rights Division.

Individuals who believe they may have been victims of discrimination may file a complaint with the U.S Attorney’s Office at http://www.justice.gov/usao-nj/civil-rights-enforcement/complaint or call the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Civil Rights Complaint Hotline at (855) 281-3339.  Additional information about the ADA can be found at www.ada.gov, or by calling the Department of Justice’s toll-free information line at (800) 514-0301 and (800) 514-0383 (TDD).  

NEWARK, N.J. – A Hudson County man admitted his role in four robberies and two shootings in Jersey City, New Jersey, which took place on the same night, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Rodney Williams, 32, of Jersey City, New Jersey pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti in Newark federal court to an Indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery, conspiracy to use and carry a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, Hobbs Act robbery, attempted Hobbs Act robbery, using and carrying a firearm in relation to a crime of violence, and possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon.  Williams’ co-defendant, Siobhan Chandler, was sentenced on April 25, 2024 to 12 years’ imprisonment followed by 5 years’ supervised release for her role.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On the evening of November 14, 2021, Williams and Chandler committed multiple armed robberies and two shootings in Jersey City.  The criminal activity began when Williams, acting alone, robbed a store while he pointed his gun at the clerk and demanded money.  The clerk handed money to Williams who then fled.

A short time later, Williams, now with Chandler, robbed a gas station, where Williams pointed his gun at two attendants and demanded money.  When the attendants did not immediately comply, Williams shot one of the attendants in the chest.  Williams and Chandler then fled.

Williams and Chandler later entered another store, and Williams again pointed his gun at a clerk and demanded money.  The clerk handed money to Williams and he and Chandler fled.

Williams and Chandler then entered a nearby restaurant, and Williams again pointed his gun at the cashier and demanded money.  When the cashier did not immediately comply, Williams shot the cashier in the chest.  The cashier then handed money to Williams, after which Williams and Chandler fled.

The Hobbs Act robbery charges to which Williams pleaded guilty each carry a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison; the conspiracy to use and carry a firearm in relation to a crime of violence charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison; the using and carrying a firearm in relation to a crime of violence charges carry statutory mandatory minimum terms of 7 (Count Four) and 10 years (Count Nine) in prison and maximum potential penalties of life in prison.  Any term of imprisonment on Counts Four and Nine must run consecutive to any other prison term imposed on the other counts.  Each count also carries a maximum fine of $250,000.  Sentencing is scheduled for April 23, 2025.  

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited officers of the Jersey City Police Department, under the direction of Acting Chief Kearns, and the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.  He also thanks the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for their assistance.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shontae D. Gray and Eli Jacobs of the Criminal Division in Newark.
 

CAMDEN, N.J. – A Gloucester County man was sentenced today to 120 months in prison for possessing with intent to distribute thousands of methamphetamine pills and possessing two firearms as a felon, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

George W. Joyce, 40, of Glassboro, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Christine P. O’Hearn to an information charging him with one count of possessing with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine and one count of possessing a firearm as a felon. Judge O’Hearn imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On March 29, 2023, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Joyce’s residence in Glassboro, New Jersey.  Officers recovered from Joyce’s bedroom approximately 2,587 methamphetamine pills that Joyce admitted to possessing with the intent to distribute to others.  Joyce further admitted to possessing two loaded firearms that officers also recovered from his bedroom.  Joyce’s possession of the firearms was unlawful because he was a felon.
 
In addition to the prison term, Judge O’Hearn sentenced Joyce to 4 years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of FBI’s Wilmington Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno in Baltimore, with the investigation leading to the sentencing. He also thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware, the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office, the Delaware State Police, and the New Castle County (Delaware) Police Department for their assistance.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Bender of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.
 

NEWARK, N.J. – A former assistant dean of an Essex County graduate school was sentenced yesterday to 36 months in prison for defrauding her former employer of more than $1.3 million, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Teresina DeAlmeida, 59, of Warren, New Jersey and her co-conspirators, Rose Martins, 44, of East Hanover, New Jersey, and Silvia Cardoso, 61, of Warren, NJ, previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud before U.S. District Judge Julien Xavier Neals in Newark federal court.

“The defendant abused her position of trust as an assistant dean to orchestrate an elaborate embezzlement scheme for more than a decade. In doing so, she and her co-conspirators stole more than $1.3 million intended to benefit the school and its students.  My office is committed to relentlessly prosecuting those who commit financial frauds.”

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger

“By choosing to utilize her position for illicit profit, Teresina DeAlmeida chose to enrich herself first and serve the students of the University last,” stated Jenifer L. Piovesan, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office. “Financial fraud like this will not be tolerated and IRS Criminal Investigation will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to root out and investigate these financial crimes.”

“Trust is an intangible thing, a faith that people who have access to large sums of money won't steal it. DeAlmeida took funds meant for students at the university and did so for more than a decade,” FBI Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Nelson I. Delgado said. “Students and most average citizens cannot see into finances of institutions, to question where it's going and why it's missing. The FBI Newark and our law enforcement partners have the tools to investigate wrongdoing and hold accountable those who don't think anyone will notice $1.3 million is missing.”

“I am proud of the contribution of OIG Special Agents in holding former Assistant Dean DeAlmeida accountable for her criminal actions. Her willful diversion and theft of funds that were intended for the school and its students was completely unacceptable,” said John Carlo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General’s Eastern Regional Office.  “The OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of Federal education funds.”

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Between 2009 and July 2022, DeAlmeida, Martins, and Cardoso conspired to fraudulently misappropriate more than $1.3 million from their former employer, a graduate school of a university in Essex County, New Jersey.  During the scheme, DeAlmeida was an assistant dean responsible for financial functions, and Martins served as her assistant.  Cardoso, DeAlmeida’s sister, was also employed by the graduate school in a support staff role.  

The defendants used a variety of methods to defraud the university.  For instance:

•    Beginning in 2009, DeAlmeida directed a graduate school vendor to pay Martins and Cardoso as though they worked for the vendor, even though they did not perform any services.  DeAlmeida and Martins then caused the vendor to submit false invoices to the graduate school over the course of approximately four years to reimburse the vendor for the amounts fraudulently paid to Martins and Cardoso.  

•    From 2010 through 2022, DeAlmeida and Martins directed graduate school vendors to order hundreds of thousands of dollars of gift cards and prepaid debit cards the co-conspirators used for their personal benefit, and then to submit fraudulent invoices to the school purporting to be for goods and services that were never provided.  The co-conspirators also misused DeAlmeida’s school-issued credit card to purchase hundreds of thousands of dollars of gift cards and prepaid debit cards from the school’s bookstore.  DeAlmeida routinely fraudulently approved these charges and Martins forged the signatures of other employees on internal approvals.

•    In 2015, Martins opened a shell entity called CMS Content Management Specialist LLC.  Although CMS never rendered any services to the graduate school, Martins submitted, and DeAlmeida approved, fraudulent invoices totaling more than $208,000.  

•    The co-conspirators also used DeAlmeida’s school-issued credit card to make tens of thousands of dollars in unauthorized personal purchases.  For example, DeAlmeida and Martins used the card to make over $70,000 in purchases at an online retailer shipped directly to their homes, including woman’s shoes, smart watches, and bed linens.  DeAlmeida and Martins fraudulently altered certain receipts before submitting them to the school for payment.  

In addition to the prison term, Judge Neals sentenced DeAlmeida to 2 years of supervised release and ordered restitution of approximately $1,397,000.  

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Internal Revenue Services, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan in Newark; special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Nelson I. Delgado in Newark; and special agents of the Department of Education, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge John Carlo with the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carolyn Silane and Aja Espinosa of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
 

NEWARK, N.J. – The founder and executive chairman of a beverage company appeared in court for lying to solicit investments in his company, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Todd O’Gara, 44, of Austin, Texas was charged by complaint with one count of wire fraud and appeared in court today to before U.S. Magistrate Judge Dustin Howell in Austin federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

O’Gara, who founded and managed a beverage company, Wanu Water, Inc., raised at least $3.4 million dollars from individual victim investors. O’Gara repeatedly lied to solicit those investments and to encourage investors to maintain their investments. Among other things, O’Gara lied about the size of purchase orders from retailers and about major investments from private equity firms. As part of this fraudulent scheme, O’Gara sent investors fake documents including doctored emails and forged term sheets.

The wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain to the defendant or gross loss to the victim, whichever is greatest.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger added that the investigation is continuing. If you believe you are a victim of or otherwise have information concerning this scheme, please contact the FBI at newark-victim_assistance@fbi.gov.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Nelson I. Delgado, Newark Field Division, with the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Aaron L. Webman and Carolyn Silane of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.
 

CAMDEN, N.J. – A Camden man was sentenced today to 260 months in prison for trafficking three minors to engage in commercial sex acts, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Semaj A. Gilmore, 34, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief District Judge Renée Marie Bumb to three counts of a superseding indictment charging him with sex trafficking minors. Judge Bumb imposed the sentence today in Camden federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From September 2020 to April 2021 Gilmore transported, at various times, three minor victims from Philadelphia to New Jersey knowing they would engage in a commercial sex act at Gilmore’s direction. Each of the victims was under age 18 at the time.  During that time period, Gilmore had been required to register as a sex offender as a result of a prior conviction.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Bumb sentenced Gilmore to 10 years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of FBI’s South Jersey Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs in Philadelphia, with the investigation leading to the sentencing. He also thanked members of the Mount Laurel Police Department and the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office for their assistance.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Bender and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Katelyn Waegener of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.
 

A New York man pleaded guilty yesterday to serving as a courier for a Dominican Republic-based “grandparent scam” that targeted elderly Americans.

Victor Anthony Valdez, 40, of the Bronx, New York, was charged in District of New Jersey with one count of wire fraud conspiracy for his role in the scam. According to the indictment, returned over the summer by a grand jury sitting in Newark, New Jersey, the scam operated from call centers in the Dominican Republic, making phone calls to elderly American victims purporting to be the victim’s grandchild, an attorney representing the grandchild in criminal proceedings, court personnel, or other persons associated with the legal system. Co-conspirators told the victims that their grandchildren had been arrested and needed cash for bail or other expenses. Once victims were convinced through lies and falsehoods, coconspirators instructed the victims to provide cash to couriers, including Valdez, who went to victims’ homes to pick up the money.

While acting as a courier for the scam between August 2020 and August 2021, Valdez is alleged to have retrieved, or attempted to retrieve, tens of thousands of dollars from defrauded victims at their homes in New York and New Jersey. Valdez was an employee of the Social Security Administration, New York Region, at the time he committed the offense.

“The Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and its law enforcement partners will vigorously pursue individuals who prey on vulnerable and elderly victims through fraudulent schemes like the one in which the defendant here participated,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Those who aid transnational criminals in deliberately targeting vulnerable consumers in the United States will be held accountable.”

“The defendant admitted today to his role in a scam targeting vulnerable seniors,” said U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger for the District of New Jersey. “The defendant and his co-conspirators took advantage of grandparents’ love and concern for their grandchildren they believed to be in trouble, convincing them to pay thousands of dollars. My office will continue to protect the rights of all victims, and we will relentlessly prosecute those who target and cheat vulnerable seniors.”

“Mr. Valdez intentionally conspired to defraud the elderly of their money and property through a cruel, international grandparent scam,” said Acting Inspector General Hannibal “Mike” Ware of the Social Security Administration. “The vast majority of the victims are Social Security beneficiaries, who live on a fixed income. We will continue to aggressively pursue such intolerable criminal activities.  I thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their work in prosecuting this case.”    

Valdez pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy in a hearing in Newark before the Honorable Claire C. Cecchi of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Valdez is scheduled to be sentenced on April 9, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General and the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations are investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Joshua Ferrentino of the Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carolyn Silane and Alison Thompson for the District of Jersey are prosecuting the case.

If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has experienced financial fraud, experienced professionals are standing by at the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This Justice Department hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, can provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying relevant next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with appropriate agencies and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis. Reporting is the first step. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. The hotline is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. English, Spanish, and other languages are available.

More information about the department’s efforts to help American seniors is available at its Elder Justice Initiative webpage. For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. Elder fraud complaints may be filed with the FTC at www.reportfraud.ftc.gov/ or at 877-FTC-HELP. The Justice Department provides a variety of resources relating to elder fraud victimization through its Office for Victims of Crime, which can be reached at www.ovc.gov.

NEWARK, N.J. – A New York man who previously worked as a claims specialist with the U.S. Social Security Administration admitted yesterday to acting as a courier for a Dominican Republic-based “grandparent scam” that targeted elderly Americans.

Victor Anthony Valdez, 39, of the Bronx, New York, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi in Newark federal court to an indictment charging him with wire fraud conspiracy.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court, the scam operated from call centers in the Dominican Republic, making phone calls to elderly American victims purporting to be the victim’s grandchild, an attorney representing the grandchild in criminal proceedings, court personnel, or other persons associated with the legal system. Conspirators told the victims that their grandchildren had been arrested and needed cash for bail or other expenses. Once victims were convinced through lies and falsehoods, coconspirators instructed the victims to provide cash to couriers, including Valdez, who went to victims’ homes to pick up the money.

While acting as a courier for the scam between August 2020 and August 2021, Valdez is alleged to have retrieved, or attempted to retrieve, tens of thousands of dollars from defrauded victims at their homes in New York and New Jersey.

“The defendant admitted to his role in a scam targeting vulnerable seniors. The defendant and his coconspirators took advantage of grandparents’ love and concern for their grandchildren they believed to be in trouble, convincing them to pay thousands of dollars. My office will continue to protect the rights of all victims, and we will relentlessly prosecute those who target and cheat vulnerable seniors.”  

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger 

“The Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch and its law enforcement partners will vigorously pursue individuals who prey on vulnerable and elderly victims through fraudulent schemes like the one in which the defendant here participated,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Those who aid transnational criminals in deliberately targeting vulnerable consumers in the United States will be held accountable.”

“Mr. Valdez intentionally conspired to defraud the elderly of their money and property through a cruel, international grandparent scam,” said Hannibal “Mike” Ware, Acting Inspector General for the Social Security Administration. “The vast majority of the victims are Social Security beneficiaries, who live on a fixed income. We will continue to aggressively pursue such intolerable criminal activities.  I thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their work in prosecuting this case.” 

Valdez faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for April 9, 2025.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited the special agents of the Social Security Administration’s Office of the Inspector General under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Amy Connelly, and the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carolyn Silane and Alison Thompson, and Trial Attorney Joshua Ferrentino of the Civil Division's Consumer Protection Branch and are prosecuting the case.

If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has experienced financial fraud, experienced professionals are standing by at the National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This Justice Department hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), can provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying relevant next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with appropriate agencies and provide resources and referrals, on a case-by-case basis. Reporting is the first step. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. The hotline is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET. English, Spanish and other languages are available.

More information about the department’s efforts to help American seniors is available at its Elder Justice Initiative webpage. For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. Elder fraud complaints may be filed with the FTC at www.reportfraud.ftc.gov/ or at 877-FTC-HELP. The Justice Department provides a variety of resources relating to elder fraud victimization through OVC, which can be reached at www.ovc.gov.
 

NEWARK, N.J. – A Union County, New Jersey, man today admitted his role in a scheme to fraudulently obtain a Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loan, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Joseph McKeon, aka “Jay McKeon,” 54, of Westfield, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Julien Xavier Neals in Newark federal court to an indictment charging him with one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From February 2021 through February 2022, McKeon submitted fraudulent PPP loan and forgiveness applications for $900,000 on behalf of a New Jersey company he owned. In support of those applications, McKeon lied about the number of employees the business employed and the income the employees earned. McKeon also submitted forged documents, including fake payroll information, bank statements, tax return documents. After the victim lender funded the loan, McKeon withdrew a significant amount of the loan proceeds as cash and made several large transfers between bank accounts, including one transfer for $315,504, that was sent to an Indiana title company.

The wire fraud charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000, or twice the gross gain to the defendant or gross loss to the victim, whichever is greatest. The money laundering conspiracy count carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain to the defendant or loss to the victim, whichever is greatest. Sentencing is scheduled for April 1, 2025.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of IRS – Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan; special agents of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, Boston-New York Field Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Amy Connelly; and special agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Thomas Mahoney, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea. 

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin D. Bleiberg of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

The District of New Jersey COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force is one of five strike forces established throughout the United States by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud. The strike forces focus on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors. The strike forces are interagency law enforcement efforts, using prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams designed to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds. 

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

TRENTON, N.J. – A Somerset County, New Jersey, man today admitted stealing more than $600,000 in federal benefits that were intended for his deceased father, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Steven Jones, 66, of Somerset, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Robert Kirsch in Trenton federal court today to an information charging him with conversion of federal funds. 

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Steven Jones’ father received several federal retirement benefits before he died in October 2004. After Jones’s father died, Jones intentionally falsified his father’s death certificate so that the federal agencies would continue to issue the retirement benefits. On two occasions, Jones had a person impersonate his father to a federal agency so that the agency would think his father was still alive and continue payments. The investigation revealed that Jones unlawfully collected these payments for nearly 20 years, from October 2004 to December 2023.

The charge of conversion of government funds carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for April 21, 2025.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the Social Security Administration Office, of the Inspector General, Boston-New York Field Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Amy Connelly.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Chana Y. Zuckier of the OCDETF Unit in Newark.

CAMDEN, N.J. – A Bergen County, New Jersey, man admitted robbing a bank in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Tony Winst, 46, of Cresskill, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Edward S. Kiel in Camden federal court to an information charging him with bank robbery.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On Nov. 17, 2023, Winst entered a bank in Mountain Lakes, New Jersey, and handed a note to a teller stating: “this is a robbery.” He claimed to have a weapon. The teller gave Winst money and he fled from the bank.

The count of bank robbery carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a maximum fine of $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for April 2, 2025.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Nelson I. Delgado in Newark; the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Robert J. Carroll, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea. He also thanked the Mountain Lakes Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Shawn Bennett.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Nadel of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.

NEWARK, N.J. – A New Jersey tax preparer was charged in a sixteen-count indictment for using false information to increase client tax refunds, and fraudulently obtaining money from Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Anne Bonilla, aka “Anne Davinovish,” 53, of Linden, New Jersey, is charged by indictment with thirteen counts of procuring, counseling, and advising in the preparation and filing of false tax returns; one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud; and two counts of wire fraud. Bonilla was arraigned today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor in Newark federal court and pleaded not guilty.

According to the indictment:

Bonilla was a tax preparer at Anne Accounting Services Inc. who created fraudulent tax returns on behalf of multiple clients by falsifying various expenses. As a result, those clients’ returns requested higher tax credits and higher refunds than the clients were entitled to receive.  Bonilla prepared at least 46 fraudulent tax returns that caused approximately $340,000 in refunds to which the taxpayers were not entitled.

Bonilla also arranged for a conspirator to obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) and Electronic Filer Identification Number (EFIN) using the conspirator’s personal identifying information. The fraudulent EIN was associated with tax returns that received more than $195,000 in federal refunds for tax year 2023, and the fraudulent EFIN was associated with tax returns that received more than $595,000 in federal refunds for tax year 2023, including tax refunds totaling more than $100,000 in the names (including variations of the names) of Bonilla and her associates.

In June 2020, Bonilla and a conspirator submitted a fraudulent EIDL application, which resulted in the Small Business Administration (SBA) paying $110,000 in COVID-19 related proceeds. In July 2020, Bonilla and the conspirator submitted another fraudulent EIDL application, which resulted in the SBA paying $131,200 in COVID-19 related proceeds. The July 2020 application was submitted under another person’s name to conceal the involvement of Bonilla and her conspirator, but law enforcement was subsequently able to link the July 2020 application back to Bonilla. Bonilla also sent a lender altered bank statements in connection with the purchase of real property in Florida.

Each of the 13 counts of procuring, counseling, and advising in the preparation and filing of false tax returns carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Each count of wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain to the defendant or loss to the victim, whichever is greatest.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Piovesan in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charges.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Specht of the Special Prosecutions Division.

The charges and allegations in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 70 months in prison for defrauding victims by orchestrating a multistate car theft and fraud ring, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Warren Guerrier, 47, of Newark, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William J. Martini in Newark federal court to an indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From November 2016 to June 2020, Guerrier and several conspirators acting at his direction orchestrated a scheme to steal and then fraudulently sell vehicles to unsuspecting buyers. Guerrier and his conspirators identified vehicles to steal, then photographed, tracked, and advertised them for sale on the internet. The buyer victims were provided with electronically programmed keys and falsified certificates of title for the stolen vehicles in exchange for a negotiated purchase price in cash. Buyer victims also were provided with fraudulent identity documents utilized by conspirators to obscure their true identities.

The scheme involved the theft of at least 40 stolen vehicles, approximately 30 of which were sold by Guerrier and his conspirators to buyer victims. As a result of the scheme, Guerrier and his conspirators collected approximately $285,000.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Martini sentenced Guerrier to three years of supervised release and ordered restitution of $291,637.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Nelson I. Delgado in Newark and Special Agent in Charge Lyonel Myrthil in New Orleans, with the investigation leading to the sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica R. Ecker of the Criminal Division in Newark.

TRENTON, N.J. – A Monmouth County, New Jersey, man made his initial court appearance today for an alleged armed bank robbery, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Jeffrey L. Kniffin, 50, of Wall Township, is charged by complaint with one count of armed bank robbery. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Rukhsanah L. Singh in Trenton federal court and was detained. A detention hearing is scheduled for November 25, 2024.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On Oct. 23, 2024, Kniffin entered a bank in Wall Township, New Jersey, and demanded cash from a bank teller before grabbing and displaying for the teller a firearm. On several occasions during the robbery, Kniffin instructed the teller and other bank employees who were present, “Don’t do anything stupid.” After taking by force and intimidation cash from the teller, Kniffin fled the bank. He was apprehended and arrested by law enforcement several minutes later. At the time of his arrest, law enforcement recovered from Kniffin and his immediate surroundings a loaded firearm and more than $17,000 in cash.

The count of armed bank robbery carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited officer of FBI Newark’s Jersey Shore Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Nelson I. Delgado in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked the Wall Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief Sean O’Halloran, and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago, for their assistance.

The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Garelick of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

TRENTON, N.J. – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey and the Justice Department announced today that the Trenton Police Department (TPD) and the city of Trenton engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and federal law.

A comprehensive investigation found that TPD unlawfully uses excessive force, including unreasonable forms of physical force and pepper spray when facing little resistance or danger. TPD also conducts stops, searches and arrests without reasonable suspicion or probable cause. In addition, the department identified deficiencies in training, supervision, policy and accountability that contribute to TPD and the city’s unlawful conduct.

“For too long, the residents of Trenton have felt afraid of the police, rather than protected by them. The use of excessive force and unconstitutional stops, searches and arrests, sometimes with tragic consequences, have eroded public trust and undermined public safety. Today’s findings are the first step in achieving the reforms needed to rebuild public trust, so that the Trenton Police Department can effectively fight crime and keep residents safe, while respecting the constitutional rights of each and every person.”

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger

“Police officers must respect people’s civil and constitutional rights and treat people with dignity,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “After an extensive review, we found that police officers in Trenton routinely failed to respect the Fourth Amendment rights of those who call Trenton home. Trenton police stop and search pedestrians and motorists without a legal basis, make illegal arrests and use excessive force without basis. We are committed to the hard work necessary to achieve constitutional policing across the country. By bringing city officials, the police department and the community together, we are confident that we can institute meaningful reforms that remedy the violations uncovered.”

The Justice Department found that TPD engaged in a pattern or practice of using excessive force, with police officers often escalating encounters when facing little resistance or threat. For example, in one incident from 2023, after initially using reasonable force to arrest a man, an officer stomped on the man’s hand multiple times once he was on the ground, kneeled on his head and kicked him in the shoulder.

TPD also conducted numerous stops and searches of pedestrians and cars without reasonable suspicion or probable cause, often unlawfully arresting the person they stopped and searched.

TPD’s violations have eroded community trust and cost the city more than $7 million since 2021 to resolve lawsuits stemming from accusations of officer misconduct.

The Justice Department opened this investigation on Oct. 17, 2023. Career attorneys and staff in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey and the Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Section conducted the investigation. The team conducted an extensive review of TPD’s records, including hundreds of police reports and hundreds of hours of body-worn camera footage. The team also interviewed city and TPD leadership and line officers, accompanied officers on ride-alongs and met with dozens of community members.

The city and TPD cooperated fully with the Justice Department’s investigation. The department provided a comprehensive written report of its investigative findings to the city and TPD. The report acknowledges the changes already made by the city and TPD, and it identifies additional remedial measures the Justice Department believes are necessary to address its findings.

The Justice Department conducted this investigation pursuant to 34 U.S.C. § 12601, which prohibits law enforcement officers from engaging in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives people of rights protected by the Constitution or federal law. Section 12601 authorizes the Attorney General to file a lawsuit in federal court seeking court-ordered remedies to eliminate a pattern or practice of unlawful conduct.

The Justice Department will conduct outreach to members of the Trenton community to explain the findings and for input on remedies to address the findings. Individuals may also submit recommendations by email at USANJ.Community.Trenton@usdoj.gov or by phone at 973-645-2801

The Justice Department will hold a community meeting at a date to be determined. Members of the pubic are encouraged to attend.

Additional information about the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is available at www.justice.gov/crt. Additional information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey is available at www.justice.gov/usao-nj. Information specific to the Civil Rights Division’s Police Reform Work can be found at The Civil Rights Division’s Pattern and Practice Police Reform Work: 1994-Present. Additional information about civil rights enforcement at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey is available at www.justice.gov/usao-nj/civil-rights-enforcement.

The government is represented by Michael Campion, Chief of the Civil Rights Division; Assistant U.S. Attorneys Junis L. Baldon and Nicole Taykhman of the U.S. Attorney’s Civil Rights Division; and attorneys from the Special Litigation Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

24-433 

The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey announced today that the Trenton Police Department (TPD) and the City of Trenton, New Jersey, engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that violates the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. The city and TPD have stated that they will work with the department to implement the reform recommendations included in the report.

Specifically, the Justice Department finds that TPD unlawfully uses excessive force, including unreasonable forms of physical force and pepper spray in the absence of any significant resistance or danger. TPD also conducts stops, searches and arrests without reasonable suspicion or probable cause. In addition, the department identified deficiencies in training, supervision, policy and accountability that contribute to TPD and the city’s unlawful conduct.

“Police officers must respect people’s civil and constitutional rights and treat people with dignity,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “After an extensive review, we found that police officers in Trenton routinely failed to respect the Fourth Amendment rights of those who call Trenton home. Trenton police stop and search pedestrians and motorists without a legal basis, make illegal arrests and use excessive force without basis. We are committed to the hard work necessary to achieve constitutional policing across the country. By bringing city officials, the police department and the community together, we are confident that we can institute meaningful reforms that remedy the violations uncovered.”

“For too long, the residents of Trenton have felt afraid of the police, rather than protected by them,” U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger for the District of New Jersey. “The use of excessive force and unconstitutional stops, searches and arrests, sometimes with tragic consequences, have eroded public trust and undermined public safety. Today’s findings are the first step in achieving the reforms needed to rebuild public trust, so that the Trenton Police Department can effectively fight crime and keep residents safe, while respecting the constitutional rights of each and every person.”

The Justice Department found that TPD engaged in a pattern or practice of using excessive force, with police officers often escalating encounters when facing little resistance or threat. For example, in one incident from 2023, after initially using reasonable force to arrest a man, an officer stomped on the man’s hand multiple times once he was on the ground, kneeled on his head and kicked him in the shoulder.

TPD also conducted numerous stops and searches of pedestrians and cars without reasonable suspicion or probable cause, often unlawfully arresting the person they stopped and searched.  TPD’s violations have eroded community trust and cost the city more than $7 million since 2021 to resolve lawsuits stemming from accusations of officer misconduct.

The Justice Department opened this investigation on Oct. 17, 2023. Career attorneys and staff in the Civil Rights Division’s Special Litigation Section and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey conducted the investigation. The team conducted an extensive review of TPD’s records, including hundreds of police reports and hundreds of hours of body-worn camera footage. The team also interviewed city and TPD leadership and line officers, accompanied officers on ride-alongs and met with dozens of community members.

The city and TPD cooperated fully with the Justice Department’s investigation. The department provided a comprehensive written report of its investigative findings to the city and TPD. The report acknowledges changes already made by the city and TPD, and it identifies additional remedial measures necessary to address its findings.

The Justice Department conducted this investigation pursuant to 34 U.S.C. § 12601, which prohibits law enforcement officers from engaging in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives people of rights protected by the Constitution or federal law. Section 12601 authorizes the Attorney General to file a lawsuit in federal court seeking court-ordered remedies to eliminate a pattern or practice of unlawful conduct.

The Justice Department will conduct outreach to members of the Trenton community to explain the findings and for input on remedies to address the findings. Individuals can also submit recommendations by email at USANJ.Community.Trenton@usdoj.gov or by phone at 973-645-2801.

Additional information about the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division is available at www.justice.gov/crt. Additional information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey is available at www.justice.gov/usao-nj. Information specific to the Civil Rights Division’s Police Reform Work can be found at www.justice.gov/crt/file/922421/download.  Additional information about civil rights enforcement at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey is available at www.justice.gov/usao-nj/civil-rights-enforcement.  

Spanish translation forthcoming. La traducción al español estará disponible próximamente.

La División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia y la Fiscalía Federal para el Distrito de New Jersey anunció hoy que la Policía de Trenton (TPD, por sus siglas en inglés) y la Ciudad de Trenton, New Jersey, están incurriendo en un patrón o una práctica de conducta que vulnera la Cuarta Enmienda de la Constitución. La Ciudad y la TPD han declarado que trabajarán con el Departamento para implementar las recomendaciones de reforma incluidas en el informe.

En concreto, el Departamento de Justicia ha encontrado que la TPD emplea, de forma ilegal, una fuerza excesiva, lo que incluye formas irrazonables de fuerza física y aerosol de pimienta en ausencia de cualquier resistencia o peligro significativo. La TPD también realiza paradas, registros y detenciones sin sospechas razonables o motivos fundados para lo mismo. Asimismo, el Departamento identificó deficiencias en políticas, capacitación, supervisión y rendición de cuentas que contribuyen a la conducta ilícita de la TPD y la Ciudad.

«Los agentes de policía deben respetar los derechos civiles y constitucionales de las personas y tratar a las personas con dignidad», dijo Kristen Clarke, la Fiscal General Auxiliar de la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia. «Después de una revisión dilatada, descubrimos que los agentes de policía en Trenton no respetaban, de forma rutinaria, los derechos de la Cuarta Enmienda de los residentes de Trenton. La policía de Trenton para y registra a peatones y automovilistas sin fundamento jurídico, realiza detenciones ilegales y emplea fuerza excesiva sin motivos fundados para lo mismo. Estamos comprometidos con el arduo trabajo necesario para lograr una aplicación constitucional de vigilancia policial en todo el país. Al reunir a funcionarios municipales, la policía y la comunidad, estamos seguros de que podemos instituir reformas significativas que remedien las infracciones descubiertas».

«Durante demasiado tiempo, los residentes de Trenton han sentido miedo a la policía, en lugar de estar protegidos por ellos», comentó Philip R. Sellinger, el Fiscal Federal para el Distrito de New Jersey. «El uso de fuerza excesiva y paradas, registros y detenciones inconstitucionales, a veces con consecuencias trágicas, han minado la confianza pública y socavado la seguridad pública. Los hallazgos de hoy son el primer paso para lograr las reformas necesarias para reconstruir la confianza pública, de modo que la Policía de Trenton pueda luchar de forma eficaz contra la delincuencia y mantener a los residentes seguros, al tiempo que respeta los derechos constitucionales de cada persona».

El Departamento de Justicia descubrió que la TPD incurrió en un patrón o práctica de uso de fuerza excesiva, con agentes de policía que a menudo intensificaban los encuentros cuando se enfrentaban a poca resistencia o amenaza. Por ejemplo, en un incidente en el año 2023, después de emplear inicialmente una fuerza razonable para detener a un hombre, un agente pisoteó la mano del hombre varias veces estando este en el suelo, arrodillado sobre su cabeza y lo pateó en el hombro.

Asimismo, la TPD llevó a cabo numerosas paradas y registros de peatones y carros sin sospecha razonable o causa probable, a menudo deteniendo ilegalmente a la persona a la que detuvo y registró. Las infracciones de la TPD han socavado la confianza de la comunidad y han costado a la Ciudad más de $7 millones desde el 2021 para resolver demandas derivadas de acusaciones de mala conducta de agentes de policía.

El Departamento de Justicia inició esta investigación el 17 de octubre del 2023. La investigación fue llevada a cabo por abogados profesionales y personal en la Sección de Litigios Especiales de la División de Derechos Civiles y en la Fiscalía Federal para el Distrito de New Jersey. El equipo realizó una revisión exhaustiva de los registros de la TPD, incluidos cientos de informes policiales y cientos de horas de grabaciones de cámaras corporales. El equipo también entrevistó a líderes municipales y de la TPD, así como policías de línea, acompañó a los oficiales en los recorridos y se reunió con docenas de miembros de la comunidad.

La Ciudad y la TPD cooperaron plenamente con la investigación del Departamento de Justicia. El Departamento proporcionó a la Ciudad y la TPD un informe completo por escrito de sus hallazgos de investigación. El informe reconoce los cambios ya realizados por la Ciudad y la TPD e identifica medidas correctivas adicionales que son necesarias para poder abordar sus hallazgos.

El Departamento de Justicia llevó a cabo esta investigación de conformidad con la Sección 12601 del Título 34 del Código de los EE. UU. (Sección 12601), que prohíbe a los agentes del orden público participar en un patrón o una práctica de conducta que prive a las personas de los derechos protegidos por la Constitución o las leyes federales. La Sección 12601 autoriza al Fiscal General a presentar una demanda ante un tribunal federal que solicite recursos ordenados por un tribunal para eliminar un patrón o una práctica de conducta ilegal.

El Departamento de Justicia estará en comunicación con los miembros de la comunidad de Trenton para explicar los hallazgos y obtener sus comentarios sobre soluciones que puedan abordar los hallazgos. También se puede enviar recomendaciones por correo electrónico a USANJ.Community.Trenton@usdoj.gov o por teléfono al 973-645-2801.

Hay más información disponible sobre la División de Derechos Civiles del Departamento de Justicia en www.justice.gov/crt. Información adicional sobre la Fiscalía Federal para el Distrito de New Jersey está disponible en https://www.justice.gov/usao-nj. Puede encontrar información específica sobre el Trabajo de Reforma Policial de la División de Derechos Civiles en www.justice.gov/crt/file/922421/download. Información adicional sobre la aplicación de los derechos civiles en la Fiscalía Federal para el Distrito de New Jersey está disponible en www.justice.gov/usao-nj/civil-rights-enforcement.  

NEWARK, N.J. – Two New Jersey residents have been charged for child sex trafficking and related offenses, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

Daquan McCallum, 30, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, and Destiny Tamarato, 26, of Brick, New Jersey, are charged by complaint with sex trafficking of a minor and conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of a minor. McCallum made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge on Stacey D. Adams on Nov. 19, 2024, and was detained. Tamarato made her initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge André M. Espinosa on Nov. 15, 2024, and was detained.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

In April 2020, Tamarato was arrested at a motel in Elizabeth with two minor victims after law enforcement located an online advertisement for sexual services and communicated with Tamarato, who agreed to provide sexual services for an agreed-upon price. Following this arrest and after being advised that one of the victims was underage, Tamarato continued to advertise that victim’s sexual services online. Tamarato was again arrested for engaging in prostitution with the same victim in April 2021. Tamarato also introduced the victim to McCallum, who then arranged for the victim to engage in additional commercial sex work, despite knowing that the victim was a minor.

The charges of sex trafficking of a minor each carry a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison, a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of conspiracy to engage in sex trafficking of a minor carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Nelson I. Delgado, with the investigation leading to the charges.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Kober of the General Crimes Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

TRENTON, N.J. – A Mercer County, New Jersey, man who was convicted of carjacking, brandishing a firearm during the carjacking, two attempted carjackings resulting in serious bodily injury, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon was sentenced today to life in prison, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.

Cedrick Hodges, 41, of Trenton, New Jersey, was convicted on Oct. 24, 2023, of all five counts of a second superseding indictment following a seven-day trial before U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, who imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.

“On an evening in December 2017, Cedrick Hodges terrorized the people of Hamilton Township in a series of horrific and violent carjackings during which he shot two of his victims with a sawed-off shotgun at point blank range, inflicting on these victims permanent and life-altering injuries. Our office, together with our federal and local law enforcement partners, will spare no effort prosecuting violent offenders like Hodges. The sentence handed down today will ensure that this violent offender will never again be in a position to harm the people of New Jersey or anywhere else.”

U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On the evening of Dec. 16, 2017, Hodges entered the rear passenger seat of a Toyota Camry and pointed a loaded sawed-off shotgun at the driver, demanding that she operate the vehicle while Hodges entered the rear seat. The driver exited the vehicle and ran, in response to which Hodges discharged the shotgun towards her as she fled.

Moments later, Hodges approached a Honda Accord occupied by a driver and one passenger. Hodges pointed the shotgun at the driver’s window demanding that the driver and passenger exit the vehicle. When the driver refused, and instead began to drive the vehicle away from Hodges, Hodges discharged the firearm into the driver’s side window, striking the driver in his torso, causing permanent and serious bodily injury.

Hodges fled the area and several minutes later approached a man who was entering a Nissan Rogue. Hodges demanded that the man hand Hodges the keys to the Nissan Rogue.  When the man refused, Hodges brandished the shotgun and discharged the firearm at the man, causing permanent and serious bodily injury.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Thomas Mahoney; the Hamilton Township Police Department, under the direction of Chief of Police Kenneth R. DeBoskey; the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Superintendent Col. Patrick J. Callahan; the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Angelo J. Onofri, the U.S. Marshals Service, under the direction of U.S. Marshal Juan Mattos, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge L.C. Cheeks Jr., with the investigation leading to the sentencing.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric Suggs and Tracey Agnew of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton.

NEWARK, N.J. – A Florida nurse was arrested today for diverting fentanyl from his hospital employer, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.

David L. Shaeffer, 35, of St. Petersburg, Florida, is charged by complaint with unlawfully acquiring or obtaining controlled substances by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, deception and subterfuge. Shaeffer appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher Tuite in Tampa federal court, and was released on $50,000 bond.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

From Jan. 22, 2024, through Feb. 14, 2024, Shaeffer used his position as a travel nurse to fraudulently acquire and steal vials of fentanyl on at least 143 occasions while employed at a New Jersey hospital. Shaeffer took vials of fentanyl from the hospital’s automated medication dispensing cabinets by using an override in the system to bypass the requisite doctor’s order for the dispensing of fentanyl. Shaeffer prescribed the fentanyl himself to a specified patient even though he was not authorized to prescribe controlled substances. Shaeffer would dispense fentanyl and fail to administer the substance to the specified patient or dispose of the substance; dispense fentanyl and improperly dispose of the substance; and dispense fentanyl for a specified patient who had been discharged from the hospital. Shaeffer also fraudulently obtained fentanyl in a similar way while employed as a nurse in hospitals in Florida and Pennsylvania.

The charge of unlawfully obtaining or acquiring controlled substances by fraud carries a maximum penalty of up to four years in prison and a $250,000 fine, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greatest.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited task force officers and diversion investigators of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New Jersey Division, Newark District Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Ortiz; the Jersey City Police Department, Detective Bureau, under the direction of Public Safety Director James Shea; the Drug Enforcement Administration, Tampa Field Office; and the St. Petersburg Police Department with the investigation leading to the arrest.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Chelsea D. Coleman of the Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Unit in Newark.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.