Eastern District of New York

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Roger Morales, also known as “Crazy,” “Ciclon” and “Cyclone,” a member of the Centrales Locos Salvatruchas clique of La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as the MS-13, in Queens, New York, pleaded guilty to the June 5, 2011 murder in-aid-of racketeering of Norman Mizzell.  The proceeding was held before United States District Judge Brian M. Cogan.  When sentenced, Morales faces a maximum term of life imprisonment.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, James C. Barnacle, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Jessica S. Tisch, Commissioner, New York City Police Department, announced the guilty plea.

“With today’s guilty plea, the defendant has finally been held accountable for his cold-blooded murder of Norman Mizzell almost fifteen years ago,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “This conviction reflects my Office’s ongoing commitment to prosecuting members of MS-13 for the violence they have long caused in our community.”

Mr. Nocella expressed his thanks to the FBI’s New York Field Office and the New York City Police Department for their outstanding work on the case.

According to court filings and admissions made in court, Morales first met Mizzell when he and other MS-13 members purchased marijuana from Mizzell at his home in Queens.  Morales and other MS-13 members returned to Mizzell’s home several days later to purchase more marijuana.  When they arrived, they found that Mizzell was away, so they broke into Mizzell’s home and robbed him.  After Mizzell confronted Morales and another MS-13 member over the robbery, the defendant and other members of MS-13 decided to kill Mizzell for disrespecting them.  On the night of June 5, 2011, Morales and his co-conspirators traveled to Mizzell’s home, where they shot him several times through a window into his bedroom.  Mizzell was found dead in his home the next day.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section.  Assistant United States  Attorneys Kamil R. Ammari and John Vagelatos are in charge of the prosecution with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Danielle Barber.

The Defendant:

ROGER MORALES (also known as “Crazy,” “Ciclon” and “Cyclone”)
Age: 31
Ozone Park, Queens

E.D.N.Y. Docket No.: 24-CR-453 (BMC)

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Mark Tremblay, 35, of Rensselaer, New York, was sentenced on February 6, 2026 to 10 years in federal prison for distribution of child pornography. First Assistant United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), made the announcement.

As part of his guilty plea, Tremblay admitted that on or about November 13, 2024, he produced and sent two child pornography videos involving a child to another person with whom he was corresponding on the internet.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III stated: “Offenders who prey on children will face swift, aggressive prosecution and severe consequences. This office, alongside HSI and all our federal and state law enforcement partners, will use the full weight of federal law to protect every child in this District.”

HSI Special Agent in Charge Erin Keegan said: “The disturbing nature of these crimes underscores the urgent need to protect our most vulnerable community members. HSI Albany is unwavering in our commitment to uncovering these heinous acts and ensuring those responsible are held fully accountable. Together with our partners, we are leveraging every investigative resource and partnership available to shine a light on these crimes and pursue justice for victims.”

United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino also sentenced Tremblay to serve a 15-year term of supervised release to begin after he is released from prison.  Tremblay will also be required to register as a sex offender upon his release.

HSI investigated the case with assistance from the New York State Police (NYSP) and the NYSP Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.  Assistant U.S. Attorney A.J. Vickey prosecuted the case as part of Project Safe Childhood.

Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

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Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Braden John Karony, the Chief Executive Officer of SafeMoon US LLC, a digital asset company registered in Utah (SafeMoon) was sentenced by United States District Judge Eric Komitee to 100 months in prison for conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering in connection with a scheme to defraud investors in a decentralized finance digital asset called “SafeMoon.”  As part of the sentence, Karony was ordered to forfeit approximately $7.5 million.  The amount of restitution to the victims will be determined at a later date.  Karony was convicted by a federal jury following a three-week trial in May 2025.  The jury also issued a verdict to forfeit two residential properties. 

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; James C. Barnacle, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); Harry T. Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS-CI New York); and Michael Alfonso, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI New York) announced the sentence.

“Karony lied to investors from all walks of life—including military veterans and hard working-Americans—and defrauded thousands of victims in order to buy mansions, sports cars, and custom trucks,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “Today’s sentence demonstrates that there are significant consequences for financial crimes. Our Office will continue to vigorously prosecute economic crimes that harm investors and weaken societal trust in the stability and security of digital asset markets.”

Mr. Nocella expressed his appreciation to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its work on the case.

“Not only did Braden John Karony abuse his position as CEO, but he also betrayed his investors’ trust by stealing more than nine million dollars in digital assets from his company to fund his lavish lifestyle,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Barnacle.  “The FBI is committed to addressing fraud in the digital asset marketplace to level the playing field for Americans.”

“Braden Karony exploited his access to SafeMoon’s liquidity pool to divert and misappropriate millions in cryptocurrency.  He deceived investors, using their funds to lavishly expand his portfolio with million-dollar homes and luxury cars.  By employing complex transactions to obscure the movement of these illicit proceeds, Karony acquired over $9 million in crypto assets.  However, the expertise of IRS-CI special agents in tracing financial transactions outmatched Karony’s intricate schemes.  His game of hide-and-seek failed, and now he must face justice and serve time in prison for his crimes,” stated IRS-CI New York Special Agent in Charge Chavis.

“Braden John Karony’s sentencing exposes the deep betrayal at the heart of a scheme that preyed on the hopes and trust of SafeMoon investors. He and his co-conspirators orchestrated a scheme fueled by greed, and exploited the faith of over a million victims,” stated HSI New York Acting Special Agent in Charge Alfonso.  “HSI New York, together with our law enforcement partners, will continue to work tirelessly to ensure those who exploit the trust of investors—whether through fiat or cryptocurrency—will face justice.”

Background on SafeMoon 

SafeMoon tokens were digital assets first issued in March 2021 by SafeMoon LLC on a public blockchain.  Through the operation of SafeMoon’s smart contract, every transaction in SafeMoon was automatically subject to a 10% tax, meaning that if a holder of SafeMoon transferred 10 SafeMoon to another user, 1 SafeMoon would automatically be retained from the transfer as a tax and the remaining 9 SafeMoon would be received by the other party.  As marketed to SafeMoon investors, the proceeds of SafeMoon’s 10% tax were split into two 5% tranches, the proceeds of which were supposed to benefit holders of SafeMoon in specific ways.  The first 5% tranche of the tax proceeds was supposed to be “reflected” back to, and distributed among, all SafeMoon holders in proportion to their current SafeMoon holdings and thereby increase the total quantity of SafeMoon held by every SafeMoon investor automatically.  The remaining 5% tranche of SafeMoon tax proceeds was supposed to be deposited into designated SafeMoon “liquidity pools.”  The larger the SafeMoon liquidity pool, the greater the liquidity in the market for SafeMoon.  In the months after its launch in March 2021, SafeMoon grew to have millions of holders and a market capitalization of more than $8 billion.

The Defendants’ Fraudulent Scheme

Karony and his co-conspirators misrepresented various material aspects of the SafeMoon offering to investors.  Such misrepresentations included that SafeMoon relied on “locked” liquidity pools that would automatically increase in size due to the 10% tax imposed on every SafeMoon transaction; that the “locked” SafeMoon liquidity pool prevented the defendants and other insiders at SafeMoon from being able to “rug pull” (a type of crypto fraud) SafeMoon investors by removing liquidity from the SafeMoon liquidity pool; that tokens in the liquidity pool would only be used for limited pre-defined business purposes, not personal enrichment; that the defendants would manually add token pairs to the SafeMoon liquidity pool when transactions of SafeMoon occurred on specific centralized exchanges; and that the developers were not and had not been holding and trading SafeMoon for their benefit.

In reality, Karony and his co-conspirators retained access to the SafeMoon liquidity pools and used that access to intentionally divert and misappropriate millions of dollars’ worth of tokens for their personal benefit.  In addition, although they publicly denied that they personally held or traded SafeMoon, they repeatedly bought and sold SafeMoon, sometimes at the height of the SafeMoon market price, which generated millions of dollars in profits.  Karony and his co-conspirators masked their movement of the fraudulent proceeds via numerous private un-hosted crypto wallet addresses, complex transaction routing, and pseudonymous centralized exchange accounts.  Karony acquired over $9 million in crypto assets from the scheme and used some of the proceeds to purchase luxury vehicles and real estate, including a $2.2 million home in Utah, additional homes in Utah and Kansas, a $277,000 Audi R8 sports car, another Audi R8, a Tesla, and custom Ford F-550 and Jeep Gladiator pickup trucks.

Co-conspirator Thomas Smith pleaded guilty in February 2025 to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud and is awaiting sentencing.  Co-conspirator Kyle Nagy remains at large.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section.  Assistant United States Attorneys Dana Rehnquist, Sara K. Winik, and Jessica K. Weigel are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Melina Piatti-Chayan.  Assistant United States Attorney Laura Mantell of the Office’s Asset Forfeiture Section is handling forfeiture matters and Assistant United States Attorneys Madeline O’Connor and Daniel Saavedra are handing restitution matters.

The Defendant:

BRADEN JOHN KARONY
Age: 29
Provo, Utah

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-433 (EK)

On Friday, a complaint was unsealed in Brooklyn charging two Queens men with defrauding Medicare and Medicaid by paying illegal kickbacks and bribes and submitting claims for services that were never provided.

“The defendants allegedly turned a pharmacy and social adult day care centers meant to help senior citizens into a $120 million dollar Medicare and Medicaid fraud scheme,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s complaint targets those who prey upon the vulnerable so they can steal from American taxpayers and defraud government programs meant to help the public.”

“The defendants charged today allegedly stole $120 million from federal health care programs by luring the elderly to their businesses with illegal cash payments,” stated U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. for the Eastern District of New York. “These charges are part of this Office’s commitment to protecting federal programs and prosecuting those who steal from them.”

“Pharmacies and social adult day care centers exist to serve and support seniors — not to siphon off taxpayer resources and operate as engines for fraud,” said Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Scott J. Lampert of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Schemes like this, which allegedly drained more than $120 million from Medicare and Medicaid, erode trust in our health care system. HHS-OIG will continue to aggressively pursue those who exploit federal health care programs to ensure they are held fully accountable.”

“Today’s complaint demonstrates the FBI’s commitment to pursue those who defraud taxpayer funded health care programs,” said Acting Assistant Director Gregory Heeb of the FBI’s Criminal Division. “Scheming against programs like Medicare impacts those who need it most. Together with our partners, the FBI will continue to hold accountable criminals who threaten access to critical care.”

“Using the backdrop of an adult day care center, it’s alleged the two charged today had devised an elaborate scheme filled with bribery, kickbacks and good old-fashioned deception,” said Special Agent in Charge Harry T. Chavis Jr. of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) New York. “In this decade-long scam, Inwoo Kim and Daniel Lee are alleged to have stolen $120 million from the Medicare and Medicaid system through fraudulent prescription drug and adult day care service claims. IRS-CI special agents worked closely with our federal partners in this investigation, following the money trail and charting out the multi-million dollar fraud that led to today’s arrests. Both Kim and Lee must now answer for their alleged crime.”

“Medicaid fraud threatens the health and safety of beneficiaries, wastes taxpayer dollars, and drains essential resources from the health care delivery system,” said Acting Medicaid Inspector Frank T. Walsh Jr. “This joint effort sends a clear message that the Empire State is committed to working closely with our law enforcement partners to protect the integrity of the Medicaid program, hold wrong doers fully accountable, and preserve precious health care resources.”

According to the complaint, Inwoo Kim, also known as “Tony Kim” and “Long Jin,” 42, of Flushing, owned a pharmacy and two social adult day care centers — Z & W Empire Enterprise Inc. doing business as Royal Adult Daycare (Royal) and Happy Life Inc. (Happy Life). Daniel Lee, also known as “Daniel Yang” and “Donghee Yang,” 56, of Flushing, served as the program director at Happy Life. Between 2016 and 2026, Kim and Yang paid illegal bribes in the form of cash and supermarket gift certificates to Medicaid recipients and Medicare beneficiaries to induce them to fill prescriptions at Kim’s pharmacy.

The defendants also allegedly paid illegal cash kickbacks to Medicaid recipients to induce them to enroll with Kim’s social adult day cares. According to the complaint, Kim discussed the illegal payments by text message, writing to a co-conspirator, “Please give the $10,000 to the Korean members first.” Yang similarly texted about the payments, writing to a co-conspirator, “I gave the payment,” and “I left the envelope [for a patient] with Tony [Kim].” At times, Kim and Yang allegedly submitted claims for day care services that exceeded Royal and Happy Life’s permitted capacity. To generate the cash needed to pay kickbacks and bribes, Kim and Yang withdrew significant cash from bank accounts they controlled. In total, Medicare and Medicaid paid approximately $120 million for prescription drugs and social adult day care services that were medically unnecessary, not provided, or induced by kickbacks and bribes. Law enforcement executed numerous search warrants and seized several bank accounts in connection with the arrests.  

Kim and Yang are both charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud. If convicted, they face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

HHS-OIG, FBI, IRS-CI, and OSC are investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Patrick J. Campbell of the Justice Department’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of eight strike forces operating in federal districts across the country, has charged more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

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

Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Joseph Garofalo pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a child.  At the time of the offense, the defendant was an assistant high school lacrosse coach on Long Island.  The proceeding was held before United States District Judge Nusrat J. Choudhury.  When sentenced, Garofalo faces a minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a maximum sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and James C. Barnacle, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the guilty plea.

“This case is a stark reminder that those entrusted with the care and mentorship of children must be held to the highest standards.  Our Office will relentlessly pursue predators like this defendant who victimize the most vulnerable members of our society,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “We will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to protect victims and hold sexual predators accountable.”

“Joseph Garofalo, an assistant high school coach, exploited more than 30 minors by blackmailing them into sending multiple sexually explicit photos and videos through social media threads,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Barnacle.  “Garofalo, entrusted with the care and development of young teenagers, violated this trust when he victimized these children to fulfill his perverted wants. The FBI will continue to hold accountable those who manipulate their positions of authority to target vulnerable victims.”

As set forth in court filings, while employed as an assistant lacrosse coach at a local Long Island high school, the defendant used social media platforms to engage in sexually explicit conversations with minors.  The defendant threatened to share naked photos and videos of the minors unless they sent more naked photos or sent explicit media of their friends, which is colloquially known as “sextortion.”  For example, the defendant told one minor to send naked photos of the minor’s friends or the defendant would not delete naked photos that he had of the minor.  The defendant also consistently uploaded child sex abuse material (CSAM) files to the internet.

On April 18, 2025, the FBI executed a search warrant at the defendant’s residence, at which time the FBI interviewed the defendant, who admitted that he controlled the social media account that solicited CSAM from minors, solicited minors for CSAM, and had CSAM on his electronic devices.  During the course of the investigation, the FBI seized electronic devices and recovered electronic evidence from social media platforms that contained evidence regarding approximately 30 minor victims.

This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

Anyone with information about sexual exploitation by the defendant is asked to contact the FBI at tips.fbi.gov or 212-384-1000.    

The government’s case is being handled by the Criminal Section of the Office’s Long Island Division.  Assistant United States Attorney Adam R. Toporovsky is in charge of the prosecution with assistance from paralegal specialist Janelle Robinson.

The Defendant:

JOSEPH GAROFALO
Age:  21
Valley Stream, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 26-CR-005 (NJC)

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, James Laforte, also known as “Jimmy,” an inducted member of the Gambino organized crime family, pleaded guilty before United States Magistrate Judge Joseph A. Marutollo to racketeering conspiracy, Hobbs Act extortion and Hobbs Act extortion conspiracy, witness retaliation, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

LaForte is the last of 10 defendants charged in a 2023 indictment in connection with various offenses committed by members and associates of the Gambino crime family— including extortion, money laundering conspiracy and witness retaliation—to plead guilty or be convicted at trial.  On October 17, 2025, seven members and associates of the Gambino crime family pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy in proceedings held before United States District Judge Frederic Block.  Those defendants are Gambino crime family captain Joseph Lanni, also known as “Joe Brooklyn” and “Mommino;” Gambino soldiers Diego “Danny” Tantillo and Angelo Gradilone, also known as “Fifi;” U.S.-based Sicilian Mafia member and Gambino associate Vito Rappa, also known as “Vi;” U.S.-based Sicilian Mafia associate and Gambino associate Francesco Vicari, also known as “Frank” and “Uncle Ciccio;” and Gambino associates Kyle Johnson, also known as “Twin,” and Vincent Minsquero, also known as “Vinny Slick.”  In August 2025, Salvatore DiLorenzo pleaded guilty to theft from employee benefits plans.  In December 2025, a federal jury convicted defendant Robert Brooke of one count of Hobbs Act extortion.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, James C. Barnacle, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), Anthony P. D’Esposito, Inspector General of the United States Department of Labor (DOL-OIG), and Jessica S. Tisch, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD) announced the guilty pleas and trial conviction.

“The prosecution of these members and associates of the Gambino organized crime family has dealt a significant blow to that violent criminal enterprise,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “Their efforts to take over and infiltrate legitimate businesses by means of intimidation threatened hardworking New Yorkers and terrorized their victims.  Our Office will continue to hold accountable those who seek to use violence and fear to enrich themselves.”

Mr. Nocella expressed his appreciation to the New York City Business Integrity Commission, the New York Waterfront Commission, and the Office’s law enforcement partners in Italy, including the Prosecutor of Palermo, the Polizia di Stato, the Servizio Centrale Operativo, and the Squadra Mobile of Palermo.

“These ten Gambino members and associates orchestrated a campaign of violent assaults and property destruction to collect debts and intimidate those employed by competing companies,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Barnacle.  “Their collective actions terrorized New York residents and businesses to generate an illegal revenue stream.  The FBI maintains its commitment to coordinating with our local and international law enforcement partners in the fight against organized crime.”

“These defendants used fraud, intimidation, and violence in an attempt to seize control of New York City’s demolition industry, including schemes targeting labor unions and their employee benefit plans,” stated DOL Inspector General D’Esposito.  “DOL-OIG will continue working shoulder to shoulder with our law-enforcement partners to root out labor racketeering and eliminate the influence of organized crime from the labor industry. Accountability is non-negotiable.”

As set forth in court filings, members and associates of the Gambino crime family used violent extortion, fraud, theft and embezzlement schemes to infiltrate the carting and demolition industries to enrich themselves and the Gambino crime family, including by laundering criminal proceeds.  For example, during a financial dispute between Tantillo and the owners of a demolition company (Demolition Company 1), Tantillo and Johnson coordinated a violent hammer assault on an employee of Demolition Company 1, which left the employee bleeding and seriously injured.

Extortions Related to the Carting and Demolition Industries

Tantillo, Rappa, Vicari and Johnson engaged in a violent extortion conspiracy relating to the demand and receipt of money from an individual (John Doe 1) who operated a carting business in the New York City area.  The extortion scheme involved threatening John Doe 1 with a bat, setting fire to the steps to John Doe 1’s residence, attempting to damage John Doe 1’s carting trucks, and violently assaulting an associate of John Doe 1. After John Doe 1 ultimately made a payment of $4,000 to Vicari, Vicari and Rappa met and sent Tantillo a photo of Vicari raising a small champagne bottle, as in a toast.

As proven at Brooke’s trial, in the fall of 2019, Brooke engaged in a violent extortion scheme against the owners of a demolition company (John Does 2 through 4) over purported debts owed to Tantillo and a company that was co-operated by Tantillo and Brooke.  On December 18, 2019, one of the victims was walking to work when he was ambushed and attacked by Brooke at 50th Street and Eighth Avenue in midtown Manhattan. The victim suffered a fractured cheek bone, black eye and contusions to his face.  In the weeks after the beating, Tantillo reached out to the victims who are brothers and told them to pay Brooke and to drop the criminal charges against Brooke.  Fearing for the safety of themselves and their employees, the owners of the demolition company paid $50,000 to Tantillo and $40,000 to the company co-operated by Tantillo and Brooke.

Extortion and Assault of a Borrower

In 2020 and 2021, LaForte extorted a person who owed money to an associate of LaForte (John Doe 5).  After failing to pay LaForte’s associate on time, John Doe 5 was introduced to LaForte, who asked John Doe 5 to run an illegal poker game and a craps game for LaForte.  When John Doe 5 asked LaForte after the craps game for John Doe 5’s share of the earnings from running the game, LaForte hit John Doe 5 in the face, knocking John Doe 5 backward and giving him a black eye.  LaForte later contacted John Doe 5’s father to force John Doe 5 to pay what LaForte said was John Doe 5’s debt.  In text messages exchanged in November 2020, shortly after John Doe 5’s loan, the person who had lent John Doe 5 the money wrote that “[t]his other punk [John Doe 5] is playing games,” and “Might ride up to his house Saturday with one of my guys from down here.” Another party to the conversation responded, “I took him up to c jimmy made it clear” and later added, “We’ll get it. He’s scared to death of jimmy.”

Witness Retaliation and Assault

On February 17, 2021, LaForte and Minsquero assaulted a person who they believed had previously provided information to law enforcement about members and associates of organized crime (John Doe 6), while Lanni sat nearby.  That evening LaForte and Minsquero approached John Doe 6 inside a restaurant.  LaForte called John Doe 6 a “rat” and hit John Doe 6 in the face with a bottle.  LaForte and Minsquero also flipped John Doe 6’s table, sending drinks and shattered glass everywhere. 

Frauds and Union-Related Crimes in the Carting and Demolition Industries

Various defendants also committed a series of crimes to steal and embezzle from unions and employee benefit plans and rigged bids in the demolition and carting industries.  As part of one such scheme, DiLorenzo provided Rappa with a “no-show” job at DiLorenzo’s demolition company so that Rappa could receive paychecks and union health benefits, among other benefits.  Similarly, Tantillo arranged for Gradilone to receive a “no-show” job at a construction company with which Tantillo was associated, which enabled Gradilone to receive paychecks and union health benefits to which he was not entitled. Tantillo and Johnson also conspired to secure a “no-show” job for Johnson, so that Johnson could similarly receive union health benefits.

* * * * *

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section.  Assistant United States  Attorneys Anna L. Karamigios, Andrew M. Roddin, Elias Laris, and Brooke E. Theodora are in charge of the prosecution.

Defendant Who Pleaded Guilty Today:

JAMES LAFORTE (also known as “Jimmy”)

Age: 49

New York, New York

Defendants Who Previously Pleaded Guilty:

JOSEPH LANNI (also known as “Joe Brooklyn” and “Mommino”)
Age: 54
Staten Island, New York

DIEGO TANTILLO (also known as “Danny” and “Daniel”)
Age: 50
Freehold, New Jersey

ROBERT BROOKE
Age: 58
New York, New York

SALVATORE DILORENZO
Age: 69
Oceanside, New York

ANGELO GRADILONE (also known as “Fifi”)
Age: 59
Staten Island, New York

KYLE JOHNSON (also known as “Twin”)
Age: 48
Bronx, New York

VINCENT MINSQUERO (also known as “Vinny Slick” )
Age: 39
Staten Island, New York

VITO RAPPA (also known as “Vi”)
Age: 58
East Brunswick, New Jersey

FRANCESCO VICARI (also known as “Frank” and “Uncle Ciccio”)
Age: 65
Elmont, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-443 (FB)

On January 27, 2026 and February 3, 2026, in federal court in Central Islip, co-defendants David M. Amin (D. Amin) and Bryce K. Amin (B. Amin), who are brothers and members of the Bloods street gang, pleaded guilty to sex trafficking conspiracy and substantive sex trafficking in connection with their roles in their family’s sex and narcotics trafficking business.  Previously, in April 2025, co-defendant Patricia A. Peralta (Peralta), D. Amin’s spouse, pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy.  As part of this business, D. Amin and B. Amin engaged in acts of violence against multiple female victims, and provided drugs to them including fentanyl to cause those victims to engage in commercial sex acts for the defendants’ financial benefit.  Peralta assisted the brothers in laundering the proceeds of this lucrative business, from which she likewise derived substantial financial benefits.

D. Amin and Peralta’s guilty plea proceedings were held before United States District Judge Gary R. Brown, and B. Amin’s plea proceeding was held before United States Magistrate Judge Steven L. Tiscione.  When sentenced, D. Amin and B. Amin face a mandatory minimum term of 15 years’ imprisonment and up to life in prison, and Peralta faces up to 20 years in prison. Additionally, D. Amin and Peralta have agreed to forfeit more than $390,000, a 2021 Mercedes Benz AMG SUV, and a 2021 BMW M550i, all of which were seized from a storage facility in Suffolk County on the date of D. Amin’s arrest.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Michael Alfonso, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI), Kevin Catalina, Commissioner, Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), and Errol D. Toulon, Jr., Suffolk County Sheriff, announced the guilty pleas.

“The Amin brothers took advantage of vulnerable women battling addiction to coerce them into prostitution by making them beholden to illegal narcotics supplied by the defendants,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “These guilty pleas hold the defendants accountable for profiting from the sexual exploitation of others while subjecting their victims to harm and degradation.  It is my hope that these prosecutions will also serve to vindicate the civil rights and dignity of survivors of this evil scourge.”

Mr. Nocella also expressed his appreciation to the Nassau County Police Department for its assistance on the case.

“The guilty pleas of David Amin and Bryce Amin send a clear message: HSI will relentlessly pursue those who traffic and exploit vulnerable individuals and expose them to deadly fentanyl,” stated HSI New York Acting Special Agent in Charge Alfonso.  “HSI New York is laser-focused on rooting out sex traffickers and dismantling criminal networks that threaten our families. Working alongside our law enforcement partners, HSI New York special agents will utilize every tool at our disposal to ensure predators like the Amin brothers face the full consequences of their actions.”

“The Amin brothers preyed on vulnerable individuals, using drugs and manipulation to exploit them for profit. Their guilty pleas are a significant step toward justice for their victims. The Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office remains committed to working alongside our law enforcement partners to protect our communities from the devastating impact of human trafficking,” stated Suffolk County Sheriff Toulon.

According to court filings and statements made during the guilty plea proceedings, between October 2018 and May 2023, the defendants conspired to use violence and threats of violence to compel multiple women to engage in commercial sex acts for the defendants’ financial benefit.  D. Amin and B. Amin recruited drug addicted women for their sex trafficking operation on Long Island, and controlled the proceeds derived from the scheme.  They also manipulated their victims into believing that they were in debt to the defendants.  Additionally, D. Amin forced victims to have sex with him, which at times came with degrading rules the victims were forced to follow.  D. Amin choked and struck his victims, left one or more victims stranded in public places without money, a phone, or identification and deprived them of drugs to force withdrawal symptoms.  Similarly, B. Amin subjected the victims to violence and drug-related manipulation.  In a recorded call from jail in January 2021, B. Amin boasted about his control over one of the victims, saying “You can groom a person to do something they’re not used to doing . . . .When I tell her sit, she listens, she does whatever I tell her to do. She’s my little puppet.”

D. Amin also operated a significant drug trafficking operation on Long Island in which he sold large quantities of controlled substances, including cocaine and fentanyl. As part of their sex trafficking operation, the Amin brothers often sold drugs through female trafficking victims to individuals that were also paying them for commercial sex acts.  These add-on services were advertised as “party favors.”

The sex trafficking activity occurred at hotels on Long Island, in locations that include Bohemia, Islandia, Patchogue, and Bayport.  In addition to working at the Sayville Motor Lodge, which is now closed, D. Amin forced victims to work out of cars and apartments in Suffolk County.

Additionally, when D. Amin was arrested, law enforcement searched a storage unit that he controlled with Peralta and seized more than $390,000 in cash along with two luxury vehicles, each worth approximately $100,000.  Relatedly, Peralta regularly deposited large sums of money derived from sex trafficking and narcotics trafficking into personal bank accounts. Those funds were used to purchase a third luxury vehicle and to pay for hotels used in the sex trafficking operation.

This prosecution is also part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion.  The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.  Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children.  The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

The government’s case is being handled by the Criminal Section of the Office’s Long Island Division.  Assistant United States Attorneys Megan E. Farrell, Adam Toporovsky and Molly Delaney are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Samantha Schroder.

The Defendants:

DAVID M. AMIN (also known as “Sonny B,” “Rico,” “Tone,” “Anthony,” and “Jonathan Santos”)
Age: 31
Coram, Freeport, and Wyandanch, New York

BRYCE K. AMIN (also known as “Busy B”)
Age: 25
Coram, New York

PATRICIA A. PERALTA
Age: 31
Freeport and Wyandanch, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-92 (S-1) (GRB)

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Lori Zeno, the former executive director of a legal services non-profit organization (the Organization), pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for her role in a scheme to embezzle money from the Organization.  The proceeding was held before United States Chief Magistrate Judge Vera M. Scanlon.  When sentenced, Zeno faces a maximum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment as well as restitution and monetary penalties.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, James C. Barnacle, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Christopher Ryan, Acting Commissioner, New York City Department of Investigation (DOI), announced the guilty plea.

“The defendant brazenly betrayed and abused her position of trust as the director of a non-profit, stealing funds that were meant for legal services for disadvantaged clients and members of the community and then spending those funds on luxury goods and expensive vacations,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “Our Office will vigorously prosecute those who steal public funds and deprive members of our community of crucial resources.”

“Lori Zeno diverted hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding intended for indigent residents to finance her lavish lifestyle. Zeno's abuse of authority deprived vulnerable New Yorkers of critical legal and community services.  The FBI is committed to holding accountable anyone who exploits their position for selfish greed, especially those entrusted with supporting the public,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Barnacle.

“This defendant—the founder and leader of a legal services nonprofit—spent hundreds of thousands of dollars intended to provide legal representation for indigent New Yorkers on personal luxuries, including foreign travel, expensive meals, and rent for a penthouse apartment.  The City’s nonprofits provide vital public services and today’s guilty plea acknowledges the defendant’s misuse of those precious funds.  I thank our law enforcement partners in the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their commitment to protecting these organizations and their scarce resources from exploitation and fraud.  DOI previously has made recommendations to the City to improve compliance and to strengthen oversight of spending at City-funded nonprofits and we urge the City to accept and implement those reforms,” stated DOI Acting Commissioner Ryan.

As set forth in court filings, Zeno co-founded and served as the executive director of the Organization, which provided legal services and community support services to indigent residents of Queens, New York.  Zeno hired her co-defendant, Rashad Ruhani, to work for the Organization in October 2023 and later married him in a religious ceremony.

Between June 2024 and January 2025, Zeno and Ruhani engaged in a corrupt scheme to embezzle funds from the Organization, diverting hundreds of thousands of dollars for their own personal benefit, including spending these stolen funds on foreign travel, expensive meals, luxury shopping, and rent for a penthouse apartment (the Penthouse Apartment).  Zeno and Ruhani made extravagant purchases with the Organization’s credit cards, spending over $10,000 on a vacation to Bali; $1,700 at a luxury resort in Santa Monica, California; $3,300 for an 85-inch smart television to be installed at the Penthouse Apartment; thousands of dollars in food deliveries to the Penthouse Apartment; and thousands of dollars at luxury retailers such as Ralph Lauren and Neiman Marcus.  In one instance, Zeno and Ruhani charged over $4,000 to an Organization credit card to buy a Louis Vuitton designer handbag.  As part of the conspiracy, Zeno repeatedly lied to the Organization, falsely characterizing personal expenses as business expenses to obtain the Organization’s approval.  To pay for the Penthouse Apartment, Zeno and Ruhani fraudulently obtained reimbursements from the Organization for over $39,000 in rent by submitting lease documents that were altered to conceal Zeno’s involvement.  Zeno also secured lucrative positions at the Organization for relatives and associates of Ruhani who did little or no substantive work, including hiring another woman married to Ruhani as the director of a non‑existent “health and wellness” program with a salary of $60,000.  As a result of Zeno’s misuse of its funds, the Organization lost its contract to provide criminal defense services to low-income New Yorkers.

Ruhani is scheduled to stand trial on June 1, 2026. He is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Public Integrity Section.  Assistant United States  Attorneys Russell Noble and Sean M. Sherman are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Paralegal Specialists Johnson Peow and Daniel Arakawa.

The Defendant:

LORI ZENO
Age:  65
Garden City, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-CR-182 (S-1) (RPK)

A New York woman was sentenced today to two years in prison for her involvement in a Chinese money laundering scheme. 

According to court documents, Rui Fang Yu, 40, of New York City, laundered over $20 million in proceeds from drug trafficking. Yu accepted large amounts of cash from co-conspirators involved in the laundering of drug proceeds, including from the sale of heroin and cocaine by a drug trafficking organization in the United States linked to a Mexican cartel. Yu used her position as an accountant at an airline ticket consolidator in Flushing, Queens, to launder these proceeds through her employer’s bank accounts. This complex scheme used trade-based money laundering to conceal drug proceeds through business transactions ostensibly made to purchase airline tickets. Ultimately, Yu and the co-conspirators facilitated the laundering of these funds to accounts controlled by co-conspirators in the United States and China.

In August 2025, Yu pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and FBI investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Emily Cohen and Chelsea Rooney of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Wang and Robert Pollack for the Eastern District of New York prosecuted the case.

The Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section's (MNF) mission is to take the profit out of crime, eliminate drug cartels, and protect the U.S. financial system. MNF pursues criminal prosecutions and criminal and civil asset recovery actions involving: financial facilitators who conceal profits for criminals; financial institutions and their officers and employees who violate money laundering, Bank Secrecy Act, and sanctions laws; international money launderers who support transnational organized crime; and the top command and control of international drug trafficking organizations.

Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Luis Velez was sentenced by United States District Judge Pamela K. Chen to 12 years in prison for coercion and enticement of a minor. Velez has no legal status in the United States and will be deported after serving his term of imprisonment.  Velez pleaded guilty in July 2024.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and James C. Barnacle, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the sentence.

“The defendant preyed on children, manipulating and threatening them into creating sexually explicit images for his own sexual gratification,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “Our Office is committed to holding accountable such sexual predators and I urge parents and caregivers to discuss with their children the dangers of communicating online with strangers and anyone else who may exploit them.”

Mr. Nocella expressed his appreciation to the Boston Police Department for their work on the case.

“Luis Velez repeatedly forced multiple minors to create and send sexually explicit images by threatening to harm their families. Velez preyed upon his victims’ fear to satisfy his perverted desires. The FBI will continue to defend our city’s children from sexual predators, especially those residing unlawfully in this country,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Barnacle.

As set forth in court filings, in 2022, Velez—a 26-year-old man at the time of the charged conduct without legal immigration status in the United States—posed as a 14-year-old boy and began communicating with an 11-year-old girl (Jane Doe 1) through Instagram.  At Velez’s insistence, Jane Doe 1 electronically sent sexually explicit images of herself to Velez, and then Velez threatened to hurt Jane Doe 1’s family if she did not send additional sexually explicit images.  Velez communicated with various other minors on Instagram, at times posing as a girl and at other times as a boy in order to obtain—as he had done with Jane Doe 1—sexually explicit images from these minors.

This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Section. Assistant United States  Attorneys Rebecca M. Schuman and Stephen H. Petraeus are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

LUIS VELEZ
Age: 29
Brooklyn, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-235 (PKC)       

BROOKLYN, NY — Today, the United States filed a denaturalization action in the Eastern District of New York against Gurmeet Singh, a native of India, who, according to the Department of Justice’s Complaint, concealed and misrepresented in his naturalization application that he had previously kidnapped and sexual assaulted a female passenger of his taxicab. After his passenger fell asleep in the backseat, he drove her to a side street and the passenger awoke to find Singh on top of her with a knife to her throat, telling her to stop resisting if she wanted to live. Singh then bound and gagged her, blindfolded her, removed her clothes, and raped her.

Singh concealed these acts throughout his naturalization proceedings and naturalized as a U.S. citizen on Oct. 19, 2011. After naturalizing, Singh was convicted in May 2014 in New York of Rape in the First Degree and Kidnapping in the Second Degree as a Sexually Motivated Felony and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

United States Attorney General Pamela Bondi; Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; and Brett A. Shumate, Assistant Attorney General, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division announced the filing of the civil complaint.

“This Department of Justice will continue to strip citizenship from those who commit heinous crimes and conceal them during the naturalization process,” stated Attorney General Bondi.  “American citizenship is a great and sacred privilege that must be earned honestly.

“The defendant in this case secured U.S. citizenship through deceit, and on the heels of committing the heinous crimes of rape and kidnapping,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “This case, brought to strip the defendant of citizenship that he did not earn and to which he was not entitled, demonstrates our Office’s commitment to protecting the American people and defending the sanctity of U.S. citizenship.”

“This individual’s vile acts prove that he should not have been granted U.S. citizenship,” stated Assistant Attorney General Shumate.  “Singh entered our country through family-based immigration laws, then committed horrible crimes before lying about them to become a U.S. citizen. We will now correct this injustice.”

Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a naturalized U.S. citizen’s citizenship may be revoked, and his certificate of naturalization canceled, if the naturalization was illegally procured or procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation.

This case was investigated by the Civil Division’s Office of Immigration Litigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York. The litigation is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Layaliza Soloveichik of the Eastern District of New York with Trial Attorney Christopher Lyerla and reviewed by John Inkeles, Chief of the Affirmative Litigation Unit of the Office of Immigration Litigation.

The claims made in the complaint are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.

Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Jeffrey Slothower was sentenced by United States District Judge Gary R. Brown to 72 months in prison for wire fraud, investment adviser fraud and money laundering in connection with a scheme to misappropriate more than $1 million from clients.  In addition to the terms of imprisonment, Judge Brown ordered Slothower to pay $1,160,936 in restitution and in forfeiture. 

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and James C. Barnacle, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI) announced the sentence.

“Jeffrey Slothower used his position as an investment advisor to steal over a million dollars from an unsuspecting couple,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “Today’s sentence sends a message to all those that would use their positions as financial professionals to line their own pockets – our Office will prosecute you to the full extent of the law.”

“Jeffrey Slothower crafted fabrications of profitable returns to conceal his true intention of reaching into his clients’ wallets and personally pocketing their investments,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Barnacle.  “Slothower stole more than one million dollars from his investors to fund extravagant purchases and repay his own credit card bills. The FBI will continue to unravel any web of lies used to unlawfully solicit investments at the cost of trusting clients.”

As proven at trial, Slothower orchestrated a scheme to misappropriate more than $1 million from current and prospective clients.  Specifically, while operating Battery Private, a New York investment advisory firm, Slothower solicited business from Victim-1 and Victim-2, a couple from California whose money Slothower had managed at another financial services firm where he was previously employed.  Slothower promised the victims he could beat any rate of return they were receiving and do so without market risk.  In 2017, he offered to invest Victim-1’s money into what Slothower described as bonds backed by homeowner’s association fees (the “HOA Bonds”), which would pay an eight percent return.   

Based on Slothower’s representations, in January 2017, Victim-1 sent more than $500,000 to Slothower at Battery Private to be invested in the purported HOA Bonds.  Instead of investing in HOA Bonds or holding the funds as promised, however, Slothower funneled the money into his personal bank accounts, and then used those funds to purchase a $125,000 Mercedes Benz SUV, and membership dues at Long Island National Golf Club, a private East End country club.  To further the fraudulent scheme, Slothower made payments to Victim-1 that were falsely represented as quarterly distributions from Victim-1’s “investment.”

Later, Slothower solicited Victim-1 to invest additional money, including funds controlled by Victim-2, who was then a Battery Private client.   Enticed by the supposedly steady rate of return, Victim-2 agreed to invest in the same purported HOA Bonds, and in December 2017, Victim-2 sent more than $500,000 to Slothower at Battery Private.  However, like Victim-1, Victim-2’s money was not invested in HOA Bonds.  Instead, Slothower used that money to pay tens of thousands of dollars in personal credit card debt traced to an approximately $6,500 Chanel purse, an approximately $13,000 Rolex watch, and more than $11,000 in Ralph Lauren clothing, among other things.  To further the fraudulent scheme, Slothower made payments to Victim-2 that were falsely represented as quarterly distributions from Victim-2’s investment. Slothower’s scheme continued through June 2018, when he defrauded Victim-1 out of another approximately $84,000. Slothower used Victim-1’s money to make purported quarterly payments to Victim-1 and Victim-2 that were falsely represented as their investment returns and to pay membership dues at the private golf club.

During the same period that Slothower defrauded Victim-1 and Victim-2, he also engaged in mortgage fraud.  While attempting to refinance a mortgage on a residence he owned, Slothower misrepresented to the mortgage lender, both orally and through the submission of false invoices, that the victims’ funds came from Slothower’s sale of a wine collection, a stamp collection, and a fine art collection.  At his trial, Slothower lied under oath when he denied classifying the victims’ funds as the proceeds of an asset sale.

The government’s case is being handled by the Criminal Section of the Office’s Long Island Division and the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Toporovsky and Benjamin Weintraub are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Janelle Robinson.

The Defendant:

JEFFREY SLOTHOWER
Age:  47
Southampton, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 21-CR-602 (GRB)

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Blanca Hernandez Morales was sentenced to 35 years in prison by United States District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall for sex trafficking minors using force, fraud, and coercion, among other crimes.  In addition to the term of imprisonment, Judge DeArcy Hall ordered Hernandez Morales to pay restitution of $179,300.  Hernandez Morales was the final of four co-defendants who went to trial in October 2023 on various charges, including sex trafficking, to be sentenced.  Her co-defendants and family members Roberto Cesar Cid Dominguez, Luz Cardona, and Jose Facundo Zarate Morales were each previously sentenced to 375 months, 325 months, and 300 months, respectively.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, James C. Barnacle, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Michael Alfonso, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI New York) announced the sentences.

“Today’s sentence holds the defendants accountable for their decade-long exploitation of young women and minors and is a reckoning for the perpetrators of these deplorable crimes,” stated United States Attorney Joseph Nocella.  “It is our hope that these extensive prison sentences bring some measure of comfort to the victims in this case.”

Mr. Nocella also expressed his appreciation to the New York City Police Department and the Putnam County Sherriff’s Office for their work on the case.

“This family orchestrated an international sex trafficking operation to route vulnerable victims, including minors, from Mexico into the United States to commit sexual acts. For more than a decade, these defendants lured young girls across the border with the enticement of the American dream before ensnaring them into a life of sexual servitude. May today’s lengthy prison sentences highlight the FBI’s intolerance of those who seek to profit from the sexual abuse and exploitation of others,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Barnacle.

“This sentencing brings a conclusive end to the yearslong, unimaginable exploitation and abuse of young women and minors.  No person should ever be exposed to the dehumanizing atrocities these victims suffered at the hands of their own common-law and blood relatives. HSI New York will never forget the strength of those who bravely came forward and we owe the successful resolution of this case to their courage and willingness to speak out,” stated HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Alfonso.

As proven at trial, since approximately 2002, the defendants, all of whom are related by blood or common-law marriage, participated in a sex-trafficking organization (the Cid-Hernandez Sex Trafficking Organization) that used force, threats of force, fraud, and coercion to cause young women and minor girls from Mexico to engage in prostitution in the United States.  Members of the organization pressured the victims, including two minor victims, to travel to the United States with false promises of employment and a better life.  When the young girls arrived in New York, they were forced by the defendants to work in prostitution.

During the trial, one victim testified that she was 15 years-old and living in Mexico in 2007 when Cardona, her aunt, offered to pay travel expenses to New York City where the teen could work as a cleaner.  The victim did not know that Cardona, along with her partner Zarate Morales, his mother Hernandez Morales, and her partner Cid Dominguez, were operating a prostitution business.  After the victim arrived in Queens, Cardona and Zarate Morales brokered a deal with a client to sell the victim’s virginity.  Thereafter the teenage victim was forced to engage in commercial sex with 20 or more men daily.

Although the Cid-Hernandez Sex Trafficking Organization was based in Queens, young women and minor girls were transported to prostitution clients throughout New York State and Connecticut.  The organization controlled “routes,” which were comprised of contact lists of potential clients in specific areas and employed individuals who served as drivers.

Cid Dominguez also bribed Village of Brewster Police Officer Wayne Peiffer with free sexual services to ensure the organization’s protection from law enforcement in his jurisdiction.  Peiffer pleaded guilty in April 2022 to conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act extortion and was sentenced to 36 months in custody.   

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Human Trafficking and Civil Rights Section.  Assistant United States  Attorneys Rachel A. Bennek and Nicholas Moscow are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendants

LUZ ELVIRA CARDONA (also known as “Lucy”)
Age:  37
Queens, New York

ROBERTO CESAR CID DOMINGUEZ
Age:  62
Queens, New York

BLANCA HERNANDEZ MORALES (also known as “Nancy,” “Maria Elena,” and “Malena”)
Age:  55
Queens, New York

JOSE FACUNDO ZARATE MORALES (also known as “El Guero”)
Age:  37
Queens, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 21-CR-622 (LDH)

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Steven LaBianca was sentenced by United States District Judge Ann M. Donnelly to 12 years’ imprisonment for coercion and enticement of minors and possession of child pornography. LaBianca communicated with multiple minor victims over the internet and coerced them into creating and sending him sexually explicit images and videos of themselves.  LaBianca pleaded guilty to the charges in September 2024.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and James C. Barnacle, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the sentence.

“Today, the defendant received a significant and deserved jail term for using manipulation and deception to exploit vulnerable victims, wrongly believing he could act without consequence,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “This prosecution makes clear that coercion and enticement and possession of child pornography—particularly when directed at minors—will be met with the full force of federal law.  Our Office will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to protect victims and hold sexual predators accountable.”

“For years, Steven LaBianca prowled online platforms to exploit minor victims by forcing them to engage in sexually explicit conversations and create pornographic material. Not only did his coercion abuse the innocence of young girls, it also revictimized those whose recordings were shared in other threads for LaBianca’s twisted desires.  The FBI will continue its mission to protect children from online sexual predators and investigate anyone who attempts to exploit them,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Barnacle.

As set forth in court filings, in 2017, LaBianca communicated online with a 15-year-old girl who resided in Cyprus (Jane Doe 2).  LaBianca induced Jane Doe 2 to send him photographs and videos of herself nude and engaging in sexual activities, and instructed her to watch pornographic videos involving other young girls.  LaBianca threatened to leave Jane Doe 2 for a younger girl once she grew up and advised Jane Doe 2 to delete incriminating evidence from her devices if she was ever approached by law enforcement authorities.  Over the course of their communications, Jane Doe 2 sent LaBianca hundreds of photographs and videos of her engaged in sexual activities.

Additionally, from September 2017 through May 2020, LaBianca communicated with multiple young girls—some as young as 13-years-old—and coerced them into sending him sexually explicit photographs and videos through social media platforms such as Omegle, Skype, and Instagram.

This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section.  Assistant United States  Attorney Andy Palacio is in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

STEVEN LABIANCA
Age: 53
Brooklyn, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 22-CR-206 (AMD)

Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Damaris Beltre, a former tax preparer in Freeport, New York, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and one count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns.  The proceeding was held before United States District Judge Sanket J. Bulsara.  When sentenced, Beltre faces a maximum sentence of 53 years’ imprisonment, as well as restitution of approximately $12 million. 

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and Harry T. Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS-CI New York) announced the guilty plea.

“Beltre brazenly defrauded the government and callously put her clients in jeopardy to line her own pockets,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “Today’s guilty plea should serve as a warning to anyone who, like this defendant, views federal programs and the federal treasury as their own personal piggybanks, that you will be arrested and vigorously prosecuted.”

Mr. Nocella also expressed his appreciation to the United States Customs and Border Protection, New York Field Office, the Freeport Police Department, and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) for their assistance on the case.

“Beltre was a shady tax preparer with a complete disregard for U.S. law or the American public she failed when she fraudulently claimed tens of millions of dollars in COVID-19-related tax credits.  She hoarded funds meant for those with a legitimate need just to fatten her own pockets.  With today’s plea, she can move forward with facing the full consequences of her actions,” stated IRS-CI New York Special Agent in Charge Chavis.

As set forth in court filings and at today’s guilty plea proceeding, Beltre owned and operated multiple corporate entities offering tax preparation and other financial services in Freeport, New York. From approximately January 2021 through April 2024, Beltre personally prepared, and supervised employees in the preparation of, false and fraudulent individual income tax returns, and associated schedules and forms, for her client-taxpayers, which were submitted to the IRS.

The tax returns that Beltre prepared and caused to be prepared for her clients listed false dependents and fraudulently claimed tens of millions of dollars in COVID-19-related tax credits and motor fuel income tax credits to directly reduce tax liability and provide substantial refunds to which her clients were not entitled.  Beltre’s clients paid over $1 million in fees for her services preparing these false returns, which included a percentage of any tax refund issued.  For example, in April 2023, a federal agent acting in an undercover capacity (the UC) hired Beltre to prepare his individual income tax return.  If prepared accurately, the UC would have owed the IRS approximately $205.  By contrast, the defendant prepared an income tax return for the UC which contained false and fraudulent statements and baseless tax credits, and which thereby claimed a refund of over $14,243.  Beltre charged the UC $2,200 in fees to prepare and submit the fraudulent tax return.  As a result of this years-long scheme, the IRS improperly issued nearly $11 million in tax refunds to the defendant’s clients, and failed to collect several million dollars as a result of fraudulently reduced tax liabilities.  

In a separate Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) fraud scheme, from approximately April 2020 through July 2022, Beltre filed and caused to be filed false payroll reports and income tax returns with the IRS on behalf of her corporate clients to fraudulently obtain PPP loans from the SBA, totaling approximately $1 million.  Beltre used these proceeds, and those generated from the tax preparer fraud scheme described above, for personal expenses, including paying personal debts, to fund a home in the Caribbean, and to purchase a car and jewelry.

The government’s case is being handled by the Criminal Section of the Office’s Long Island Division.  Assistant United States Attorney Charles P. Kelly is in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Samantha Schroder and Victim Witness Coordinator Stephanie Marroquin. 

The Defendant:

DAMARIS BELTRE
Age:  58
Freeport, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-CR-081 (SJB)

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Pushpesh Kumar Baid, also known as “PK Jain,” was sentenced by United States Second Circuit Judge Denny Chin, sitting by designation, to 20 years’ imprisonment for his role in schemes to defraud investors in Tradepay Capital LLC (“Tradepay”), a purported factoring company, and in Luxestreet, Inc. (Luxestreet), a purported luxury goods pawn shop.  Baid pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in April 2025, approximately one week before trial was scheduled to commence.  As part of the sentence, Baid was preliminarily ordered to pay $35,056,852.83 in restitution to the victims of both the Tradepay and Luxestreet schemes.  Additionally, the Court ordered Baid to forfeit $2,607,689.00 in ill-gotten gains.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and Terence G. Reilly, Acting Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office, (FBI), announced the sentence.

“Baid and his co-conspirators orchestrated an elaborate fraud, creating sham companies and using straw bank accounts and fraudulent documents to deceive their victims for years into investing millions of dollars into businesses that simply did not exist,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “The significant sentence imposed today should send a message to anyone who chooses to enrich themself through fraud that false statements to investors will lead to a prison term.”   

Mr. Nocella expressed his appreciation to the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation for its work on the case.

“Pushpesh Baid repeatedly spun webs of lies to manipulate his investors into pooling tens of millions of dollars in fabricated companies directly utilized for Baid’s personal expenditures” stated Acting FBI Assistant Director in Charge Reilly.  “Baid abused his position to create fraudulent investment opportunities at the expense of his clients. The FBI remains dedicated to exposing those who implement deceitful practices designed to betray investors’ trust for selfish financial gain.”

Baid pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with the Tradepay scheme.  As part of his plea, Baid also admitted to his participation in the Luxestreet scheme.  Details of the schemes, as reflected in court filings, are set forth below.

Tradepay Scheme

Baid was the Business Head of Tradepay, which purported to be an international factoring business run by an executive team experienced in factoring invoices in particular industries and geographic regions.  Factoring involves the sale of an invoice to a third party at a discount.  In a factoring transaction, the seller of an invoice obtains immediate funding from the buyer of the invoice, and the buyer of the invoice makes a profit when the invoice is paid in full.

Between approximately April 2017 and October 2019, Baid and his co-conspirators implemented a scheme to defraud investors in Tradepay, making it appear that Tradepay was a legitimate and successful business when it was, in fact, an elaborate scam.  For example, hundreds of invoices from various businesses that Tradepay purported to be factoring were fraudulent and included fake signatures on both sides of the supposed transactions.  Baid and his co-conspirators also funneled millions of dollars of investors’ funds—which they represented would be sent to Tradepay’s business partners—through a sprawling network of bank accounts that Baid controlled through shell entities and straw signatories.  From those accounts, Baid and his co-conspirators spent millions of dollars on personal expenses, including on luxury cars and watches. Baid even lied about his identity, concealing his real name from investors to obscure the fact that he was wanted for criminal offenses abroad.

Investors in Tradepay initially received payments on the invoices, which led them to continue contributing large sums of capital.  By approximately July 2019, however, the payments on the invoices stopped, resulting in approximately $35 million in losses.

Luxestreet Scheme

In 2018, Baid founded a separate company called Asset Capital Partners, which began doing business as Luxestreet. Baid and his co-conspirators claimed that Luxestreet operated like a pawn shop for high end goods, including luxury watches, and solicited investment in the business.  In reality, Luxestreet contracts were forged and the physical watches held by the company were knockoffs.  To further this fraud and continue to deceive their investors, the defendant and his co-conspirators agreed to create fake websites, use fake phone numbers, and generate fake contracts and valuation reports for the knockoff watches.   

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The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section.  Assistant United States  Attorneys Dylan A. Stern, Benjamin Weintraub and Molly N. Delaney are in charge of the prosecution.  Assistant United States Attorney Claire Kedeshian of the Office’s Asset Forfeiture Section is handling forfeiture matters.

The Defendant:

PUSHPESH KUMAR BAID (also known as “PK Jain”)
Age:  44
Miami, Florida

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 21-CR-367 (DC)

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, school consultant Richard Bernstein pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States in connection with his agreement with others to steer federal funds to school vendors in exchange for a share of the vendors’ profits.  The proceeding was held before United States District Judge Ramon E. Reyes, Jr.  When sentenced, Bernstein faces up to five years’ imprisonment.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Fara Damelin, Inspector General, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), announced the guilty plea.

“Bernstein’s scheme enriched himself and his co-conspirators at the expense of schools and schoolchildren,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “Kickback schemes that illegally syphon public funds into private pockets are an insidious form of corruption, and our Office is committed to disrupting and prosecuting such conduct.”

“This case demonstrates the continuing pattern of procurement fraud and kickbacks between consultants and vendors that threaten the integrity of FCC’s ECF and E-Rate programs. The defendant, an active consultant in this industry, used his status to defraud these programs, stated FCC Inspector General Damelin.  “We will continue to identify and vigorously investigate bad actors who exploit FCC programs for personal gain to the detriment of students that these programs are meant to serve.  I am proud of the outstanding work of our investigative and analytics teams as well as our law enforcement partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office-EDNY, Office of Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations, NASA, and the New York City Police Department.

As set forth in the complaint, criminal information, and as discussed in court proceedings, Bernstein was the founder and Chief Executive Officer of E-Rate Consulting, LLC and the president of E-Rate Management Solutions Inc. (together, EMS), both of which are located in Woodmere, New York.  EMS offered services to schools in New York and elsewhere related to the E-Rate and Emergency Connectivity Fund (“ECF”) programs.

Both the E-Rate and the ECF programs are operated by the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC), with oversight from the FCC.  The E-Rate program provides discounts to help eligible schools and libraries in the United States obtain affordable telecommunications and internet access. The ECF program provided funding to schools and libraries to assist them in supporting remote learning for students, staff, and library community members during the COVID-19 pandemic.   

Bernstein acted as an agent for schools seeking access to resources under both the E-Rate and ECF programs.  Bernstein agreed with vendors to steer the schools he served to work with those vendors; he simultaneously entered into secret side agreements with the vendors to share as much as half of their profits with him. For example, Bernstein provided consulting services to a school located in Nassau County (School #1) in 2021 and 2022. Bernstein connected that school with a vendor (Vendor #1), and School #1 agreed to receive equipment from Vendor #1. Vendor #1 purchased 130 Lenovo Chromebooks and 40 Lenovo laptops for School #1, and sought reimbursement for these purchases from USAC.  USAC ultimately paid $68,000 to Vendor #1 on January 28, 2022.  A few days later, EMS submitted an invoice to Vendor #1 for $11,500, representing 50% of Vendor #1’s profits for the equipment provided to School #1.  Vendor #1 paid EMS $11,5000 on or about February 8, 2022.

In total, EMS received more than $100,000 in kickbacks from vendors funded through the E-Rate and ECF programs.  Bernstein has agreed to forfeit $137,576.64. This amount corresponds to the illicit proceeds he received from the scheme.           

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Public Integrity Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Laura Zuckerwise and Eric Silverberg are in charge of the prosecution with assistance from Special Agent Anthony Cunder and paralegal specialist Daniel Arakawa.

The Defendants:

RICHARD BERNSTEIN
Age: 71
Israel

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 26-CR-9 (RER)

Earlier today in federal court in Brooklyn, Kyrgyz national Sergei Zharnovnikov was sentenced to 39 months’ imprisonment for conspiracy to export American-made firearms.  The proceeding was held before United States District Judge Hector Gonzalez.  The defendant illegally exported firearms and ammunition worth over $1.5 million from the United States to Russia, by way of Kyrgyzstan.  Zharnovnikov does not have lawful permanent resident status and faces deportation upon sentencing.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Terence G. Reilly, Acting Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Jonathan Carson, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Export Enforcement, New York Field Office (DOC), announced the sentence.

“The defendant bought American-made, military-grade firearms and ammunition and reexported them to Russia—the same brand of firearms and ammunition known to be used in Russia’s war against Ukraine,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “Our sanctions are only as effective as our ability to enforce them. Today’s sentence is a message to would-be violators: breaking this law has serious consequences.”

“Sergei Zharnovnikov circumvented international trade law to illegally provide Russia with American firearms – including semiautomatic rifles – and ammunition worth more than one million dollars,” stated FBI Acting Assistant Director in Charge Reilly.  “His blatant lies directly fueled Russia’s military siege against Ukraine with American-made weapons.  May today’s sentencing reflect the FBI’s steadfast commitment to preventing enemy nations from exploiting export restrictions to accomplish their malevolent agendas.”

According to court filings, the defendant was an arms dealer who operated through a company that he owned located in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (Kyrgyzstan Company-1).  Since at least March 2020, the defendant, together with others, conspired to export firearms and ammunition controlled by the DOC from the United States to Russia. The defendant exported approximately $1.58 million worth of U.S.-manufactured firearms and ammunition from the United States to Russia.

In one transaction, the defendant entered into a five‑year, $900,000 contract with a company in the United States (“U.S. Company‑1”) to purchase and export U.S. Company-1 firearms to Kyrgyzstan.  DOC issued a license for U.S. Company-1 to export firearms to Kyrgyzstan Company-1, but the license prohibited the export or reexport of the firearms to Russia. Nevertheless, the defendant reexported U.S. Company‑1 firearms to Russia (via Kyrgyzstan), including semi‑automatic hybrid rifle-pistols., without a license

In another transaction, the defendant reexported five rifles from a second U.S. Company (“U.S. Company-2”) to Russia, via Kyrgyzstan.  Here too, the DOC license prohibited the rifles from being reexported out of Kyrgyzstan.  Notably, U.S. Company-2 rifles have been used by Russian military snipers, including by Russian battalions known to be active in key battles in Ukraine.

Finally, the defendant conspired to illegally reexport U.S.‑manufactured ammunition from Italy to Kyrgyzstan (and eventually Russia), in violation of U.S. law.  The defendant, together with others, placed an order and received 13,000 rounds of ammunition from a third U.S. company (“U.S. Company-3”) worth $23,000 in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan by way of Italy.  The license for this ammunition required that the ammunition stay in Italy. Nevertheless, the defendant flouted U.S. law and reexported the U.S. Company-3 ammunition from Italy to Kyrgyzstan. U.S. Company-3 ammunition has reportedly been used in Russia’s war against Ukraine.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and Cybercrime Section.  Assistant United States  Attorney Ellen H. Sise is in charge of the prosecution, along with Trial Attorney Leslie Esbrook of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, with assistance from Litigation Analyst Rebecca Roth.

The Defendants:

SERGEI ZHARNOVNIKOV
AGE: 47
Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-CR-45 (HG)

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Carlos Alberto Guerrero Mercado and Guillermo Isaias Perez Parra, who are Mexican citizens, were arraigned on a superseding indictment charging them with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute fentanyl, conspiracy to manufacture and distribute listed chemicals, and money laundering conspiracy.  Both defendants were ordered detained pending trial. The proceeding was held before United States Magistrate Judge James R. Cho.  The defendants were transferred to the United States from Mexico on January 20, 2026. 

The defendants are among 37 Mexican nationals who were transferred to the United States from Mexico yesterday to face a range of federal criminal charges around the country.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Michael Alfonso, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI New York), announced the arraignment.

“As alleged, these defendants played a key role in manufacturing the fentanyl poisoning our nation,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “The defendants and their co-conspirators obtained the chemicals necessary to manufacture vast quantities of fentanyl—also known as precursor chemicals—from companies in China.  Now they will face American justice for their callous crimes.  Our Office is committed to investigating and prosecuting individuals responsible for the fentanyl scourge at all levels of the production and distribution of this lethal drug.”   

Mr. Nocella thanked the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs for their assistance.

“As alleged, these two individuals are among the worst kind of predators: traffickers who poison our communities with staggering quantities of deadly fentanyl, manufactured with chemicals funneled from overseas and unleashed on American streets. HSI has relentlessly targeted every link in this lethal supply chain — from the chemical brokers in China to the cartel chemists in Mexico and the global traffickers — and will continue to do so with unflinching focus on our mission to protect our homeland. HSI and the HSTF New York will stop at nothing to investigate, identify and arrest those who profit from this epidemic of death, wherever in the world they may hide,” stated HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Alfonso.

As alleged in the indictment and court filings, the defendants obtained the chemical building blocks of fentanyl from suppliers in China, often transporting the chemicals to Mexico through border towns in the United States.  Once in Mexico, the defendants converted these precursor chemicals into massive quantities of fentanyl, which were later distributed and sold in the United States. When law enforcement interrupted the flow of precursor chemicals from China, the defendants conspired to manufacture their own precursor chemicals.

The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, both defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and up to life in prison.

This prosecution is also part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section.  Assistant United States Attorneys William P. Campos, Chand Edwards-Balfour and Adam Amir are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendants:

CARLOS ALBERTO GUERRERO MERCADO
Age:  47
Mexico

GUILLERMO ISAIAS PEREZ PARRA
Age:  41
Mexico

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-CR-287 (S-1) (EK)

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Jair Francisco Patron Tobias, also known as “Crixus,” “Junior,” and “Gannicus,” was arraigned on an indictment charging him with participating in a large-scale narcotics distribution conspiracy and using one or more firearms in connection with those narcotic offenses.  The defendant, a Mexican citizen, was arrested in Mexico on a provisional arrest warrant issued from the Eastern District of New York and transferred from Mexico to the United States on January 20, 2026.  Today’s proceeding was held before United States Magistrate Judge James R. Cho.  The defendant was ordered detained pending trial. 

Patron Tobias was among 37 Mexican nationals who were transferred to the United States from Mexico yesterday to face a range of federal criminal charges around the country.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Frank A. Tarentino, III, Associate Chief of Operations, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Northeast Region (DEA), and Anthony Chrysanthis, Special Agent in Charge, DEA, Los Angeles Field Division which oversees the Las Vegas District Office (DEA), announced the arraignment.

“As alleged in the indictment and court filings, the defendant was one of the lead drug distributors for a vicious cartel responsible for sending massive quantities of dangerous drugs into the United States,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “Today’s arraignment in a U.S. courtroom is the first step in holding him accountable for his serious crimes and the immense harm that he has caused.  Our Office is working with federal and international partners to dismantle drug cartels and prosecute high-level drug traffickers responsible for flooding our country with dangerous drugs that leave death in their wake.”

Mr. Nocella thanked the DEA’s offices in Mexico City, Mexico and New York, the United States Marshals Service, the United States Department of State, the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, and the Government of Mexico for their invaluable assistance.

“Once again we see the power of collaboration between our DEA’s offices, the HSTF, and our law enforcement partners in holding accountable those who traffic illicit narcotics while using violence, intimidation, and fear as a means to push their poison into American communities” stated DEA Northeast Regional Associate Chief of Operations Tarentino.  “The DEA is committed to targeting those drug trafficking organizations and individuals, like Jair Francisco Patron Tobias, who are responsible for causing the most harm. This is the DEA’s focus, both here and abroad, and we will continue this fight until we have a drug-free America.” 

“In recent years and through today, our country has suffered one of the biggest and most destructive drug crisis ever imagined. DEA is tackling this problem head on, and with urgency. Working in conjunction with national and international partners, we are intent on dismantling these violent global drug networks. They unleash poison onto our streets, lining their pockets with no regard to human suffering.  Make no mistake, the heads of these drug emporiums will be held accountable.  Today’s indictment of an alleged narcotics kingpin is just one example of more to come,” stated DEA Los Angeles Special Agent in Charge Chrysanthis.

According to the indictment and other court filings, the defendant was a lead distributor for the H-2 Drug Trafficking Organization (the H-2 DTO), a violent Mexican drug trafficking organization based in Nayarit and Sinaloa, Mexico.  The H-2 DTO was previously led by the defendant’s father, Juan Francisco Patron Sanchez, also known as “H-2,” who was killed in 2017.  After Juan Francisco Patron Sanchez’s death, his brother Jesus Ricardo Patron Sanchez (the defendant’s uncle) assumed principal leadership over the H-2 DTO.  The H-2 DTO had numerous distribution cells in the United States, including in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Ohio, Minnesota, and North Carolina.  The DEA estimates that between January 2013 and February 2017, the H-2 DTO distributed, on a monthly basis, hundreds of kilograms of heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine, as well as thousands of kilograms of marijuana, into the United States and earned millions of dollars in illegal proceeds in return.  The H-2 DTO used firearms and physical violence in furtherance of its drug trafficking operation.

Between June 2013 and December 2016, the defendant directed the distribution of large quantities of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana from Mexico throughout the United States, including the Eastern District of New York.  The defendant also coordinated money laundering activities of the H-2 DTO to ensure the proceeds of their drug trafficking were transferred back to Mexico. The defendant worked closely with his father and uncle to expand the H-2 DTO’s power and territory by prohibiting rival drug trafficking organizations from manufacturing heroin.   

This prosecution is also part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion.  The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad.  Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children.  The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.

The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.  If convicted, the defendant faces up to life in prison.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section.  Assistant United States  Attorneys Nomi D. Berenson, Raffaela S. Belizaire, and Andrew D. Wang are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

JAIR FRANCISCO PATRON TOBIAS
Age:  31
Mexico

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 16-CR-241 (S-2) (CBA) 

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Ahmed Alaahri was sentenced by United States District Judge Eric Komitee to 11 years in prison for kidnapping and sexually abusing a 17-year-old victim (John Doe).  In March 2023, Alaahri and co-defendant Bilal Nagi, along with a co-conspirator (CC-1), lured John Doe into their car and filmed themselves restraining him after pulling off his clothing and brutally assaulting him. In February 2025, Alaahri and Nagi pleaded guilty to kidnapping.  In August 2025, Nagi was sentenced to 17 ½ years in prison.  Alaahri and Nagi are citizens of Yemen and both face deportation from the U.S. after the completion of their sentences.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Terence G. Reilly, Acting Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Jessica S. Tisch, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the sentences.

“The defendants’ lengthy prison sentences are well-deserved given their depraved and violent conduct,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “The sentences also make clear that crimes which brutalize, degrade, and exploit others, especially minors, will not be tolerated.”

“Ahmed Alaahri and Bilal Nagi kidnapped and sexually abused a minor victim in the backseat of their car using a weapon and threats to induce compliance. These defendants exploited a teenager’s terror by disseminating the recorded attack for further victimization and humiliation. May today’s sentencing serve as a reminder of the FBI’s promise to leverage its law enforcement partnerships against any individuals targeting minors,” stated FBI Acting Assistant Director in Charge Reilly.

According to court filings, on March 11, 2023, Alaahri, Nagi, and CC-1 kidnapped John Doe and sexually abused him.  Nagi had contacted John Doe, a 17-year-old with whom he was acquainted, and arranged to pick him up at his home in Brooklyn, New York.  Nagi arrived at John Doe’s home in a car with Alaahri in the front passenger seat and CC-1 in the backseat.  When John Doe entered the car, Alaahri and CC-1 began punching him in the face while Nagi drove to Floyd Bennett Field located on federal park land in southeast Brooklyn.

Once at Floyd Bennett Field, the defendants continued to assault and humiliate John Doe.  Eventually, John Doe’s pants were removed and Nagi began video recording John Doe with a cellphone.  During the assault, Alaahri restrained John Doe in the backseat of the car.  Alaahri then held a knife up to John Doe while Nagi further threatened John Doe, saying “you’re going to let me do whatever I want, or we’ll kill you.”  John Doe was also told that there was a gun in the car.  John Doe was ultimately released, but the defendants stole his cellphone and money.  John Doe immediately called 911 to report the attack.  Officers from the NYPD responded to his home and commenced an investigation.

Following the kidnapping and assault, Nagi disseminated a portion of the video on the Internet and through Instagram showing John Doe being restrained in the back seat of the car.  In the video, John Doe is seen being restrained by Alaahri with his pants pulled down, exposing his genitals.  After the defendants were arrested for a gunpoint robbery in the Bronx, law enforcement discovered portions of the kidnapping video on their cellphones.  In a text message exchange found on one of the cellphones, Nagi discussed planning the kidnapping with CC-1.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes and National Security and Cybercrime Sections.  Assistant United States  Attorney Gilbert Rein is in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

AHMED ALAAHRI
Age: 23
Brooklyn, New York

Co-Defendant Who Was Previously Sentenced:

BILAL NAGI
Age: 31
Bronx, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-524 (EK)

Two defendants pleaded guilty today to conspiring to defraud Medicaid by paying health care kickbacks for services that were not provided at two Brooklyn social adult day cares and a home health care company.

“The defendants were large-scale recruiters who bribed patients with laundered cash and billed Medicaid over $68 million for services that were not provided,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s guilty pleas demonstrate the Department’s longstanding commitment to rooting out fraud in government health care programs by aggressively prosecuting those who steal from taxpayer-funded programs.”

“As demonstrated by today’s guilty pleas, our Office will hold accountable corrupt individuals who steer patients to health care providers in exchange for illicit kickbacks,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. of the Eastern District of New York. “We will continue to investigate and aggressively prosecute fraud schemes that steal from taxpayer funds from federal health care programs.”

“These defendants orchestrated an egregious scheme involving illegal kickbacks to steer Medicaid claims and to receive payment for services not rendered,” said Special Agent in Charge Naomi Gruchacz of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Extensive fraudulent operations like this jeopardize the availability of federal health care program funds intended to support millions of beneficiaries. HHS-OIG is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to bring to justice those who prioritize greed over patient care.” 

“These defendants placed profit over people and public well-being and stole $68 million in welfare funds meant for those who need it most,” said Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel of Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York. “Their guilty pleas today reflect that they knew exactly what crimes they were committing — they were cheating the system and, in turn, hurting vulnerable Americans. I commend HSI New York and our law enforcement partners for their unrelenting focus on dismantling and disrupting financial fraud schemes that exploit the American public and hurt our economy.”

According to court documents, Manal Wasef, 46, and Elaine Antao, 46, both of Brooklyn, were marketers and recruiters for two social adult day cares: Happy Family Social Adult Day Care Center Inc. and Family Social Adult Day Care Center Inc., as well as Responsible Care Staffing Inc., a home health care fiscal intermediary. Between approximately October 2017 and July 2024, in exchange for illegal kickbacks and bribes, Wasef and Antao referred Medicaid recipients to the social adult day cares and the home health company. The defendants also paid illegal kickbacks and bribes to Medicaid recipients for social adult day care services and home health care services that were billed to Medicaid but were not provided or that were induced by kickbacks and bribes. Wasef and Antao used multiple business entities to launder the fraud proceeds and generate the cash used to pay kickbacks and bribes. In connection with their guilty pleas, Wasef and Antao agreed to collectively forfeit approximately $1 million. Wasef and Antao are the sixth and seventh individuals, respectively, to plead guilty in this case.

Wasef and Antao pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Antao is scheduled to be sentenced on May 20 and Wasef is scheduled to be sentenced on May 27. They each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

HHS-OIG, HSI, and the NYPD are investigating the case.

Trial Attorneys Patrick J. Campbell and Leonid Sandlar of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Castiglione for the Eastern District of New York is handling forfeiture matters.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of 9 strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

BROOKLYN, NY – Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Elaine Antao and Manal Wasef pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud Medicaid by paying health care kickbacks for services that were not provided at two Brooklyn social adult day cares and a home health care company. Today’s proceeding was held before United States District Judge Natasha C. Merle.  When sentenced, the defendants each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; A. Tysen Duva, Assistant Attorney General and head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Naomi Gruchacz, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG); Ricky J Patel, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI-New York); and Jessica S. Tisch, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the guilty pleas.

“As demonstrated by today’s guilty pleas, our Office will hold accountable corrupt individuals who steer patients to health care providers in exchange for illicit kickbacks,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “We will continue to investigate and aggressively prosecute fraud schemes that steal from taxpayer funds from federal health care programs.”

“The defendants were large-scale recruiters who bribed patients with laundered cash and billed Medicaid over $68 million for services that were not provided,” stated Assistant Attorney General Duva.  “Today’s guilty pleas demonstrate the Department’s longstanding commitment to rooting out fraud in government health care programs by aggressively prosecuting those who steal from taxpayer-funded programs.”

“These defendants orchestrated an egregious scheme involving illegal kickbacks to steer Medicaid claims and to receive payment for services not rendered. Extensive fraudulent operations like this jeopardize the availability of federal health care program funds intended to support millions of beneficiaries,” stated HHS-OIG Special Agent in Charge Gruchacz.  “HHS-OIG is committed to working with our law enforcement partners to bring to justice those who prioritize greed over patient care.” 

“These defendants placed profit over people and public well-being and stole $68 million in welfare funds meant for those who need it most,” stated HSI Special Agent in Charge Patel. “Their guilty pleas today reflect that they knew exactly what crimes they were committing — they were cheating the system and, in turn, hurting vulnerable Americans.  I commend HSI New York and our law enforcement partners for their unrelenting focus on dismantling and disrupting financial fraud schemes that exploit the American public and hurt our economy.”

According to court documents, Antao and Wasef were marketers and recruiters for two social adult day cares: Happy Family Social Adult Day Care Center Inc. and Family Social Adult Day Care Center Inc., located in Brooklyn, as well as Responsible Care Staffing Inc., a home health care fiscal intermediary.  Between approximately October 2017 and July 2024, Wasef and Antao referred Medicaid recipients to the social adult day cares and the home health company in exchange for illegal kickbacks and bribes.  They also paid illegal kickbacks and bribes to Medicaid recipients for social adult day care services and home health care services that were billed to Medicaid but were not provided or that were induced by kickbacks and bribes.  Wasef and Antao used multiple business entities to launder the fraud proceeds and generate the cash used to pay kickbacks and bribes.  As part of their plea agreements, Wasef and Antao agreed to collectively forfeit approximately $1 million.  Wasef and Antao are the sixth and seventh individuals to plead guilty in this case.

Trial Attorneys Patrick J. Campbell and Leonid Sandlar of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case with Assistant United States Attorney Michael Castiglione of the Eastern District of New York’s Asset Forfeiture Section who is handling forfeiture matters.

The Defendants:

ELAINE ANTAO
Age:  46
Brooklyn, New York

MANAL WASEF
Age:  46
Brooklyn, New York

Defendants Who Previously Pleaded Guilty:

HASHMI, AMRAN
Age:  55
Brooklyn, New York

HELMY, JOSEPH
Age:  50
Brooklyn, New York

ISMAIL, AMAL
Age:  59
Brooklyn, New York

KHAN, ZAKIA
Age:  54
Brooklyn, New York

MEMON, SEEMA
Age:  31
Brooklyn, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-CR-409 (NCM)

Richler Morette, also known as “Breezy,” a member of the Brooklyn-based Hyena Crips gang, pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Brooklyn to racketeering in connection with the murder of a man mistaken to be a rival gang member and conspiracy to murder rival gang members.  The proceeding was held before United States District Judge Ann M. Donnelly.  When sentenced, Morette faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.  Morette is the eighth member of the Hyena Crips to plead guilty to a superseding indictment charging members and associates of the violent street gang with racketeering activity over a decade, including the murders of Samuel Joseph, Leandre Mallinckrodt, and Roodson Polynice.  When sentenced, Morette faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. 

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Ricky J. Patel, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI-New York), and Anthony D’Esposito, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General (DOL-OIG), announced the guilty pleas.

“The prosecution of these Hyena Crips gang members has dismantled a violent and ruthless gang that terrorized our communities for too long, killing innocent people, robbing local businesses, and stealing the identities of hard-working peoples,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “It is my sincere hope that the guilty pleas represent justice and some measure of closure for the victims and their loved ones.”

"With this guilty plea, Richler Morette has acknowledged his link to vicious murders and attempted killings of the innocent public and rival gang members, alike,” stated HIS Special Agent in Charge Patel.  “As a result of this investigation, eight Hyena Crips gangsters have plead  guilty and will face the full force of the law —  reflecting the real change that HSI New York, together with the our partners, are endeavoring to make within New York City communities.  HSI New York remains committed to restoring safety and peace for all New Yorkers.”

"This guilty plea underscores the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General's unwavering commitment to bring to justice those who defrauded the unemployment insurance programs during the COVID-19 pandemic,” stated DOL-OIG Inspector General D’Esposito.  “We will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to pursue those who engage in the exploitation of governmental programs and the American taxpayer.”

Mr. Nocella expressed his appreciation to the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations’ Violent Gang Task Force, the New York City Police Department, and the Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector General for their outstanding work in this investigation.

As detailed in court filings, the Hyena Crips set of the Crips street gang was a violent criminal organization based in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn that earned money through fraud and robbery.  To advance the gang’s operations and reputation, members and associates of the Hyena Crips committed murders, robberies, and fraud.

September 3, 2012 Murder of Leandre Mallinckrodt

On September 3, 2012, Rick Jasmin and other members of the Hyena Crips were at the West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn when a brawl began.  Jasmin fatally stabbed Leandre Mallinckrodt, who had been visiting Brooklyn from out of town, in the neck.  Jasmin mistook Mallinckrodt as a rival gang member. 

February 22, 2019 Murder of Samuel Joseph

As detailed in court documents, Martial H. Amilcar shot and killed 15-year-old Samuel Joseph on February 22, 2019 in retaliation for an altercation earlier the same day between Amilcar’s brother, Martial C. Amilcar, also a Hyena Crips gang member, and Joseph’s older brother.  Shortly after the altercation, which occurred on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, Martial H. Amilcar contacted other members of the Hyena Crips.  Martial H. Amilcar and another co-defendant drove to Samuel Joseph’s apartment building and waited outside.  As Joseph walked down a staircase towards the building’s exit, Martial H. Amilcar walked into the building, pulled out a gun and shot Joseph three times at close range, killing him.

September 2, 2020 Murder of Roodson Polynice

As detailed in court documents, Dave Augustin directed Bradley Augustin, Morette, and other members of the Hyena Crips to retaliate against a rival gang for the non-fatal shootings of two Hyena Crips leaders.  On September 2, 2020, Bradley Augustin, Morette, and others shot and killed Roodson Polynice during a drive-by shooting in Brooklyn while Polynice was sitting in his car.  Following the murder, Morette responded to group Facebook messages about Polynice’s death in which he replied with three laughing-face emojis, before stating, “[d]on’t care who got hit” and “pic [sic] a side or get killed with them Hyenalifestyle or no life.”

The superseding indictment also charged the members of the gang with other racketeering acts, including agreeing to commit identity fraud in connection with unemployment-fraud insurance and in connection with defrauding the Small Business Administration (SBA); money laundering; robberies; attempted murder; and conspiracy to murder rival gang members.

Seven members of the Hyena Crips previously pleaded guilty.  On November 13, 2025, Martial H. Amilcar was sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment for racketeering, including predicate acts of the murder of Joseph and the attempted gunpoint robbery of a Brooklyn pharmacy.  On November 12, 2025, Martial C. Amilcar was sentenced to 96 months’ imprisonment for racketeering in connection with defrauding the SBA and conspiring to murder rival gang members.  Five co-defendants—Bradley Augustin, Dave Augustin, Matthew Harris, Rick Jasmin, and Wisny Joseph—are awaiting sentencing.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section.  Assistant United States Attorneys Devon Lash, Jessica Weigel, and Joshua Dugan are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialists Elizabeth Reed and Erin Payne.

The Defendant:

RICHLER MORETTE (also known as “Breezy”)
Age: 30
Brooklyn, New York

Previously Convicted Defendants:

MARTIAL C. AMILCAR (also known as “Hype”)
Age:  27
Brooklyn, New York

MARTIAL H. AMILCAR (also known as “Drippy”)
Age: 28
Brooklyn, New York

BRADLEY AUGUSTIN (also known as “Cradley”)
Age:  26
Brooklyn, New York

DAVE AUGUSTIN (also known as “Juice”)
Age: 39
Brooklyn, New York

MATTHEW HARRIS (also known as “Kappy”)
Age: 26
Brooklyn, New York

RICK JASMIN (also known as “Jab”)
Age: 32
Brooklyn, New York

WISNY JOSEPH (also known as “Weezy”)
Age: 34
Brooklyn, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-18 (AMD)

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Yveler Marcellus, Felix Marcial, Asheem Henry, George Mims, Rahmel Thompson, Daquan Mitchell and Tatiana Williams were sentenced by United States District Judge Carol Bagley Amon in connection with their roles in a scheme to launder money fraudulently obtained from victims of a transnational telemarketing scheme, many of whom were elderly.  The proceeds of the scheme were shared between the defendants and co-conspirators located abroad.

Marcellus, who was convicted of money laundering conspiracy and mail and wire fraud conspiracy at trial in September 2025, was sentenced to 70 months’ imprisonment.  The remaining defendants pleaded guilty to mail and wire fraud conspiracy pursuant to plea agreements with the government.  Marcial was sentenced to 66 months’ imprisonment. Henry was sentenced to 55 months’ imprisonment. Mims was sentenced to 42 months’ imprisonment.  Thompson was sentenced to 42 months’ imprisonment. Mitchell was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment.  Williams was sentenced to a year and a days’ imprisonment.   

As part of the sentences imposed, the defendants were ordered to pay, in total, $12,488,884.33 in restitution. Additionally, the Court ordered the defendants to forfeit their ill-gotten gains as follows: Marcellus was ordered to pay $185,000; Marcial was ordered to pay $700,000; Henry was ordered to pay $240,000; Mims was ordered to pay $170,000; Thompson was ordered to pay $160,000; and Williams was ordered to forfeit a bank account valued at $229,274.02 and pay an additional $60,000.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service, New York (USPIS), announced the sentences.

“Today’s punishment was certainly warranted for the defendants who caused tremendous harm to the victims, many of whom were elderly or otherwise vulnerable,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “Through their callous scheme, the defendants profited by moving millions of dollars of victims’ hard-earned funds through their accounts and other accounts that they controlled and transferring a share of those proceeds to co-conspirators abroad who coordinated the telemarketing scheme.  Those who participate in fraudulent conspiracies and work with individuals who prey on the vulnerable will be held accountable for their crimes.”  

“These criminals selfishly preyed on vulnerable victims to enrich their lifestyles; but they underestimated the resolve of the United States Postal Inspection Service to continue to investigate this case until every complicit person was held accountable,” stated USPIS Inspector in Charge Ketty Larco-Ward.  “Postal Inspectors will work tirelessly to shut down schemes like this and any fraudster who seeks to take advantage of others. Too many seniors fall for these financial schemes, it’s crucial to protect them and their hard-earned money, and that’s what was done in this case.”

From approximately January 2022 through December 2023, the defendants and their co-conspirators participated in a scheme in which India-based co-conspirators contacted victims by phone and convinced those victims to send checks and money orders, addressed to the defendants and other U.S-based co-conspirators, to various addresses in the Eastern District of New York. The India-based co-conspirators fraudulently induced the victims, many of whom were elderly, to send checks to the defendants under false pretenses, including that the victims’ money was at risk of being stolen from their bank accounts.  After receiving the victims’ checks, the defendants and their U.S.-based co-conspirators laundered the check proceeds through their own bank accounts and other bank accounts that they controlled, shared the proceeds amongst themselves, and sent the remainder of the laundered proceeds to the Indian-based co-conspirators.  The scheme is estimated to have netted over $12 million from victims across the United States.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs and General Crimes Sections.  Assistant United States Attorneys Elias Laris, Molly Delaney, and David Berman are in charge of the prosecution.  Assistant United States Attorney Tanisha Payne of the Office’s Asset Forfeiture Section is handling forfeiture matters.

The Sentenced Defendants:

YVELER MARCELLUS
Age: 32
Brooklyn, New York

FELIX MARCIAL
Age:  32
Brooklyn, New York

TATIANA WILLIAMS
Age:  28
Miramar, Florida

ASHEEM HENRY
Age:  34
New York, New York

GEORGE MIMS
Age:  38
New York, New York

RAHMEL THOMPSON
Age:  26
Queens, New York

DAQUAN MITCHELL
Age:  34
New York, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-CR-9 / 24-CR-9 (S-1) (CBA)

Defendant Yet to Be Sentenced:

DANIEL VERNON
Age:  29
Queens, New York

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Artem Stryzhak pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and related activity, including extortion, in connection with computers, for his role in a series of international ransomware attacks.  Stryzhak, a Ukrainian citizen, was arrested in Spain in June 2024 and extradited to the United States on April 30, 2025.  When sentenced, Stryzhak faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment.  His co-conspirator, Volodymyr Tymoshchuk, remains at large and is the subject of a $11 million reward offered by the United States Department of State.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Matthew R. Galeotti, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Christopher J.S. Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield, Illinois Field Office (FBI), announced the guilty plea.

“The defendant used Nefilim ransomware to target high-revenue companies in the United States steal data, and extort victims,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “The defendant’s conviction demonstrates that our Office will ensure that criminals are held accountable for the cyber havoc they wreak on society.  We remain determined to capture Stryzhak’s codefendant and partner in crime, Volodymyr Tymoshchuk, and bring him to justice in a U.S. courtroom.”

Mr. Nocella expressed his appreciation to the FBI’s New York Field Office for their significant contributions to the investigation. Mr. Nocella also thanked the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, as well as Spanish law enforcement authorities, for their assistance in the capture of Stryzhak.

“Cybercriminals may hide behind screens, but they leave digital footprints everywhere,” stated FBI Springfield Special Agent in Charge Johnson.  “The FBI follows these digital trails relentlessly - across networks, borders, and time - until those responsible are held accountable. Today is a remarkable accomplishment, but we will not stop until we have captured all those responsible for the Nefilim ransomware.”

Nefilim ransomware was deployed to encrypt computer networks in countries around the world, including in the Eastern District of New York. These ransomware attacks caused millions of dollars in losses, both from ransomware payments and damage to victim computer systems.  The perpetrators of Nefilim typically customized the ransomware executable file for each victim, creating a unique decryption key and customized ransom notes.

In June 2021, Nefilim administrators gave Stryzhak access to the Nefilim ransomware code in exchange for 20 percent of his ransom proceeds. He operated the ransomware through his account on an online platform operated by Nefilim administrators.

Nefilim’s preferred ransomware targets were companies located in the United States, Canada, or Australia with more than $100 million in annual revenue.  Stryzhak and others researched the companies to which they gained unauthorized access, including by using online databases to gather information about the victim companies’ net worth, size, and contact information.

After gaining access to the victims’ networks, Stryzhak and his co‑conspirators stole data in furtherance of their scheme to extort ransom payments from them.  Nefilim ransom notes typically threatened the victims that unless they came to an agreement with the ransomware actors, the stolen data would be published on publicly accessible “Corporate Leaks” websites, which were maintained by Nefilim administrators.

Stryzhak’s co-defendant, Volodymyr Tymoshchuk, was an administrator of the Nefilim ransomware group, and a serial cybercriminal associated with multiple ransomware strains.  The State Department is offering a reward of up to $11 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction or location of Tymoshchuk or his other co-conspirators.  Anyone with information on these malicious cyber actors or associated individuals or entities should contact the FBI via phone at +1-917-242-1407 or by email at TymoTips@fbi.gov.   If you are in the United States, you can also contact the local FBI field office.  If outside the United States, you can visit the nearest U.S. embassy.  More information about this TOC reward offer is located on the State Department website.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and Cybercrime Section.  Assistant United States Attorneys Alexander F. Mindlin and Ellen H. Sise and Trial Attorney Brian Mund of the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Rebecca Roth.

The Defendant:

ARTEM ALEKSANDROVYCH STRYZHAK
Age:  35
Barcelona, Spain 

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-324 (PKC)

A Ukrainian national pleaded guilty today to one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud for his role in a series of international ransomware attacks.

According to court documents, Artem Aleksandrovych Stryzhak, 35, of Barcelona, Spain, conspired with others to deploy the Nefilim ransomware against victim computer networks in the United States and other countries, causing significant damage to victim computer systems. As part of the scheme, the conspirators generated a unique ransomware executable file for each victim, along with a corresponding decryption key and customized ransom note. If a victim paid the ransom demand, the perpetrators provided the decryption key, enabling the victim to decrypt files locked by the ransomware.

In June 2021, Nefilim administrators gave Stryzhak access to the Nefilim ransomware code in exchange for 20 percent of his ransom proceeds. Stryzhak operated the ransomware through his account on the online Nefilim platform, known as the “panel.” Shortly after gaining access, Stryzhak asked a co‑conspirator whether he should choose a different username than one he used in other criminal activity, in case the panel “gets hacked into by the feds.”

Nefilim administrators preferred to target companies located in the United States, Canada, or Australia with annual revenues exceeding $100 million. Stryzhak and others researched potential victims after gaining unauthorized access to their networks, including by using online databases to obtain information about the companies’ net worth, size, and contact information. In or about July 2021, a Nefilim administrator encouraged Stryzhak to target companies in those countries with more than $200 million dollars in annual revenue. 

As part of the extortion scheme, the conspirators threatened that unless victims agreed to pay the ransom, the stolen data would be published on publicly accessible “Corporate Leaks” websites maintained by Nefilim administrators.

Stryzhak was arrested in Spain in June 2024 and extradited to the United States on April 30.

Stryzhak pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud related to computers in connection with his Nefilim ransomware activities. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 6, 2026. The defendant faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The U.S. Department of State’s Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) Rewards Program has offered a reward of up to $11 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction or location of Stryzhak’s charged co-conspirator, Volodymyr Tymoshchuk. Anyone with information about Tymoshchuk should contact the FBI via phone at +1-917-242-1407, by email at TymoTips@fbi.gov, by contacting your local field office, if in the United States, or by contacting the nearest U.S. Embassy, if located overseas. More information about the TOC reward offer is located on the State Department website.

The FBI Springfield Field Office in Illinois is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Brian Z. Mund of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander F. Mindlin and Ellen H. Sise for the Eastern District of New York are prosecuting the case, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Rebecca Roth of the Eastern District of New York. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs, the FBI’s New York Field Office, and Spanish law enforcement authorities provided substantial assistance in this case.

CCIPS investigates and prosecutes cybercrime in coordination with domestic and international law enforcement agencies, often with assistance from the private sector. Since 2020, CCIPS has secured the conviction of over 180 cybercriminals, and court orders for the return of over $350 million in victim funds.

Today a federal jury in Brooklyn returned guilty verdicts against national MS-13 leaders Edenilson Velasquez Larin, also known as “Agresor,” Saturno,” “Tiny,” and “Paco,”; Hugo Diaz Amaya, also known as “21”; Fulton Locos Salvatruchas (Fulton) clique leader Jose Espinoza Sanchez, also known as “Cable,” “Bleca,” and “Fantasma”; and Fulton member Jose Arevalao Iraheta, also known as “Splinter,” “Inesperado,” and “Daniel.” The four defendants were convicted on 24 counts of a third superseding indictment.  The verdict followed a 10-week trial before United States District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall.  When sentenced, each of the defendants face a mandatory term of life in prison.

Specifically, Velasquez Larin was convicted of racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana, murder in-aid-of racketeering in connection with the fatal machete attack of 18-year-old Kenny Reyes, continuing criminal enterprise, murder in-aid-of racketeering in connection with the fatal shooting of 20-year-old Victor Alvarenga, attempted murder in-aid-of racketeering in connection with the shooting at an individual referred to in the indictment as John Doe 1, murder in-aid-of racketeering in connection with fatal shooting of 25-year-old Eric Monge, money laundering conspiracy, attempted murder in-aid-of racketeering in connection with the shooting of an individual referred to in the indictment as John Doe 2, and murder in-aid-of racketeering related to the fatal machete attack of 20-year-old Oswaldo Gutierrez Medrano, as well as additional murder conspiracies and firearms offenses.

Diaz Amaya was convicted of racketeering conspiracy, murder, and conspiracy to commit murder in-aid-of racketeering related to the fatal machete attack of Gutierrez Medrano.

Espinoza Sanchez was convicted of racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana, murder in-aid-of racketeering in connection with the fatal machete attack of Reyes, murder in-aid-of racketeering in connection with the fatal shooting of Alvarenga, attempted murder in-aid-of racketeering in connection with the shooting at John Doe 1, and murder in-aid-of racketeering in connection with fatal shooting of Monge, money laundering conspiracy, as well as additional murder conspiracies and firearms offenses.

Arevalo Iraheta was convicted of racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana, attempted murder in-aid-of racketeering in connection with the shooting at John Doe 1, causing the death of Monge through use of a firearm, and murder in-aid-of racketeering related to the fatal machete attack of Gutierrez Medrano, as well as additional murder conspiracies and firearms offenses.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), Ricky J. Patel, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI New York), and Jessica S. Tisch, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the verdict.

“With today’s verdict, four extremely dangerous MS-13 members have been brought to justice for racketeering crimes including murder and now, deservedly, face mandatory life sentences,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “Two of the defendants were national MS-13 leaders who were responsible for authorizing murders on behalf of the gang across the country and each of the defendants participated in heinous murders, including some in which victims were hacked to death and dismembered.  The outstanding work of our prosecutors, along with members of the FBI, HSI and the NYPD, underscores this Office’s continuing efforts to make our communities safer by dismantling violent and bloodthirsty gangs, and we will not relent in our efforts until they are eradicated.”

Mr. Nocella thanked the Nassau County Police Department and the Suffolk County Police Department for their investigative work.

“Today, the bloody reign of four MS-13 members, including two national leaders, has come to an end. These defendants orchestrated and facilitated the cold-blooded murders of four perceived rivals to simply increase their own social standing,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia.  “Their propensity for extreme violence and their depravity of human life threatened the safety of anyone who crossed their path. Alongside our federal, state, and local partners, the FBI maintains its resolute determination to eradicate all violent gangs terrorizing our communities with their callous lawlessness.”

“Today’s convictions of Edenilson Velasquez Larin and Hugo Diaz Amaya—who directed MS-13’s brutal and ruthlessly savage violence —reflect the seriousness of their crimes and the terror they inflicted on our communities,” stated HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Patel.  “By holding these individuals accountable, we have stripped them of the violent power and influence they once wielded. The eradication of gang violence on Long Island and throughout the state remains a top priority for HSI New York and our law enforcement partners, and these convictions mark significant progress toward dismantling these criminal organizations from the top down. No stone will be left unturned in our relentless pursuit of justice for the victims of MS-13.”

“These verdicts send a clear message: The NYPD will stop at nothing to identify, dismantle, and hold accountable any street gang that terrorizes our neighborhoods with violence,” stated NYPD Commissioner Tisch. “These leaders and members of the notorious MS-13 crew carried out acts of extreme brutality — murdering their victims in cold blood and dismembering their bodies — and they are now facing justice. I am grateful to the NYPD investigators, as well as our law enforcement partners at HSI, the FBI, and the prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their meticulous work on this case.”

The U.S. Program

As proved at trial, MS-13 is a violent street gang operating through “cliques” or chapters in Queens, Long Island and communities across the United States, as well as El Salvador, Honduras, and other countries in the Americas and Europe.  The gang primarily makes money through drug trafficking and extortion, and is known for its gruesome murders of perceived gang rivals and gang members and associates who have violated the gang’s rules.  MS-13 has been responsible for dozens of murders in the Eastern District of New York alone.

Since approximately 2021, virtually all MS-13 cliques in the United States have been united under a single hierarchy known as the “U.S. Program.”  The U.S. Program is led by a group of senior gang leaders, most of whom are incarcerated, known as “La Mesa” or “The Table.”  La Mesa, among other roles, authorizes and directs murders throughout the country, including in New York.  Prior to, and at the time of, their arrests, Velasquez Larin and Diaz Amaya were two of the few members of La Mesa outside of prison — Velasquez Larin was living in Colorado and Diaz Amaya was living in Kansas — and were among the top leaders responsible for the gang’s operations on the East Coast.

Murder of Kenny Reyes in Uniondale, Long Island

In 2016, a member of the Hempstead Locos Salvatruchas (“Hempstead”) clique of MS-13 met and befriended Reyes, who had recently come to the United States from Honduras.  This Hempstead member came to believe that Reyes was associated with the 18th Street gang, which is MS-13’s primary rival, and reported this to Velasquez Larin and Espinoza Sanchez.  The three men then plotted to murder Reyes to increase their positions in the gang.

On May 23, 2016, Velasquez Larin, Espinoza Sanchez and two Hempstead members lured Reyes to a wooded area behind Uniondale High School to smoke marijuana.  Instead, once in the woods, Espinoza Sanchez struck Reyes with a machete.  Velasquez Larin and the Hempstead members also struck Reyes repeatedly with a machete before the men buried Reyes’ body.  For years after the murder, Velasquez Larin and Espinoza Sanchez bragged about their roles in the killing to other MS-13 members.  Reyes’s body has never been recovered.

Murder of Victor Alvarenga in Flushing, Queens

In 2018, Alvarenga met multiple Fulton members and claimed to be a high-ranking member of the Hollywood Locos Salvatruchas (Hollywood) clique of MS-13. Velasquez Larin and Espinoza Sanchez investigated Alvarenga’s claims and determined that he was not who he claimed to be.  Velasquez Larin and Espinoza Sanchez then ordered their underlings, Douglas Melgar-Suriano and Jairo Martinez-Garcia, to kill Alvarenga. Espinoza Sanchez provided Melgar-Suriano and Martinez-Garcia with guns for this purpose and waited in the getaway car to oversee the murder.

In the early morning of November 4, 2018, Melgar-Suriano, Martinez-Garcia and Tito Martinez Alvarenga, a member of the Indios Locos Salvatruchas (Indios) MS-13 clique, laid in wait for Alvarenga.  As Alvarenga was walking to his home, he was intercepted by Melgar-Suriano. After walking with him briefly, Melgar-Suriano shot Alvarenga multiple times in the head and body.  As Alvarenga writhed on the pavement, Martinez-Garcia also shot him.  Martinez Alvarenga stole Alvarenga’s cellphone to prevent law enforcement from recovering any evidence on the phone. Velasquez Larin promoted Melgar-Suriano and Martinez-Garcia within the gang for their participation in this murder.

Melgar Suriano and Martinez Garcia pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing.

Murder of Eric Monge in College Point, Queens

In early 2020, Fulton member Oscar Hernandez Baires stole a shotgun from Monge, his former roommate.  In response, Monge confronted Hernandez Baires and assaulted him. This assault was reported to Fulton leadership, including Velasquez Larin and Espinoza Sanchez, who then ordered that Monge be killed for attacking Hernandez Baires.  Multiple Fulton members, including Velasquez Larin and Espinoza Sanchez conducted surveillance to locate Monge so that he could be killed.

In the early morning hours of September 6, 2020, Fulton members Jose Guevara Aguilar and Hernandez Baires shot at and killed Monge while he was seated in his parked car near his home in Queens.  Monge’s wife had just returned to the car after bringing their young children inside their residence when Hernandez Baires and Guevara Aguilar began shooting.  After the murder, Guevara Aguilar and Hernandez Baires ran back to a car where another Fulton member was waiting to help them escape.  As they fled to the car, Guevara Aguilar dropped his hat, which was later found to have his DNA on it.

Guevara Aguilar and Hernandez Baires pleaded guilty to the murder and are awaiting sentencing.

Murder of Oswaldo Gutierrez Medrano in Jericho, Long Island

On January 31, 2022, a member of the Sailors Locos Salvatruchas (“Sailors”) MS-13 clique known as “Stocky” murdered two members of the Sureños gang in FCI Beaumont, a federal prison located in Texas. Because this murder was unauthorized, La Mesa sought to punish the Sailors clique.

Gutierrez Medrano was a member of the Sailors clique in New York.  The Sailors wanted to promote him to homeboy after he received a beating.  Because there were no other Sailors present in New York, MS-13 members from other cliques would have to give Gutierez Medrano his beating.  La Mesa, including Velasquez Larin and Diaz Amaya, used this as an opportunity to exact its revenge and ordered the murder of Gutierrez Medrano.  Diaz Amaya also coordinated luring Gutierrez Medrano to meet other MS-13 members under the false pretense that he would be receiving his beating.

On February 13, 2022 in Nassau County, Gutierrez Medrano met with those other MS-13 members, including Arevalo Iraheta, who hacked him to death with machetes, slit his throat with a knife, dismembered his body and buried the parts in a wooded area.

* * * * *

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

Today’s convictions are the latest in a series of federal prosecutions by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York targeting members of MS-13.  MS-13’s leadership was based in El Salvador and Honduras, but the gang has thousands of members across the United States.  Since 2003, hundreds of MS-13 members, including dozens of clique leaders, have been convicted on federal felony charges in the Eastern District of New York.  A majority of those MS-13 members have been convicted on federal racketeering charges for participating in murders, attempted murders, and assaults.  Since 2010, this Office has obtained indictments charging MS-13 members with carrying out more than 75 murders in the district and has convicted dozens of MS-13 leaders and members in connection with those murders.  These prosecutions are the product of investigations led by our law enforcement partners including HSI and the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force, comprising agents and officers of the FBI and NYPD.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section.  Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan Siegel, Nadie E. Moore, Anna L. Karamigios and Kam Ammari are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialists Timothy Migliaro and Danielle Barber.

The Defendants:

EDENILSON VELASQUEZ LARIN (also known as “Agresor,” “Saturno,” “Tiny,” and “Paco”)
Age:  36
Thornton, Colorado

JOSE AREVALO IRAHETA (also known as “Splinter,” “Inesperado,” and “Daniel”)
Age:  28
Queens, New York

HUGO DIAZ AMAYA (also known as “21”)
Age:  37
Kansas City, Kansas

JOSE ESPINOZA SANCHEZ (also known as “Cable,” “Bleca,” and “Fantasma”)
Age:  27
Carrboro, North Carolina

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 20-CR-228 (LDH)

Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, pharmacist Mohamed Hassan was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Ann M. Donnelly to 18 years’ imprisonment.  Also today, co-defendant Anthony Mathis, a street narcotics dealer involved in the scheme, was sentenced by Judge Donnelly to 36 months’ imprisonment.  On Tuesday, December 16, 2025, Judge Donnelly sentenced pharmacist co-defendant Yousef Ennab to 30 months’ imprisonment.  As part of their sentences, Mathis and Ennab were ordered to pay forfeiture in the amount of $535,989.12 and $13,472.76, respectively, and Hassan was ordered to pay forfeiture in an amount to be determined at a future date.  Ennab and Hassan were convicted after trial in February 2025 on all counts of a superseding indictment charging them with conspiracies to dispense and distribute oxycodone, as well as distribution and possession with intent to distribute oxycodone. Mathis previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Frank A. Tarentino III, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration, New York Division (DEA); Naomi Gruchacz, Assistant Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); Harry T. Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS-CI New York); Jessica S. Tisch, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD); Jocelyn E. Strauber, Commissioner, New York City Department of Investigation (DOI); and Dr. James V. McDonald, Commissioner, New York State Department of Health, announced the sentences.

“The opioid epidemic has caused incalculable harm in our communities, and this criminal ring fueled the proliferation of pills on the street,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “The corrupt pharmacists who filled illegitimate oxycodone prescriptions to supply drug dealers, acted out of pure greed and complete disregard for the harm they were causing.  The prison sentences meted out, and my Office’s prosecution of the scheme, demonstrates the Office’s and law enforcement’s commitment to hold accountable all the actors for their roles in this scourge.”

Mr. Nocella expressed his thanks to the additional law enforcement partners that assisted with the case, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the New York State Comptroller, the New York Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and the New York National Guard.

“Pharmacists swear an oath to protect lives, not endanger them,” stated DEA New York Special Agent in Charge Tarentino.  “By illegally distributing oxycodone, these individuals betrayed their profession, their communities, and the public’s trust.  The DEA will not distinguish between those who wear a white coat and those who traffic drugs. Anyone who fuels addiction for profit will be held accountable.”  

“Today’s sentences send a clear message that those who exploit their positions of trust to fuel the opioid crisis will be held accountable,” stated HHS-OIG Special Agent in Charge Gruchacz.  “HHS-OIG will continue working with our law enforcement partners to safeguard federal health care programs and protect the beneficiaries who depend on them.”

“Using their positions as pharmacists to scheme and cheat the system, Ennab and Hassan dispensed oxycodone to their vulnerable clientele with full knowledge of its addictive qualities.  The pair cared more about lining their pockets with dirty money than the safety and well-being of their customers.  Today’s sentencing was made possible with the collaborative efforts of our federal and local partners, and now each will finally see the full consequences of their criminal behavior,” stated IRS-CI New York Special Agent in Charge Chavis.

DOI Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber stated, “The prison sentences imposed this week hold the defendants, including two pharmacists, accountable for a criminal scheme that sent more than 1.6 million pills of highly addictive oxycodone into our City’s streets.  I thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and all of our law enforcement partners involved in this investigation for their unwavering commitment to bring to justice those who distribute dangerous drugs in our communities.”

“The illegal distribution of opioids carries the devastating cost of broken families, lives lost and communities left shattered,” stated New York State Health Commissioner McDonald. “When a pharmacist entrusted to care for patients betrays that trust, the damage can be irreparable. The New York State Department of Health ‘s Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement will continue to remain vigilant and collaborate with law enforcement agencies to safeguard the public health of New Yorkers by combating illegitimate use of controlled substances in health care. We remain committed to supporting prevention, harm reduction and recovery efforts and ensuring people struggling with substance use have access to quality treatment and a path toward healing.” 

As proven at trial and set forth in court filings, Hassan and Ennab were licensed pharmacists who participated in a scheme to use illegal medical prescriptions to obtain oxycodone for sale on the streets of New York City.  Hassan held ownership stakes in approximately 20 pharmacies, which were located in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island, and some of which did business under the names Nile RX, Nile Ridge, Nile City, Sunset Corner, Prospect Care, Downtown RX and Forest Care, among others.  Ennab was the supervising pharmacist at Forest Care, one of Hassan’s pharmacies in Staten Island.

The scheme relied on filling illegally issued prescriptions for 30-day supplies of oxycodone 30 mg that were written out of a Brooklyn medical practice operating as a pill mill, often for patients that the resident doctor at the practice had never examined.  Oxycodone 30 mg pills are high in strength and are usually prescribed to patients facing serious diagnoses, like cancer patients.  In some cases, the prescriptions were for individuals whose identities had been stolen and were not patients of the practice.

The prescriptions were then filled at pharmacies controlled by Hassan, including the pharmacy where Ennab worked.  Hassan and Ennab conspired with other drug dealers to distribute the illegally obtained oxycodone.  One of the drug dealers picked up the oxycodone from the pharmacies in exchange for cash payments to Hassan and Ennab.  Hassan and other pharmacist co-conspirators also billed insurance companies for the pills, even though they had no legitimate medical purpose.  Mathis was a drug dealer who picked up oxycodone from pharmacies in exchange for payment.  Mathis recruited dozens of individuals to serve as nominal patients, in whose name oxycodone prescriptions were issued.  Mathis also stole the identities of some individuals, and those identities were used—without their knowledge or approval—on oxycodone prescriptions that co-defendant Michael Kent picked up.  In total, the scheme resulted in the illegal distribution of more than 1.6 million pills of oxycodone, worth more than $48 million in retail street value.

Seven co-defendants, including Kent, Dr. Somsri Ratanaprasatporn, her receptionist Leticia Smith, and pharmacists Bassam Amin and Omar Elsayed, previously pleaded guilty based on their involvement in the scheme.  Three of these co-defendants are awaiting sentencing.  Kent was previously sentenced to 108 months’ incarceration, and Raymond Walker, another street dealer, was previously sentenced to 84 months’ incarceration.

Assistant United States  Attorneys Laura Zuckerwise, Victor Zapana and Gilbert M. Rein are in charge of the prosecution with assistance from former Paralegal Specialists Rachel Friedman and Nadya Osman. Assistant United States Attorney Claire Kedeshian of the Office’s Asset Forfeiture Section is handing forfeiture matters.  

The Defendants:

YOUSEF ENNAB
Age:  28
Brooklyn, New York

MOHAMED HASSAN
Age:  35
Brooklyn, New York

ANTHONY MATHIS
Age:  58
New Windsor, New York

Co-Defendants Who Pleaded Guilty and Are Awaiting Sentencing:

LETICIA SMITH
Age:  57
Brooklyn, New York

BASSAM AMIN
Age: 62
Brooklyn, New York

OMAR ELSAYED
Age:  31
Hackensack, New Jersey

Co-Defendants Who Were Previously Sentenced:

MICHAEL KENT
Age:  52
Brooklyn, New York

DR. SOMSRI RATANAPRASATPORN
Age:  78
Staten Island, New York

RAYMOND WALKER
Age:  73
Brooklyn, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 22-CR-464 (S-1) (AMD)

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, John Cangialosi, Peter Girgis, and Gene Sarabella, also known as “Jerry,” pleaded guilty to all counts of a five-count indictment charging them with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, and money laundering conspiracy.  The proceedings were held before United States District Judge Carol Bagley Amon.  When sentenced, the defendants each face up to 60 years in prison.  The defendants had been scheduled to go to trial on January 12, 2026.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI) announced the guilty pleas.

“The defendants were the architects of a vast fraud scheme targeting investors here in the Eastern District of New York and all throughout the country,” stated United States Attorney Joseph Nocella. “They hid excessive fees, concealed their identities, and lied about the securities they sold to investors.  They then used investor funds to enrich themselves, principally through the purchase of millions of dollars in luxury watches. The Office is committed to protecting the public from predatory fund managers who get rich deceiving investors out of their hard-earned savings.”

Mr. Nocella expressed his appreciation to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Washington, D.C. Home Office, for its significant cooperation and assistance during the investigation.

As set forth in court filings and during court hearings, the defendants operated Max Infinity Management LLC, Elder Fund Management LLC, and a related series of funds (collectively, Max Infinity), which operated as a boiler-room style call center.  Max Infinity marketed investments in securities of privately-held companies that were purportedly planning to go public through an initial public offering (IPO) in the immediate future.  The defendants made numerous material misrepresentations and omissions about the terms and structure of their investments and Max Infinity itself.  For example, among other things, the defendants and their employees falsely claimed that Max Infinity would make money only when its investors made money through a 20% share of the profits upon an eventual IPO.  In truth, Max Infinity secretly charged investors a significant mark-up, at times more than 95% of the value of an investment, and paid commissions to sales agents from investor capital, sometimes 15% of the value of each investment, all of which the defendants hid from investors.

The defendants also lied to investors about when and how Max Infinity acquired interests in pre-IPO companies, the use of investor funds, Max Infinity’s track record of performance, and the returns they could expect on their investments.  For instance, the defendants and their employees told investors that Max Infinity acquired shares directly from the issuers and from the issuers’ employees.  In fact, Max Infinity acquired the majority of the interests that it sold from other investment funds or through online platforms that were widely available to the investing public.  The defendants and their employees told investors that “shares” were “in inventory,” and that investor money would be held in escrow. In truth, in many cases the share interests had not yet been purchased and the defendants comingled and spent nearly all investor capital, including through secret distributions to themselves totaling millions of dollars.  The defendants and their employees also falsely claimed to investors that Max Infinity had conducted extensive due diligence and had a history of similar, successful transactions.  For instance, Max Infinity employees claimed that Max Infinity had invested in, among other companies, Palantir, Facebook, and Airbnb.  In truth, all of these companies went public before Max Infinity was even founded, and Max Infinity had never returned a profit to any investor.

The defendants further misled investors about Max Infinity itself and their involvement in the company.  Max Infinity employees claimed to investors that Max Infinity was “registered” with the SEC and filed regular reports with the SEC. To lull prospective investors, the defendants and their employees sent clients a link to a website that purported to show that Max Infinity was registered with the SEC when it was not. They also took steps to hide Girgis’s and Cangialosi’s roles at Max Infinity from regulators, investors and prospective investors, because the two were subject to staggered, nine-month suspensions imposed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and had lengthy disciplinary histories.

As part of their criminal scheme, the defendants used scripts with high-pressure sales tactics and solicited investments from elderly victims who were particularly susceptible to their lies. Among other false claims, scripts used by the defendants promised “triple digit returns,” that securities sold marketed by Max Infinity were “dirt cheap,” and that the company spent “millions of dollars, sometimes tens of millions on research before we ever recommend an investment to a client.”  The defendants received millions of dollars of profits from their scheme, which they laundered through various purchases, including dozens of high-end watches.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section and the General Crimes Section.  Assistant United States  Attorneys Sarah M. Evans, Nicholas M. Axelrod and Eric Silverberg are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Liam McNett.  Assistant United States Attorney Michael Castiglione of the Office’s Asset Forfeiture Section is handling forfeiture matters.

Defendants:

JOHN CANGIALOSI
Age:  44
Manalapan, New Jersey

PETER GIRGIS
Age: 44
Staten Island, New York

GENE SARABELLA (also known as “Jerry”)
Age: 37
Monroe, New Jersey

Defendants Who Previously Pleaded Guilty:

ENRICO CARINI (also known as “Ed”)
Age: 40
Staten Island, New York

CANER OTAR (also known as “John”)
Age: 38
Brooklyn, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-CR-363 (CBA)

A federal jury in Brooklyn today convicted Billon McLeod on all seven counts of a superseding indictment charging him with sexual exploitation of a child, attempted sexual exploitation of a child, and coercion and enticement of minors.  The verdict was returned after a three-day trial before United States District Judge Joan M. Azrack.  When sentenced, McLeod faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and up to life imprisonment.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI) announced the verdict.

“The defendant is a serial predator whose playbook of using social media to meet vulnerable minor girls, and then groom and exploit them for his own sexual gratification, is a parent’s nightmare,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “Because his victims bravely testified at trial, he will now be held accountable for his serious crimes, and today’s verdict will prevent him from victimizing other minors while he serves a lengthy prison sentence.”

Billon McLeod targeted minor girls on social media to coerce them into engaging in explicit conversations and sexual acts.  By concealing his true age and manipulating their emotions, McLeod gained the victims’ trust before subjecting them to unthinkable abuse and exploiting the innocence of four young girls.  May today’s verdict reflect the FBI’s stout determination to protect vulnerable children from all online sexual predators,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia.

As proved at trial, between approximately July 2024 and February 2025, McLeod used the internet-based application Snapchat and text messages, when he was an adult, to communicate with four minor females, three of whom he enticed to engage in sexual activity and one of whom he attempted to sexually exploit online.  The victims ranged in age from 12-years-old to 16-years-old.  In some instances, McLeod lied about his age, pretending to be a teenager.  McLeod groomed the victims, messaging them about how much he “liked” or “loved” them and how much he wanted to see them.  McLeod sent them sexually explicit messages and encouraged sexually explicit conversations.  He persuaded multiple victims via text message and Facetime calls to travel to an apartment in Brooklyn, where they engaged in sexual activity with him, portions of which he recorded on his cell phone.  Additionally, the defendant used the same applications and cell phones to entice one minor, and attempt to entice another, to create and send him sexually explicit content of themselves.

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

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Section, with assistance from the Human Trafficking and Civil Rights Section.  Assistant United States Attorneys Molly Delaney and Daniel J. Marcus are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Marlane Bosler.

The Defendant:

BILLON MCLEOD               
Age:  31
Brooklyn, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No.: 25-CR-65 (S-1) (JMA)

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Jorel Fowler was sentenced by United States District Judge Nina R. Morrison to 24 years in prison for coercion and enticement of a minor and receipt of child pornography.  Fowler, a registered sex offender, communicated with multiple victims over the internet and requested that they send him sexually explicit images and videos.  Fowler was previously convicted of sex offenses in New York State court for similar conduct between 2013 and 2014.  He committed the charged offenses after his release from state prison on the prior offenses and while on parole.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); and Jessica S. Tisch, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the sentence.

“Today’s lengthy sentence will protect the community, especially children, for decades from this repeat offender,” stated United States Attorney Joseph Nocella.  “After he was paroled for similar depraved conduct, Fowler squandered that second chance to lead a law-abiding life and unfortunately, caused great harm to at least three minors. Our Office will never relent in protecting the most vulnerable members of our community from sexual predators.”

Mr. Nocella expressed his appreciation to the Fairfax County Police Department in Virginia for its assistance during the investigation.

“Jorel Fowler, a recidivist sexual predator, prowled online platforms to target minor girls and groom them into sharing sexually explicit content,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia.  “Despite being a registered sex offender, Fowler continued to exploit vulnerable victims, violating their trust and physical autonomy. May today’s sentencing highlight the FBI’s determination to hold accountable any depraved individual who relentlessly preys on children to satisfy their own twisted desires.”

As set forth in the government’s sentencing memorandum and other court filings, between at least December 2022 and April 2023, Fowler communicated over the internet and through social media with multiple children, ultimately soliciting them for sexually explicit videos and images. In some cases, Fowler posed as a child himself, earning his victims’ trust and grooming them to provide the graphic sexual material that he sought.  Soon after beginning the conversation, Fowler would instruct his victims regarding what type of material they should send him, requesting that they record themselves posing in different positions and engaging in specific sex acts.  Fowler was previously convicted of sex offenses in New York State Supreme Court and was a registered sex offender at the time of these offenses.

In December 2022, Fowler communicated through Snapchat with a 15-year-old girl (“Jane Doe 1”) requesting that she send him sexually explicit videos and images.  Beginning in January 2023, Fowler communicated through Snapchat with a 12-year-old girl (“Jane Doe 2”) claiming that he was a 5-year-old boy. Fowler first met Jane Doe 2 through the game Roblox and soon requested that she begin speaking to him through Snapchat.  In approximately April 2023, Fowler communicated with a 14-year-old girl (“Jane Doe 3”).  He told Jane Doe 3 that he wanted to “do a pic session” with her and promised to send her digital currency in an online game afterward if she complied.  Jane Doe 3 then sent Fowler images of herself posing in the positions he requested and engaging in his requested sex acts.

When Fowler was arrested in April 2023, law enforcement recovered multiple cellphones from the defendant’s residence containing hundreds of images and videos of child pornography.

This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes and National Security and Cybercrime Sections.  Assistant United States  Attorney Gilbert Rein is in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

JOREL FOWLER
Age:  35
Queens, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-215 (NRM)

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, Paul Mitchell, the lead pastor of a church and president of a daycare pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging him with one count of tax evasion.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. for the Eastern District of New York and Special Agent in Charge Harry T. Chavis Jr. of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) New York announced the guilty plea.

According to court filings, Mitchell was the founder of a church and an educational daycare, both located in Brooklyn, where he served as the lead pastor at the church and the president of the daycare. Between 2015 and 2022, Mitchell used the organizations’ credit cards to pay for his personal expenses, including men’s clothing, thousands of dollars in jewelry, luxury watches, and life insurance premiums. He also wrote checks from the church’s bank accounts to pay his own credit card bills and personal income taxes.

As part of the scheme, Mitchell frequently withdrew large amounts of cash from bank accounts for the church and the daycare and transferred funds from those accounts into his own bank accounts. He failed to report his use of the stolen funds as income on his personal income tax returns, which significantly reduced his tax burden and allowed him to evade the payment of personal income taxes. As a result of his conduct, Mitchell caused a tax loss of approximately $2,906,072 to the IRS and approximately $316,699 to New York State between 2015 and 2022.

Mitchell faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, restitution, and fines 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 government’s case is being handled by the Public Integrity Section. Assistant U.S. Attorney Miranda Gonzalez for the Eastern District of New York and Trial Attorney Catriona M. Coppler of the Justice Department’s Tax Section of the Criminal Division are prosecuting this case.

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Paul Mitchell, the lead pastor of a church and president of a daycare, pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging him with tax evasion.  The proceeding was held before United States Chief Magistrate Judge Vera M. Scanlon.  When sentenced, Mitchell faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison as well as restitution and monetary penalties.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Matthew R. Galeotti, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Harry T. Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS-CI), announced the guilty plea.

“The defendant treated his organizations’ accounts as his own personal piggy bank, stealing millions of dollars and betraying the trust of his congregation and those dependent on the services provided to the community,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “Our Office will always be vigilant in protecting houses of worship from criminality that threatens the important work they do.”

“Paul Mitchell was trusted by his parishioners to use their donations for good, not to fatten his wallet.  His deceit was at many levels, as he also evaded paying millions in tax revenue that benefits the good of all Americans.  With today's plea, Mitchell decided to take a step forward to right his wrongs, and will face justice for his actions,” stated IRS-CI New York Special Agent in Charge Chavis.

As alleged in court filings, Mitchell was the founder of a church (Organization‑1), and an educational daycare (Organization‑2), both located in Brooklyn, New York.  Mitchell served as the lead pastor at Organization‑1 and the president of Organization‑2.  Between 2015 and 2022, Mitchell using credit cards for Organization-1 and Organization-2 to pay for his personal expenses, including men’s clothing, jewelry, luxury accessories, and life insurance premiums.  He also wrote checks from Organization‑1’s bank accounts to pay his own credit card bills; frequently withdrew large amounts of cash from bank accounts for Organization‑1 and Organization‑2; and transferred funds from those accounts into his own bank accounts.  Mitchell failed to report his use of funds stolen from Organization‑1 and Organization‑2 as income on his personal income tax returns, thereby reducing his tax burden and evading the payment of personal income taxes.  As a result of his conduct, Mitchell caused a tax loss of approximately $2,906,072 to the IRS and of approximately $316,699 to New York State between 2015 and 2022.

The government’s case is being handled by Office’s Public Integrity Section. Assistant United States Attorney Miranda Gonzalez and Trial Attorney Catriona M. Coppler of the Justice Department’s Tax Section of the Criminal Division are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

PAUL MITCHELL
Age:  60
West Hempstead, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-CR-374 (NRM)

An indictment was returned yesterday charging Valmir Krasniqi and Afrim Kupa with obstruction of justice and conspiracy to obstruct justice for attempting to bribe a juror (Juror-1) to vote not guilty in a criminal trial in the Eastern District of New York.  As alleged in the indictment, in mid-November 2025, the defendants offered to pay a juror serving on the criminal trial of United States v. Goran Gogic, 22-CR-493 (JMA), up to $100,000 in exchange for the juror’s not guilty vote at the close of trial. 

On November 17, 2025, Krasniqi and Kupa were arrested and charged by complaint.  Both defendants were detained pending trial.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the indictment.

“The indictment sends a clear message to the public that jury tampering and other efforts to undermine and corrupt the criminal justice system will not be tolerated,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “As alleged, these defendants obstructed a federal criminal trial in Brooklyn by attempting to bribe a juror.  Our Office acted swiftly and vigorously to prosecute those involved in efforts to obstruct justice.”

Mr. Nocella extended his appreciation to Homeland Security Investigations, New York, for their work on the Gogic case.

“Valmir Krasniqi and Afrim Kupa allegedly conspired to provide a significant cash bribe to potentially alter a juror’s vote related to a separate impending federal criminal trial.  These defendants’ alleged attempt sought to influence a core principle of our criminal justice system and deprive the defendant his right to a fair trial. The FBI will never permit any individual to tip the scales in any proceedings and undermine our country’s democratic practices,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia.

The Gogic Trial

As alleged in the indictment and other court documents, the trial of Goran Gogic was set to commence before the United States District Judge Joan M. Azrack on November 17, 2025.

Gogic is charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act and three counts of violating the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act.  As alleged, between May 2018 and July 2019, Gogic conspired with others to distribute massive quantities of cocaine via commercial cargo ships.  Gogic coordinated with the sources of the cocaine in Colombia, the crewmembers who transported tons of cocaine on commercial cargo ships on the high seas, and the network of port workers who transported and offloaded the cocaine in Europe via the United States. United States law enforcement seized three of these shipments, totaling nearly 20,000 kilograms of cocaine.  If convicted, Gogic faces up to life in prison.

The Juror Tampering Scheme

On November 3, 2025 and November 5, 2025, a jury was selected in Gogic’s criminal trial.  Juror-1 was selected to serve as a juror at trial.  Between November 13, 2025 and November 17, 2025, Krasniqi and Kupa, along with a coconspirator (CC‑1), allegedly attempted to bribe Juror-1 with a cash payment in exchange for Juror-1 agreeing to vote not guilty at Gogic’s trial. 

As alleged in the indictment and other court documents, on November 13, 2025, Krasniqi arranged a meeting between Kupa and CC-1 in Staten Island, New York.  At the meeting, Kupa explained to CC-1 that he and other coconspirators wanted CC-1 to offer Juror-1 money to vote not guilty at trial.  In a meeting on November 15, 2025, CC-1 informed Juror-1 that he/she would be paid up to $100,000 to vote not guilty at trial.

On November 16, 2025, Kupa, Krasniqi and CC-1 met at Krasniqi’s home in Staten Island.  There, the three discussed the plan to pay Juror-1 to vote not guilty at Gogic’s trial. During the meeting, Kupa indicated that Juror-1 would receive $100,000 in cash as payment. 

On November 17, 2025, Kupa and Krasniqi were arrested at their homes in Staten Island.  At that time, Kupa was in possession of a document containing Juror-1’s name, home address, and place of employment.  Krasniqi was in possession of a digital photograph of Juror-1 that he had sent via text message to CC-1 in furtherance of the criminal scheme. 

The charges announced today are allegations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section.  Assistant United States Attorney Emily J. Dean is in charge of the prosecution with the assistance of Paralegal Specialists Erin Payne and Jack Schneider

The Defendants:

VALMIR KRASNIQI
Age:  35
Staten Island, New York

AFRIM KUPA
Age:  52
Staten Island, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-CR-385 

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Abel Mora, also known as “Moreno,” was sentenced by United States District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis to 135 months’ imprisonment.  Mora, a member of the Trinitarios street gang, pleaded guilty last year to Hobbs Act robbery and discharging a firearm after he robbed and shot an individual (the “Victim”) in East New York on August 13, 2023.  After his guilty plea, and while detained at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, New York (MDC), Mora attempted to smuggle a rope full of contraband, including a weapon, drugs and other items, into the MDC.  On June 24, 2025, Mora pleaded guilty to possession of contraband in prison.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); and Jessica S. Tisch, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD) announced the sentence.

“Mora not only shot and robbed a man in Brooklyn, he subsequently attempted to smuggle drugs, weapons and other contraband into prison,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “Our Office has zero tolerance for inmates that make jails less safe and will continue to aggressively prosecute gang members who victimize the public by engaging in gun violence and put innocents at risk as they go about their day.”

Mr. Nocella expressed his appreciation to the FBI/NYPD Metro Safe Streets Task Force and the NYPD’s 75th and 101st Precincts for their outstanding work and assistance in this investigation and prosecution.

“Abel Mora, a Trinitarios gang member, boldly attempted to smuggle drugs and weapons into a federal detention center despite previous convictions related to a gunpoint robbery and public shootout. His sustained propensity to criminality displays a blatant disregard for the wellbeing of others and the law. May today’s Operation Coast to Coast sentencing emphasize the FBI’s determination to hold accountable any gang member who jeopardizes the safety of our communities and our prisons,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia.

“Abel Mora showed exactly why he is a danger to society – first by recklessly shooting and robbing New Yorkers in plain view, and then by trying to smuggle weapons and other contraband into a federal detention center,” stated NYPD Commissioner Tisch.  “Today’s sentencing is a strong reminder that we will stop at nothing to identify and dismantle street gangs like the Trinitarios that are placing our communities at risk. I thank the NYPD investigators, all our law enforcement partners, and the prosecutors at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their work getting this dangerous criminal off our streets.”

As set forth in the government’s sentencing memorandum and other court filings, Mora committed two shootings in Queens in Brooklyn on August 13, 2023.  First, at approximately 1 p.m. on August 13, 2023, Mora shot at a vehicle in a residential neighborhood in Queens.  As reflected on video surveillance cameras, a fight broke out between Mora and an associate and the occupant of the vehicle, resulting in a shoot-out which sent residents of the neighborhood, including children, running for their safety.

Later that night in Brooklyn, Mora committed a second shooting with the same firearm.  At approximately 9 p.m. outside of 3441 Fulton Street in Brooklyn, Mora shot the Victim and robbed him of his backpack.  Video surveillance cameras capturing this incident showed that Mora committed this brazen shooting and robbery directly outside of a busy corner store with customers both inside and out.  Immediately following the shooting, Mora fled with the stolen property.

Mora was arrested on September 26, 2023 at his home.  Law enforcement recovered the firearm used in both the Brooklyn and Queens shooting in a radiator in the defendant’s bedroom.  The firearm was loaded with thirteen rounds of ammunition.

After pleading and while detained at the MDC, Mora and several co-defendants attempted to smuggle a rope full of contraband, including a scalpel, a cell-phone charging cord and plug, two lighters, cigarettes and illegal narcotics into the MDC.  Video surveillance inside of the MDC captured Mora and his co-conspirators as they attempted to pull the rope full of contraband into the facility using a line that they connected to the rope.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section and General Crimes Section.  Assistant United States  Attorneys Emily J. Dean, Dana Rehnquist and Russell Noble are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

ABEL MORA (also known as “Moreno”)
Age:  24
Far Rockaway, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket Nos. 23-CR-383 (NGG), 25-CR-108 (NGG)

Alain Bibliowicz Mitrani, a resident of Miami, Florida and a citizen of France and Colombia, was convicted today by a federal jury in Brooklyn on all five counts of a superseding  indictment charging him with money laundering conspiracy, bank fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to operate an unlicensed money transmitting business, and operation of an unlicensed money transmitting business related to his laundering of drug proceeds through financial institutions in the United States. The verdict was returned after a two-week trial before United States District Judge Carol Bagley Amon.  When sentenced, the defendant faces up to 70 years’ imprisonment.  The defendant was the leader of a scheme to launder more than $300 million, including for persons affiliated with cartels and other transnational criminal organizations engaged in drug trafficking, including the Sinaloa Cartel.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Ricky J. Patel, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI), and Harry T. Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS-CI), announced the verdict.

“With today’s verdict, the defendant’s prolific money laundering of drug proceeds is all washed up,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “The defendant and his co-conspirators converted illicit proceeds in the form of cryptocurrency from drug cartels in Colombia and Mexico into dirty cash using a series of bank accounts and complex financial transactions, here and abroad.  Then he sent this dirty money back to the drug traffickers, fueling their criminal enterprises while enriching himself with hefty fees he charged for his laundering.  But thanks to the excellent work of our prosecutors and law enforcement partners, the defendant’s operation has been shut down, and the only laundering he will be handling in the future will be in a federal prison laundromat.”

Mr. Nocella thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office, for their assistance.

“The defendant’s $300 million money laundering empire fueled untold violence and chaos on behalf of the world’s most dangerous criminal organizations. Our message to money launderers is clear: if you think you can bankroll drug cartels and criminal enterprises from the shadows, we will find you, expose you, and shut you down,” stated HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Patel.  “We’re working relentlessly every day with our partners to trace illicit funds and dismantle transnational criminal networks.”

“Bibliowicz Mitrani is complicit in moving more than a quarter billion dollars in drug money through shell companies to locations around the world.  In serving his criminal clientele with his dirty money-washing business, he lived a rich lifestyle with a multi-million-dollar mansion and lavish purchases.  IRS-CI follows all money, even when it is dirty, and there is no hiding it from our expert investigators.  Today’s conviction is a good reminder of that,” stated IRS-CI New York Special Agent in Charge Chavis.

As proved at trial, from approximately 2020 to 2024, the defendant led a scheme to launder more than $300 million, much of which represented drug proceeds belonging to drug cartels such as the Sinaloa Cartel and other transnational criminal organizations.  The defendant was an owner and leader of a company called Treebu, which purported to be a legitimate technology business.  In reality, Treebu’s public-facing operations were a cover for an elaborate multi-million-dollar money laundering enterprise based in Florida and Colombia.

Cartels and other transnational criminal organizations that engage in drug trafficking operate vast criminal enterprises that generate significant revenue globally by trafficking illicit narcotics.  Because these organizations generate billions of dollars in illicit revenue annually from trafficked narcotics, they must find ways to repatriate these proceeds back to their home countries to fund their ongoing enterprises.  In many cases, drug trafficking organizations rely on separate money laundering operations, such as Treebu, to repatriate their funds.  In exchange, money laundering organizations and their associates, like the defendant, earn a significant commission for taking on the risk of laundering illicit proceeds for these criminal organizations.

The defendant established shell companies that were used to open bank accounts used to transmit the illegal proceeds in an effort to obscure the source of the funds. To protect the scheme from detection, the defendant lied to U.S. financial institutions about the purpose and activities of these companies, and he failed to register as a money transmitting business as required under state and federal law.  In total, financial records show that the defendant and his organization laundered more than $300 million.

The defendant used his profits from this scheme for personal expenses and to fund his lavish lifestyle, including to purchase expensive jewelry from Van Cleef & Arpels, make payments towards his approximately $4 million Miami mansion, and fund luxury travel, including more than $16,000 on luxury hotel stays abroad in April 2023.

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

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section.  Assistant United States Attorneys Adam Amir, Lorena Michelen, and David Berman are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialists Zoubida Bicane and Tareva Torres.

The Defendant:

ALAIN BIBLIOWICZ MITRANI
Age:  51
Miami, Florida

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-CR-39 (CBA)

Earlier today, the U.S. State Department’s Narcotics Reward Program (NRP) announced the offering of a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Ecuadorian fugitive Francisco Manuel Bermúdez Cagua, also known as “Churron,” a leader of Los Choneros, a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) based in Ecuador that is responsible for significant drug trafficking into the United States, firearms trafficking from the United States and acts of extreme violence.  Bermúdez Cagua is charged in a superseding indictment in the Eastern District of New York with international cocaine distribution conspiracy, international cocaine distribution, and use of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking.  The charges were brought by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.  The superseding indictment was unsealed in June 2025.

In July 2025, co-conspirator José Adolfo Macías Villamar, also known as “Fito,” a citizen of Ecuador and the principal leader of the Los Choneros organization, was extradited to the Eastern District of New York from Ecuador to face international drug trafficking and firearms charges. Another co-conspirator charged in the superseding indictment, Darío Javier Peñafiel Nieto, also known as “Topo,” is currently in custody in Ecuador.

“As alleged, Bermúdez Cagua is a top lieutenant within the leadership of Los Choneros, an extremely violent foreign terrorist organization responsible for pumping drugs into the United States, causing harm to our communities, and wreaking havoc in his homeland of Ecuador,” stated United States Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr.  “The significant reward being offered by the State Department underscores our resolve to bring Los Choneros’s leadership to justice in a U.S. courthouse and eradicate such organizations.”

“We will use every tool in our arsenal to stop the brutal criminals who are trafficking deadly drugs into our country,” stated Senior Bureau Official Chris Landberg of the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.  “We are offering a reward of up to $5 million under the Narcotics Rewards Program for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Bermúdez Cagua.”

“Bermúdez Cagua is a high-ranking narco-terrorist whose actions have fueled the flow of cocaine into the United States and sown chaos in Ecuador,” stated Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Administrator Terrance Cole.  “The DEA is resolute in its mission to turn up the pressure and bring this dangerous individual to justice. Today’s announcements reaffirm our unwavering commitment to dismantling drug trafficking networks, holding those responsible for violence and illicit trade accountable, and protecting communities from the devastating impact of these crimes.”

“ATF remains committed to hold leaders of foreign terrorist organizations accountable for the violence they inflict on our communities”, stated Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Deputy Director Rob Cekada.  “Bermudez Cagua’s network of criminals saturated our neighborhoods with dangerous drugs and used firearms to protect and expand their criminal enterprise. The substantial reward announced by the Department of State sends an unmistakable message to all narco-terrorists: their days of poisoning our citizens and profiting off the American people are over.”

As alleged in the superseding indictment, Los Choneros was one of Ecuador’s most violent transnational criminal organizations. Los Choneros operated a vast network responsible for the shipment and distribution of multi-ton quantities of cocaine from South America, through Central American and Mexico, to the United States and elsewhere.  The defendants directed and ordered acts of violence to achieve the goals of the organization.  In September 2025, the U.S. State Department designated Los Choneros as an FTO. 

Anyone with information about Bermúdez Cagua’s whereabouts should contact the DEA at Ecuadortips@dea.gov or +593988292235 (text/WhatsApp/Signal).  All information will be kept strictly confidential.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

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

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section, and as part of the work of the Office’s Transnational Criminal Organizations Strike Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chand Edwards-Balfour, Lorena Michelen, and David Berman are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendants:

FRANCISCO MANUE BERMÚDEZ CAGUA (also known as “Bermudez Cagua”)
Age: 29
Ecuador

JOSÉ ADOLFO MACÍAS VILLAMAR (also known as “Fito”)
Age:  46
Ecuador

Darío Javier Peñafiel Nieto (also known as “Topo”)
Age: 35
Ecuador

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-CR-114 (FB)

Earlier today in federal court in Brooklyn, a 21-count indictment was unsealed charging Nathan Gauvin, also known as “defigray” and “gray,” a citizen of Canada with conspiracy to commit securities fraud and wire fraud, securities fraud, wire fraud, investment advisor fraud, bank fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice and aggravated identity theft.  The charges arise from Gauvin’s roles in defrauding hundreds of investors in a web-based investment company called Gray Digital Capital Management Inc. (Gray Digital) and in a subsequent scheme to defraud a New York-based financial technology company to obtain credit from two banks insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”). In total, Gauvin fraudulently raised more than $42 million from Gray Digital investors and obtained more than $800,000 in credit from lenders.  Gauvin was arrested today in England on a provisional arrest warrant issued from the Eastern District of New York.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Harry T. Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS-CI) announced the indictment.

“As alleged, the defendant’s investment company was a house of cards constructed with investor funds and held together with lies.  When his house of cards collapsed, Gauvin doubled down by obstructing the regulator’s investigation and trying to defraud a lender.  Gauvin’s run of lies ends today,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “This Office remains deeply committed to protecting the investing public and the integrity of financial markets.  We will continue to relentlessly pursue justice for victims of financial fraud.”

Mr. Nocella expressed his appreciation to the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Fort Worth Regional Office for their valuable assistance on the case.

“Nathan Gauvin allegedly lied about his background, qualifications and purported investment returns to raise at least $42 million from interested investors of his fund. Later, after being notified of a federal investigation into his activities,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia.  “Gauvin allegedly engaged in a separate scheme, using falsified records, to induce a company to lend him an addition $1.5 million. The FBI remains dedicated to dismantling any smoke and mirrors act targeting unsuspecting victims for financial enrichment.”

“Today’s indictment reflects IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agents continued resolve to investigate and prosecute those who engage in financial crimes,” stated IRS-CI New York Special Agent in Charge Chavis.  “IRS-CI Special Agents are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to aggressively uncover and disrupt criminals who conspire to exploit our financial markets.”

As alleged in the indictment, between approximately May 2022 and October 2024, Gauvin and others defrauded investors in Gray Digital and Gray Digital’s flagship fund, the Gray Fund. The Gray Fund purported to offer investors and prospective investors an investment strategy “that blends TradFi (traditional finance) and DeFi (decentralized finance).”  Gauvin, who, according to the company’s website and public statements, was Gray Digital’s founder and Chief Executive Officer, lied to investors about his background and experience, as well as Gray Digital’s assets and returns, including by providing investors with fraudulent documents intended to verify Gray Digital’s assets under management and performance. For example, Gauvin and Gray Digital made false claims that the Gray Fund had a cumulative return since inception of 4,384%, and that Gray Digital’s holdings had been verified by an audit firm when, in reality, the asset attestations were based on doctored bank and brokerage statements provided by Gauvin and others to the audit firm and not independently verified.  Gauvin raised at least $42 million from investors based on these false claims, including investors in the Eastern District of New York.  Rather than invest the funds he raised as represented, Gauvin used most investor deposits to pay investor withdrawals and misappropriated millions of dollars in investor funds, which he spent on luxury goods, jewelry and his personal credit card bills.  Gauvin estimated losses from the Gray Digital fraud to be approximately $20 million.

After Gray Digital collapsed in 2024, Gauvin obstructed and attempted to obstruct a SEC investigation into the fraud by providing the SEC with fraudulent documents.

The indictment further alleges that after defrauding Gray Digital’s investors and obstructing the SEC’s investigation, Gauvin undertook yet another fraudulent scheme. Between approximately May 2025 and June 2025, Gauvin and others provided fraudulent bank statements and other false information to a New York-based financial technology company (“FinTech Company-1”) to obtain approximately $800,000 in credit from two FDIC-insured banks.  Gauvin used the proceeds to pay personal expenses, including to a private members-only social club in London, England.

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

If you believe that you or someone you know was victimized by Gauvin, please contact the FBI at http://fbi.gov/graydigitalfraud

The government’s case is being handled by Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section.  Assistant United States  Attorneys Nick M. Axelrod and Jessica K. Weigel are in charge of the prosecution with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Liam McNett.

The Defendant:

NATHAN GAUVIN
Age:  26
Canada

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-CR-357 (LDH)

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Jeffrey Hart, age 50, of Saratoga Springs, New York, pled guilty last Thursday to distribution and possession of child pornography. The announcement was made by United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Hart admitted that, after being convicted of the New York State offense of possessing a sexual performance by a child, he used an Internet-based group messaging application to send a video depicting the sexual abuse of a child to another user. Hart also admitted to possessing at least 79 images and 29 videos depicting the sexual abuse of children on his cell phone.

Acting United States Attorney Sarcone stated: “This guilty plea demonstrates our continued commitment to protecting children from those who seek to exploit them. Individuals who traffic in child sexual abuse material inflict profound harm, and my Office will pursue them with the full force of federal law. We are grateful for the dedication of our law enforcement partners, who worked tirelessly to bring this defendant to justice.”

Erin Keegan, Special Agent in Charge of the HSI Buffalo Field Office, said: “Crimes involving the exploitation of children are among the most serious and disturbing we confront. HSI remains steadfast in its mission to investigate offenders, support victims, and collaborate closely with our federal and local partners. This case underscores that those who distribute or possess these materials will be held fully accountable.”

Sentencing is scheduled for April 3, 2026, before United States District Judge Anne M. Nardacci.  Because of his prior conviction, Hart faces a mandatory minimum term of 15 years in prison on the distribution charge and 10 years in prison on the possession charge; a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years in prison on the distribution charge and 20 years in prison on the possession charge; a fine of up to $250,000; and a term of supervised release of between 5 years and up to life. Hart also will have to pay restitution to victims, forfeit property he used to commit the offenses, and be required to register as a sex offender.  A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statutes a defendant violated, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors.

The case was investigated by HIS, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashlyn Miranda is prosecuting the case.

Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

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Today, a federal jury in Brooklyn convicted Robert Brooke of one count of Hobbs Act extortion.  From at least November 2019 to January 2020, the defendant violently extorted the owners of a demolition company of thousands of dollars, purportedly to satisfy a disputed debt.  The verdict was returned after a three-day trial before United States District Judge Frederic Block.  Brooke was acquitted of Hobbs Act extortion conspiracy.  When sentenced, Brooke faces up to 20 years in prison.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Jonathan Mellone, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region (DOL-OIG), announced the verdict.

“Those who choose to settle disputes violently in the street are choosing to go to prison,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “Today’s verdict holds the defendant accountable for his brazen conduct.”

"Robert Brooke violently attacked an owner of a demolition company to extort a debt repayment to a made member of the Gambino family," stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia.  "His actions terrified the victims and coerced them into paying thousands of dollars to avoid future beatings. The FBI will never tolerate individuals who attempt to intimidate and steal on behalf of any criminal organization in this city."

“Today’s verdict holds the defendant accountable for his criminal conduct. Violence and extortion have no place in America’s workplaces. The Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General will continue working with our law-enforcement partners to investigate labor-related crimes and to ensure that those who threaten workers or employers for personal gain are brought to justice,” stated DOL-OIG Special Agent in Charge Mellone.

As proved at trial, in the fall of 2019, the defendant engaged in a violent extortion scheme against the victim owners of a demolition company over purported debts owed to Diego Tantillo, an inducted member of the Gambino organized family, and a company that was co-operated by Tantillo and Brooke (the Company).  On December 18, 2019, one of the victims was walking to work when he was ambushed and attacked by Brooke at 50th Street and Eighth Avenue in Manhattan.  The victim suffered a fractured cheek bone, black eye and contusions to his face.  The victim testified that he and his brothers, who were partners in the demolition company, understood that Tantillo, who they knew was a member of the Gambino organized crime family, was involved in the attack by Brooke.  In the weeks after the beating, Tantillo reached out to the victim brothers and told them to pay Brooke and to drop the criminal charges against the defendant.  Fearing for themselves and their employees, the owners of the demolition company paid $50,000 to Tantillo and $40,000 to the Company. Tantillo pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy in October 2025 and is awaiting sentencing.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section.  Assistant United States Attorneys Andrew M. Roddin, Elias Laris, and Brooke Theodora are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

ROBERT BROOKE
Age: 58
New York, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-443 (FB)

Earlier today, an indictment was unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn, charging Kaleem Nurse, also known as “Consistent,” with sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion, interstate prostitution, and promotion of prostitution.  The charges in the indictment relate to Nurse’s trafficking of women to work as prostitutes in New York, including along an open‑air sex trafficking market on stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue in Brooklyn known as the “Penn Track,” and his transportation of women from New York to multiple other states with the intent that they engage in commercial sex for his financial benefit.  Nurse was arrested today and is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Vera M. Scanlon.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI) announced the arrest and charges.

“As alleged, the defendant trafficked women to serve as commercial sex workers for him on the notorious Penn Track in Brooklyn and in numerous states across the country,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “Today’s arrest reinforces our commitment to removing criminals from the streets in our District and protecting victims of exploitation by prosecuting individuals like Nurse.  Our Office will continue to prioritize the investigation and prosecution of sex trafficking crimes that threaten the safety and dignity of our communities.”

Mr. Nocella expressed his appreciation to the FBI and New York City Police Department Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force for their work on the case.

“Kaleem Nurse allegedly trafficked multiple women in New York and across the country, forcing them to perform sexual acts for his own financial gain,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia.  “Nurse’s alleged actions deprived his victims of their dignity and autonomy, degrading them to serve as vessels to satisfy his selfish greed. The FBI maintains its steadfast commitment to apprehending any sexual predator utilizing our city as a perverted hub to facilitate the exploitation of vulnerable women in our state and others.”

According to court filings, between January 2021 and June 2025, Nurse had numerous women working in prostitution for him on the Penn Track and other locations across the United States, and trafficked at least one of those women using force, fraud and coercion. Specifically, evidence obtained pursuant to the investigation reflects that Nurse regularly required his female victims to solicit customers on the Penn Track and other locations across the country, including Miami and Atlantic City, and to engage in commercial sex acts with those customers.  Nurse collected the proceeds earned by these women after they engaged in commercial sex acts with customers, and he used emotional manipulation and violence to discipline and control them.

If convicted of sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion, the defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment.

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

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Human Trafficking and Civil Rights Section.  Assistant United States  Attorneys Erin Reid and Miranda Gonzalez are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

KALEEM NURSE (also known as “Consistent”)
Age:  30
Brooklyn, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-CR-377 (VMS)

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Marcus Pittman, also known as “Nacho” and “Cheese,” pleaded guilty to discharging a firearm and causing a death through the use of a firearm in connection with the kidnapping, robbery, and murder of a marijuana dealer on July 25, 2024.  When sentenced, he faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years’ imprisonment and up to life in prison.  Today’s proceeding was held before United States District Judge Kiyo A. Matsumoto. 

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); and Jessica S. Tisch, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD) announced the guilty plea.

“Today, the defendant pleaded guilty to an execution-style, drug-related killing carried out in the rear of a U-Haul van in brutal fashion,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “Marcus Pittman was the trigger man of this robbery crew that traveled to our District for the purpose of kidnapping and robbing marijuana dealers.  I commend our excellent prosecutors, the FBI Special Agents, and NYPD detectives whose outstanding work has brought all six defendants to justice for their brutal crimes.”

“With five other defendants, Marcus Pittman orchestrated a kidnapping and armed robbery of two local marijuana dealers before executing a restrained captive in the back of a U-Haul,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia.  “Pittman demonstrated an utter disregard for human life by shooting a defenseless rival in cold blood.  May today’s plea send a message that the FBI and our law enforcement partners will hold accountable anyone who travels to our city to wage unnecessary violence and death.”

According to court filings and statements by the defendant at the guilty plea proceeding, during the night of July 24, 2024 and into July 25, 2024, Marcus Pittman and his co-defendants carried out a violent armed robbery and kidnapping plot that resulted in the defendant shooting and killing John Doe #1 inside of a U-Haul van in Bayside, Queens.

Specifically, Marcus Pittman and his co-defendants drove up from Maryland to New York for the purpose of robbing John Doe #1 and John Doe #2, who were both drug dealers.  Once in New York, co-defendants Jerome Waters and William Barnett met with John Doe #1 and John Doe #2 at a stash house in Queens under the guise of purchasing marijuana.

Moments later, Waters and Barnett pulled out their weapons and held up John Doe #1 and John Doe #2.  They then brought Marcus Pittman and his brother Delonta Pittman into the stash house to assist in the robbery and kidnapping.  While in the stash house, Marcus Pittman and his co-defendants restrained John Doe #1 and John Doe #2 with zip ties and forced them outside and into the back of a Jeep and a U-Haul van.  At the same time, Marcus Pittman and his co-defendants stole approximately 30 pounds of marijuana from the stash house.

Marcus Pittman and his co-defendants drove John Doe #1 and John Doe #2, who were still restrained, through Queens at gunpoint, demanding drugs and money.  Co-defendant Jalon Garrett held a gun to John Doe #2 in one vehicle while Marcus Pittman held John Doe #1 at gunpoint in the back of a U-Haul van driven by Calvin Israel. Soon thereafter, Marcus Pittman shot John Doe #1 to death in the rear compartment of the U-Haul van.  After the shooting, the defendants returned to Maryland. When John Doe #1’s body was later found by first responders, he still had a zip tie binding one of his hands and was surrounded by bags of marijuana.    

Co-defendants Barnett, Delonta Pittman, Waters, Garrett, and Israel all previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the crime, and are awaiting sentencing.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  As part of the program, U.S. Attorneys’ Offices work in partnership with federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement and their local communities to develop effective, locally based strategies to reduce violent crime. 

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section.  Assistant United States  Attorneys Chand Edwards-Balfour and Adam Amir are in charge of the prosecution.

Defendant:

MARCUS PITTMAN (also known as “Nacho” and “Cheese”)
Age:  30
Baltimore, Maryland

Defendants Who Previously Pleaded Guilty:

DELONTA PITTMAN (also known as “D Lo”)
Age:  31
Maryland

JEROME WATERS (also known as “the Engineer” and “Rome”)
Age:  23
Baltimore, Maryland

CALVIN ISRAEL
Age:  23
Baltimore, Maryland

WILLIAM BARNETT
Age:  27
Baltimore, Maryland

JALON LENNY GARRETT
Age: 20
Baltimore, Maryland

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-CR-413 (S-2) (KAM)

BROOKLYN, NY – Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, an indictment was unsealed charging Hector Bermudez, Zachary Dosch, Rumaldo Valdez, David Brilhante, and Camden Rodriguez for their participation in a child exploitation enterprise, conspiracy to produce child pornography, conspiracy to receive and distribute child pornography, and conspiracy to communicate interstate threats. The defendants led an online group called “Greggy’s Cult,” whose members carried out the alleged criminal conduct on a series of Discord servers (the Target Server).  Four defendants were arrested today throughout the United States. Valdez is currently incarcerated on another federal matter.  Bermudez will be arraigned in the Eastern District of New York this afternoon and the remaining defendants will be arraigned at a later date.

United States Attorney General Pamela Bondi; Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Matthew R. Galeotti, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); David Porter, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Honolulu Field Office; and Jessica S. Tisch, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the arrests and indictment. 

“No child should ever be terrorized or exploited online, and no online platform should give refuge to predators,” stated Attorney General Bondi. “The Department of Justice will continue to protect children, support survivors, and hold accountable anyone who preys on the vulnerable – online or offline – with every tool we have.”

“As alleged, the defendants leveraged a popular internet platform to coerce minors into creating grotesque child pornography of themselves, which the defendants distributed, and then tormented these victims with the images, not only encouraging self-harm, but also encouraging some minors to commit suicide,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “The defendants’ conduct, as alleged, is monstrous and will be vigorously prosecuted.  I strongly urge parents and caregivers to speak to their children about the dangers of communicating with strangers on social media and how to seek help from adults and law enforcement in these situations.” 

“These defendants are charged with the unspeakable act of coercing and blackmailing children and adults to engage in self-harm and other degrading acts,” stated Acting Assistant Attorney General Galeotti.  “As demonstrated by today’s indictment, the Criminal Division will not stand for such heinous crimes, and we will work tirelessly to bring these offenders to justice.”

“These five defendants allegedly coerced children to share videos subjecting themselves to brutal sexual abuse, while also encouraging self-harm and suicide,” stated FBI New York Assistant Director in Charge Raia.  “The defendants allegedly weaponized online gaming platforms to target unsuspecting minors and use them to satisfy the horrendous desires of a twisted group. The FBI will never cease its pursuit of those who prowl the web for innocent victims to torment and exploit in their sick games.”

“The defendants allegedly coordinated efforts to exploit minors through the creation and distribution of sexually explicit material, coerced children to commit self-harm, and extorted their victims in a variety of ways,” stated FBI Honolulu Special Agent in Charge Porter.  “The FBI will stop at nothing in its pursuit of violent predators targeting the children in our communities and will work closely with our law enforcement partners to identify and dismantle the enterprise networks responsible for these heinous acts.”

“The five individuals charged in this case allegedly used gaming and social-media platforms to target and coerce minors into sexually abusive acts, recorded that abuse, and distributed it across an online network,” stated NYPD Commissioner Tisch.  “This case underscores how easily predators can embed themselves in the digital platforms that minors use. The NYPD and our federal partners have been focused on uncovering and dismantling online groups that prey on children, and today’s indictment reflects the progress of that work.  I want to thank the NYPD investigators, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their persistence and dedication to bringing these offenders to justice.”

As alleged in the indictment, between January 2020 and January 2021, the defendants participated in the production and distribution of child sexual abuse material and engaged in other forms of exploitation and harassment of both minor and adult victims.  The defendants convened on the Target Server and directed minor victims, who had joined a video call on either Discord or another video conferencing platform, to engage in sexually explicit or other degrading conduct.  The defendants captured images and videos (i.e. “screenshots” or “screen recordings”) of the sexually explicit conduct of their minor victims and shared it on the Target Server, to other Discord servers, and amongst themselves.  Greggy’s Cult came into existence before another sadistic extortion network, 764, and prominent members of 764 and other similar networks that followed were also members of Greggy’s Cult.  The defendants coerced, induced, and enticed their victims to degrade themselves by engaging in self-harm, including professing themselves as being “owned” by a member of “Greggy’s Cult” to demonstrate loyalty and writing the names of “Greggy’s Cult” members on their bodies or holding up signs their names, which is a practice referred to as “fansigning.”

The group found victims in Discord servers or on gaming platforms such as Roblox and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Members of Greggy’s Cult engaged in conduct such as encouraging victims to kill themselves or demanding that they insert household objects into their genitals or anus.  Greggy’s Cult also engaged in coordinated extortions of adult and minor victims through various means, including by attempting to frame adult victims as pedophiles or by sending malware to minor victims’ computers and refusing to return their access until victims complied with the group’s demands.  

The charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

If you believe you have been victimized by or have information about the defendants, please contact the FBI tip line: 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).

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

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Human Trafficking and Civil Rights Section.  Assistant United States Attorney Antoinette N. Rangel of the Eastern District of New York and Trial Attorney Gwendelynn Bills of the Department of Justice’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section,are in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendants:

HECTOR BERMUDEZ
Age:  29
Queens, New York

ZACHARY DOSCH
Age:  26
Albuquerque, New Mexico

RUMALDO VALDEZ
Age:  22
Honolulu, Hawaii

DAVID BRILHANTE
Age:  28
San Diego, California

CAMDEN RODRIGUEZ
Age:  22
Longmont, Colorado

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-CR-361 (PKC) 

Earlier today, an indictment was unsealed charging five men with a child exploitation enterprise, conspiracy to produce child pornography, conspiracy to receive and distribute child pornography, and conspiracy to communicate interstate threats. As alleged, Hector Bermudez, 29, of Queens, New York; Zachary Dosch, 26, of Albuquerque, New Mexico; Rumaldo Valdez, 22, of Honolulu, Hawaii; David Brilhante, 28, of San Diego, California; and Camden Rodriguez, 22, of Longmont, Colorado, led an online group called “Greggy’s Cult,” which carried out the alleged criminal conduct on a series of Discord servers. The defendants were arrested today throughout the United States and will be arraigned in the Eastern District of New York at a later date.

“No child should ever be terrorized or exploited online, and no online platform should give refuge to predators,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “The Department of Justice will continue to protect children, support survivors, and hold accountable anyone who preys on the vulnerable – online or offline – with every tool we have.”

“These five defendants allegedly targeted vulnerable children and others via online platforms – they exploited, threatened, and harassed them, and encouraged horrific acts of self-harm,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “The FBI is sending a message to those individuals involved in criminal activity through violent online networks: you can’t hide in the shadows hovering over a keyboard – we will find and hold accountable those who participate in these illegal and heinous acts.”

“These defendants are charged with the unspeakable act of coercing and blackmailing children and adults to engage in self-harm and other degrading acts,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “As demonstrated by today’s indictment, the Criminal Division will not stand for such heinous crimes, and we will work tirelessly to bring these offenders to justice.”

“As alleged, the defendants weaponized their sexual exploitation of minors through the creation and distribution of child pornography, creating a nightmarish platform on the internet where children were used, sexually abused, and at times driven to the brink of suicide,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. for the Eastern District of New York. “The defendants’ depraved conduct, as alleged, is monstrous and will be vigorously prosecuted. I strongly urge parents and caregivers to have conversations with their children about the dangers of communicating online with strangers and individuals who seek to cruelly exploit them.”

As alleged in the indictment, between January 2020 and January 2021, the defendants participated in the production and distribution of child sex abuse material and also engaged in other forms of exploitation and harassment of both minor and adult victims. The defendants and other members of the Greggy’s Cult convened on the Discord servers and directed minor victims, who had joined a video call on either Discord or another video conferencing platform, to engage in sexually explicit or other degrading conduct. The defendants and other members of Greggy’s Cult captured images (i.e. “screenshots” or “screen recordings”) of the sexually explicit conduct and shared it to other Discord servers and amongst themselves. Greggy’s Cult came into existence before another sadistic extortion network, 764, and prominent members of 764 and other similar networks that followed were also members of Greggy’s Cult. The defendants coerced, induced, or enticed their victims to engage in acts of degradation such as self-harm, or professing the victim is “owned” by a member of “Greggy’s Cult” to demonstrate loyalty, or writing the names of “Greggy’s Cult” members on their bodies referred to as “fansigning.” The group found victims in Discord servers or on gaming platforms such as Roblox and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

Greggy’s Cult engaged in depraved conduct such as repeatedly encouraging victims to kill themselves or encouraging them to insert household objects into their genitals or anus. The group also engaged in coordinated extortion of victims, both adults and minors, through various means including by attempting to frame adult victims as pedophiles or by sending malware to minor victims’ computers. The group then used this leverage to get the victims to engage in degrading acts on camera. Bermudez resided in the Eastern District of New York during the charged offenses.

If you believe you have been victimized by or have information about the defendants, please contact the FBI tip line: 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324).

Trial Attorney Gwendelynn Bills of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Antoinette N. Rangel for the Eastern District of New York are prosecuting the case.

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

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

Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, Justin Dixon was sentenced by Judge William F. Kuntz, II, to 15 years in prison for coercion and enticement of a minor and being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Dixon operated as a “pimp,” using violence and threats of violence to compel the commission of commercial sex acts, including by minors as young as 14 years old.  Dixon pled guilty to the charges in November 2024.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); and Jessica S. Tisch, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the sentence.

“Today’s sentencing holds the defendant accountable for the violence and cruelty to women and children caused by his unthinkable actions,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “It is the hope of our Office that Dixon’s extensive prison sentence brings some measure of comfort to his victims.”

Mr. Nocella expressed his appreciation to the Richmond County District Attorney’s Office for their assistance during the investigation.

“Justin Dixon forced multiple women, including a 14-year-old minor, to engage in sexual acts for his own financial gain, wielding threats of violence to maintain control,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia.  “Dixon repeatedly violated his victims’ autonomy through degrading and manipulative grooming techniques designed to entrap them into his servitude.  May today’s sentencing emphasize the FBI’s commitment to continued collaboration with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable any sexual predator who targets and uses others for personal financial enrichment.”

“Today’s sentencing further affirms the NYPD’s unwavering commitment to protecting the survivors of sex trafficking,” stated NYPD Commissioner Tisch.  “And the message is clear: Anyone who would seek to profit through the abuse and exploitation of other people – especially our youth – will be held fully accountable.  I thank and commend our NYPD investigators, as well as our partners at the FBI and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District, for their tireless work in bringing this criminal to justice.”  

As set forth in the government’s sentencing memorandum and other court documents, in January 2023, Dixon forced his victims to commit commercial sex acts and used violence and threats of violence to ensure compliance with his orders.  Specifically, he compelled the commission of commercial sex acts by a 14-year-old minor victim (“Jane Doe”) for his financial benefit.  Dixon transported the minor victim—as well as other women—to a small geographical area off of Pennsylvania Avenue in East New York, Brooklyn, which is known as the “Penn Track” or the “Blade.”  Dixon then forced Jane Doe and other women to engage in prostitution and demanded that the proceeds of prostitution be turned over to him. Any resistance from the victims was met with violence.

Dixon used social media and other internet applications to recruit Jane Doe and other potential victims, groom them and manipulate them into working for him as prostitutes.  In or about January 2023, law enforcement officers rescued Jane Doe from a house in Staten Island where she, along with other adult females, was being held against her will by Dixon.  At the house on Staten Island, the defendant used force and threats of force against Jane Doe to maintain control over her.  Dixon forced Jane Doe and the other adult females residing in the house to cook, clean and bathe him.  The defendant would not allow the women to be clothed inside the house and would physically punish the women if they disobeyed any of these rules.  Furthermore, despite being previously convicted of a felony, Dixon possessed firearms and brandished these firearms in front of Jane Doe and the other victims.

Dixon further abused Jane Doe, calling her “tiny” and overfeeding her to attempt to make her appear older than her age.  He forced her to take unidentified pills to increase her appetite and stated he was arranging for Jane Doe to have plastic surgery to make her look older.  At the Penn Track, Dixon directed when, where and with whom commercial sex acts would be performed.  Dixon collected and kept to himself all payments for the commercial sex acts.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Human Trafficking and Civil Rights Section.  Assistant United States  Attorney Lorena Michelen is in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

JUSTIN DIXON
Age:  34
Staten Island, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-090 (WFK)

Earlier today, at the federal court in Brooklyn, Luis Camarena pleaded guilty to a conspiracy kickback scheme.  Camarena received revenue from contracts to install surveillance cameras at homeless shelters run by a non-profit organization (the “Organization”).  He conspired to pay a portion of that revenue to the employees of the Organization who authorized the payments to his business.  The proceeding was held before United States District Judge Hector Gonzalez. When sentenced, Camarena faces up to five years’ imprisonment.

Camarena is the fourth and final defendant to plead guilty in this case.  Earlier this month, Camarena’s co-defendants Gary DSilva, Jonathan Velazquez, and Pradeep Nigam each pleaded guilty to the same or similar charges.  DSilva and Velazquez were employees of the Organization, who authorized payments to Camarena and to Nigam, whose businesses provided security cameras and information-technology services, respectively, to the Organization. DSilva, Velazquez, and Nigam each also face up to five years’ imprisonment at their respective sentencings.  The defendants have also agreed as part of their pleas to pay a total of $1,025,647.78 in restitution to the Organization.   

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Jocelyn E. Strauber, Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation (DOI); and Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI) announced the guilty pleas.

“Camerena’s schemes enriched himself, DSilva, and Velazquez at the expense of the non-profit Organization, showing glaring disrespect towards the honest work of others,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “Our Office remains committed to seeking justice for all victims of bribery and kickback schemes and prosecuting those who perpetrate such offenses.”

“These four defendants enriched themselves at the expense of a City-funded nonprofit; two employees of the organization pocketed kickbacks in exchange for steering contracts worth millions to the businesses of two co-conspirators,” stated DOI Commissioner Strauber.  “With today’s guilty plea, all four defendants have now acknowledged their involvement in a scheme to steal funds intended to support City programs.  I thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the New York Office of the FBI for their continued partnership and commitment to protect public funds.”

As alleged in the superseding indictment and discussed in court proceedings and other documents, DSilva and Velazquez were employed in the Management Information Systems department of the Organization, which is based in Brooklyn.  The Organization supplied a number of services to indigent New Yorkers, including administering multiple homeless shelters.  DSilva and Velazquez, as part of their work for the Organization, were responsible for soliciting vendors to complete various projects involving information technology and approving payments to those vendors.

DSilva and Velazquez entered into two separate schemes to enrich themselves at the expense of the Organization.  In the first scheme, they agreed to steer contracts for the installation of surveillance cameras at homeless shelters operated by the Organization to Camarena’s business in exchange for a share of the profits.  Neither DSilva nor Velazquez ever disclosed their secret interest in Camarena’s business to the Organization.  In the second, DSilva and Velazquez entered into a similar agreement with Nigam, in which DSilva and Velazquez received a share of the profits from Nigam’s business in exchange for authorizing payments from the Organization to that business.  In one instance, DSilva, using a personal email account, sent to Nigam an invoice for Nigam’s business to submit to the Organization.  As part of the conspiracy, Nigam regularly sent money to companies in the names of relatives of DSilva and Velazquez.

In total, DSilva and Velazquez authorized approximately $1.6 million in payments from the Organization to Camarena’s business and approximately $1.9 million from the Organization to Nigam’s business during the operation of the schemes.  As part of the pleas, DSilva and Velazquez each agreed to forfeit approximately $714,000; Nigam agreed to forfeit approximately $413,000; and Camarena agreed to forfeit approximately $224,000.  These figures correspond to the illicit proceeds received by the defendants from the schemes.          

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Public Integrity Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Turner Buford and Laura Zuckerwise are in charge of the prosecution with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Johnson Peow.

The Defendants:

GARY DSILVA (also known as “Pankaj Dsilva”)
Age: 47
Manalapan, NJ

JONATHAN VELAZQUEZ
Age: 55
Massapequa Park, NY

LUIS A. CAMARENA
Age: 58
Bronx, NY

PRADEEP NIGAM
Age: 63
Edison, NJ

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-CR-471 (S-1) (HG)

Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, Trendell Walker, also known as “Live Wire” and “Debo,” a Bloods street gang member from Riverhead, New York, was sentenced by United States District Judge Joanna Seybert to 30 years in prison for his role as a shooter in the August 7, 2007 murder of 15-year old Alvin Brothers.  Walker pleaded guilty to firearm-related murder in August 2019.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), Ricky J. Patel, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI) and Kevin Catalina, Commissioner, Suffolk County Police Department (SCPD), announced the sentence.

“Walker’s lethal act of revenge took the life of a 15-year-old child,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “The resolve of law enforcement to bring Alvin Brothers’s killer to justice will, we hope, bring some semblance of closure to the victim’s parents and siblings. Gang members cannot escape the reality of today’s sentencing that no matter how long it takes, they will be held accountable for crimes of violence and the rule of law will prevail.”  

“In 2007, Trendell Walker mercilessly killed Alvin Brothers in retaliation for a previous slight against his branch of the Bloods gang,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia.  “This horrific act demonstrates the gang’s callous attitude towards humanity and the law by deeming murder as acceptable payback. May today’s sentencing offer some justice for Brothers’s family, and emphasize the FBI’s unwavering commitment to holding all gang members accountable for their lawless crimes, regardless of when they occurred.”

“Trendell Walker’s sentencing today ensures the removal of another cold-blooded killer from the streets of Long Island. With the continued investigative work of HSI New York’s Long Island office, alongside our law enforcement partners, we will continue to combat these senseless acts of violence here on the island and throughout the state. The people of New York deserve to feel safe in their own communities, and today’s sentencing is a step toward securing that reality,” stated HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Patel.

“The murder of this 15-year-old is a sad example of the senseless retaliation that comes from the vicious cycle of gang violence,” SCPD Commissioner Catalina stated.  “This case also highlights the unwavering dedication of law enforcement to bring a killer to justice. A decade after Alvin Brothers was slain in a drive-by shooting, Trendell Walker was charged and today he learned his fate, sending a message to those who choose a life of crime that we will never give up.”

According to court filings, in 2007, Walker was a member of the Rolling 20’s gang, a branch of the Bloods criminal street gang.  On August 6, 2007, Walker went to Bellport, New York, to purchase narcotics from G-Shine gang members, a different set of the Bloods.  Several G-Shine gang members attacked Walker, attempted to rob him and pistol-whipped him.  The next day, Walker met with fellow Rolling 20’s gang members and devised a plan to retaliate against his assailants.  They drove to Bellport, armed with firearms, where they observed several young people, including Brothers, standing on the corner of Post Avenue and Patchogue Avenue. Brothers was standing near one of the individuals who had assaulted Walker the previous day.  The defendant and other Rolling 20’s members opened fire on the group.  Brothers was fatally shot in the back. Walker was indicted on drug charges in June 2016; in November 2017, he was charged in a second superseding indictment with Brothers’s murder, more than a decade after the killing.

The government’s case is being handled by the Criminal Section of the Office’s Long Island Division.  Assistant United States Attorney Mark E. Misorek is in charge of the prosecution.   

The Defendant:

TRENDELL WALKER (also known as “Live Wire” and “Debo”)
Age:  34
Riverhead, Long Island

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 16-CR-369 (S-2) (JS)

BROOKLYN, NY – Zhi Dong Zhang, also known as “GG,” “Kun Li Hernandez,” “Chang Li Gong Sun” and “Memo,” “Brother Wang,” “BW,” “Pancho,” “HeHe,” “HaHa,” “Chino,” and “Summor Ownor,” was arraigned today before United States Magistrate Judge Clay H. Kaminsky at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn on a second superseding indictment (the Indictment) charging him with international cocaine distribution conspiracy, international cocaine distribution, cocaine importation conspiracy, cocaine and methamphetamine possession and distribution conspiracy, and money laundering crimes. The defendant, a Chinese citizen, was arrested in Mexico after Mexico issued an arrest warrant based on extradition requests from the Eastern District of New York and the Northern District of Georgia, and was returned to the United States on October 23, 2025.  The defendant was ordered detained pending trial. On October 24, 2025, the defendant had an initial appearance in the Southern District of Texas, where he was arraigned on this Indictment and on the indictment in the Northern District of Georgia.

The defendant has been designated a Consolidated Priority Organization Target (CPOT) by the Department of Justice, a designation given to the most significant narcotics traffickers in the world.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Todd W. Blanche, United States Deputy Attorney General; Theodore S. Hertzberg, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia; Ricky J. Patel, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI New York); and Robert J. Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Atlanta Division (DEA Atlanta), announced the arraignment.

“As alleged, the defendant is a leader of one of the most prolific drug trafficking and money laundering organizations in the world who, together with his co-conspirators, imported thousands of kilograms of narcotics, including cocaine and methamphetamine, into the United States and other countries,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “The indictments he faces in the Eastern District of New York and the Northern District of Georgia will hold him responsible for the great harm he has caused.”

“The defendant stands accused of running a global enterprise that pumped massive quantities of cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine into our communities and laundered millions in narcotics proceeds,” stated Deputy Attorney General Blanche.  “His return to the United States is a major step in dismantling a network that has fueled addiction, violence, and death.  I’m grateful for the outstanding work of our prosecutors, agents, and international partners who refused to let him hide behind aliases, shell companies, or foreign borders.  The Department of Justice will continue to target the world’s most dangerous traffickers, wherever they operate, and bring them to justice.”

“Zhang’s transnational network was allegedly intricate, well-coordinated, and well-funded,” said Unites States Attorney Hertzberg.  “However, through the great work of dedicated law enforcement agencies and valued cooperation from our international partners, Zhang’s poison pipeline has been shut off.  Whether the perpetrators are here or hiding abroad, my office will continue to vigorously pursue anyone who is trafficking illegal narcotics in and through the Northern District of Georgia.”

United States Attorneys Nocella and Hertzberg also expressed their appreciation to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, the United States Marshals Service, the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, HSI Mexico City, HSI Rio Grande Valley, and the Government of Mexico.

“HSI’s arrest of Zhi Dong Zhang marks a decisive blow against the ruthless criminal enterprises responsible for flooding our streets with cocaine, meth and deadly fentanyl,” stated HSI New York Special Agent in Charge Patel.  “The defendant’s alleged actions on behalf of the Sinaloa Cartel and CJNG have bolstered the operations of transnational criminal organizations responsible for peddling death in nearly every form – fueling an overdose epidemic, spreading violence, and destabilizing communities across the United States and beyond.  One by one, year after year, the HSI New York Homeland Security Task Force will continue to wage an unyielding campaign against those who empower cartels to sow destruction and death for greed, ensuring that no corner of their criminal empire is beyond the reach of justice.”

“This arrest represents a critical milestone in a long-running investigation into an alleged high-level narcotics trafficker with international reach,” said DEA Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Murphy.  “A defendant wanted on warrants out of Eastern District of New York and the Northern District of Georgia has now been taken into custody, thanks to years of coordinated work by DEA and our partners.  We will continue to follow the evidence and the money until the leadership of these organizations is dismantled.”

The EDNY Indictment

As set forth in court filings, since June 2016, Zhang has operated a massive narcotics trafficking and money laundering organization in Mexico and the United States, importing thousands of kilograms of narcotics, including cocaine and methamphetamine, into the United States and other countries.  Law enforcement has made numerous seizures of narcotics traced to the defendant’s organization, including 46 kilograms of cocaine, 58 kilograms of methamphetamine, and almost seven kilograms of fentanyl.

Zhang and members of his organization also laundered millions of dollars of criminal proceeds from these narcotics sales through the creation and use of shell companies in the United States, which were opened using false social security numbers and other fraudulent documents.  The organization recruited individuals known as “banqueros” to open bank accounts at various banks on behalf of the shell companies, engage in money pickups at different money drop locations throughout the United States, deposit that money into the shell company bank accounts, and wire the funds to other beneficiary accounts to be laundered outside of the United States.  The organization employed supervisors in Mexico, known as “coordinators,” who directed the banqueros at every step of the process, including coordinating the money pick-ups, buying and booking travel, and providing the fraudulent documentation to open bank accounts.  In total, law enforcement identified more than 100 shell companies tied to Zhang’s organization that were used to launder at least $77 million in narcotics proceeds.

The charges in the Indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, the defendant faces up to life in prison.

This case is being handled by the Office’s International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section as part of the work of the Office’s Transnational Criminal Organizations Strike Force.  Assistant United States Attorneys Miranda Gonzalez and Vincent Chiappini are in charge of the prosecution.

The NDGA Indictment

As set out in Court filings, Zhang was allegedly a leader of a vast drug trafficking and money laundering organization that began operating in Mexico at least as early as 2016.  Zhang allegedly used an extensive network of coordinators and couriers to get cocaine and fentanyl to multiple destinations in the United States.  In January and February 2022, Zhang personally negotiated and coordinated the delivery of 11 kilograms of cocaine and one kilogram of fentanyl to Atlanta for distribution. 

Once the cocaine and fentanyl were distributed, Zhang allegedly oversaw the use of stash houses in Georgia and California to collect the drug proceeds which were then deposited into bank accounts.  The money laundering was massive and involved 150 companies, 170 bank accounts and approximately $20 million in drug proceeds.

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

The Defendant:

ZHI DONG ZHANG
Age: 38
China

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 21-CR-302 (S-2) (BMC)

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, David Motovich was sentenced by United States District Judge William F. Kuntz, II to 15 years in prison for operating an illegal money transmitting business, failure to file currency transaction reports, bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, money laundering, aggravated identity theft, and conspiracy to defraud the United States.  In addition to the term of imprisonment, Judge Kuntz ordered Motovich to forfeit approximately $38 million, including his interests in a penthouse apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan featuring a private indoor swimming pool, commercial real estate buildings in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn, and luxury jewelry and handbags.  Motovich was convicted by a jury following a three-week trial in July 2024.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); and Harry T. Chavis, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS-CI) announced the sentence.

“The defendant used his family-run lumber business to orchestrate a massive illegal check cashing scheme and facilitate rampant tax evasion in the New York City construction industry,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “The defendant put his own greed and thirst for luxury above the needs of helpless victims, whose identities, company names, and signatures he ruthlessly stole.  The defendant’s significant sentence should send a message that fraud does not pay, and federal banking and tax rules apply to all.”   

“David Motovich allegedly deposited more than $55 million into accounts he opened in the names of other individuals to selfishly fund an unearned lavish lifestyle, by swindling unsuspecting victims and companies,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia.  “The FBI will relentlessly pursue those individuals who not only deceive others, but also defraud the United States for their own personal gain.”

“David Motovich made millions from his shady business, making back-office deals to hide cash for clients,” stated IRS-CI Special Agent in Charge Chavis.  “While trying to conceal more that $55 million from the U.S. government, Motovich adorned himself with watches and jewelry and luxury cars.  Now, after today’s sentencing, he will have years to think of his actions as he lives in less luxurious federal housing.  There is no penthouse with a pool available.”

As proven in court proceedings, Motovich used his family-run business in the Midwood section of Brooklyn as a front for an illegal, unlicensed check-cashing operation.  From the second floor of Midwood Lumber on Coney Island Avenue, Motovich offered his services primarily to the owners and operators of construction companies, cashing millions of dollars in checks to fund off-the-books payrolls for those businesses.  As part of the scheme, Motovich cashed checks for his customers in exchange for a fee or a percentage of the face amount of the checks, ranging between four and 15 percent.  Motovich’s customers paid a higher fee to Motovich than the fees charged by licensed check cashing businesses because the customers understood that Motovich would not file Suspicious Activity Reports or Currency Transaction Reports for cash transactions in amounts greater than $10,000, as required by federal anti-money laundering statutes.  Motovich supplied his check cashing customers with fraudulent documents that they could use to disguise the transactions as payments by the customers for materials and/or subcontracting work if the customers were audited by the New York State Workers Compensation Board or tax authorities.    

In furtherance of his scheme, Motovich created shell companies for the purpose of facilitating his illegal check cashing business and enabling himself and his associates to evade taxes.  Motovich instructed his customers to issue checks drawn against their business accounts and to make the checks payable to one of the companies.  Motovich then deposited the checks into bank accounts that he created at several financial institutions.  Motovich facilitated tax evasion by using these accounts to conceal millions of dollars in payments from his own companies and those of his associates.

To conceal his control and ownership of the funds in the accounts, and to avoid detection of his scheme, Motovich opened the accounts in the names of other individuals.  In one instance, Motovich stole the identity of a low-level worker and then bribed a banker to open accounts in the victim’s name and funnel millions of dollars through the accounts.  In other instances, Motovich impersonated the name of a legitimate company to open shell accounts and repeatedly forged the signature of an unwitting insurance broker.

In total, between 2012 and 2019, Motovich deposited more than $55 million into the accounts that he had opened in the names of other individuals and used the funds to purchase real estate; pay personal and corporate credit card accounts; purchase luxury items, including millions of dollars of diamonds, watches, jewelry, and clothing; make lease and purchase payments for Porsche and Lexus luxury vehicles; pay premiums on multi-million dollar life insurance policies for himself, his wife and others; renovate his penthouse apartment in Manhattan to include a swimming pool; and to fund other business ventures.

Motovich’s co-defendants Marina Kuyan, Kemal Sarkinovic, and Joshua Markovics all previously pleaded guilty to various charges in connection with the scheme.  They are awaiting sentencing.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Public Integrity Section.  Assistant United States Attorneys Erik Paulsen, Andrew Grubin, and Matthew Skurnik are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Daniel Arakawa.

The Defendant:

DAVID MOTOVICH
Age: 50
New York, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 21-CR-497 (WFK)