Southern District of New York

Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and James E. Dennehy, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging DAVID MACEY, a criminal defense attorney based in Florida, with bribery of a public official, conspiracy to bribe a public official, honest services wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, for a scheme in which MACEY paid tens of thousands of dollars to a senior Special Agent (“Agent-1”) with the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), in exchange for Agent-1 providing sensitive law enforcement information to MACEY to assist MACEY in recruiting and representing clients.  MACEY will be presented before Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron later today.  The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Jennifer H. Reardon.

Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said:  “As alleged, David Macey provided secret payments to a senior DEA special agent in exchange for access to sensitive information that Macey could use to enrich himself, including information regarding sealed indictments and impending arrests.  This prosecution underscores this Office’s commitment to combatting bribery – especially bribery that compromises law enforcement’s duty to protect and serve the public.”

FBI Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy said: “David Macey, a criminal defense attorney, allegedly bribed a senior federal agent with tens of thousands of dollars for confidential information from law enforcement databases. Macey allegedly breached an expectation of privacy and received unlawful advantageous details to unjustly benefit his practice. The FBI will never tolerate those who engage in corrupt practices with public officials and cheat the investigative nature of our criminal justice system.”

According to the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:[1]

MACEY is a criminal defense attorney based in Coral Gables, Florida.  From in or about October 2018 through in or about January 2020, MACEY and a private investigator that worked with MACEY (“Investigator-1”) paid bribes to Agent-1 with the DEA in return for Agent-1 providing non-public, confidential DEA information in breach of Agent-1’s official duties.  MACEY and Investigator-1 paid the bribes to Agent-1 using methods designed to conceal MACEY’s own connection to the bribe payments, including by using EDWIN PAGAN III, a former DEA Task Force Officer, as an intermediary.  In return for the bribe payments, Agent-1 provided nonpublic, confidential DEA information to MACEY and Investigator-1 so that MACEY and Investigator-1 could use that information in furtherance of MACEY’s legal practice, including to recruit and represent criminal defendants.

Among the benefits paid by MACEY and Investigator-1 to Agent-1 were a $2,500 payment made in November 2018, shortly after Investigator-1’s retirement from the DEA, which was funneled to Agent-1 through a company owned by a close family member of Agent-1. At the same time that this payment was made, MACEY and Investigator-1 began asking Agent-1 to run searches in the DEA’s Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Information System (“NADDIS”), a database that contains confidential information about individuals who are or have been under investigation by the DEA.  Following that initial payment, MACEY and Investigator-1 continued to provide benefits to Agent-1, including $50,000 that was paid to Agent-1 for Agent-1’s purchase of a condominium in January 2019 and tens of thousands of dollars that were funneled from Investigator-1 through a company created by PAGAN.

In return, Agent-1 continued to provide nonpublic DEA information to MACEY and Investigator-1, including information about the timing of forthcoming indictments, information about DEA arrest plans of particular targets, and non-public information about arrests of criminal defendants.  Agent-1 also continued to search NADDIS for names of particular individuals requested by MACEY and Investigator-1, doing so on dozens of occasions during the scheme. In addition, during the scheme, MACEY and Agent-1 discussed Agent-1’s efforts to influence subjects of DEA investigations to retain MACEY as their attorney.  

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MACEY, 54, of Coral Gables, Florida, and PAGAN, 52, of Miami, Florida, are each charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery, which carries a maximum term of five years in prison, and one count of receiving or paying a bribe, respectively, which carries a maximum term of 15 years in prison. MACEY and PAGAN are also charged with one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and one count of honest services wire fraud, each of which counts carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison.  PAGAN is also charged with four counts of perjury in connection with false testimony that he provided in a related criminal trial in November 2023.  The charges against PAGAN were unsealed in November 2024.

The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General, and thanked the DEA’s Office of Professional Responsibility for its support in this matter.

The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Illicit Finance and Money Laundering Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily Deininger and Mat Andrews are in charge of the prosecution. 

[1] The entirety of the text of the Indictment, and the description of the Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.

Danielle Sassoon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and James E. Dennehy, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the arrest of KEVIN FENG GAO. The Indictment unsealed today charges GAO with committing bank fraud as part of a scheme to steal $30 million intended as an investment in Manhattan real estate. GAO will be presented today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stewart D. Aaron. 

U.S. Attorney Danielle Sassoon said: “As alleged, Kevin Gao orchestrated a complex scheme to create a fraudulent, unauthorized bank account and use the account to steal $30 million from a real estate investor. Bank fraud schemes undermine the integrity of our financial system by corrupting it for criminal purposes, and I commend the FBI and our dedicated team of prosecutors for their outstanding work in uncovering this massive fraud.”   

FBI Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy said: “Kevin Gao allegedly opened an unauthorized corporate bank account to intercept and steal a $30 million investment. This alleged establishment of an illicit bank account wrongfully diverted a significant sum from its intended use. The FBI remains dedicated to apprehending all individuals who implement deceitful measures to steal what is not owed to them.”

According to allegations in the Indictment:[1] 

GAO carried out a fraudulent scheme to open and use an unauthorized bank account in the name of a company (the “Management Company”) that managed a real estate development project in Manhattan (the “Real Estate Project”). GAO was an executive at another company that participated in a joint venture to develop the Real Estate Project, but GAO had no authorization from the Management Company to open the account in its name (the “Fraudulent Account”). 

When GAO applied to open the Fraudulent Account, GAO made false representations to employees of an FDIC-insured bank (the “Bank”), including falsely representing that GAO was opening the Fraudulent Account with the Management Company’s permission. Additionally, when a representative of the Bank asked GAO to provide a copy of the Management Company’s operating agreement, GAO provided a fraudulent document rather than the actual operating agreement. 

After GAO created the Fraudulent Account, an investment company agreed to invest $30 million in the Real Estate Development managed by the Management Company. But the investment company transferred its $30 million into the Fraudulent Account created by GAO rather than a legitimate account actually held and controlled by the Management Company. GAO then dispersed the $30 million to several accounts under the control of GAO and his co-conspirators.

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GAO, 37, of Queens, New York is charged with one count of bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. 

The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.      

Ms. Sassoon praised the outstanding work of the FBI. 

The case is being handled by the Office’s Illicit Finance and Money Laundering Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Brumwell and Maggie Lynaugh are in charge of the prosecution.

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

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the texts of the Indictment and the description of the Indictment set forth herein constitute only allegations and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.

A New York man was arrested and charged in a superseding indictment unsealed today in the Southern District of New York for hiring someone to kill his estranged husband, who was murdered in Rio de Janeiro in January 2024. Sikkema made his initial court appearance on the superseding indictment today in the Southern District of New York.

According to court documents, beginning in 2023, Daniel Sikkema, 54, of New York City, offered another individual (CC-1) money in exchange for CC-1 killing Sikkema’s estranged husband, with whom Sikkema was involved in contentious divorce proceedings. The victim, who was a U.S. citizen, had amassed a multi-million-dollar estate and often traveled to Rio de Janeiro where he maintained property. In advance of the victim’s murder, Sikkema sent CC-1 money using a stolen identity and intermediaries in an effort to conceal the source of the payments.

The victim was murdered by CC-1 on Jan. 14, 2024.

Sikkema is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit a murder-for-hire, one count of murder-for-hire, one count of conspiracy to murder a person in a foreign county, and one count of passport fraud. If convicted, he faces a mandatory penalty of life in prison or death. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon for the Southern District of New York, and Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy of the FBI New York Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Chelsea Schinnour of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meredith Foster and Remy Grosbard for the Southern District of New York are prosecuting the case.

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

Danielle R. Sassoon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Antoinette T. Bacon, the Supervisory Official for the U.S. Justice Department’s Criminal Division; and James E. Dennehy, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the filing of charges against DANIEL SIKKEMA in connection with his role in a murder-for-hire plot that resulted in the death of his husband in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  The charges are contained in a Superseding Indictment unsealed today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.  SIKKEMA was previously charged in the Southern District of New York for passport fraud. The case is pending before U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos.

U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon said: “As alleged, Daniel Sikkema and his co-conspirator planned and carried out a cold-blooded plot to murder Sikkema’s husband, a United States citizen, in Brazil. This Office will doggedly pursue justice against those who murder United States citizens, whether at home or abroad.”

FBI Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy said: “In the midst of a tense divorce, Daniel Sikkema allegedly financed the premature death of his estranged husband. The defendant allegedly hired a hitman to facilitate the international murder of his husband, and attempted to conceal his involvement in this callous plan. The FBI will continue to vigorously investigate any individual who selfishly and mercilessly orders the end to another's life, regardless of where the crime may occur.”

According to the allegations in the Superseding Indictment:[1]

In 2023, SIKKEMA agreed with another individual (“CC-1”) that SIKKEMA would pay CC-1 to kill SIKKEMA’s estranged husband (the “Victim”) in Brazil.  At that time, SIKKEMA and the Victim were engaged in contentious divorce proceedings and the Victim regularly traveled to Brazil and owned property in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  To facilitate the murder-for-hire plot, SIKKEMA, a U.S. and Cuban citizen, sent multiple payments to CC-1 and CC-1’s romantic partner in Cuba.  SIKKEMA also concealed the source of each of these payments by using either a stolen identity or an intermediary to send them.

On January 14, 2024, CC-1 murdered the Victim in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  In the days that followed, SIKKEMA and CC-1 continued to communicate and SIKKEMA arranged for a payment of approximately $5,000 to be made to CC-1 and promised to make an additional payment at a later date.

On January 18, 2024, CC-1 was arrested by Brazilian law enforcement for his involvement in the commission of the Victim’s murder.

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SIKKEMA, 54, of New York, New York, is charged with one count of murder-for-hire conspiracy resulting in death, one count of murder-for-hire resulting in death, one count of conspiracy to murder and maim a person in a foreign country, and one count of passport fraud. If convicted, he faces a mandatory penalty of life in prison or death.

The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Ms. Sassoon praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI New York Field Office.

The case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith C. Foster and Remy Grosbard for the Southern District of New York are in charge of the prosecution with assistance from Trial Attorney Chelsea Schinnour of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section.

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

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Superseding Indictment and the description of the Superseding Indictment set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact descried therein should be treated as an allegation. 

Danielle R. Sassoon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Frank A. Tarentino, the Special Agent in Charge for the New York Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”); and Jessica S. Tisch, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced today the unsealing of a Superseding Indictment in Manhattan federal court charging IVAN COLLADO; PATRICIA VILLALBA, a/k/a “Patty,” a/k/a “Sweetz”; ARECIO COLLADO; and JERRY VARGAS, a/k/a “Peligro,” with, among other things, cyberstalking resulting in death, murder through the use of a firearm, conspiracy to commit kidnapping resulting in death, and narcotics conspiracy in connection with the stalking and murder of Raymond Resto, a/k/a “Sugar Hill Tone” on November 26, 2023, in the Bronx, New York. IVAN COLLADO was previously arrested and charged with kidnapping conspiracy and attempted kidnapping resulting in death on February 15, 2024, when he was ordered detained.  VILLALBA, ARECIO COLLADO, and VARGAS were arrested yesterday and will be presented today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken. 

U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon said: “As alleged, these defendants carried out a sophisticated and brazen scheme to stalk, kidnap, and kill Raymond Resto over a drug debt. They murdered Resto in front of his wife in the parking lot of the Throggs Neck Shopping Center in the Bronx.  This Office’s commitment to investigate such callous violence is unwavering and we will not relent in our aggressive pursuit of justice against violent criminals.”

DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank A. Tarentino said: “Drug trafficking is a dangerous and illegal business, often entangled with violent and deadly consequences. These individuals, who participated in the cyberstalking, attempted kidnapping, and murder of Mr. Resto, chose to use violence and intimidation to further their criminal enterprise. The unsealing of this Superseding Indictment is a result of the partnership DEA New York has with our law enforcement partners in keeping our communities safe and making sure those responsible for these types of violent crimes face consequences for their actions.”  

As alleged in the charging documents in the case and in court documents:[1] 

Between at least in or around November 2023 through at least in or about February 2024, IVAN COLLADO, VILLALBA, and ARECIO COLLADO participated in a conspiracy to distribute large quantities of powder cocaine in New York City and elsewhere.  As part of this conspiracy, a particular drug dealer (“CC-1”) who was assisted by Resto, obtained kilograms of cocaine on consignment from IVAN COLLADO, VILLALBA, and ARECIO COLLADO, but CC-1 was unable to repay the debt owed for the cocaine.   

In response, IVAN COLLADO, together with ARECIO COLLADO and VILLALBA, harassed and intimidated CC-1, including through threats of violence, in an attempt to secure repayment and identify Resto and CC-1’s customers. IVAN COLLADO, VILLALBA, ARECIO COLLADO, and VARGAS also took steps to locate and place Resto under surveillance in advance of his murder, including through the use of a GPS tracking device installed on Resto’s car. 

On or about November 26, 2023, Resto was in the parking lot of the Throggs Neck Shopping Center in the Bronx with his wife when a BMW pulled in front of Resto and his wife, blocking their path to exit. Three gunmen  attempted to force Resto into the BMW.  During the kidnapping, one of the gunmen began shooting at Resto at close range.  Resto struggled to escape while another kidnapper also opened fire.  Resto was shot at least four times and was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.  Resto was 49 years old. 

Following the murder, IVAN COLLADO, ARECIO COLLADO, and VILLALBA redoubled their efforts to stalk, intimidate, and harass CC-1 and CC-1’s family.       

If you believe that you have additional information about this murder, please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York at 1-866-874-8900, and reference this case.

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A chart containing the names of the defendants, the charges against them, and the associated penalties is set forth below.

The statutory maximum and minimum sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentence of the defendant will be determined by the judge.        

Ms. Sassoon praised the outstanding investigative work of the DEA Task Force, which is comprised of members of the DEA, NYPD, and New York State Police, as well as the NYPD’s Bronx Homicide Squad.  Ms. Sassoon also thanked the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Intelligence Analysts for their support and assistance in this matter. 

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley C. Nicolas, Joseph H. Rosenberg, and Courtney L. Heavey are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from investigative analyst Koren Augustin and paralegal specialist Chanel-Ashley Foster.

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

COUNT

CHARGE

DEFENDANTS

MAX. PENALTIES

Narcotics Conspiracy

21 U.S.C. § 846

IVAN COLLADO,

PATRICIA VILLALBA,

       a/k/a “Patty,”

      a/k/a “Sweetz,”

ARECIO COLLADO

Life in prison

Mandatory minimum 10 years in prison

Cyberstalking Resulting in Death

18 U.S.C. §§ 2261A(2)(A) and (B), 2261(b)(1), and 2

IVAN COLLADO,

PATRICIA VILLALBA, 

       a/k/a “Sweetz,”

ARECIO COLLADO,

JERRY VARGAS,

       a/k/a “Peligro”

Conspiracy to Commit Kidnapping Resulting in Death

18 U.S.C. § 1201(c)

IVAN COLLADO,

PATRICIA VILLALBA,

      a/k/a “Patty,”

      a/k/a “Sweetz,”

ARECIO COLLADO,

JERRY VARGAS,

       a/k/a “Peligro”

Firearms Use, Carrying, and Possession

18 U.S.C. § 924(c) and 2

IVAN COLLADO,

PATRICIA VILLALBA,

      a/k/a “Patty,”

      a/k/a “Sweetz,”

ARECIO COLLADO,

JERRY VARGAS,

       a/k/a “Peligro”

Life in prison

Mandatory minimum consecutive sentence of 10 years in prison

Murder Through the Use of a Firearm

18 U.S.C. § 924(j)

IVAN COLLADO,

PATRICIA VILLALBA,

      a/k/a “Patty,”

      a/k/a “Sweetz,”

ARECIO COLLADO,

JERRY VARGAS,

       a/k/a “Peligro”

Cyberstalking With Use of a Dangerous Weapon

18 U.S.C. §§ 2261A(2)(A) and (B), 2261(b)(3), and 2

IVAN COLLADO,

PATRICIA VILLALBA,

      a/k/a “Patty,”

      a/k/a “Sweetz,”

ARECIO COLLADO,

JERRY VARGAS,

       a/k/a “Peligro”

False Statements

18 U.S.C. § 1001

PATRICIA VILLALBA,

      a/k/a “Patty,”

      a/k/a “Sweetz,”

False Statements

18 U.S.C. § 1001

PATRICIA VILLALBA,

      a/k/a “Patty,”

      a/k/a “Sweetz”

False Statements

18 U.S.C. § 1001

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact descried therein should be treated as an allegation. 

Danielle R. Sassoon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JORGE ALBERTO RAMOS was sentenced today to 97 months in prison for smuggling three female victims from El Salvador to the U.S., where he sexually abused them, and possession of child pornography.  RAMOS’s sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge John G. Koeltl, who also presided over his guilty plea.

U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon said: “Today, Jorge Alberto Ramos was held to account for his horrific exploitation of women he smuggled into the United States and sexually abused over the course of a decade.  We thank and commend the courageous women who came forward to law enforcement.  Ramos’s sentencing is a reminder that the Southern District of New York will work tirelessly to protect vulnerable victims from abuse.”

According to the Indictment, the Information, and statements made in related court proceedings:

From at least in or about 2013 and in or about 2023, RAMOS smuggled three victims from El Salvador to the Bronx, New York, where he raped, sexually assaulted, and sexually abused them.  RAMOS groomed at least three women (“Victim-1,” “Victim-2,” and “Victim-3,” and together, the “Victims”) by, among other things, expressing concern for them and their families and by sending them gifts and money.  RAMOS then arranged for each of the Victims to be smuggled from El Salvador into the U.S., including by paying fees for smugglers (or “coyotes”) to transport the Victims across the southern U.S. border.

Over the course of a decade, each of the Victims was smuggled into the U.S. and transported to New York. RAMOS then brought each of the Victims, respectively and at different times, to his residence in the Bronx (the “Ramos Residence”).  Once at the Ramos Residence, RAMOS raped and sexually assaulted the Victims.  In or about 2016, RAMOS raped and sexually assaulted Victim-1 on the first day he brought Victim-1 to the Ramos Residence and then continued to do so for several weeks until Victim-1 fled from RAMOS.  In or about 2017, RAMOS raped and sexually assaulted Victim-2 on the first day he brought Victim-2 to the Ramos Residence and continued to do so for approximately one month until Victim-2 fled from RAMOS.  Between in or about 2013 and in or about 2014, RAMOS raped and sexually assaulted Victim-3 on at least three occasions after bringing Victim-3 to the Ramos Residence. While the Victims stayed at the Ramos Residence, RAMOS attempted to control the Victims by, among other things, ordering the Victims to stay inside the Ramos Residence, attempting to isolate the Victims from other people, and threatening to report the Victims to immigration officials for deportation back to El Salvador.

After RAMOS was arrested, law enforcement agents seized a desktop computer from the Ramos Residence that was powered on at the time of the search. A forensic analysis of the computer led to the discovery of multiple photographs and videos containing known child pornography.

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In addition to the prison term, RAMOS, 45, of the Bronx, New York, was sentenced to five years of supervised release.

Ms. Sassoon praised the outstanding investigative work of U.S. Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations and the New York City Police Department. 

This case is being handled by the Office’s Civil Rights Unit in the Criminal Division and the Violent and Organized Crime Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth A. Espinosa, Emily A. Johnson, and Jane Kim are in charge of the prosecution.

Danielle R. Sassoon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Bryan Miller, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”); and Jessica S. Tisch, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced today the filing of a civil forfeiture Complaint against a Bronx residence located at 3267 Decatur Avenue in the Bronx, New York.  The Complaint alleges that the residence was used by members of the “Drilly Gang” as a stash house for drug trafficking and firearms.

U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon said: “As alleged, 3267 Decatur Avenue—a Bronx residence located steps away from an elementary school—was used by members of a gang as a stash house for drugs and firearms.  This civil forfeiture action seeking to seize the residence demonstrates that we will use all the tools available to protect the streets of this city.  Together with our law enforcement partners, we remain committed to the fight against gun violence and drug trafficking in our community.”

ATF Special Agent in Charge Bryan Miller said: “Illicit drug trafficking destroys lives and fuels violence. Taking over a home, for the purpose of selling illegal drugs next to a school, while boasting about it on social media, demonstrates a blatant disregard for the safety of our communities. The ATF / NYPD Joint Firearms Task Force remains committed to dismantling criminal networks and protecting innocent people from the tragic consequences of violent crime. No one should have to live or work next to an illegal narcotics operation run by armed criminals. We will remain relentless in our efforts to keep our streets safe. I commend the dedication and hard work of the men and women of the Joint Firearms Task Force, NYPD 52nd Precinct, and SDNY for their efforts in this case.”

According to the allegations in the Complaint filed in Manhattan federal court today and other court filings: [1]

Since in or about April 2024, law enforcement agents with the ATF and the NYPD have been conducting an investigation into 3267 Decatur Avenue in the Bronx, New York, including members of a group known as the “Drilly Gang” that used 3267 Decatur Avenue as a stash house for drug trafficking and firearms.  The residence at 3267 Decatur Avenue is located steps away from an elementary school in the Norwood neighborhood of the Bronx.  Members of the Drilly Gang were using 3267 Decatur Avenue as a headquarter of operations, including as a location to film rap videos in furtherance of the Drilly Gang, which included depictions of drugs and weapons.  Members of the Drilly Gang also posted on social media photographs and videos depicting their involvement in the sale of drugs and possession of firearms, as depicted below:

On or about November 4, 2024, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at 3267 Decatur Avenue and recovered, among other things: a pistol magazine; 177.73 grams of cocaine; 33 grams of methamphetamine; 38 grams of fentanyl; 65 grams of psilocybin mushrooms; and 240 grams of marijuana. Investigators also found drug packaging materials, which were designed to make the drugs look like candy (i.e., Welch's Fruit Snacks, Skittles, Peanut Buddy Bars, etc.) and approximately $1700 in U.S. currency. Depicted below are some of the items seized from 3267 Decatur Avenue:

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Ms. Sassoon praised the outstanding investigative work of the ATF and the NYPD.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit and Illicit Finance and Money Laundering Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew K. Chan and Frank J. Balsamello are in charge of the prosecution.

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the Complaint, and the description of the Complaint set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.

Danielle R. Sassoon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that CATHERINE SEEMER, a nurse practitioner who stole the identities of 12 medical doctors and orchestrated an $11.2 million disability loan fraud scheme, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel to five years in prison. 

U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon said: “Today, Catherine Seemer has been held accountable for defrauding a federal loan forgiveness program created to help ease the financial burden of those who suffer from permanent physical or mental disabilities, including military veterans who endure service-related disabilities.  Seemer used the stolen identities of a dozen medical doctors to falsify disabilities and cause more than $11.2 million in loans to be fraudulently discharged.  This Office remains dedicated to rooting out fraud and abuse of taxpayer-funded government programs.”

According to the allegations contained in the Complaint, Information, and statements made in court:

From June 2017 through March 2022, SEEMER orchestrated a scheme to cause the fraudulent discharge of millions of dollars’ worth of student loans for borrowers who did not qualify for relief under the federal Total and Permanent Disability Discharge Program and its private analogue.  As part of the scheme, SEEMER deceived over 125 borrowers into believing they qualified for various forms of student loan relief and charged them fees to facilitate their loan discharge process.  She then used the personal identifying information of the unsuspecting borrowers to submit fraudulent applications for student loan discharge on the basis of non-existent permanent physical and mental disabilities.  In support of these applications, SEEMER used the stolen identities, medical license numbers, and forged signatures of over a dozen medical doctors to falsify medical diagnoses and disability certifications.  The scheme resulted in the wrongful discharge of over approximately $11.2 million in loans under the disability-based relief programs.  

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In addition to the prison term, SEEMER, 44, of Elmsford, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $635,352.

Ms. Sassoon praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General. 

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Qais Ghafary is in charge of the prosecution.

Danielle R. Sassoon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Jessica S. Tisch, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced today the unsealing of a complaint charging LEO BONILLA, RIMEL MACK (“RIMEL”), YOMEL MACK (“YOMEL”), and BRYANT TORRES in connection with a shootout on or about August 24, 2024, that occurred in the vicinity of P.S. 396 and Middle School 390 on Andrews Avenue in the Bronx, New York, during which at least five individuals discharged a total of at least 20 rounds, and at least three people were shot and injured. BONILLA, YOMEL, and TORRES will be presented today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ona T. Wang, and RIMEL remains at large.

U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon said: “As alleged, the four defendants exchanged gunfire in broad daylight on Andrews Avenue in the Bronx, a heavily populated residential area with two public schools. The shootout resulted in multiple rounds being fired indiscriminately, endangering the lives of residents and school-aged children. This Office will continue to protect our children and our neighborhoods from gun violence.”

NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said: “Every single day, the members of the NYPD are out in the streets going after criminals who endanger our kids and our communities. Today’s charges and the record low shootings we experienced in January make clear that our precision policing strategies are working. I thank the U.S Attorney’s Office for their partnership and commitment to keeping New Yorkers safe.”

According to the allegations contained in the Complaint:

On or about August 24, 2024, a shootout (the “Shootout”) occurred in the vicinity of P.S. 396 and Middle School 390 on Andrews Avenue in the Bronx, New York (the “Schools”), during which at least five individuals discharged a total of at least 20 rounds, and at least three people were shot and injured. As depicted on the map below, the Schools are located on Andrews Avenue, with P.S. 396 serving students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade and Middle School 390 serving students in grades six through eight. The Shootout began with shots fired from a residential building on Andrews Avenue (the “Residential Building”), marked on the map below by a red flag. The Shootout then continued in the middle of Andrews Avenue in front of the Schools.
 

At approximately 4:30 p.m., RIMEL MACK, YOMEL MACK, and TORRES, the defendants, walked southbound on Andrews Avenue towards West Burnside Avenue in the Bronx. After they approached West Burnside Avenue, RIMEL, YOMEL, and TORRES turned around and went back northbound on Andrews Avenue. Earlier that day, YOMEL had been stabbed, so RIMEL, YOMEL, and TORRES were believed to be “spinning the block,” or in other words, seeking retaliation and demonstrating toughness and dominance in the neighborhood.  At approximately the same time as the three defendants were spinning the block, BONILLA, the fourth defendant, walked in and out of the front door of the Residential Building. As RIMEL, YOMEL, and TORRES walked northbound past the Residential Building, BONILLA emerged and fired multiple shots in their direction:

RIMEL, YOMEL, and TORRES then drew firearms and began shooting back in the direction of BONILLA. In the exchange of gunfire, both YOMEL and TORRES were hit. TORRES crawled across Andrews Avenue near a parked black SUV (on the side of the street where the Schools are located). Surveillance video captured TORRES reaching up near the rear driver’s-side tire of the SUV—the same location where a black SCCY CPX-2 9mm firearm was later recovered.
RIMEL and YOMEL ran towards the middle of Andrews Avenue and began to flee northbound away from BONILLA, but RIMEL ran back to the sidewalk on the side of the street with the Residential Building and fired multiple rounds back in the direction of BONILLA.  RIMEL and YOMEL then fled northbound on Andrews Avenue. As the two fled northbound, YOMEL (left) and RIMEL (right) fired multiple gunshots at an individual hiding underneath a red pickup truck (the “Victim”):

Following the Shootout, BONILLA fled southbound on Andrews Avenue. RIMEL and YOMEL continued to flee northbound on Andrews Avenue, and YOMEL was eventually taken to Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx. TORRES and the Victim were transported to Bronx Care Hospital. TORRES suffered three gunshot wounds to his buttocks and a fractured pelvis. The Victim suffered nine gunshot wounds, including two to his left arm, two to his right hip, one to his left hip, two to his left knee, and two to his left arm.

*               *                *

BONILLA, 41, of the Bronx, New York, is charged with one count of possession of ammunition after a felony conviction, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.

RIMEL, 26, of the Bronx, New York, is charged with one count of conspiracy to possess a firearm in a school zone, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and one count of possession of a firearm in a school zone, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

YOMEL, 29, of the Bronx, New York, is charged with one count of possession of ammunition after a felony conviction, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, one count of conspiracy to possess a firearm in a school zone, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to possess a firearm in a school zone, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

TORRES, 26, of the Bronx, New York, is charged with one count of conspiracy to possess a firearm in a school zone, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and one count of possession of a firearm in a school zone, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.

Ms. Sassoon praised the outstanding investigative work of the NYPD.

The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Hoffman is in charge of the prosecution.

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

Minh Quang Pham, also known as “Amim”, 41, was sentenced today to 44 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for attempted suicide bombing in alliance with al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a designated foreign terrorist organization.

“The defendant was sentenced for an attempt to commit an act of terrorism and plotting a suicide bombing on behalf of AQAP,” said Devin DeBacker, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “The Justice Department will not rest in seeking justice for acts of terrorism and will continue to thwart any attempt to jeopardize global security.”

“Pham coordinated with known terrorist Anwar al-Aulaqi on a plot to conduct a suicide bombing at Heathrow International Airport which could have killed or injured many people, but fortunately that plan was stopped,” said Assistant Director David J. Scott of the FBI’s Counterterrorism Division. “Pham also tried to recruit others to commit acts of terrorism. The FBI will work with our partners to hold accountable those who align themselves with terrorist organizations and attempt to carry out acts of violence.”

“Minh Quang Pham's actions were not just an affront to the safety of this country, but to the principles of peace and security that we hold dear,” said U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon for the Southern District of New York. “Today’s sentencing underscores our collective resolve to stop terrorism before it occurs, and place would-be terrorists in prison.”

According to court documents, in December 2010, Pham informed others that he planned to travel to Ireland while residing in London. From Ireland, he traveled to Yemen, the principal base of operations for AQAP. Pham traveled to Yemen in order to join AQAP, wage jihad on behalf of AQAP, and martyr himself for AQAP’s cause. After arriving in Yemen, he swore an oath of loyalty to AQAP in the presence of an AQAP commander.

While in Yemen in 2010 and 2011, Pham provided assistance to and received training from Anwar al-Aulaqi, a U.S.-born senior leader of AQAP. Al-Aulaqi advised Pham to return to the U.K. for the purpose of finding and making contact with individuals who, like Pham, wanted to travel to Yemen to join AQAP. Al-Aulaqi also provided Pham with money, as well as a telephone number and e-mail address that Pham was to use to contact al-Aulaqi upon his return to the U.K. In addition, Pham exchanged his laptop computer with al-Aulaqi, who provided him with a new “clean” laptop to take with him when he returned to the U.K. so that the authorities would not find anything if they searched his computer.

In or about June 2011, prior to his departure from Yemen, Pham approached al-Aulaqi about conducting a suicide attack whereby he would “sacrifice” himself on behalf of AQAP. Al-Aulaqi personally taught Pham how to create a lethal explosive device using household chemicals and directed Pham to detonate such an explosive device at the arrivals area of Heathrow International Airport following Pham’s return to the U.K. in 2011. Al-Aulaqi instructed Pham to carry an explosive in a concealed backpack and target the area where flights arrived from the U.S. or Israel. During this time, Pham made videos depicting his preparation to carry out that attack. In one video, Pham is shown wiring an electrical device for the use of making an explosive device. In another video, he sketches an explosive device to be contained in a backpack, and in a third, Pham wears a backpack with wiring for explosives on it, which he turns on in the video.

During this time, around June or July 2011 — shortly before Pham returned from Yemen to the U.K. — Pham recorded a video in which he attempted to recruit and encourage individuals in the West to engage in violent jihad abroad or in their home countries. In this video, he also expresses a desire to martyr himself. At the outset of this video, consisting of an approximately 13-minute-long monologue, Pham states that, “America itself is not fighting a war with a group or an organization, they are fighting with the army of Allah, the believers.” He continues, in part, “We have that opportunity, that ability to be in their midst, in their land . . . and I advise the brothers inshallah to, whatever you can, to gather and prepare and strike the enemy in their own land . . . The saying, a thousand cuts, you hit them with as much as you can until inshallah the enemy will bleed to death.” During his time in Yemen, Pham also assisted with the preparation and dissemination of AQAP’s propaganda magazine, Inspire. Pham, who has college degrees in both graphic design and animation, worked directly with now-deceased U.S. citizen, Samir Khan, who was a prominent member of AQAP responsible for editing and publishing Inspire.  

Pham also received a six-page document entitled “Your Instructions” from al-Aulaqi in Yemen, which provided detailed instructions on how Pham was to commit his suicide attack at Heathrow. The document from al-Aulaqi instructed Pham, “[d]o not do anything for the first three months” and “[y]ou should target Christmas/ New Year season[.]” The instructions from al-Aulaqi provided explicit direction about the importance of using shrapnel to kill as many people as possible, including that “[t]he proper use of shrapnel is as important as the main charge itself. The detonation wave from a main charge of AP by itself is most likely not going to cause the death of anyone except those who are in its immediate vicinity. It is the shrapnel that would do the job. You may imagine this IED as a shotgun that is firing in all directions.” The document therefore instructed Pham to take “special care” with the “proper arrangement and choice of shrapnel,” and to “poison” it to inflict maximum death.

On July 27, 2011, Pham returned to the U.K. Upon his arrival at Heathrow, U.K. authorities detained Pham, searched him, and recovered various materials from him, including a live round of 7.62mm caliber armor-piercing ammunition, which is consistent with ammunition that is used in a Kalashnikov assault rifle, a type of weapon for which Pham received training from AQAP in Yemen. U.K. authorities released Pham and cautioned him for his possession of the live round of ammunition, before, in December 2011, arresting him pursuant to their authorities under U.K. immigration law. In searches of Pham’s residence, other locations, and vehicles, U.K. authorities recovered several pieces of electronic media. Among other things, a forensic analysis of Pham’s electronic media showed that he was accessing speeches and writings of al-Aulaqi as late as December 2011 — months after Pham’s return to the U.K.

On May 24, 2012, a grand jury returned an indictment charging Pham with terrorism offenses and U.S. authorities sought Pham’s extradition from the U.K. He was provisionally arrested with a view towards extradition on June 29, 2012, and he was extradited to the United States on Feb. 26, 2015. On Jan. 8, 2016, Pham pleaded guilty to terrorism offenses related to certain of the same underlying conduct. On May 27, 2016, Pham was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan principally to a term of 40 years in prison. On Sept. 12, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed Pham’s conviction and sentence. Thereafter, Pham made a motion that, based on intervening Supreme Court decisions, resulted in the vacatur of one of the counts of his conviction. Ultimately, the government, with Pham’s consent, moved to vacate Pham’s earlier convictions. On April 8, 2021, a grand jury returned a superseding indictment, reinstating certain charges and filing other new charges against Pham, and which formed the basis for Pham’s May 11, 2023, guilty plea and conviction.

The FBI Washington and New York Field Offices investigated the case. The Justice Department's Office of International Affairs, Metropolitan Police Service/SO 15 Counter Terrorism Command at New Scotland Yard, Crown Prosecution Service, and the Home Office provided assistance in the investigation, extradition, and prosecution of the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob H. Gutwillig for the Southern District of New York and Trial Attorney John Cella of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section prosecuted the case. 

Danielle R. Sassoon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Devin DeBacker, the Head of the National Security Division of the United States Department of Justice; and Sanjay Virmani, the Special Agent in Charge of the Counterterrorism Division of the Washington Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation ("FBI"), announced today that MINH QUANG PHAM, a/k/a “Amin,” 41, was sentenced to 44 years in prison for terrorism charges based on Pham’s support of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (“AQAP”), a designated foreign terrorist organization, including attempting to commit a suicide bombing at Heathrow International Airport (“Heathrow Airport”).  On May 11, 2023, PHAM pled guilty to providing and attempting to provide material support to AQAP and participating in a conspiracy to do the same; conspiring to receive military-type training from AQAP; and providing and attempting to provide material support for acts of terrorism.  Today’s sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman.

U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon said:  “Minh Quang Pham's actions were not just an affront to the safety of this country, but to the principles of peace and security that we hold dear. Today’s sentencing underscores our collective resolve to stop terrorism before it occurs, and place would-be terrorists in prison.”

Head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division Devin DeBacker said: “The defendant was sentenced for an attempt to commit an act of terrorism and plotting a suicide bombing on behalf of AQAP. The Justice Department will not rest in seeking justice for acts of terrorism and will continue to thwart any attempt to jeopardize global security.”

FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani said: "Pham pledged an oath of loyalty to al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula and received military training from AQAP as part of his plot to commit a suicide bombing on the organization's behalf. This case is a reminder of the relentless terrorism threats targeting the U.S., our citizens, and our interests abroad. We thank our international partners for their collaboration over the last 15 years, particularly the U.K.'s Crown Prosecution Service, Metropolitan Police Service, and New Scotland Yard. Their work prevented Pham from conducting a terrorist attack at Heathrow Airport and later helped lead to his conviction in the U.S."

According to the indictments, extradition materials, court filings and statements made at related court proceedings, including today’s sentencing:

In December 2010, PHAM informed others that he planned to travel to Ireland while residing in London. From Ireland, he traveled to Yemen, the principal base of operations for AQAP. PHAM traveled to Yemen in order to join AQAP, to wage jihad on behalf of AQAP and to martyr himself for AQAP’s cause. After arriving in Yemen, he swore an oath of loyalty to AQAP in the presence of an AQAP commander.

While in Yemen in 2010 and 2011, PHAM provided assistance to and received training from Anwar al-Aulaqi, a U.S.-born senior leader of AQAP.  Al-Aulaqi advised PHAM to return to the United Kingdom for the purpose of finding and making contact with individuals who, like PHAM, wanted to travel to Yemen to join AQAP.  Al-Aulaqi also provided PHAM with money, as well as a telephone number and e-mail address that PHAM was to use to contact al-Aulaqi upon his return to the U.K.  In addition, PHAM exchanged his laptop computer with al-Aulaqi, who provided him with a new “clean” laptop to take with him when he returned to the U.K. so that the authorities would not find anything if they searched his computer.

In or about June 2011, prior to his departure from Yemen, PHAM approached al-Aulaqi about conducting a suicide attack whereby he would “sacrifice” himself on behalf of AQAP. Al-Aulaqi personally taught PHAM how to create a lethal explosive device using household chemicals and directed PHAM to detonate such an explosive device at the arrivals area of Heathrow following PHAM’s return to the U.K. in 2011.  Al-Aulaqi instructed PHAM to carry an explosive in a concealed backpack and target the area where flights arrived from the U.S. or Israel.  During this time, PHAM made videos depicting his preparation to carry out that attack.  In one video, PHAM is shown wiring an electrical device for the use of making an explosive device; in another, he sketches an explosive device to be contained in a backpack; and in a third, PHAM wears a backpack with wiring for explosives on it, which he turns on in the video.

Also during this time, in or about June or July 2011—shortly before PHAM returned from Yemen to the U.K.—PHAM recorded a video in which he attempted to recruit and encourage individuals in the West to engage in violent jihad abroad or in their home countries; in this video, he also expresses a desire to martyr himself.  At the outset of this video, consisting of an approximately 13 minute-long monologue, PHAM states that, “America itself is not fighting a war with a group or an organization, they are fighting with the army of Allah, the believers.”  He continues, in part, “We have that opportunity, that ability to be in their midst, in their land . . . and I advise the brothers inshallah to, whatever you can, to gather and prepare and strike the enemy in their own land . . . The saying, a thousand cuts, you hit them with as much as you can until inshallah the enemy will bleed to death.”  During his time in Yemen, PHAM also assisted with the preparation and dissemination of AQAP’s propaganda magazine, Inspire. PHAM, who has college degrees in both graphic design and animation, worked directly with now-deceased U.S. citizen Samir Khan, who was a prominent member of AQAP responsible for editing and publishing Inspire.

PHAM also received a six-page document entitled “Your Instructions” from al-Aulaqi in Yemen, which provided detailed instructions on how PHAM was to commit his suicide attack at Heathrow.  The document from al-Aulaqi instructed PHAM, “[d]o not do anything for the first three months” and “[y]ou should target Christmas/ New Year season[.]”  The instructions from al-Aulaqi provided explicit direction about the importance of using shrapnel to kill as many people as possible, including that “[t]he proper use of shrapnel is as important as the main charge itself.  The detonation wave from a main charge of AP by itself is most likely not going to cause the death of anyone except those who are in its immediate vicinity.  It is the shrapnel that would do the job.  You may imagine this IED as a shotgun that is firing in all directions.”  The document therefore instructed PHAM to take “special care” with the “proper arrangement and choice of shrapnel,” and to “poison” it to inflict maximum death.

On July 27, 2011, PHAM returned to the U.K.  Upon his arrival at Heathrow, U.K. authorities detained PHAM, searched him, and recovered various materials from him, including a live round of 7.62mm caliber armor-piercing ammunition, which is consistent with ammunition that is used in a Kalashnikov assault rifle, a type of weapon for which PHAM received training from AQAP in Yemen.  U.K. authorities released PHAM and cautioned him for his possession of the live round of ammunition, before, in December 2011, arresting him pursuant to their authorities under U.K. immigration law.  In searches of PHAM’s residence, other locations, and vehicles, U.K. authorities recovered several pieces of electronic media.  Among other things, a forensic analysis of PHAM’s electronic media showed that he was accessing speeches and writings of al-Aulaqi as late as December 2011—months after PHAM’s return to the U.K.   

On May 24, 2012, a grand jury returned an indictment charging Pham with terrorism offenses and U.S. authorities sought Pham’s extradition from the United Kingdom.  He was provisionally arrested with a view towards extradition on June 29, 2012, and he was extradited to the United States on February 26, 2015.  On January 8, 2016, Pham pled guilty to terrorism offenses related to certain of the same underlying conduct.  On May 27, 2016, Pham was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan principally to a term of 40 years in prison.  On September 12, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed Pham’s conviction and sentence.  Thereafter, Pham made a motion that, based on intervening Supreme Court decisions, resulted in the vacatur of one of the counts of his conviction. Ultimately, the Government, with Pham’s consent, moved to vacate Pham’s earlier convictions.  On April 8, 2021, a grand jury returned a superseding indictment, reinstating certain charges and filing other new charges against Pham, and which formed the basis for Pham’s May 11, 2023 guilty plea and conviction.

*               *                *

In addition to the prison term, PHAM, 41, was also sentenced to life term of supervised release and a $400 special assessment.

Ms. Sassoon praised the extraordinary investigative work of the FBI’s Washington Field Office.  She also expressed her gratitude to the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force for the critical role it played in the investigation and prosecution.  Ms. Sassoon also thanked the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and Office of International Affairs for their significant assistance, as well as the Metropolitan Police Service/SO 15 Counter Terrorism Command at New Scotland Yard, the Crown Prosecution Service, and the Home Office for their cooperation in the investigation, extradition and prosecution.

This prosecution is being handled by the Office’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob H. Gutwillig is in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorney John Cella of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

Danielle R. Sassoon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Derek S. Maltz, the Acting Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), announced that a jury returned a guilty verdict against QINGZHOU WANG, a/k/a “Bruce” (“WANG”), and YIYI CHEN, a/k/a “Chiron” (“CHEN”), on fentanyl precursor importation and money laundering charges.  WANG was also convicted of importing a methamphetamine precursor.  WANG and CHEN, both nationals of China, were found guilty following a two-week trial before U.S. District Judge Paul G. Gardephe.

U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon and Acting Administrator Derek S. Maltz also announced today the seizure of domain names for seven websites and four cryptocurrency accounts, totaling approximately $900,000 worth of digital funds, tied to the illicit precursor chemical business of WANG and CHEN’s company, HUBEI AMARVEL BIOTECH CO., LTD., a/k/a “AmarvelBio,” (“AMARVEL BIOTECH”), its related entities, and its executives and employees.  Five additional websites tied to AMARVEL BIOTECH, including its principal website, were previously seized in June 2023.

U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon said: “Qingzhou Wang and Yiyi Chen conspired to import massive amounts of fentanyl precursors from China into the United States.  They did so with callous disregard for the effect that such deadly chemicals would ultimately have here in the United States.  Now, they stand convicted in an American courtroom and face a substantial term of imprisonment for their crimes.  And we are not done.  The seizures announced today continue the ongoing fight against the fentanyl supply chain.  The message should be clear:  we are watching, and we will continue to dismantle these fentanyl precursor operations, and bring the individuals responsible to justice.”

Acting Administrator Derek S. Maltz said: “I have personally seen the devastation that illicit fentanyl has had on American families. I have looked into the eyes of hundreds of mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers, who would give anything to have one more moment with their loved one. The DEA’s top priority is protecting the safety of the American people. These convictions, and the seizures of these websites and accounts, show that no matter where you live in the world or where you operate in the fentanyl supply chain, the DEA will utilize all of our resources to bring you to justice. I’m incredibly proud of the men and women of DEA, alongside our law enforcement partners, who worked tirelessly on this investigation and the unrelenting fight against illicit fentanyl.”

As reflected in the Indictment, public filings, and the evidence presented at trial:

AMARVEL BIOTECH was a chemical manufacturer based in the city of Wuhan, in Hubei province, China, that exported vast quantities of the precursor chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl and its analogues. A synthetic opioid that is 50 times more potent than heroin, fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18 to 49.  Fentanyl analogues, similar in chemical makeup and effect to fentanyl, can be even more potent and lethal than fentanyl.  Fentanyl and its analogues have devastated communities across the U.S. and are fueling the ongoing opioid epidemic, which killed at least 105,263 Americans between February 2022 and January 2023 alone.

During the course of an undercover investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), AMARVEL BIOTECH and its principal executive, WANG, its marketing manager, CHEN, and a sales representative, FNU LNU, a/k/a “Er Yang,” a/k/a “Anita” (“YANG”), shipped more than 200 kilograms from China to the United States of precursor chemicals used to make fentanyl and its analogues.  AMARVEL BIOTECH, WANG, CHEN, and YANG shipped the precursors to the U.S. after being told that the chemicals would be used to produce fentanyl in New York, and they agreed to supply multi-ton shipments of fentanyl precursors despite being told that Americans had died after consuming fentanyl made from the chemicals that the defendants had sold.

For example, on or about November 17, 2022, a DEA confidential source (“CS-1”) wrote to YANG using an encrypted messaging application, “You know I making fentanyl,” and “Is not safe.”  YANG replied, “i know.”  On or about December 1, 2022, YANG wrote to CS-1, promising that CS-1 would be “happy with our product” and noting that CS-1 would “be able to synthesize fentanyl.” In exchange for payment in cryptocurrency, AMARVEL BIOTECH thereafter shipped from China to New York approximately 999.7 grams of the fentanyl precursor 1-boc-4-AP, approximately 1,002.6 grams of the fentanyl precursor 1-boc-4-piperidone, and approximately 893.6 grams of the methamphetamine precursor methylamine.

In or about March 2023, WANG and CHEN traveled from China to Bangkok, Thailand, to meet with an individual whom CS-1 represented was CS-1’s boss, but was in fact another DEA confidential source (“CS-2”).  During the meeting, WANG and CHEN discussed AMARVEL BIOTECH’s ability to supply ton-quantities of fentanyl precursors to New York for CS-1 and CS-2’s fentanyl manufacturing operation.  After CS-2 stated that CS-2 wanted a different formula for manufacturing fentanyl and that several of CS-2’s American customers had purportedly died, WANG and CHEN advised they had “a lot of customers in America and Mexico” who could provide technical assistance with fentanyl production.                        

After the March 2023 meeting in Bangkok, AMARVEL BIOTECH, WANG, CHEN, and YANG agreed to sell CS-1 and CS-2 approximately 210 kilograms of fentanyl precursors in exchange for payment in cryptocurrency.  During an April 10, 2023 video call with WANG and CHEN, CS-2 stated that the approximately 210 kilograms of fentanyl precursors would be used to manufacture approximately 50 to 55 kilograms of fentanyl—an amount that could contain approximately 25 million deadly doses.   

In or about May 2023, AMARVEL BIOTECH, WANG, CHEN, and YANG sent to the U.S. the shipment ordered by CS-1 and CS-2.  On or about May 5, 2023, the DEA retrieved the precursor shipment from a warehouse near Los Angeles, California.  Lab testing confirmed the presence of a precursor chemical for a fentanyl analogue. In an encrypted messaging group chat with CS-1, CS-2, WANG, and CHEN, YANG explained that “New York, the United States, has been strict in checking the precursors of the ‘final product’ some time ago, so for the sake of safety, this time it is sent to California.”

In or about June 2023, WANG and CHEN traveled from China to meet again with CS-2.  During the meeting, WANG and CHEN discussed with CS-2 a multi-ton order of fentanyl precursor chemicals.  WANG and CHEN also discussed the need to take additional measures to protect themselves from detection and interdiction of their shipments “because recently American government . . . seized some Mexican group and they followed the routes to China,” where the U.S. Government found “our competitor in China”—an apparent reference to fentanyl-related charges filed in the Southern District of New York and announced in April 2023 against, among others, leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel and certain China-based precursor chemical company executives.

AMARVEL BIOTECH openly advertised online its sale of precursor chemicals for use in manufacturing fentanyl.  Through its website and a host of other storefront sites, AMARVEL BIOTECH targeted precursor chemical customers in Mexico, where drug cartels operate clandestine laboratories and distribute finished fentanyl into and throughout the United States, including by advertising fentanyl precursors as a “Mexico hot sale,” guaranteeing “100% stealth shipping” abroad, and posting to its websites documentation of AMARVEL BIOTECH shipping chemicals to Culiacan, the home city of the Sinaloa Cartel, one of the dominant drug trafficking organizations in the Western Hemisphere and which is largely responsible for the massive influx of fentanyl into the U.S. in recent years.  Below is a screenshot of one of AMARVEL BIOTECH’s store pages for a fentanyl precursor:

AMARVEL BIOTECH also endeavored to thwart law enforcement interdiction of its precursor chemical shipments.  AMARVEL BIOTECH advertised online the business’s ability to use deceptive packaging—such as packaging indicating the contents are dog food, nuts, or motor oil—to ensure “safe” delivery of the illicit contents such shipments.  An example of one of AMARVEL BIOTECH’s online advertisements are shown below:

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WANG, 36, of China, and CHEN, 32, of China, were each convicted of:  one count of conspiracy to import the fentanyl precursor chemical 1-boc-4-AP, knowing or having reasonable cause to believe it will be used to manufacture fentanyl, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.  WANG was also convicted of: one count of importation of the fentanyl precursor chemical 1-boc-4-AP, knowing or having reasonable cause to believe it will be used to manufacture fentanyl, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of importation of the methamphetamine precursor chemical methylamine, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.  WANG and CHEN were each acquitted of one count of conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and a fentanyl-related substance.

The maximum penalties are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.

A table listing the websites for which the domain names have been seized pursuant Title 21, U.S. Code, Sections 853 and 970 is set forth below:

Website

Time of Seizure

July 2024

July 2024

July 2024

July 2024

July 2024

July 2024

July 2024

June 2023

June 2023

June 2023

June 2023

June 2023

Internet users attempting to access the seized domains now see the following:

Ms. Sassoon praised the outstanding efforts of the DEA’s Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit.  Ms. Sassoon also thanked the DEA Bangkok Country Office, DEA Wellington Country Office, DEA Beijing Country Office, DEA Honolulu District Office, DEA New York Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) Strike Force, DEA Riverside District Office, DEA Special Testing Laboratory, the DEA Southwest Laboratory, the Office of International Affairs of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, the Royal Thai Police Narcotics Suppression Bureau, the Fiji Police Force Narcotic Bureau, the Fiji Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaii for their assistance.

This case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander Li and Kevin Sullivan are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Sabrina Jim Munoz.

Danielle R. Sassoon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JUAN MERCADO, a former superintendent for the New York City Housing Authority (“NYCHA”), was sentenced today to 48 months in prison for soliciting and accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes from contractors in exchange for awarding those contractors no-bid contracts or approving payment on previously awarded contracts at NYCHA developments. MERCADO’s sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni, who also presided over his guilty plea. 

U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon said: “As a public housing superintendent, Juan Mercado held a position of public trust.  For years, Mercado abused his position by demanding and accepting more than $300,000 in bribes in connection with repair work at NYCHA developments – money that should have gone to improving the lives of NYCHA residents. As today’s sentence shows, corruption will not be tolerated at any level of government.”

According to the Information and Complaint, the plea agreement, and evidence presented during a multi-day evidentiary hearing:

NYCHA is the largest public housing authority in the country, providing housing to New Yorkers across the City and receiving over $1.5 billion in federal funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”) every year. When repairs or construction work at NYCHA housing require the use of outside contractors, services must typically be purchased via a bidding process. However, when the value of a contract was under a certain threshold, designated staff at NYCHA developments, including superintendents, could hire a contractor of their choosing without soliciting multiple bids.  With either type of contract, a NYCHA employee needed to certify that the work was satisfactorily completed in order for the contractor to receive payment from NYCHA.

From at least 2014 through at least July 2023, MERCADO served as a superintendent at multiple NYCHA housing developments in Queens.  For approximately nine years, MERCADO demanded and received hundreds of thousands of dollars from multiple contractors in exchange for arranging for those contractors to receive contract work at developments where MERCADO was employed or in order for MERCADO to sign off on work that had been completed.  Although MERCADO initially demanded that contractors pay him 10% of the contract value in order to receive the work, MERCADO eventually doubled the amount that contractors had to pay from 10% to 20% of the value of the contract.  The contractors typically paid MERCADO between $500 and $2,000 for each contract on hundreds of occasions.  In total, MERCADO accepted approximately $329,300 in bribes in connection with at least $1,886,000 in contract work at NYCHA developments.

Of the 70 individual NYCHA employees charged with bribery and extortion offenses in February 2024, 60 have pled guilty, and three have been convicted after trial.

If you believe you have information related to bribery, extortion, or any other illegal conduct by NYCHA employees, please contact OIGNYCHA@doi.nyc.gov or (212) 306-3356. If you were involved in such conduct, please consider self-disclosing through the SDNY Whistleblower Pilot Program at USANYS.WBP@usdoj.gov.

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In addition to the prison term, MERCADO, 50, of West Babylon, New York, was sentenced to 3 years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $329,300 and forfeit $329,300. 

Ms. Sassoon praised the outstanding investigative work of the New York City Department of Investigation, U.S. Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), the HUD Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, which work together collaboratively as part of the HSI Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force, as well as the Special Agents and Task Force Officers of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

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

This case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jerry J. Fang, Jacob R. Fiddelman, Catherine Ghosh, and Meredith C. Foster are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Nandita Vasantha.

Danielle R. Sassoon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that RICHARD CRUZ, who caused the deaths of a seven-year-old boy and a 48-year-old woman after his motor vessel Stimulus Money capsized in the Hudson River in July 2022, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla to 18 months in prison.  In October 2024, CRUZ pled guilty to misconduct and neglect of a ship officer resulting in death.

U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon said: “Today, Richard Cruz has been held accountable for his misconduct and negligent actions that caused the tragic deaths of a young boy and a woman when Cruz’s vessel capsized in the Hudson River.  This prosecution should send a message to all captains and operators of commercial vessels that there will be consequences when they fail to follow the federal regulations and safety protocols that exist to keep passengers safe.”

According to the allegations contained in the Complaint, Information, and statements made in court:

On July 12, 2022, at approximately 2:40 p.m., the motor vessel Stimulus Money capsized in the Hudson River resulting in the death of two passengers — a seven-year-old boy (“Victim-1”) and a 48-year-old woman (“Victim-2”).  At the time of the capsizing, CRUZ was the owner and captain of the vessel.  CRUZ had purchased the vessel approximately three months before the capsizing.  CRUZ conducted boat “tours” for paying customers onboard the vessel on multiple occasions in the months leading up to the capsizing, despite not having the required United States Coast Guard (“USCG”) credentials and certifications to do so.

CRUZ’s negligent actions and omissions caused the capsizing and the deaths of Victim-1 and Victim-2.  At the time of the capsizing, among other things: CRUZ operated Stimulus Money with 13 people on board, exceeding the vessel’s maximum allowable capacity; CRUZ operated Stimulus Money at a high rate of speed even though an advisory had been issued to alert small watercraft of hazardous conditions, including high winds and heavy seas; CRUZ had not obtained a required USCG certification to operate the vessel with paying customers on board; and CRUZ operated Stimulus Money without a valid USCG Certificate of Inspection, which is required for a vessel to operate with paying customers on board.

All 13 people on board Stimulus Money were thrown overboard when it capsized in the Hudson River.  Shortly after the capsizing, boats from the New York City Police Department’s (“NYPD”) Harbor Unit and the New York City Fire Department’s (“FDNY”) Dive Rescue Team, and ferries operating nearby, arrived at the scene of the capsizing to render emergency assistance.  All but two passengers were recovered conscious and in varying medical conditions. They were subsequently transferred to hospitals in Manhattan and survived the capsizing.  Approximately 25 minutes after the capsizing, members of the FDNY Dive Rescue Team recovered Victim-1 and Victim-2 from the Hudson River. They were trapped underneath the capsized vessel and found unconscious.  Emergency medical personnel subsequently pronounced Victim-1 and Victim-2 deceased.  The cause of death was drowning.

Please report any illegal passenger charters to the USCG at https://www.p3tips.com/878.

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In addition to the sentence, CRUZ, 33, of Elizabeth, New Jersey, has been ordered to pay $50,000 in restitution for the funeral expenses of the victims. 

Ms. Sassoon praised the outstanding investigative work of the USCG Investigative Service and the Special Agents and NYPD Detectives assigned to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

This case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey W. Coyle is in charge of the prosecution.

Danielle R. Sassoon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; William Walker, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”); and Jessica S. Tisch, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced that ANDERSON ZAMBRANO-PACHECO was arrested on January 28, 2025, and charged via a criminal Complaint filed in Manhattan federal court with being a fugitive from justice in possession of a firearm. ZAMBRANO-PACHECO was presented today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jennifer E. Willis, who ordered that ZAMBRANO-PACHECO be detained.

U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon said: “As alleged, the defendant—a member of the violent Venezuelan transnational gang known as Tren de Aragua—went on the lam for several months after committing an armed home invasion and other crimes in Colorado. When he was located and arrested in New York City, he was found with a gun and ammunition. This Office is committed to addressing the threat of Tren de Aragua head-on. Thanks to the work of the career prosecutors of this Office and our law enforcement partners, the defendant is now apprehended and members of Tren de Aragua are being brought to justice.”

HSI Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker said: “Anderson Zambrano-Pacheco is an alleged dangerous fugitive affiliated with Tren de Aragua, a violent transnational criminal organization known for terrorizing the American public as seen in horrifying videos from Colorado. HSI’s operation yesterday is proof that collaboration between federal, state and law enforcement partners is essential to combat emerging threats and trends to our communities wherever we encounter them. We are committed to leading multijurisdictional and international investigations that target gang leaders, members and associates in the United States and abroad to maintain public safety.” 

As alleged in the Complaint filed today:[1]

Law enforcement officers have been conducting an investigation of suspected members and affiliates of the violent transnational gang Tren de Aragua (“TDA”), including ZAMBRANO-PACHECO.  TDA originated in Venezuela and has established a substantial foothold in the U.S., including in New York City.  There are substantial intra-gang conflicts within TDA, and, in some cases, TDA members have disavowed the gang and described themselves as “Anti-Tren.” TDA members have engaged in numerous shootings and murders, and much of this violence is driven by hostilities between TDA and “Anti-Tren” members.

On August 18, 2024, police officers in Aurora, Colorado, responded to the report of a shooting that left one person dead.  Surveillance footage from a nearby apartment building showed six armed men—including a person later identified to be ZAMBRANO-PACHECO—entering two apartment units while armed with handguns and an assault rifle.  A warrant was issued for ZAMBRANO-PACHECO’s arrest in Colorado on or about September 17, 2024, based on an arrest affidavit seeking to charge ZAMBRANO-PACHECO with burglary and menacing.  On or about October 22, 2024, a separate warrant was issued for ZAMBRANO-PACHECO’s arrest relating to other charges, including kidnapping, criminal extortion, and menacing.

On January 28, 2025, law enforcement tracked ZAMBRANO-PACHECO to an apartment in the Bronx, New York. Law enforcement officers found ZAMBRANO-PACHECO and his girlfriend in one of the bedrooms. In the course of securing ZAMBRANO-PACHECO, law enforcement saw a Smith and Wesson 9mm Pro Series pistol in a dresser drawer near ZAMBRANO-PACHECO. The gun was loaded with nine rounds of ammunition.

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ZAMBRANO-PACHECO, 26, of Venezuela, is charged with being a fugitive in possession of a firearm and ammunition, which carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. 

The maximum potential penalty is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be determined by the judge.

Ms. Sassoon praised the outstanding investigative efforts of HSI New York, HSI Denver, the Aurora Police Department, the Arapahoe County District Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Border Patrol’s Intelligence Unit, and the NYPD. She added that the investigation is ongoing.

The case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jun Xiang, Kathryn Wheelock, and Timothy Ly are in charge of the prosecution.

The charge contained in the Complaint is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the descriptions of the Complaint set forth below constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.

Danielle R. Sassoon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that former U.S. Senator ROBERT MENENDEZ, WAEL HANA, a/k/a “Will Hana,” and FRED DAIBES, were sentenced to 11 years, more than eight years, and seven years in prison, respectively, for bribery, foreign agent, and obstruction of justice offenses.  MENENDEZ, HANA, and DAIBES were convicted on July 16, 2024, following a nine-week jury trial before U.S. District Judge Sidney H. Stein, who imposed today’s sentences. 

U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon said: “The sentences imposed today result from an egregious abuse of power at the highest levels of the Legislative Branch of the federal government.  Robert Menendez was trusted to represent the United States and the State of New Jersey, but instead he used his position to help his co-conspirators and a foreign government, in exchange for bribes like cash, gold, and a luxury car.  The sentences imposed today send a clear message that attempts at any level of government to corrupt the nation’s foreign policy and the rule of law will be met with just punishment.”

According to the Superseding Indictment (“Indictment”), the evidence at trial, and public filings:[1]

MENENDEZ, at the time the Indictment was unsealed, was the senior U.S. Senator from New Jersey and the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (“SFRC”).  Shortly after MENENDEZ began dating his now-wife Nadine Menendez, then known as Nadine Arslanian (“Nadine Menendez”), in 2018, Nadine introduced MENENDEZ to her long-time friend HANA, who is originally from Egypt.  HANA lived in New Jersey, and maintained close connections with Egyptian officials.  HANA was also a business associate of DAIBES, a New Jersey real estate developer and long-time donor to MENENDEZ, and Jose Uribe, who worked in the New Jersey insurance and trucking business.

Between 2018 and 2022, MENENDEZ and Nadine Menendez agreed to and did accept hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of bribes from HANA, DAIBES, and Uribe.  These bribes included gold, cash, a luxury convertible, payments toward Nadine Menendez’s home mortgage, compensation for a low-or-no-show job for Nadine Menendez, home furnishings, and other things of value.  In June 2022, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) executed a court-authorized search warrant at the New Jersey home of MENENDEZ and Nadine Menendez.  During that search, the FBI found many of the fruits of this bribery scheme. Over $480,000 in cash — much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe — was discovered in the home.  Some of the envelopes contained the fingerprints of MENENDEZ or DAIBES.  Agents also found home furnishings provided by HANA and DAIBES, the luxury vehicle paid for by Uribe parked in the garage, as well as over one hundred thousand dollars’ worth of gold bars in the home, which were provided by either HANA or DAIBES. 

In exchange for these and other things of value, MENENDEZ agreed and promised to use his power and influence as a Senator to seek to protect HANA’s, Uribe’s, and DAIBES’s interests and to benefit foreign countries.  Through this corrupt relationship, MENENDEZ agreed to take a series of official acts. First, MENENDEZ took actions to benefit the Government of Egypt and HANA, including by improperly seeking to pressure an official at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) in an attempt to protect a business monopoly granted to HANA by Egypt, and by secretly representing the interests of Egypt by, among other things, ghostwriting a letter for Egypt to be provided to his own Senate colleagues and providing non-public information and assistance to Egypt.  Second, MENENDEZ took actions seeking to disrupt a criminal investigation undertaken by the Office of the New Jersey Attorney General (“NJAG”) related to Uribe and his associates.  Third, MENENDEZ recommended that the President nominate a U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey whom MENENDEZ believed he could influence to disrupt a federal criminal prosecution undertaken by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey (“USAO-DNJ”) of DAIBES, and took actions to assist DAIBES by acting for the benefit of the Government of Qatar.  Finally, MENENDEZ conspired and endeavored to obstruct justice in connection with the federal investigation into this scheme.

Promised Actions to Benefit Egypt and Pressure the USDA

Shortly after she began dating MENENDEZ in 2018, Nadine Menendez worked with HANA to introduce Egyptian government officials to MENENDEZ.  Those introductions helped establish a corrupt agreement in which HANA, with assistance from DAIBES, provided bribes to MENENDEZ and Nadine Menendez in exchange for MENENDEZ’s agreed and promised actions to benefit Egypt and HANA, among others. 

As part of the scheme, MENENDEZ, among other things, provided sensitive, non-public U.S. government information to Egyptian officials and otherwise took steps to secretly aid the Government of Egypt. For example, in or about May 2018, MENENDEZ provided Egyptian officials with non-public information regarding the number and nationality of persons then serving at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, Egypt. Although this information was not classified, it was deemed highly sensitive because it could pose significant operational security concerns if disclosed to a foreign government or made public.  Without telling his professional staff or the State Department that he was doing so, on or about May 7, 2018, MENENDEZ texted that sensitive, non-public embassy information to his then-girlfriend Nadine Menendez, who forwarded the message to HANA, who forwarded it to an Egyptian government official.  Later that same month, MENENDEZ ghost-wrote a letter on behalf of Egypt to other U.S. Senators advocating for them to release a hold on $300 million in aid to Egypt.  MENENDEZ sent this ghost-written letter to Nadine Menendez, who forwarded it to HANA, who sent it to Egyptian officials. 

At various times between 2018 and 2022, MENENDEZ also conveyed to Egyptian officials, through Nadine Menendez, HANA, and/or DAIBES, that he would approve or remove holds on foreign military financing and sales of military equipment to Egypt in connection with his leadership role on the SFRC.  For example, in or about July 2018, following meetings between MENENDEZ and Egyptian officials, which were arranged and attended by Nadine Menendez and HANA, MENENDEZ texted Nadine Menendez that she should tell HANA that MENENDEZ was going to sign off on an almost hundred-million-dollar weapons sale to Egypt.  Nadine Menendez forwarded this text to HANA, who forwarded it to two Egyptian officials, one of whom replied with a “thumbs up” emoji. 

In exchange for MENENDEZ’s agreement to take these and other actions, HANA promised Nadine Menendez payments, including from IS EG Halal Certified, Inc. (“IS EG Halal”), a New Jersey company that HANA operated with financial support and backing from DAIBES.  IS EG Halal had no revenue until the spring of 2019, when the Government of Egypt granted IS EG Halal a monopoly on the certification of U.S. food exports to Egypt as compliant with halal standards, despite the fact that neither HANA nor his company had any experience with halal certification.  The monopoly generated revenue for HANA, through which he paid Nadine Menendez as promised.

Because the monopoly harmed U.S. interests, including revoking the ability of multiple U.S. companies to certify meat and resulting in increased costs for U.S. meat suppliers, in or about April and May 2019, the USDA and the U.S. Embassy in Cairo contacted the Government of Egypt and sought reconsideration of its grant of monopoly rights to IS EG Halal.  After being briefed on the USDA’s objections to IS EG Halal’s monopoly by HANA and Nadine Menendez, on May 23, 2019, MENENDEZ called a high-level USDA official, the Undersecretary of Agriculture for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs (“Official-1”), and insisted that the USDA stop opposing IS EG Halal’s status as the sole halal certifier.  When Official-1 attempted to explain why the monopoly was detrimental to U.S. interests, MENENDEZ reiterated his demand that the USDA stop interfering with IS EG Halal’s monopoly.  Official-1 did not accede to MENENDEZ’s demand, and sought to reassure his staff against the pressure MENENDEZ attempted to apply, but IS EG Halal nevertheless kept its monopoly.

After financially benefitting from IS EG Halal’s monopoly, HANA, at times with the assistance of DAIBES, provided payments and other things of value in furtherance of the scheme.  For example, in or about July 2019, after the mortgage company for the residence of Nadine Menendez initiated foreclosure proceedings, HANA caused IS EG Halal to pay approximately $23,000 to bring the mortgage current.  HANA did so after a series of discussions with Nadine Menendez, as well as Uribe and DAIBES, about various options for bringing the mortgage current.  Later in 2019, HANA and DAIBES caused IS EG Halal to issue three $10,000 checks to a “consulting” company MENENDEZ helped Nadine Menendez create as supposed payment for a low-or-no-show job.  As the scheme continued, including through the additional actions described below, MENENDEZ and Nadine Menendez received additional bribes, including gold and cash.

Promised Actions Seeking to Disrupt the NJAG Criminal Case

Also in 2019, HANA and Uribe offered to help buy a new Mercedes-Benz C-300 convertible worth more than $60,000 for MENENDEZ and Nadine Menendez.  In exchange, MENENDEZ agreed and sought to interfere in the NJAG’s criminal insurance fraud prosecution of an associate of Uribe and a related investigation involving an employee of Uribe.  On multiple occasions in 2019, Uribe, HANA, and/or Nadine Menendez briefed MENENDEZ regarding the NJAG’s insurance fraud prosecution and investigation.  Following those briefings, and in exchange for the promise of the luxury convertible, MENENDEZ contacted the then-New Jersey Attorney General (“Official-2”) at least twice.  During those communications, MENENDEZ attempted to pressure Official-2 to resolve the prosecution more favorably to Uribe’s associate. Official-2 considered MENENDEZ’s actions inappropriate, did not agree to intervene, and did not pass on that MENENDEZ had contacted him in order to insulate his staff against any outside influence from MENENDEZ.  Ultimately, in the regular course, the prosecution was resolved with a plea allowing for no jail time for Uribe’s associate and the investigation never resulted in any charges against Uribe’s employee. 

In exchange for MENENDEZ’s agreed and promised actions, Uribe provided Nadine Menendez with $15,000 cash for the down payment on the luxury convertible in April 2019. Thereafter, Uribe made monthly payments to Mercedes-Benz for the convertible between 2019 and June 2022.  Uribe only stopped making those monthly payments after the FBI approached MENENDEZ, Nadine Menendez, and Uribe in connection with this investigation.

Promised Actions Seeking to Disrupt the USAO-DNJ Criminal Case and to Benefit DAIBES and the Government of Qatar

In October 2018, the USAO-DNJ charged DAIBES with federal criminal charges for obtaining loans under false pretenses from a New Jersey-based bank he founded.  Between December 2020 and 2022, MENENDEZ agreed and promised to attempt to influence the pending federal prosecution of DAIBES in exchange for cash, furniture, and gold bars that DAIBES provided to MENENDEZ and Nadine Menendez.  In furtherance of this aspect of the scheme, MENENDEZ recommended that the then-President nominate an individual (“Official-3”) as U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey whom MENENDEZ believed he could influence with respect to DAIBES’s case. MENENDEZ requested a political advisor contact Official-3 in an attempt to influence the outcome of DAIBES’s case.

MENENDEZ’s political advisor did not contact Official-3 regarding DAIBES’s case, and USAO-DNJ did not treat the case any differently as a result of MENENDEZ’s actions.  The parties to DAIBES’s case agreed to resolve the case with a plea agreement that provided for a probationary sentence.  In exchange for MENENDEZ’s participation in the bribery scheme, DAIBES provided MENENDEZ and Nadine Menendez with multiple things of value, including two one-kilogram gold bars.

In addition, in exchange for some of the gold and other things of value from DAIBES, MENENDEZ knew that DAIBES also expected MENENDEZ to take action to benefit the Government of Qatar, and thereby benefit DAIBES, who was seeking millions of dollars in investment from a fund with ties to the Government of Qatar.  Among other things, MENENDEZ made multiple public statements supporting the Government of Qatar and provided DAIBES with these statements so that DAIBES could share them with Qataris officials connected to an investment fund with which DAIBES was looking to do business.  For example, on or about August 20, 2021, MENENDEZ used an encrypted messaging application to send DAIBES the text of a press release in which MENENDEZ praised the Government of Qatar, and several minutes later texted DAIBES, “You might want to send to them.  I am just about to release.” 

Obstruction of Justice and Attempts to Cover-Up the Scheme

In or about 2022, following service of subpoenas issued by a federal grand jury sitting in the Southern District of New York on MENENDEZ, Nadine Menendez, Uribe, and IS EG Halal, Nadine Menendez met with Uribe.  At that meeting, Nadine Menendez and Uribe agreed that if law enforcement asked about the payments Uribe had made for the Mercedes-Benz convertible, they would falsely say those payments had been a loan.  Later, in or about December 2022, MENENDEZ and Nadine Menendez sought to return both the bribe money that HANA had caused IS EG Halal to pay to the mortgage company in July 2019 to avoid foreclosure on Nadine Menendez’s home and the payments Uribe made for the convertible, and, in doing so, MENENDEZ and Nadine Menendez falsely characterized the return of the bribe money as repayments for loans in documents that were produced to the grand jury.  The next year, in September 2023, in an attempt to avoid charges being brought, MENENDEZ caused his then-counsel to give a presentation at the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York in Manhattan falsely stating that MENENDEZ had been unaware of the mortgage and car payments until receipt of the subpoenas in 2022, and that these payments from HANA and Uribe were loans, even though MENENDEZ knew such statements to be false.

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A chart containing the names of the defendants, the charges they were convicted of, and the sentences they received is set forth below.

Uribe, 57, of Clifton, New Jersey, previously pled guilty pursuant to a cooperation agreement to conspiracy to commit bribery, conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud, honest services wire fraud, conspiracy to commit obstruction of justice, obstruction of justice, tax evasion, and wire fraud.  Sentencing for Uribe is scheduled for April 24, 2025.

Charges remain pending against Nadine Menendez, who is presumed innocent and is scheduled to go to trial on March 18, 2025. 

Ms. Sassoon praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI.  Ms. Sassoon also thanked the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation for its invaluable assistance on the investigation and the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Counterintelligence and Export Control Section for its support of the case.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eli J. Mark, Paul M. Monteleoni, Lara Pomerantz, Daniel C. Richenthal, and Catherine Ghosh, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina Clark, are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialists Arjun Ahuja, Jayda Foote, and Braden Florczyk, and former Paralegal Specialists Connor Hamill and Rachel Wechsler.

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[1] With respect to Nadine Menendez, against whom charges remain pending, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the description of the Indictment set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact should be treated as an allegation.

[2] The Court ruled that MENENDEZ’s conspiracy for a public official to act as a foreign agent charge was subsumed by the bribery conspiracy count, and did not impose a separate sentence for it.

[3] As with MENENDEZ, the Court ruled that HANA’s conspiracy for a public official to act as a foreign agent charge was subsumed by the bribery conspiracy count, and did not impose a separate sentence for it.

Danielle R. Sassoon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ANTHONY SACCAVINO pled guilty today to conspiring to solicit and receive bribes in his role as Chief of the New York City Fire Department (“FDNY”) Bureau of Fire Prevention (“BFP”).  SACCAVINO pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Lewis J. Liman and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 14, 2025.

U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon said: “Anthony Saccavino betrayed the City agency he was chosen to lead by repeatedly selling access to the Bureau of Fire Prevention’s services in a pay-to-play bribery scheme.  This Office will continue to ensure that City officials who place their own interests above those of the public will be held accountable.”

According to the Indictment, plea agreement, and statements made in court:

From 2021 to 2023, SACCAVINO repeatedly abused his position as a Chief of the BFP by participating in a scheme to solicit and receive $190,000 in total bribe payments from a former FDNY firefighter named Henry Santiago, Jr.  In exchange for those bribe payments, SACCAVINO used his authority within the BFP to improperly “expedite” BFP inspections and plan reviews for Santiago’s customers.  SACCAVNO personally profited $57,000 as part of this scheme.  To carry out this conspiracy, SACCAVINO lied to his BFP subordinates to justify otherwise improper expediting requests.  SACCAVINO also lied to law enforcement when interviewed about his involvement in the scheme.

If you believe you have information related to bribery, fraud, or any other illegal conduct by FDNY or BFP employees, please contact squad6complaint@doi.nyc.gov or (212) 825-2402.  If you were involved in such conduct, please consider self-disclosing through the SDNY Whistleblower Pilot Program at USANYS.WBP@usdoj.gov.

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SACCAVINO, 59, of New York, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to solicit and receive a bribe, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.  Under the terms of his plea agreement, SACCAVINO agreed to forfeit $57,000. 

The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Ms. Sassoon praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Department of Investigation.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Greenwood, Matthew King, and Daniel H. Wolf are in charge of the prosecution.

Danielle R. Sassoon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Patrick J. Freaney, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the United States Secret Service (“USSS”), announced today that ERICK JASON VICTORIA-BRITO was extradited from the Dominican Republic and will appear in a federal courtroom in Manhattan later today.  VICTORIA-BRITO is charged in a two-count Indictment with conspiring to commit bank fraud and money laundering from December 2017 through November 2022.  In connection with the scheme, VICTORIA-BRITO and other members of the charged conspiracy registered over 1,000 fake businesses, used those fake businesses to open bank accounts to receive money stolen through business e-mail compromise schemes, and then laundered that money.  Members of the conspiracy caused over $60 million in actual losses and attempted to steal over $150 million.

U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon said: “As we allege, Erick Jason Victoria-Brito and his co-conspirators ran an international bank fraud and money laundering scheme designed to help carry out business email compromise scams. These scams cause significant harm to businesses, nonprofits, and even local governments.  As the successful extradition of Erick Jason Victoria-Brito shows, this Office and our partners will not rest until every individual responsible is held accountable.” 

USSS Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Freaney said: “This alleged scheme rained down financial ruin upon unwitting businesses and individuals. While the suspects operated with impunity across the nation and beyond, the U.S. Secret Service and its partners remained steadfast in building a strong case — no matter where the evidence took them. I commend the investigators and prosecutors for their commitment to  disrupting this type of insidious fraud on behalf of all those victimized by it.”

As alleged in the Indictment, Superseding Indictments, and court filings:[1]

From at least December 2017 through at least November 2022, a group of individuals perpetrated a massive, international bank-fraud and money-laundering scheme (the “Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme”) designed to obtain and launder the proceeds of business e-mail compromise schemes.  In a business email compromise scheme, a scheme member fraudulently induces a company or individual to send money to a bank account controlled by that scheme member or the scheme member’s compatriots. 

The Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme operated across borders and preyed on businesses large and small. Between 2020 and 2021 alone, participants in the scheme stole tens of millions of dollars, targeting victims that included a major American sports organization, a publicly traded healthcare company, and a prominent international nonprofit organization, along with multiple city governments, law firms, construction companies, and investment funds. Participants in the Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme registered over 1,000 fake businesses, then used those businesses to open bank accounts. Those bank accounts then received the proceeds of business email compromise schemes. Once the stolen funds reached those fraudulent bank accounts, participants in the Fraud and Money Laundering Scheme worked quickly to take advantage of the international banking system by either withdrawing the money or helping to launder it by wiring it to overseas banks, thereby preventing victims from recouping their losses. The co-conspirators accomplished that primarily by wiring stolen money to banks in China, outside the reach of American banks. During the course of the charged conduct, members of the conspiracy participated in inflicting over $60 million in actual losses and attempted to inflict losses of over $150 million.

*                *                *

VICTORIA-BRITO, 30, of Hollywood, Florida, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by a judge.

Ms. Sassoon praised the outstanding investigative work of the New York City Police Department, USSS, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and Homeland Security Investigations.  Ms. Sassoon further thanked the U.S. Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations for their assistance. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in securing the extradition from the Dominican Republic of Victoria-Brito.

This case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas S. Burnett and Amanda C. Weingarten are in charge of the prosecution.

The charges contained in the Indictment and Superseding Indictments are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
 

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and Superseding Indictment, and the description of the Indictment and Superseding Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described herein should be treated as an allegation.

Danielle R. Sassoon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that KARREM NASR, a/k/a “Ghareeb Al-Muhajir,” pled guilty to attempting to provide material support to al Shabaab, a designated foreign terrorist organization before U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres.

U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon said: “Karrem Nasr devoted himself to waging violent jihad against America and its allies. Inspired by the evil terrorist attack perpetrated by Hamas on October 7, 2023, Nasr, a U.S. citizen, traveled from Egypt to Kenya in an effort to join al Shabaab so that he could execute his jihadist mission of creating death and destruction.  Now, instead of perpetrating a deadly attack in the name of a foreign terrorist group, Nasr resides in federal prison.  I thank the career prosecutors of my office and our law enforcement partners for their extraordinary work in disrupting this plan and bringing a terrorist to justice.”

According to the allegations in the court filings and statements made in Court:

NASR is a 24-year-old U.S. citizen who moved from New Jersey to Egypt in or about July 2023.  Starting in at least in or about November 2023, NASR repeatedly expressed his desire and plans to join al Shabaab, a designated foreign terrorist organization that has attacked Americans and American allies around the world, and wage jihad, including in communications with an FBI confidential source (the “CS”), who was posing as a facilitator for terrorist organizations.[1]

In communications exchanged with the CS and postings that NASR made online, NASR stated that he had been thinking about engaging in jihad for a long time, and he was particularly motivated to become a jihadi by the October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack in Israel.  For example, in communications with the CS, NASR stated that the number one enemy was “evil America,” which he called the “head of the snake.”  In social media posts, NASR warned that “Jihad” was “coming soon to a US location near you,” posting airplane, bomb, and fire emojis:

In further communications with the CS, NASR expressed his intent to join al Shabaab to receive military training and engage in jihad, that he was prepared to kill and be killed, and that he specifically aspired to be a martyr for the jihadist cause.  For example, NASR stated “I would like to become a martyr in the sake of Allah. . . .  I think in coming years, inshallah we are going to see here big events in Egypt and the other Arab countries.  Inshallah if this happens; I will come back to Egypt, inshallah to help the Muslims in Egypt in their struggle to establish here in Egypt.”

Beyond his online postings and communications with the CS, NASR took specific and targeted steps in his effort to join and receive military training from al Shabaab.  Among other things, NASR made flight and lodging reservations for travel to Kenya, where he planned to meet members of al Shabaab for further travel to Somalia to join and train with the terrorist group.  In addition, the day before his flight, NASR told the CS that he planned to delete data from his cellphone and computer to ensure that if he were detained, law enforcement would not be able to recover evidence of his jihadist activities from those devices.  On December 14, 2023, as planned, NASR flew from Egypt to Kenya, where he then planned to transit into Somalia to join and train with al Shabaab.  Later that day, NASR was taken into custody by Kenyan authorities.  On December 28, 2023, NASR arrived in the U.S.

*                *                *

NASR, 24, of Lawrenceville, New Jersey, pled guilty to attempting to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.  NASR is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Torres on June 30, 2025.

The maximum potential sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.

Ms. Sassoon praised the outstanding efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”)’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, which principally consists of agents from the FBI and detectives from the New York City Police Department.  Ms. Sassoon also thanked the FBI’s Legal Attaché Office in Nairobi, Kenya, the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, and the Kenyan Directorate of Criminal Investigations, including the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit and the Joint Terrorism Task Force-Kenya, for their assistance.

This case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Camille L. Fletcher, Kimberly J. Ravener, and Stephen Ritchin are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorney Jennifer Burke of the Counterterrorism Section.
 

[1] Communications referenced herein are described in substance and in part.

Danielle Sassoon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that PEKEN GLOBAL LIMITED (“PEKEN”), a Seychelles-based entity that, since at least September 2019, has operated KuCoin, one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world,  pled guilty today to one count of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.  KuCoin flouted U.S. anti-money laundering laws by failing to implement effective anti-money laundering (“AML”) and know-your-customer (“KYC”) programs designed to prevent KuCoin from being used for money laundering and terrorist financing, failing to report suspicious transactions, and failing to register with the U.S. Department of Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”).  In connection with today’s guilty plea, PEKEN agreed to pay monetary penalties totaling more than $297 million.  PEKEN further agreed that KuCoin will exit the U.S. market for at least the next two years, and that two of KuCoin’s founders, Chun Gan, a/k/a “Michael,” and Ke Tang, a/k/a “Eric,” who were indicted along with Peken in March 2024, will no longer have any role in KuCoin’s management or operations.

U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon said: “For years, KuCoin avoided implementing required anti-money laundering policies designed to identify criminal actors and prevent illicit transactions. As a result, KuCoin was used to facilitate billions of dollars’ worth of suspicious transactions and to transmit potentially criminal proceeds, including proceeds from darknet markets and malware, ransomware, and fraud schemes.  Today’s guilty plea and penalties show the cost of refusing to follow these laws and allowing unlawful activity to continue.”

According to admissions and court documents, KuCoin was founded in or about September 2017. Since its founding in 2017, KuCoin has become one of the largest global cryptocurrency exchange platforms, with more than 30 million customers and billions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrency in daily trading volume.  Between in or about September 2017 and in or about March 2024, the date of the Indictment, KuCoin served approximately 1.5 million registered users who were located in the U.S., and earned at least approximately $184.5 million in fees from those U.S. registered users.

KuCoin’s exchange platform allows registered users to place orders for spot trades in cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and others, and orders for derivative products, including futures contracts, tied to the value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.  As a result of its operation of this business, KuCoin has, at all relevant times, been a money transmitting business required to register with FinCEN and reported suspicious transactions.  As a money transmitting business, KuCoin was required to comply with applicable Bank Secrecy Act provisions requiring maintenance of an adequate AML program, including conducting KYC processes.  AML and KYC programs ensure that financial institutions, such as KuCoin, do not become havens for money laundering and other criminal actors.

Despite these obligations and its substantial presence in the U.S. market, KuCoin failed to implement an adequate KYC program.  Indeed, until at least July 2023, KuCoin did not require customers to provide any identifying information.  KuCoin employees repeatedly stated on public social media sites that KYC was not mandatory on KuCoin, including in response to posts from customers who had identified themselves as being in the U.S.  It was only in August 2023 that KuCoin adopted a mandatory KYC program for new customers and existing customers who wanted to continue to actively participate in KuCoin’s services.  However, KuCoin did not impose this necessary KYC process on existing customers that wanted to continue to use KuCoin’s services only to withdraw or close positions, which it was required to do.  KuCoin also never registered with FinCEN as a money transmitting business or filed any required suspicious activity reports.

As a result of KuCoin’s failure to maintain the required AML and KYC programs, KuCoin was used to transmit billions in suspicious transactions and potentially criminal proceeds, including proceeds from darknet markets and malware, ransomware, and fraud schemes.

Today the department also agreed to defer prosecution against KuCoin’s two indicted co-founders, Gan and Tang, for a period of two years.

*                *                *

In addition to the guilty plea, PEKEN, a Seychelles-based entity, also agreed to criminally forfeit $184.5 million and pay a criminal fine of approximately $112.9 million.  Additionally, Gan and Tang have each agreed to forfeit approximately $2.7 million in funds received as a result of KuCoin’s operations in the U.S.

Ms. Sassoon praised the outstanding investigative work of the El Dorado Task Force in the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations and assistance provided by HSI Pretoria, South Africa.

This matter is being handled by the Office’s Illicit Finance & Money Laundering Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily Deininger and David R. Felton are in charge of the prosecution.

Danielle R. Sassoon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the sentencing of YAUREL CENTENO, a/k/a “Flex,” the last of 11 defendants to be sentenced in a case involving members of a street gang known as “WashSide” or “Wash” in the Bronx, New York.  CENTENO was sentenced to 24 years in prison for crimes relating to his membership in WashSide, including the murder of 20-year-old Tyrone Almodovar on June 26, 2020, and the gunpoint robbery of a pawnshop on June 27, 2020.  CENTENO also participated in a crime spree in 2020 comprised of dozens of other robberies and larcenies stretching across more than 10 states between Maine and Alabama.  CENTENO previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit racketeering and conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering on February 2, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman, who imposed today’s sentence.

U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon said: “The WashSide gang terrorized neighborhoods in the Bronx and beyond by killing, shooting, slashing, and robbing people.  Together with our law enforcement partners, we have now held WashSide’s members accountable not only for the murder of Tyrone Almodovar, a senseless killing, but for countless other crimes committed by the gang all across the country.  We will not let violent gangs continue to endanger the welfare of New Yorkers.”

According to the Superseding Indictment and Informations, public court filings, and statements made in court:

From at least 2015 to 2022, the members of “WashSide” or “Wash,” a criminal enterprise based in the Bronx, New York, committed multiple acts of violence against members of rival street gangs and others.   To make money for the gang, protect the gang’s territory, and promote the gang’s standing, members of WashSide engaged in, among other things, armed robberies and carjackings, drug trafficking, wire fraud, and violence, including murder, attempted murder, and assaults with dangerous weapons.  The members of WashSide also travelled outside New York City and New York State, robbing and stealing from stores across the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, and Southeast, principally during the height of the pandemic in 2020.  For years, WashSide engaged in disputes with rival crews in the Bronx, which resulted in numerous acts of violence.  Among their violent crimes were the following offenses.

On June 26, 2020, following a car chase, Boss Terrell, a/k/a “Sauce,” Centeno, Lydell Seymore, a/k/a “Bugout,” and Darrell Spencer, a/k/a “Rell,” shot and killed Tyrone Almodovar.

On June 27, 2020, CENTENO, Isaiah Thomas, a/k/a “Zay,” a/k/a “Chicago,” Jacob Baker, and Tyshawn Brogdon, a/k/a “Shawn,” participated in the gunpoint robbery of a pawnshop, in which multiple victims were struck with a firearm or had a firearm held up to their heads.

On July 29, 2020, TERRELL shot at rival gang members.

On August 18, 2020, CENTENO robbed an electronics store, cutting open the hand of an employee who attempted to resist him.

On June 13, 2021, Noel Carr, a/k/a “Noey,” participated in the assault of a rival gang member who was slashed with a knife.

On September 17, 2021, BROGDON and BAKER committed an armed carjacking at an auto shop, crashing the stolen car almost immediately as an employee was dragged alongside it.

On August 21, 2021, THOMAS, BAKER, and Antwan Mosley, a/k/a “Ant,” committed a drive-by shooting that targeted rival gang members but injured two innocent teenage bystanders.

On December 30, 2021, SEYMORE and Mamadou Diallo, a/k/a “Haji,” a/k/a “Aladje,” committed another armed carjacking, seizing a car at gunpoint from a driver whom they also stripped of much of his clothing in the middle of winter.

On August 19, 2022, BAKER and Rasheed Chapman, a/k/a “Ra,” committed another shooting that similarly resulted in an innocent bystander being struck in the chest.

*                *                *

A chart containing the names of the defendants, the charges they were convicted of, and the sentences they received is set forth below.

Ms. Sassoon praised the outstanding work of the New York City Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration. 

The case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Courtney L. Heavey and Thomas John Wright are in charge of the prosecution.          

Boss Terrell,  

a/k/a “Sauce”

YAUREL CENTENO,

a/k/a “Flex”

Lydell Seymore,

a/k/a “Bugout”

Darrell Spencer,

a/k/a “Rell”

Isaiah Thomas,  

a/k/a “Zay,”

a/k/a “Chicago”

Tyshawn Brogdon,

a/k/a “Shawn”

Rasheed Chapman,

a/k/a “Ra”

Mamadou Diallo,

a/k/a “Haji,”

a/k/a “Aladje”

Antwan Mosley,

a/k/a “Ant”

Noel Carr,

a/k/a “Noey,”

Danielle R. Sassoon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that KYLE WEILAND, who operated an illegal pill and narcotics manufacturing business on the dark web, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel to 63 months in prison, along with a consecutive 12-month prison term for violating the terms of his supervised release for a previous, similar offense.  In September 2024, WEILAND pled guilty to distributing methamphetamine and selling misbranded drugs.

U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon said:  “In 2019, Kyle Weiland was convicted for selling illegal pills online.  After serving his prison term and while still on supervised release, he returned to his illegal drug business.  Weiland manufactured dangerous pills, including those containing methamphetamine, that he sold on the dark web to customers throughout the United States. But, just as before, Weiland was caught. This sentence sends a clear message that selling illegal pills does not pay and will be met with serious prison sentences.  We will not tolerate the illegal sale of narcotics and other addictive substances into the community, whether those sales take place on the street or the dark web.”

WEILAND admitted that he manufactured, sold on the dark web, and shipped to customers throughout the U.S., various pills that contained or were marketed as methamphetamine, amphetamine, oxycodone, various benzodiazepines, or analogs of these substances.  WEILAND agreed to forfeit $2,093,887.72, including $21,341.00 in cash; a 2008 Maserati GranTurismo; a 2013 Maserati GranTurismo; a 2019 McLaren 570S; and various cryptocurrencies.

WEILAND was previously convicted in 2019 for selling illegal pills online and was sentenced to six months in prison followed by three years supervised release.  He committed the instant offense while serving his term of supervised release.

*                *                *

In addition to the prison term, WEILAND, 36, of Tuxedo Park, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release.

Ms. Sassoon praised the outstanding investigative work of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

This case is being prosecuted by the Office’s White Plains Division.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shaun E. Werbelow and Justin L. Brooke are in charge of the prosecution.

Danielle R. Sassoon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the unsealing of a Complaint charging JOEY GRANT LUTHER with wire fraud, smuggling, and other crimes related to misbranded and counterfeit drugs.  As alleged in the Complaint, from in or about April 2023 through at least in or about July 2024, LUTHER shipped counterfeit drugs, including counterfeit Botox, from countries in Asia, including China, and injected them, without the required license, into his clients at his medical spa, JGL Aesthetics.  None of the counterfeit Botox that LUTHER injected was approved for sale or dispensing in the U.S. by the FDA.  LUTHER was arrested this morning and will be presented later today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah L. Cave.

U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon said: “As alleged, Joey Grant Luther, who does not possess the licensing required by New York State to perform injections of Botox, knowingly purchased counterfeit Botox from China, injected it into his clients, and represented that the counterfeit Botox that he was peddling was genuine.  Luther continued to purchase and inject the counterfeit Botox even after he learned that clients had fallen ill or experienced strange symptoms after Luther injected them.  Luther’s disregard for the health of his clients put all of his victims in harm’s way and, in some cases, caused life-threating injuries.  Luther will now face criminal charges for this conduct.”

As alleged in the Complaint:[1]

From at least in or about January 2021 through at least in or about July 2024, LUTHER ran a medical spa called JGL Aesthetics in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan.  In or about September 2021, an individual (“Victim-1”) went to JGL Aesthetics to receive Botox treatments to treat excessive sweating as well as fine lines on her face.  Victim-1 learned that LUTHER performed Botox injections from a friend.  Between in or about September 2021 and in or about February 2024, LUTHER injected counterfeit drugs labeled as Botox® 150 Units manufactured by Allergan into Victim-1’s armpit, forehead, and face on approximately eight occasions.  Victim-1 never provided LUTHER with a prescription to receive Botox injections.

On or about February 27, 2024, LUTHER injected Counterfeit Botox into Victim-1’s armpits and eyebrow area at JGL Aesthetics.  Approximately three days after Victim-1’s February 27, 2024, visit to JGL Aesthetics, Victim-1 began experiencing double vision, light headedness, difficulty swallowing and chewing, heart palpitations, and slurring of speech.  Victim-1 also could not lift her arms and experienced weakness from the waist up. Victim-1 went to three hospitals to seek medical assistance for these symptoms.  On or about March 20, 2024, Victim-1 was diagnosed with Botulism toxin.

From between in or about April 2023 and in or about January 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (“CBP”) seized parcels intended for JGL Aesthetics, including one which lists a return address in Hong Kong.  These parcels contained significant quantities of counterfeit drugs, including Counterfeit Botox.  Below is a photo of the contents of the parcel—including the exterior of cartons of Counterfeit Botox.

From at least in or about March 2024 through at least in or about April 2024, during which time LUTHER negotiated an additional purchase of Counterfeit Botox from one of his suppliers, multiple individuals who received injections of Counterfeit Botox from LUTHER messaged LUTHER about the negative side effects from the injections, including lazy eyes, double vision, and drooping eyelids.  In response to these complaints, LUTHER typically assured his clients that the side effects were temporary, represented that he was unaware that counterfeit Botox had been found circulating in the U.S., and assured clients that the Counterfeit Botox was from Allergan, the veritable maker.  As alleged, LUTHER was well aware that the Counterfeit Botox was, in fact, counterfeit.

Neither CBP’s seizure of packages intended for LUTHER, the defendant, nor his clients informing LUTHER of injuries related to his injecting Counterfeit Botox stopped LUTHER from continuing to procure the Counterfeit Botox and injecting it into his clients. Between March 13, 2024—the date that Victim-1 contacted LUTHER about the injections of Counterfeit Botox—and October 2, 2024—after law enforcement officers and special agents executed a search warrant of JGL Aesthetics, JGL Aesthetics had at least approximately 700 appointments logged in its client and service management application that were coded with having provided Botox-related services.  Data contained in the client and services management application also revealed that JGL Aesthetics provided Botox-related services as early as January 2021.

*                *                *

LUTHER, 54, of New York, New York, is charged with one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; one count of dispensing of a misbranded drug while held for sale, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in prison; one count of holding counterfeit drugs for sale and for dispensing, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; one count of receiving misbranded drugs in interstate commerce and delivery or proffered delivery thereof, which carries a maximum sentence of three years in prison; and one count of smuggling, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The minimum and maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.

Ms. Sassoon praised the outstanding investigative work of the Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the CBP – New York Field Office, and the Special Agents and Task Force Officers assigned to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon C. Thompson is in charge of the prosecution.

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

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described herein should be treated as an allegation.

Danielle R. Sassoon, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced the sentencing of DAIVON MORGAN, a/k/a “Leeky,” the last of 10 defendants to be sentenced in a case involving members of a street gang known as “ABG” in the Bronx, New York.  MORGAN was sentenced to 292 months in prison for crimes relating to his membership in ABG, including the murder of 19-year-old Darren Scruggs in February 2019 and a slashing of a rival gang member in February 2021.  MORGAN previously pled guilty to conspiracy to commit racketeering and conspiracy to commit a violent crime in aid of racketeering on December 15, 2023, before U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil, who imposed today’s sentence.  MORGAN was the last of the 10 defendants in the ABG case before Judge Vyskocil to have been convicted and sentenced.

U.S. Attorney Danielle R. Sassoon said: “ABG terrorized communities in the Bronx with violence and drug-dealing. Among ABG’s many victims was Darren Scruggs, who was gunned down at the age of 19 by members of ABG. The 10 ABG leaders and members charged in this case have now been convicted and sentenced for their crimes. We will continue to protect the public from gangs and the senseless violence they bring.”

According to the Superseding Indictments, public court filings, and statements made in court: 

From at least in or about 2017 to in or about the present, ABG was a criminal enterprise centered in the Bronx, New York.  ABG primarily operated in the vicinity of the Mitchel Houses in the vicinity of 135th and 138th Streets and Lincoln and Willis Avenues.  In addition to their local affiliation, many ABG members also affiliated with the national Crips gang.  In order to make money for the gang, protect the gang’s territory, and promote the gang’s standing, members of ABG engaged in, among other things, narcotics trafficking and violence, including murder.  To that end, ABG members sold crack cocaine, promoted their gang affiliation on social media, possessed firearms, and engaged in shootings and slashings as part of their gang membership and narcotics trafficking.  Among other crimes committed by the gang, ABG was responsible for the following acts of violence:

On February 18, 2019, ROBERTO ESPINOSA, assisted by HENRY JONES and MORGAN, shot and killed Scruggs.

On October 30, 2018, ELIJAH PERKINS shot at rival gang members.  On August 21, 2021, PERKINS and AMIER WILSON participated in a shooting of rival gang members.

On March 25, 2022, WILSON carried out a shooting, which resulted in a victim being shot and injured.

On November 7, 2021, JONES, assisted by JUAN REYES, committed a shooting in rival gang territory.

On May 8, 2020, REYES, PERKINS, and XAVIER ARAU beat and slashed a victim in rival gang territory.

On February 20, 2021, MORGAN slashed a victim across the face at the direction of DAVID TRUSTY in rival gang territory.

*               *                *

A chart containing the names of the defendants, the charges they were convicted of, and the sentences they received is set forth below.  

Ms. Sassoon praised the outstanding work of the New York City Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, and the New York City Department of Corrections. 

The case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Courtney Heavey, Christopher Brumwell, and James Ligtenberg are in charge of the prosecution.

Edward Y. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that the U.S. has filed a federal Fair Housing Act (“FHA”) lawsuit against LETTIRE CONSTRUCTION CORP. (“LETTIRE”) relating to its failure to design and construct new apartment buildings to be accessible to persons with physical disabilities.  The lawsuit also names other entities related to LETTIRE that participated in the design or construction of these residential complexes.  Upon filing suit, the U.S. also submitted to the Court proposed consent decrees with LETTIRE, EAST 124TH STREET LLC, and other entities related to LETTIRE which participated in the design and construction of such buildings.  These settlements are subject to the review and approval of the U.S. District Judge assigned to the case.

Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim said: “Today’s filing is the 20th suit that this Office has brought to remedy the failure of real estate developers to comply with the Fair Housing Act.  We appreciate Lettire’s and East 124th Street LLC’s cooperation in taking responsibility for their actions so that more properties are rendered accessible to more people.  This Office will remain vigilant in ensuring that developers, construction managers, and architects comply with the FHA and remedy inaccessible housing in this District.”

The FHA’s accessible design and construction provisions require multifamily housing complexes constructed after January 1991 to have basic features accessible to persons with disabilities.

According to the allegations in the Complaint:

The inaccessible conditions at buildings that LETTIRE constructed include excessively high thresholds at building entrances and entrances to common use areas, and bathrooms in individual apartments that lack sufficient clear floor space for people who use wheelchairs.  These features in the common use areas of buildings that LETTIRE constructed, as well as in the buildings’ apartment interiors, did not meet the standards set forth in the Fair Housing Act.

The Complaint identifies inaccessible conditions at the following three properties:

• The Tapestry, at 245 East 124th Street in Manhattan.  In addition to LETTIRE, the Complaint names as defendants LETTIRE 124th STREET LLC as a co-developer of the Tapestry, and EAST 124th STREET LLC (with whom, as noted above, the Government has reached an agreement subject to Court approval) as the owner and managing member of the Tapestry.
• Chestnut Commons, at 3269 Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. In addition to LETTIRE, the Complaint names as defendants UBC CHESTNUT COMMONS LLC as a co-developer of Chestnut Commons, CHESTNUT COMMONS HOUSING DEVELOPMENT FUND CORP. as the owner of Chestnut Commons, and MHANY MANAGEMENT INC. as the managing member of Chestnut Commons. The Government’s claims relating to Chestnut Commons have not yet been resolved.
• The Atrium, at 57 Marcus Garvey Boulevard in Brooklyn.  However, by the time that the Atrium opened in 2024, LETTIRE had retained an accessibility consultant, and the identified inaccessible conditions were in the process of being substantially remediated in consultation with the Government.  The Atrium has been included in the lawsuit in order to ensure that remaining retrofits are completed.

Due to the inaccessible conditions at the buildings LETTIRE designed and constructed, LETTIRE engaged in a pattern or practice of resistance to the full enjoyment of rights protected by the FHA and denied such rights to people with disabilities.  The Complaint seeks a court order directing LETTIRE to retrofit individual apartments as well as the public and common use areas of the buildings so that they are accessible, to adopt policies and procedures to ensure FHA compliance in future constructions, and to compensate individuals who suffered discrimination due to the inaccessible conditions.

Under the settlement with LETTIRE and other related entities, LETTIRE agreed to complete necessary retrofits at the Atrium, establish procedures to ensure FHA compliance at future development projects, and to institute policies and training to ensure that its employees and agents will comply with the FHA’s accessibility requirements.  LETTIRE agreed to pay a civil penalty of $20,000, and the related entities agreed to pay a civil penalty of $10,000 each, commensurate with their role in designing and/or constructing the Tapestry and Chestnut Commons.

Under the settlement with EAST 124TH STREET LLC, EAST 124TH STREET LLC agreed to complete necessary retrofits at the Tapestry, establish procedures to ensure FHA compliance at future development projects, and to institute policies and training to ensure that its employees and agents will comply with the FHA’s accessibility requirements.  EAST 124TH STREET LLC also agreed to pay a civil penalty of $10,000, commensurate with its role in designing and/or constructing the Tapestry.

Further, the settlement requires EAST 124th STREET LLC to provide $20,000 to compensate aggrieved persons with respect to the Tapestry.  Aggrieved individuals may include those who:

• Were discouraged from living at the Tapestry because of the lack of accessible features;
• Have been hurt in any way by the lack of accessible features at the Tapestry;
• Paid to have an apartment at the Tapestry made more accessible to persons with disabilities; or
• Otherwise were discriminated against on the basis of disability at the Tapestry as a result of inaccessible design and construction.

People who believe they may have experienced discrimination due to the inaccessible conditions at the above-named buildings developed by LETTIRE may contact the Civil Rights Complaint account at USANYS-CivilRights@usdoj.gov, use the Civil Rights Complaint Form available on the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s website http://www.justice.gov/usao/nys/civilrights.html, or send a written report to:

U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York

86 Chambers Street, 3rd Floor

New York, New York 10007

Attention: Chief, Civil Rights Unit

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Mr. Kim thanked HUD for its assistance on the investigation.

The case is being handled by the Office’s Civil Rights Unit in the Civil Division.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amanda Lee and Danielle J. Marryshow are in charge of the case.

Edward Y. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that HONG RU LIN, a/k/a “Bruce,” and KENA ZHAO, a/k/a “Angela,” were each sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Karas to prison for violating the Travel Act by operating prostitution businesses at multiple massage parlors in Putnam, Westchester, New York, and Queens County.  ZHAO was sentenced on January 10, 2025, to 12 months and one day in prison, and  LIN was sentenced today to 12 month and one day in prison.  LIN and ZHAO also forfeited over $1.3 million representing proceeds derived from their prostitution scheme.

Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim said: "Hong Ru Lin and Kena Zhao operated an extensive prostitution business, using massage parlors as cover for their illegal activities.  Today’s sentences hold them accountable for their actions.  This Office will continue to investigate those who sponsor illegal prostitution, even if their criminal activities take place behind the closed doors of supposedly legitimate businesses.”  

According to the charging documents, public court filings, and statements made in court:

Between at least September 2020 and September 2023, LIN and ZHAO operated a prostitution business out of multiple massage parlors that they owned in Putnam, Westchester, New York and Queens County.  LIN and ZHAO managed a roster of women who worked at the massage parlors and performed sexual acts for the customers of LIN and ZHAO.  LIN and ZHAO communicated by cellphone and private chatroom to manage and operate their prostitution business.  Among other things, LIN and ZHAO used cellphones to communicate with potential customers, assign particular employees to customers, monitor the income of their prostitution business, and set performance goals for the women who worked in the massage parlors.  In addition, on at least one occasion, ZHAO personally participated in a massage during which a sexual act was offered to a customer.

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In addition to the prison terms, LIN, 51, and ZHAO, 46, of Putnam Valley, New York, were both sentenced to two years of supervised release and agreed to forfeit the massage parlors’ bank accounts, various assets and cash proceeds derived from the massage parlors, and a $1.3 million money judgment.

Mr. Kim praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Westchester County Safe Streets Task Force and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office.  Mr. Kim also thanked the Town of Carmel Police Department, the Westchester County Police Department, and the Yonkers Police Department for their assistance in this matter.

The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Civil Rights Unit in the Criminal Division and the White Plains Division.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan W. Allison, Jamie Bagliebter, and Margaret N. Vasu are in charge of the prosecution.

Matthew Podolsky, Attorney for the United States, Acting under Authority Conferred by 28 U.S.C. § 515, and Cecil Rodrigues, the Acting Assistant Administrator of the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), announced today that the U.S. has filed and simultaneously settled a lawsuit against STERICYCLE, INC. (“STERICYCLE”) for systemic, nationwide violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”), 42 U.S.C. § 6901 et seq., and related regulations in the operation of its former hazardous waste management business from May 5, 2014, through April 6, 2020.

The proposed stipulation and order of settlement agreed to by STERICYCLE requires payment of a $9.5 million civil penalty, one of the largest civil penalties ever paid for RCRA violations.  The settlement is subject to approval by the Court.

Attorney for the United States Matthew Podolsky said: “Today, we hold Stericycle responsible for flouting hazardous waste management requirements while operating a nationwide hazardous waste business, and risking significant potential harm to human health and the environment.  This penalty should put other waste management firms on notice that we will hold them accountable when they shirk their legal responsibilities and put the public and environment in harm’s way.”

EPA Acting Assistant Administrator Cecil Rodrigues said: “Stericycle repeatedly failed to ensure the proper transport, management, and storage of hazardous waste – a job that they were paid to do and entrusted to perform on behalf of customers nationwide.  EPA is committed to ensuring companies comply with the law and to protecting communities from the potential risks associated with the mismanagement of hazardous wastes.”

As alleged in the U.S. Complaint filed in Manhattan federal court:

STERICYCLE is a waste management company that operated a nationwide hazardous waste transportation, storage, treatment, and disposal business until it sold the vast majority of the business on April 6, 2020.  STERICYCLE operated 13 RCRA-permitted hazardous waste Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities (“TSDFs”) and 44 waste transfer facilities.

Between May 5, 2014, and the date of sale, STERICYCLE routinely violated RCRA requirements related to tracking and transportation of hazardous waste, as alleged in detail in the Complaint.  STERICYCLE routinely lost track of hazardous waste while transporting it, sent hazardous waste to disposal facilities that were not the ones its customers had chosen, or delivered hazardous waste shipments without the required manifests. STERICYCLE also failed to comply with requirements for resolving and reporting discrepancies between hazardous waste identified on a shipping manifest and the hazardous waste received by STERICYCLE at its facilities for disposal, and it failed to timely return signed manifests to generators and timely submit them electronically to EPA.  STERICYCLE also violated RCRA by storing hazardous waste in transfer facilities when not authorized to do so, either because the storage period was longer than the 10 days permitted by RCRA regulations or because overall transportation times for the hazardous waste shipment exceeded those constituting “the normal course of transportation” under RCRA regulations.  All of this conduct violated RCRA hazardous waste regulations critical to preventing substantial risks to human health and the environment.

STERICYCLE was well aware of severe problems giving rise to these violations and failed to address them.  In the words of one STERICYCLE director in 2016, STERICYCLE had “way too many issues with a basic fundamental of [its] business, getting waste and paperwork from the generator to the designated facility.”   In 2019, the same STERICYCLE director underscored the continuation of these fundamental failings:  “The most basic thing that we do for our clients is moving the waste from point a to point b and we can’t do it.”

On April 6, 2020, STERICYCLE completed the sale of its “Stericycle Environmental Solutions” hazardous waste business and, since that date, has largely ceased managing hazardous waste in the U.S.  However, STERICYCLE remains accountable for its systemic RCRA violations prior to that sale.

In the settlement filed with the federal court today, STERICYCLE admits, acknowledges, and accepts responsibility for the following, among other things:

• On numerous occasions between May 5, 2014, and April 6, 2020, STERICYCLE was the transporter of hazardous waste shipments for hazardous waste generators, and failed to deliver part or all of the hazardous waste shipment described on the shipment’s manifest to the designated TSDF.
• On numerous occasions between May 5, 2014, and April 6, 2020, STERICYCLE (or one of its subsidiaries or subcontractors) served as a transporter of hazardous waste shipments to one of STERICYCLE’s TSDFs and failed to ensure that a manifest accompanied all hazardous waste shipments.   
• On numerous occasions between May 5, 2014, and April 6, 2020, STERICYCLE failed to timely provide hazardous waste generators with final signed copies of their waste shipment manifests within 30 days after the shipments were delivered to STERICYCLE TSDFs.
• On numerous occasions between June 2018 and April 2020, STERICYCLE failed to timely submit hazardous waste manifests to EPA’s national system for electronically tracking hazardous waste shipments—known as the e-Manifest system—within 30 days after the date of delivery of the hazardous waste shipment to STERICYCLE TSDFs.
• On numerous occasions between May 5, 2014, and April 6, 2020, STERICYCLE failed to consult with a generator prior to changing the destination of hazardous waste as designated on a hazardous waste manifest.
• On numerous occasions between May 5, 2014, and April 6, 2020, STERICYCLE stored hazardous waste at its hazardous waste transfer facilities (as that term is defined in 40 C.F.R. § 260.10) for longer than the 10-day limits permitted under RCRA.

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Mr. Podolsky thanked EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance for its critical work on this case.

The case is being handled by the Environmental Protection Unit of the Office’s Civil Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dominika Tarczynska and Tomoko Onozawa are in charge of the case.

Edward Y. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and James E. Dennehy, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the unsealing of a Complaint charging BHUPINDERJIT SINGH, ELIJAIH ROMAN, COREY HALL, ERIK SUAREZ, and DIVYA KUMARI with perpetrating a gun-point home invasion robbery of the home of a small business owner in Orange County, New York.  The defendants were arrested today, and will be presented in White Plains federal court before the Hon. Victoria Reznik, United States Magistrate Judge.

Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim said: “Bhupinderjit Singh and his co-defendants allegedly planned and executed a violent robbery, during which four children watched as their parents were zip tied and held at gunpoint while four men ransacked their home looking for money and valuables.  Thanks to the hard work of our law enforcement partners and the career prosecutors of this Office, the defendants will now face charges stemming from this brazen robbery.”

FBI Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy said: “These five defendants participated in a robbery in which a firearm was brandished to gain unauthorized entry into a family’s home and steal valuable jewelry and thousands of dollars. This alleged forceful intrusion violated the privacy and security expected inside one’s home, and terrorized four young children left to helplessly beg for the safety of their restrained parents. The FBI will continue to apprehend any individual who utilizes weapons to intimidate victims to fulfill their criminal agenda.”

As alleged in the Complaint filed on January 15, 2025, in White Plains federal court and unsealed today:

On or about December 1, 2024, SINGH, ROMAN, HALL, SUAREZ, and KUMARI perpetrated a gun-point home invasion robbery in the vicinity of the Town of Wallkill, New York.  When they arrived at the house, SINGH, ROMAN, HALL, and SUAREZ forced the homeowner (“Victim-1”) and Victim-1’s daughter, who is approximately 10 years old, into the house at gunpoint.  When SINGH, ROMAN, HALL, and SUAREZ entered the home, Victim-1’s wife was sitting with the couple’s other three children, who ranged from approximately two to nine years old.  SINGH, ROMAN, HALL, and SUAREZ then zip tied the hands and legs of both Victim-1 and his wife and placed the couple on the couch next to their children.  Three of the four robbers then began to search throughout the house, while the fourth robber remained with Victim-1 and his family, armed with what appeared to be a small black pistol.  At one point, Victim-1’s daughter begged the robbers to not hurt her parents and indicated that she would tell them where the family stored their valuables.  Certain of the robbers then took Victim-1’s daughter to the house’s master bedroom where there was a safe, but Victim-1’s daughter was unable to get the safe open.  The robbers then took Victim-1’s daughter back to her parents and forced Victim-1’s wife to come with them instead.  Once in the bedroom, Victim-1’s wife opened the safe and watched as the robbers removed from it, among other items, numerous pieces of jewelry and approximately $10,000 in U.S. currency.  While the robbery was ongoing, KUMARI was waiting in the vicinity of Victim-1’s house to act as a lookout.  Eventually, SINGH, ROMAN, HALL, and SUAREZ left Victitm-1’s house with various stolen items, including the jewelry and U.S. currency stolen from the safe. 

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SINGH, 26, of South Ozone Park, New York; ROMAN, 22, of Far Rockaway, New York; HALL, 45, of Saint Albans, New York; SUAREZ, 24, of Elmhurst, New York; and KUMARI, 26, of Massapequa, New York, are all charged with one count of Hobbs Act robbery conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and one count of Hobbs Act robbery, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.  SINGH, ROMAN, HALL, and SUAREZ are additionally charged with one count of using, carrying, possessing, and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Kim praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI’s Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force, as well as the assistance of the Town of Wallkill Police Department and the New York State Police.

The case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division.  Assistant U.S Attorney David A. Markewitz is in charge of the prosecution.

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

Matthew Podolsky, Attorney for the United States, Acting under Authority Conferred by 28 U.S.C. § 515, announced that HDR GLOBAL TRADING LTD., a/k/a “BITMEX”, was sentenced today to a fine of $100 million for violating the Bank Secrecy Act by willfully failing to establish, implement, and maintain an adequate anti-money laundering (“AML”) and know-your-customer (“KYC”) program.

Attorney for the United States Matthew Podolsky said:  “Anti-money laundering and know-your-customer rules protect Americans from fraud, combat money laundering, and prevent the financing of terrorist activity.  It is critical that all financial institutions, including cryptocurrency exchanges, comply with these rules to protect our country’s economy and national security.  Today’s sentence sends a clear message that companies that willfully violate these rules and refuse to implement AML/KYC programs will face consequences.”   

According to the allegations in the Information and other filings and statements made in court:

Arthur Hayes, Benjamin Delo, and Samuel Reed founded BITMEX in or about 2014, and Gregory Dwyer became BITMEX’s first employee in 2015 and later its Head of Business Development.  BITMEX, which has long serviced and solicited business from U.S. traders and operated through U.S. offices, was required to register with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and to establish and maintain an adequate AML program.  AML programs ensure that financial institutions, such as BITMEX, are not exploited for illicit purposes and serve to protect the integrity of the U.S. financial system and national security more broadly.

BITMEX and its executives knew that because BITMEX served U.S. customers, it was required to implement an AML program that included a KYC component but chose to flaunt those requirements, requiring only that customers provide an email address to use BITMEX’s services.  Indeed, senior executives each knew that customers residing in the U.S. continued to access BITMEX’s trading platform through at least in or about 2018, and that BITMEX policies nominally in place to prevent such trading were toothless or easily overridden to serve BITMEX’s bottom line goal of obtaining revenue through the U.S. market without regard to U.S. criminal laws.  Corporate executives took affirmative steps purportedly designed to exempt BITMEX from the application of U.S. laws like AML and KYC requirements, despite knowing of BITMEX’s obligation to implement such programs by operating in the U.S.  As part of BITMEX’s willful evasion of U.S. AML laws, the company lied to a bank about the purpose and nature of a subsidiary to allow BITMEX to pump millions of dollars through the U.S. financial system.

Hayes, Delo, and Reed, BITMEX’s three founders and top executives, and Dwyer, another top executive, all previously entered guilty pleas for violating the Bank Secrecy Act and were sentenced in 2022.  The corporation entered a guilty plea on July 10, 2024, and was sentenced today.

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In addition to the fine, BITMEX was sentenced to two years’ probation.       

Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s New York Money Laundering Investigation Squad.

The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Illicit Finance & Money Laundering Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Greenwood and Thane Rehn are in charge of the prosecution. 

Edward Y. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that JESUS CABRERA, a/k/a “Gee,” was sentenced today to 30 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald for leading a drug trafficking organization (the “DTO”) that sold deadly fentanyl in the Bronx. CABRERA previously pled guilty to participating in a conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and fentanyl analogue, and to a related firearms count.  As part of his guilty plea, CABRERA admitted that the DTO’s drug trafficking resulted in the August 2021 death of Malik Rahman, and that the DTO’s product was recovered from the scenes of seven other fatal fentanyl poisonings in 2021.

Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim said: “Jesus Cabrera led a drug trafficking organization that sold enormous amounts of deadly fentanyl in New York City, which led to the deaths of at least eight victims in the Bronx in 2021, and affected countless others in our community.  Today’s sentence and those imposed to date on Cabrera’s co-conspirators send a loud message to fentanyl traffickers that their actions will be met with dire consequences in this District.  I commend the work of the DEA, NYPD, and the career prosecutors and investigators of this Office who have worked tirelessly to hold accountable those who seek to flood our community with this deadly drug and to profit from addiction and tragedy.”

As alleged in the charging instruments, court filings, and statements in the public record:

Between approximately 2019 and February 2022, the DTO operated principally from a block on 142nd Street between Brook Avenue and St. Ann’s Avenue in the Bronx (the “Set”), where its members sold glassines of fentanyl in bulk to dealers who then re-distributed the DTO’s product on the Set and in other areas of the Bronx.  Members of the DTO also sold individual glassines to users struggling with addiction who lined up on the Set on an almost daily basis.  CABRERA was the undisputed leader of the DTO, and co-defendant MICHAEL AMAYA, a/k/a “Miz,” worked as CABRERA’s second in command, managing and overseeing the DTO’s various street-level dealers, baggers, and lookouts, including the other defendants charged in this case.  Every day, members of the DTO, at CABRERA’s direction and often in his presence, packaged the DTO’s product in residential apartments for distribution on the Set.  The DTO then relied on a roster of street-level dealers to push massive amounts of its deadly product into the community.  Indeed, in the fall and winter of 2021 alone, the DTO distributed an estimated five to six kilograms of fentanyl per month, resulting in hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit for the DTO.   

The DTO frequently used a signature “stamp” on the glassines of fentanyl it sold—a step CABRERA took to continue making money at the expense of the victims and families affected by the DTO’s drug dealing and the opioid epidemic in this country.  For many months, the DTO stamped its glassines with a “Supreme” logo.  Starting in or around December 2021, the DTO began using an “Off White” logo, and then switched to a “Thriller” logo.  Despite CABRERA’s awareness of the potential deadly impact of fentanyl, he and the other DTO members continued pushing the DTO’s product.  Indeed, when CABRERA was asked by another DTO member whether people were overdosing from the DTO’s product, Cabrera laughed it off and said, “na man, people hating, they don’t want us making money.”

On or about August 25, 2021, one of CABRERA and AMAYA’s co-defendants, Alberto Concepcion, sold a quantity of loose “Supreme”-stamped glassines to an individual on the Set (“Individual-1”), who subsequently provided one of those glassines to Rahman.  Rahman died from an overdose shortly after ingesting the substances in the “Supreme”-stamped glassine, the residue of which later tested positive for, among other things, fentanyl and fentanyl analogue.  Both CABRERA and AMAYA were directly involved in overseeing Concepcion’s narcotics sales at that time.  Indeed, in the days leading up to Rahman’s fatal overdose, CABRERA and AMAYA exchanged text messages referencing certain quantities of narcotics that were going to Concepcion for resale on the Set, as well as the cut of the over $110,000 in recent DTO proceeds they were going to provide to Concepcion.

Including Rahman’s fatal overdose, between in or around March 2021 and in or around December 2021, there were at least eight confirmed fatal overdoses in the Bronx at which the DTO’s “Supreme”-stamped glassines were found on the scene.

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In addition to the prison term, CABRERA, 46, of the Bronx, New York, was sentenced to five years of supervised release.

Many of CABRERA’s co-defendants, who were also members of the DTO, have also been sentenced after having been convicted of participating in the same fentanyl trafficking conspiracy to which CABRERA pled guilty.  AMAYA, who managed the DTO’s daily operations and reported to CABRERA, was sentenced to 16 years in prison.  WILLIE HARRIS, a/k/a “Light,” who was one of the DTO’s armed lookouts and dealers, was sentenced to 12 years in prison.  FRANKIE CAPELLAN, a/k/a “Nitty,” who helped package the DTO’s product with CABRERA and others, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and JOSE FIGUEROA, a/k/a “Chelo,” one of the DTO’s street-level dealers, was also sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Mr. Kim praised the outstanding investigative work of the New York City Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Intelligence Analysts for support and assistance in this matter.  He also thanked the Bronx District Attorney’s Office for its assistance in the case.

The case is being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew J. King, Kaylan E. Lasky, and David J. Robles are in charge of the prosecution.

Edward Y. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Jessica S. Tisch, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging ALIEU JARJOU, a/k/a “Scally,” a/k/a “Lu Scally,” with racketeering conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, and a firearms offense.  The charges relate to JARJOU’s membership in the “Rollin 20s” set of the Crips gang and the March 9, 2021 murder of 30-year-old Jadon Robinson.  JARJOU, who was in New York City Department of Correction custody, was transferred to federal custody earlier today and made his initial appearance in federal court in Manhattan.  The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos. 

Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim said: “As alleged, Alieu Jarjou shot and killed Jadon Robinson on a busy Bronx street in the middle of the day. He committed this cold-blooded murder to enhance his status within the Rollin 20s Crips, a violent street gang that traffics in illegal drugs. Let this be a reminder that this Office and our law enforcement partners will catch and prosecute those who commit acts of violence in our streets.” 

According to the allegations in the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:[1]

From at least January 2021 through at least January 2022, JARJOU was a member of the Rollin 20s Crips, which is based in the Bronx, New York.  In order to fund the gang, protect its territory, and promote its standing, members of the Rollin 20s Crips engaged in, among other things, murders, assaults, threats of violence, and narcotics trafficking. 

On March 9, 2021, JARJOU murdered Jadon Robinson in the vicinity of 1268 Morrison Avenue in the Bronx, New York.  Jadon Robinson was 30 years old.

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JARJOU, 30, of the Bronx, New York, is charged with one count of racketeering conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; one count of murder in aid of racketeering, which carries a sentence of mandatory life in prison or death; one count of murder through the use of a firearm, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison; and one count of using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Kim praised the outstanding investigative work of the NYPD.

The case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christy Slavik and Jim Ligtenberg are in charge of the prosecution.

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

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the description of the Indictment set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation. 

Edward Y. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that ROBERT PIARO, the treasurer of multiple political action committees (“PACs”), pled guilty today to committing telemarketing wire fraud in connection with his scheme to defraud donors to his PACs through false and misleading statements.  PIARO pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian. 

Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim said: “Robert Piaro deceived hundreds of thousands of donors through false statements and misrepresentations about how contributions to his PACs would be spent.  Piaro’s fraudulent actions not only undermined the trust of donors but also exploited their interest in supporting certain causes for his own personal gain.  Today’s plea highlights this Office’s dedication to holding accountable those who misuse political organizations to defraud and mislead the public.”

According to the allegations in the Indictment, court filings, and statements made in Court:

PACs are entities registered with the Federal Election Commission that may be tax-exempt and collect money to advocate on behalf of or against certain causes and political candidates. 

From at least in or about 2017 up to and including at least in or about December 2022, PIARO was the treasurer and operator of four PACs: Americans for the Cure of Breast Cancer, the Association for Emergency Responders & Firefighters, the US Veterans Assistance Foundation, and Standing By Veterans (the “PIARO PACs”).  PIARO raised millions of dollars from hundreds of thousands of donors nationwide through false statements and misrepresentations about how contributions to the PIARO PACs would be spent.  For example, at PIARO’s direction, the PIARO PACs misrepresented to donors that donations would be used to advance specific legislation, educate lawmakers, and conduct and fund research, when PIARO did not and did not intend to follow through on those representations.    

If you believe you are a victim of fraud perpetrated by PIARO, please contact USANYS.PACFraud@usdoj.gov or the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) at 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov, and find more information here: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/united-states-v-robert-piaro.

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PIARO, 74, of Fredonia, Wisconsin, pled guilty to one count of wire fraud in connection with telemarketing, which carries a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison.

The maximum potential sentence is prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.  PIARO is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Subramanian on April 14, 2025.

Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI.   

This case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rebecca T. Dell and Jane Kim are in charge of the prosecution.

Edward Y. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that MARIO STEWART, a Sergeant with the Mount Vernon Police Department (“MVPD”), pled guilty today to using excessive force against an individual (the “Victim”) while in Mount Vernon, New York, in violation of the Victim’s rights under the U.S. Constitution.  STEWART pled guilty today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew E. Krause.

Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim said: “Mario Stewart betrayed his duty as a Sergeant with the Mount Vernon Police Department.  Stewart was called to the scene to aid a person in emotional distress.  But instead of rendering aid, he deployed his taser on the individual seven times in the span of roughly two minutes, while the individual was helpless, and while several other MVPD officers were on scene to assist.  This Office will fiercely protect constitutional rights and hold accountable those who abuse their authority to violate those rights.”

According to the allegations contained in the Indictment and statements made in court:

On or about March 26, 2019, STEWART was employed as a Sergeant with the Mount Vernon Police Department.  STEWART was assigned to the MVPD’s Emergency Services Unit, which is responsible for, among other things, responding to individuals who are experiencing mental health crises.  On that day, STEWART and six other MVPD officers received a call to assist the Victim in Mount Vernon, New York, as the Victim was experiencing a mental health crisis. 

At the scene, STEWART and the other MVPD officers restrained the Victim, handcuffing his hands behind his back and securing his legs in a restraint bag in preparation to transport the Victim for medical assistance.  When the MVPD officers were unable to pull the restraint bag over the Victim’s chest because the Victim was holding onto one of the bag’s straps, STEWART directed the Victim to release the strap.  While STEWART deployed his taser all seven times, the Victim remained laying on the ground, handcuffed with his hands behind his back and his legs secured in the restraint bag.  STEWART’s actions caused bodily injury to the Victim, including extreme pain.

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STEWART, 46, of Brooklyn, New York, pled guilty to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The maximum potential sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Kim praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and thanked the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office and the Mount Vernon Police Department for their assistance with the investigation.

The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s Civil Rights Unit in the Criminal Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sam Adelsberg and Jared Hoffman are in charge of the prosecution.

Edward Y. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and James E. Dennehy, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging CHEUK FUNG RICHARD HO with theft and attempted theft of trade secrets.  The charges in the Indictment arise from HO’s alleged scheme to steal trade secrets from his former employer (“Firm-1”), a global quantitative trading firm.  HO was arrested this morning in Los Angeles, California, and will be presented this afternoon before U.S. District Court for the Middle District of California, Magistrate Judge the Honorable Joel Richlin.

Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Kim said: “As alleged, Cheuk Fung Richard Ho abused the trust his former employer placed in him and stole trade secrets to use at his own quantitative trading firm.  Ho allegedly tried to cover his tracks by lying to his former employer repeatedly and asking his employees to delete evidence.  Thanks to the FBI, Ho is now in custody.”

FBI Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy said: “Cheuk Fung Richard Ho allegedly stole and unlawfully shared private proprietary information to clandestinely develop his own firm in collaboration with his employer’s competitors.  The defendant allegedly abused his trusted position by breaching company confidentiality agreements to the detriment of his former firm.  The FBI will continue to apprehend any individual who attempts to garner success through manipulative and dishonest business strategies.”

As alleged in the Indictment:[1]

From approximately July 2019 to approximately August 2021, HO was a research developer and quantitative trader at Firm-1, a global, quantitative trading firm, which trades in equities and other securities on exchanges located in the U.S. and abroad.  Firm-1’s proprietary source code (“Firm-1’s Source Code”), the development of which took years and cost Firm-1 more than one billion dollars, has been the linchpin of Firm-1’s success in these markets.  During the period of HO’s employment at Firm-1, Firm-1 took substantial measures to protect the confidentiality of its Source Code.  Among other things, Firm-1 limited access to Firm-1’s Source Code to only those individuals, like HO, who needed access to it in connection with the duties of their employment.  Employees with access to Firm-1’s Source Code were required to enter into agreements with Firm-1 in which they acknowledged the importance of keeping Firm-1’s Source Code secret and promised to protect the confidentiality of that Source Code throughout their employment—and after their employment concluded.  Firm-1 also implemented numerous physical and network security protocols to prohibit unauthorized access to Firm-1’s Source Code.

In or about the spring of 2021, HO secretly started his own quantitative trading firm (“Firm-2”), which partnered with one of Firm-1’s competitors (“Firm-3”). While still employed at Firm-1, and while taking advantage of the nearly complete access to Firm-1’s Source Code afforded to him as a result of that employment, HO stole valuable trade secrets from Firm-1 (the “Stolen Trade Secrets”) for use in developing the source code for Firm-2 (“Firm-2’s Source Code”). The Stolen Trade Secrets included, among other things, some of the very building blocks of Firm-1’s Source Code, known as “Atoms,” as well as some of its predictive formulas, known as “Alphas.” By stealing these trade secrets, HO was able to quickly launch Firm-2 and begin trading successfully.

Aware that he had misappropriated Firm-1’s trade secrets—and knowing that this theft would injure Firm-1—HO repeatedly lied to Firm-1 about his plans after his employment with Firm-1 concluded.  For example, when Firm-1 asked HO about his post-Firm-1 employment plans, HO omitted any mention of the fact that he had started Firm-2 and he misrepresented his affiliation with Firm-3.  And once Firm-1 learned that HO had started Firm-2, HO sought to destroy evidence.  He directed his employees to delete their internal communications and further directed them to delete the source code history for Firm-2’s Source Code, a direction that HO’s employees did not follow.

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HO, 36, of Los Aneles, California, is charged with one count of theft and attempted theft of trade secrets, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.

The statutory maximum sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.

Mr. Kim praised the investigative work of the FBI.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rushmi Bhaskaran and Ni Qian are in charge of the prosecution.

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

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment, and the description of the Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.

Takeshi Ebisawa, 60, of Japan, pleaded guilty in Manhattan, New York, today to conspiring with a network of associates to traffic nuclear materials, including uranium and weapons-grade plutonium, from Burma to other countries, as well as to international narcotics trafficking and weapons charges.

“Today’s plea should serve as a stark reminder to those who imperil our national security by trafficking weapons-grade plutonium and other dangerous materials on behalf of organized criminal syndicates that the Department of Justice will hold you accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

“This case demonstrates DEA’s unparalleled ability to dismantle the world's most dangerous criminal networks,” said Administrator Anne Milgram of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). “Our investigation into Takeshi Ebisawa and his associates exposed the shocking depths of international organized crime from trafficking nuclear materials to fueling the narcotics trade and arming violent insurgents. DEA remains positioned to relentlessly pursue anyone who threatens our national security, regardless of where they operate. Protecting the American people from such evil will always remain DEA’s top priority.” 

“As he admitted in federal court today, Takeshi Ebisawa brazenly trafficked nuclear material, including weapons-grade plutonium, out of Burma,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim for the Southern District of New York. “At the same time, he worked to send massive quantities of heroin and methamphetamine to the United States in exchange for heavy-duty weaponry such as surface-to-air missiles to be used on battlefields in Burma and laundered what he believed to be drug money from New York to Tokyo. It is thanks to the extraordinary efforts of the DEA’s Special Operations Division, the career national security prosecutors of this Office, and the cooperation of our law enforcement partners in Indonesia, Japan, and Thailand, that Ebisawa’s plot was detected and stopped.”

According to the court documents and evidence presented at court, since at least in or about 2019, the DEA investigated Ebisawa in connection with large-scale narcotics and weapons trafficking. During the investigation, Ebisawa unwittingly introduced an undercover DEA agent (UC-1), posing as a narcotics and weapons trafficker, to Ebisawa’s international network of criminal associates, which spanned Japan, Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, and the United States, among other places, for the purpose of arranging large-scale narcotics and weapons transactions. Ebisawa and his network, including his co-defendants, negotiated multiple narcotics and weapons transactions with UC-1.

Ebisawa conspired to broker the purchase, from UC-1, of U.S.-made surface-to-air missiles, as well as other heavy-duty weaponry, intended for multiple ethnic armed groups in Burma (including the leader of an ethnic insurgent group in Burma (CC-1)), and to accept large quantities of heroin and methamphetamine for distribution as partial payment for the weapons. Ebisawa understood the weapons to have been manufactured in the U.S. and taken from U.S. military bases in Afghanistan. Ebisawa planned for the heroin and methamphetamine to be distributed in the New York market.

In addition, Ebisawa conspired to sell, in a separate transaction, 500 kilograms of methamphetamine and 500 kilograms of heroin to UC-1 for distribution in New York. In furtherance of that transaction, on or about June 16, 2021, and on or about Sept. 27, 2021, one of Ebisawa’s co-defendants provided samples of approximately one kilogram of methamphetamine and approximately 1.4 kilograms of heroin. Ebisawa also worked to launder $100,000 in purported narcotics proceeds from the U.S. to Japan.

Finally, beginning in early 2020, Ebisawa informed UC-1 and a DEA confidential source (CS-1) that Ebisawa had access to a large quantity of nuclear materials that he wanted to sell. Later that year, Ebisawa sent UC-1 a series of photographs depicting rocky substances with Geiger counters measuring radiation, as well as pages of what Ebisawa represented to be lab analyses indicating the presence of thorium and uranium in the depicted substances. In response to Ebisawa’s repeated inquiries, UC-1 agreed, as part of the DEA’s investigation, to help Ebisawa broker the sale of his nuclear materials to UC-1’s associate, who was posing as an Iranian general (the General), for use in a nuclear weapons program. Ebisawa then offered to supply the General with “plutonium” that would be even “better” and more “powerful” than uranium for this purpose. Ebisawa further proposed, together with two other co-conspirators (CC-2 and CC-3), to UC-1 that CC-1 sell uranium to the General, through Ebisawa, to fund CC-1’s weapons purchase.

Thereafter, on a Feb. 4, 2022, videoconference, CC-2 told UC-1 that CC-1 had available more than 2,000 kilograms of Thorium-232 and more than 100 kilograms of uranium in the compound U3O8 — referring to a compound of uranium commonly found in the uranium concentrate powder known as “yellowcake” — and that CC-1 could produce as much as five tons of nuclear materials in Burma. CC-2 also advised that CC-1 had provided samples of the uranium and thorium, which CC-2 was prepared to show to UC-1’s purported buyers. CC-2 noted that the samples should be packed “to contain . . . the radiation.”  Approximately one week later, Ebisawa, CC-2, and CC-3 participated in a series of meetings with UC-1 and CS-1 in Southeast Asia, to discuss their ongoing weapons, narcotics, and nuclear materials transactions. During one of these meetings, CC-2 asked UC-1 to meet in CC-2’s hotel room. Inside the room, CC-2 showed UC-1 two plastic containers each holding a powdery yellow substance (nuclear samples), which CC-2 described as “yellowcake.”  CC-2 advised that one container held a sample of uranium in the compound U3O8, and the other container held Thorium-232.

With the assistance of Thai authorities, the nuclear samples were seized and subsequently transferred to the custody of U.S. law enforcement. A nuclear forensic laboratory in the United States examined the nuclear samples and determined that both samples contain detectable quantities of uranium, thorium, and plutonium. In particular, the laboratory determined that the isotope composition of the plutonium found in the nuclear samples is weapons-grade, meaning that the plutonium, if produced in sufficient quantities, would be suitable for use in a nuclear weapon.

Ebisawa pleaded guilty to six counts contained in the superseding indictment. A table containing the charges and minimum and maximum penalties is set forth below.

COUNT

MIN. AND MAX. PRISON TERM

A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The DEA is investigating the case with assistance from the DEA Tokyo Country Office, DEA Bangkok Country Office, DEA Chiang Mai Resident Office, DEA Jakarta Country Office, DEA Copenhagen Country Office, DEA New York Field Office, DEA New Delhi Country Office, Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, and our law enforcement partners in Indonesia, Japan, and the Kingdom of Thailand.

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

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kaylan E. Lasky, Alexander Li, and Kevin T. Sullivan for the Southern District of New York are prosecuting the case with assistance from Trial Attorney Dmitriy Slavin of the Justice Department’s Counterterrorism Section.

Edward Y. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Matthew G. Olsen, the Assistant Attorney General for National Security; and Anne Milgram, the Administrator of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), announced today that TAKESHI EBISAWA pled guilty in Manhattan federal court to conspiring to traffic nuclear materials, including uranium and weapons-grade plutonium, from Burma to other countries, as well as to international narcotics trafficking and weapons charges.  EBISAWA pled guilty today before U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon.

Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim said: “As he admitted in federal court today, Takeshi Ebisawa brazenly trafficked nuclear material, including weapons-grade plutonium, out of Burma.  At the same time, he worked to send massive quantities of heroin and methamphetamine to the United States in exchange for heavy-duty weaponry such as surface-to-air missiles to be used on battlefields in Burma and laundered what he believed to be drug money.  It is thanks to the extraordinary efforts of the DEA’s Special Operations Division, the career national security prosecutors of this Office, and the cooperation of our law enforcement partners in Indonesia, Japan, and Thailand, that Ebisawa’s plot was detected and stopped.”

Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen said: “Today’s plea should serve as a stark reminder to those who imperil our national security by trafficking weapons-grade plutonium and other dangerous materials on behalf of organized criminal syndicates that the Department of Justice will hold you accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said: “This case demonstrates DEA’s unparalleled ability to dismantle the world’s most dangerous criminal networks.  Our investigation into Takeshi Ebisawa and his associates exposed the shocking depths of international organized crime from trafficking nuclear materials to fueling the narcotics trade and arming violent insurgents.  DEA remains positioned to relentlessly pursue anyone who threatens our national security, regardless of where they operate.  Protecting the American people from such evil will always remain DEA’s top priority.”  

According to the allegations contained in the Complaint, the Superseding Indictment, and other information in the public record:

Since at least in or about 2019, the DEA investigated EBISAWA in connection with large-scale narcotics and weapons trafficking.  During the investigation, EBISAWA unwittingly introduced an undercover DEA agent (“UC-1”), posing as a narcotics and weapons trafficker, to EBISAWA’s international network of criminal associates, which spanned Japan, Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, and the U.S., among other places, for the purpose of arranging large-scale narcotics and weapons transactions.  EBISAWA and his network, including his co-defendants, negotiated multiple narcotics and weapons transactions with UC-1.

EBISAWA conspired to broker the purchase, from UC-1, of U.S.-made surface-to-air missiles, as well as other heavy-duty weaponry, intended for multiple ethnic armed groups in Burma (including the leader of an ethnic insurgent group in Burma (“CC-1”)), and to accept large quantities of heroin and methamphetamine for distribution as partial payment for the weapons.  EBISAWA understood the weapons to have been manufactured in the U.S. and taken from U.S. military bases in Afghanistan.  EBISAWA planned for the heroin and methamphetamine to be distributed in the New York market.

In addition, EBISAWA conspired to sell, in a separate transaction, 500 kilograms of methamphetamine and 500 kilograms of heroin to UC-1 for distribution in New York.  In furtherance of that transaction, on or about June 16, 2021, and on or about September 27, 2021, one of EBISAWA’s co-defendants provided samples of approximately one kilogram of methamphetamine and approximately 1.4 kilograms of heroin.  EBISAWA also worked to launder $100,000 in purported narcotics proceeds from the U.S. to Japan.

Finally, beginning in early 2020, EBISAWA informed UC-1 and a DEA confidential source (“CS-1”) that EBISAWA had access to a large quantity of nuclear materials that he wanted to sell.  Later that year, EBISAWA sent UC-1 a series of photographs depicting rocky substances with Geiger counters measuring radiation, as well as pages of what EBISAWA represented to be lab analyses indicating the presence of thorium and uranium in the depicted substances.  In response to EBISAWA’s repeated inquiries, UC-1 agreed, as part of the DEA’s investigation, to help EBISAWA broker the sale of his nuclear materials to UC-1’s associate, who was posing as an Iranian general (the “General”), for use in a nuclear weapons program.  EBISAWA then offered to supply the General with “plutonium” that would be even “better” and more “powerful” than uranium for this purpose.  EBISAWA further proposed, together with two other co-conspirators (“CC-2” and “CC-3”), to UC-1 that CC-1 sell uranium to the General, through EBISAWA, to fund CC-1’s weapons purchase.

Thereafter, on a February 4, 2022, videoconference, CC-2 told UC-1 that CC-1 had available more than 2,000 kilograms of Thorium-232 and more than 100 kilograms of uranium in the compound U3O8 — referring to a compound of uranium commonly found in the uranium concentrate powder known as “yellowcake” — and that CC-1 could produce as much as five tons of nuclear materials in Burma.  CC-2 also advised that CC-1 had provided samples of the uranium and thorium, which CC-2 was prepared to show to UC-1’s purported buyers.  CC-2 noted that the samples should be packed “to contain . . . the radiation.”  Approximately one week later, EBISAWA, CC-2, and CC-3 participated in a series of meetings with UC-1 and CS-1 in Southeast Asia, to discuss their ongoing weapons, narcotics, and nuclear materials transactions.  During one of these meetings, CC-2 asked UC-1 to meet in CC-2’s hotel room.  Inside the room, CC-2 showed UC-1 two plastic containers each holding a powdery yellow substance (the “Nuclear Samples”), which CC-2 described as “yellowcake.”  CC-2 advised that one container held a sample of uranium in the compound U3O8, and the other container held Thorium-232.

With the assistance of Thai authorities, the Nuclear Samples were seized and subsequently transferred to the custody of U.S. law enforcement.  A nuclear forensic laboratory in the U.S. examined the Nuclear Samples and determined that both samples contain detectable quantities of uranium, thorium, and plutonium.  In particular, the laboratory determined that the isotope composition of the plutonium found in the Nuclear Samples is weapons-grade, meaning that the plutonium, if produced in sufficient quantities, would be suitable for use in a nuclear weapon.

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EBISAWA, 60, of Japan, pled guilty to six counts contained in the Superseding Indictment.  A table containing the charges and minimum and maximum penalties is set forth below. 

COUNT

MIN. AND MAX. PRISON TERM

The minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Kim praised the outstanding efforts of the DEA’s Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit.  Mr. Kim also thanked the DEA Tokyo Country Office, DEA Bangkok Country Office, DEA Chiang Mai Resident Office, DEA Jakarta Country Office, DEA Copenhagen Country Office, DEA New York Field Office, DEA New Delhi Country Office, the Counterterrorism Section of the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, the Office of International Affairs of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, and our law enforcement partners in Indonesia, Japan, and the Kingdom of Thailand for their assistance.

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

The case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kaylan E. Lasky, Alexander Li, and Kevin T. Sullivan are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorney Dmitriy Slavin of the Counterterrorism Section.

Edward Y. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that GHISLAINE BARRIENTOS, a former corrections officer, pled guilty today to bribery in connection with her participation in a scheme to accept bribes in exchange for smuggling narcotics into Rikers Island.  BARRIENTOS pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 16, 2025.

Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim said: “Ghislaine Barrientos took bribes when working as a corrections officer at Rikers Island.  Rikers Island is less safe, for inmates and officers alike, when corrections officers and others in positions of public trust accept bribes to smuggle contraband.  We will not tolerate any breach of trust or corruption that jeopardizes the well-being of inmates and staff.”

As reflected in the Complaint, Information, and statements made in court:

BARRIENTOS, a former New York City Department of Correction (“DOC”) correction officer, conspired with others to smuggle contraband, including cocaine, smokeable synthetic cannabinoids (known as “K2”), and food to inmates housed at the Robert N. Davoren Complex on Rikers Island in exchange for thousands of dollars in bribe payments.

For example, on April 11, 2024, CC-1, an associate of an inmate (“Inmate-1”), and BARRIENTOS discussed CC-1 sending BARRIENTOS a package through a delivery service.  On April 15, 2024, surveillance footage showed BARRIENTOS entering Inmate-1’s cell, where surveillance footage could not capture her actions.  Two days later, DOC searched Inmate-1’s cell and recovered sheets of paper that tested positive for the presence of cocaine.

On April 24, 2024, CC-1 sent BARRIENTOS another package using the delivery service.  When BARRIENTOS went to work later that day, a drug-detecting canine alerted for the presence of narcotics.  DOC employees searched BARRIENTOS’s belongings and found approximately 10 sheets of paper that tested positive for the presence of K2.  In an interview with law enforcement, BARRIENTOS falsely stated, among other things, that no inmate had ever asked her to bring them contraband.  Law enforcement officers then searched BARRIENTOS’s vehicle and recovered additional sheets of paper, as well as approximately $2,466 in cash, as shown in the following photographs:

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BARRIENTOS, 37, of Mount Vernon, New York, pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit federal program bribery, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

The statutory maximum sentence in this case is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Kim praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York City Department of Investigation.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption and Narcotics Units.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Coyle is in charge of the prosecution.

Daniel M. Gitner, Attorney for the United States, Acting under Authority Conferred by 28 U.S.C. § 515, announced today that YVETTE WANG, a/k/a “Yanping,” was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with her managerial role in a sprawling and complex scheme WANG and her co-conspirator, Miles Guo, orchestrated in order to fraudulently solicit investments from thousands of Miles Guo’s online followers in various entities and programs.  As part of that scheme, WANG and Guo made false representations to induce victims to invest money in various entities WANG and/or her co-conspirators controlled, including GTV Media Group, Inc. (“GTV”), the Himalaya Farm Alliance, G Club Operations, LLC (“G|CLUBS”), and the Himalaya Exchange.  And then WANG and her co-conspirators spent their victims’ money on themselves, purchasing luxurious items such as million-dollar sports cars and a New Jersey mansion.

Attorney for the United States Daniel M. Gitner said: “Yvette Wang worked with Miles Guo to defraud thousands of victims out of more than $1 billion.  Today’s sentence is a reminder that there will be serious consequences for this conduct, and that this Office will tirelessly in its work to detect, prosecute, and punish fraud.”

According to the charging documents, public court filings, statements made in court, and evidence admitted at Miles Guo’s trial:

From at least in or about 2018 through at least in or about March 2023, WANG and others conspired to defraud thousands of victims of more than approximately $1.4 billion.  Miles Guo was the leader of this complex conspiracy.  WANG was Guo’s “Chief of Staff.” In that capacity, WANG played a managerial role in a variety of entities that the Government has alleged were part of the “G Enterprise” – a series of interrelated entities and companies that were used by WANG and her co-conspirators to carry out this billion-dollar fraud scheme.  Through her work in the G Enterprise, and as WANG well knew, WANG directed the expenditure of fraud proceeds on luxury items for herself, Miles Guo’s family, and others.

WANG and her co-conspirators’ fraud relied on several interrelated operations:  the Rule of Law Charities, GTV Private Placement, the Farm Loan Program, G|CLUBS, the Himalaya Exchange, and A10.

Between on or about April 20, 2020, and on or about June 2, 2020, approximately $452 million worth of purported GTV common stock was sold to more than 5,500 investors.  Investors participated in the GTV Private Placement based, in part, on the belief that their money would be invested into GTV to develop and grow that business. In early June 2020, as WANG and her co-conspirators agreed, WANG transferred $100 million of funds raised from the GTV Private Placement into a high-risk hedge fund for the benefit of GTV’s parent company and its ultimate beneficial owner, Guo’s son.

On or about July 22, 2020, in a video distributed via social media, WANG’s co-conspirator promoted the Farm Loan Program, which was a purported opportunity to obtain stock in GTV in exchange for a loan.  However, no stock was ever provided, and WANG and her co-conspirators misappropriated funds that were raised through the Farm Loan Program. For example, approximately $2.3 million was used to cover maintenance expenses associated with an approximately 145-foot luxury yacht worth approximately $37 million.

From at least in or about October 2020 through at least in or about March 2023, WANG and her co-conspirators fraudulently obtained more than approximately $250 million in victim funds through G|CLUBS.  G|CLUBS claimed on its website to be “an exclusive, high-end membership program offering a full spectrum of services” and “a gateway to carefully curated world-class products, services and experiences.”  WANG was the de facto CEO of G|CLUBS, and as she well knew, G|CLUBS did not provide anything other than superficial services to its members.  Moreover, on the basis of Guo’s statements in online videos, victims sent money to G|CLUBS expecting to receive stock in GTV, G|Fashion, or other entities.  But, as WANG well knew, victims never received stock and instead G|CLUBS funds were used—often at WANG’s direction—to purchase, among other things, a 50,000 square foot New Jersey mansion; various furniture and decorative items including, among other items, Chinese and Persian rugs worth approximately $978,000, a $62,000 television, and a $53,000 fireplace log cradle holder; a $900,000 Lamborghini, and a custom-built Bugatti sports car for approximately $4.4 million.

On or about November 1, 2021, WANG’s co-conspirators introduced purported cryptocurrencies called the Himalaya coin and the Himalaya dollar through a fraudulent cryptocurrency exchange called the Himalaya Exchange.  These purported cryptocurrencies were fraudulent and designed so that the conspiracy could collect additional money from victims.  On or about September 20, 2022, and September 21, 2022, U.S. authorities served judicially-authorized seizure warrants on several domestic banks and subsequently seized approximately $335 million of proceeds from bank accounts held in the names of Himalaya Exchange entities and other entities associated with WANG and her co-conspirators.        

Wang was arrested on March 15, 2023, at which time FBI agents located $130,000 of cash in a safe in her apartment.

In connection with the sentencing, Judge Torres said that Wang was an “integral part of the conspiracy and knew what she was doing was illegal.”

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In addition to the prison term, WANG, 45, of New York, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release concurrently on each count. WANG also agreed to pay forfeiture in the amount of $1.4 billion. 

Guo was convicted at trial on July 16, 2024. Guo’s sentencing date is pending.

Mr. Gitner praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The case is being handled by the Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit of the Office’s Criminal Division.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Micah F. Fergenson, Ryan B. Finkel, Justin Horton, and Juliana N. Murray are in charge of the prosecution.

Do Hyeong Kwon, 33, a citizen of the Republic of Korea, was extradited from Montenegro and appeared in court today in Manhattan to face federal fraud charges. A superseding indictment that was unsealed against Kwon alleged that the co-founder and former chief executive officer of Terraform Labs PTE Ltd. (Terraform) engaged in multiple schemes to deceive investors in order to fraudulently inflate the value of Terraform’s cryptocurrencies.

Kwon arrived in the United States on Dec. 31, 2024, and made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger for the Southern District of New York. Kwon’s case is assigned to U.S. District Court Judge John P. Cronan, and will appear before Judge Cronan for an initial conference on Jan. 8 at 10:30 a.m ET.

“Do Hyeong Kwon will now be held accountable in an American courtroom for, as alleged in court documents, his elaborate schemes involving Terraform’s cryptocurrencies, which resulted in over $40 billion in investor losses,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “We secured this extradition despite Kwon’s alleged attempt to cover his tracks by laundering proceeds of his schemes and trying to use a fraudulent passport to travel to a country that did not have an extradition treaty with the United States. This extradition from Montenegro is an example of the Justice Department’s international partnerships, which enable the pursuit of criminals wherever they attempt to hide.”

“A federal grand jury has indicted Do Kwon for misleading his investors in order to fraudulently inflate the value of Terraform’s cryptocurrencies, and laundering the proceeds of his crimes,” said Attorney for the United States Daniel M. Gitner for the Southern District of New York. “As we allege, this fraud and the crash of Terraform’s cryptocurrencies in May 2022 erased over $40 billion in investor assets, causing devastating losses to countless investors in the United States and around the world. Kwon will now face justice in a federal courtroom in Manhattan.”

“Do Kwon, co-founder and former CEO of Terraform, allegedly defrauded investors by falsely advertising the company’s blockchain products as decentralized, reliable, and effective, and by engaging in market manipulation, ultimately resulting in more than $40 billion in investor losses,” said Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy of the FBI New York Field Office. “For at least four years, Kwon allegedly played puppet master to maintain this crafted illusion and ensnare investors. The FBI will tirelessly work to apprehend any individual who engages in fraudulent financial practices, even those who flee internationally to escape prosecution.”

As alleged in the superseding indictment, from at least in or about 2018, up to and including in or about 2022, Kwon orchestrated schemes to defraud purchasers of Terraform cryptocurrencies. Among other things, Kwon made false and misleading claims regarding the stability and efficacy of Terraform’s cryptocurrency stablecoin protocol, its use of blockchain technology, and its development of functioning and reliable financial technologies.

As Kwon knew, however, core Terraform products did not work as Kwon had claimed. Rather, Kwon manipulated Terraform products to create the illusion of a functioning, stable, and decentralized financial system. Kwon’s conduct inflated the value of Terraform’s cryptocurrencies, which Kwon and entities he controlled possessed in large amounts and sold to investors in exchange for billions of dollars’ worth of other assets.

Kwon’s misrepresentations included the following:

• The Stablecoin Misrepresentations: Kwon made misrepresentations about the effectiveness of the system that lay at the heart of Terraform’s cryptocurrency empire, the “Terra Protocol,” which purportedly used a computer algorithm to maintain the value of Terraform’s so-called “stablecoin” pegged to the U.S. dollar, TerraUSD (UST), at a value of $1 for one UST. But as Kwon knew, after the Terra Protocol failed to cause the restoration of UST’s $1 peg in May 2021, Kwon reached an agreement with executives at a high-frequency trading firm (the Trading Firm) so that the Trading Firm would purchase large amounts of UST in order to artificially support UST’s $1 peg.
• The LFG Misrepresentations: Kwon made misrepresentations about the governance of the Luna Foundation Guard Ltd. (LFG), which Kwon claimed was managed by an independent governing body and was tasked with deploying billions of dollars’ worth of financial reserves to defend UST’s peg. But as Kwon knew, he controlled both the LFG and Terraform. In addition, Kwon misappropriated hundreds of millions of dollars in assets from the LFG. Kwon and others acting at his direction sought to launder those misappropriated funds through transactions designed to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the funds.
• The Mirror Misrepresentations: Kwon made misrepresentations about the success and operation of an investing platform on Terraform’s blockchain (the Terra blockchain) called Mirror Protocol (Mirror), that purportedly allowed users to create, buy, and sell synthetic versions of stocks listed on U.S. securities exchanges. Kwon claimed that Mirror operated in a decentralized manner and that he and Terraform played no role in Mirror’s governance. But as Kwon knew, he and Terraform secretly maintained control over Mirror, and used automated trading bots to manipulate the prices of synthetic assets that Mirror issued. Kwon also caused Terraform to inflate key user metrics to deceive investors.
• The Chai Misrepresentations: Kwon falsely claimed that the Terra blockchain was being used to process billions of dollars in financial transactions for the Korean payment-processing application Chai. In doing so, Kwon claimed that the Terra blockchain had “real world” applications or uses, as distinct from competing cryptocurrency platforms. But as Kwon knew, Chai processed transactions through traditional financial processing networks, not the Terra blockchain.
• The Genesis Coin Misrepresentations: Kwon made misrepresentations about the use of a supply of one billion stablecoins programmed into the Terra blockchain at its creation (the Genesis Stablecoins), which were purportedly held in reserve for Terraform for certain specified uses. But Kwon used at least $145 million worth of Genesis Stablecoins, among other things, to fund fake Chai blockchain transactions and trading bots to manipulate the prices of synthetic assets that Mirror issued.

At its peak in the spring of 2022, the total apparent market value of all UST and another Terraform cryptocurrency, LUNA, exceeded $50 billion. Much of this growth followed Kwon’s misrepresentations about Terraform and its technology, including efforts in May 2021 by Kwon and his associates to secretly manipulate the market for UST. By May 2022, the UST market was approximately nine times larger in terms of market capitalization and more than eight times larger in terms of daily trading volume relative to May 2021. In May 2022, UST’s peg began to break down as it had a year prior. While Kwon was able to cover up the weaknesses of the Terra Protocol in May 2021, he was not able to do so in May 2022. As a result, the value of UST and LUNA crashed and investors suffered over $40 billion in losses. After the crash of UST and LUNA in May 2022, Kwon caused the distribution of a misleading “third party audit” report to cover up his crimes, and sought to launder the proceeds of his fraud through different blockchains, cryptocurrency exchanges, and a Swiss bank account.

On or about March 23, 2023, Kwon was arrested in Europe for trying to use a fraudulent passport to travel to a country that did not have an extradition treaty with the United States.

Kwon was previously charged in the Southern District of New York in an initial indictment on March 23, 2023.

Kwon is charged with two counts of commodities fraud, for which he faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for each count; two counts of securities fraud, for which he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count; two counts of wire fraud, for which he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each count; two counts of conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, securities fraud, and wire fraud, for which he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count; and one count of money laundering conspiracy, for which he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. If convicted of all charges, Kwon faces a maximum penalty of 130 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI are investigating the case, with assistance from Trial Attorneys Jason Cunningham and Goran Krnaich of the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, Interpol, and the Ministry of Justice, Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office, Special State Prosecutor’s Office, and Police Directorate of Montenegro in the extradition of the defendant. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission also assisted in the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared Lenow, Kimberly Ravener, and Andrew Thomas for the Southern District of New York are prosecuting the case.

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

Daniel M. Gitner, Attorney for the United States, Acting under Authority Conferred by 28 U.S.C. § 515; Merrick B. Garland, the Attorney General of the United States; and James E. Dennehy, Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today that DO HYEONG KWON was extradited from Montenegro and appeared in a federal courtroom in Manhattan earlier today to face federal fraud charges. Mr. Gitner also announced the unsealing of a Superseding Indictment against KWON. As alleged, KWON, the co-founder and former chief executive officer of Terraform Labs PTE, Ltd. (“Terraform”), engaged in multiple schemes to deceive investors in order to fraudulently inflate the value of Terraform’s cryptocurrencies. KWON arrived in the United States on December 31, 2024, and made his initial appearance in the Southern District of New York before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Lehrburger.  KWON’s case is assigned to U.S. District Court Judge John P. Cronan, and will appear before Judge Cronan for an initial conference on January 8, 2025, at 10:30 a.m.

Attorney for the United States Daniel M. Gitner said: “A federal grand jury has indicted Do Kwon for misleading his investors in order to fraudulently inflate the value of Terraform’s cryptocurrencies, and laundering the proceeds of his crimes. As we allege, this fraud and the crash of Terraform’s cryptocurrencies in May 2022 erased over $40 billion in investor assets, causing devastating losses to countless investors in the United States and around the world. Kwon will now face justice in a federal courtroom in Manhattan.”

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said: “Do Hyeong Kwon will now be held accountable in an American courtroom for, as alleged in court documents, his elaborate schemes involving Terraform’s cryptocurrencies, which resulted in over $40 billion in investor losses.  We secured this extradition despite Kwon’s alleged attempt to cover his tracks by laundering proceeds of his schemes and trying to use a fraudulent passport to travel to a country that did not have an extradition treaty with the U.S.  This extradition from Montenegro is an example of the Justice Department’s international partnerships, which enable the pursuit of criminals wherever they attempt to hide.”

FBI Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy said: “Do Kwon, co-founder and former CEO of Terraform, allegedly defrauded investors by falsely advertising the company's blockchain products as decentralized, reliable, and effective, and by engaging in market manipulation, ultimately resulting in more than $40 billion in investor losses. For at least four years, Kwon allegedly played puppet master to maintain this crafted illusion and ensnare investors. The FBI will tirelessly work to apprehend any individual who engages in fraudulent financial practices, even those who flee internationally to escape prosecution.”

As alleged in the Superseding Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court:[1]

From at least in or about 2018, up to and including in or about 2022, KWON orchestrated schemes to defraud purchasers of Terraform cryptocurrencies.  Among other things, KWON made false and misleading claims regarding the stability and efficacy of Terraform’s cryptocurrency stablecoin protocol, its use of blockchain technology, and its development of functioning and reliable financial technologies.

As KWON knew, however, core Terraform products did not work as KWON had claimed. Rather, KWON manipulated Terraform products to create the illusion of a functioning, stable, and decentralized financial system. KWON’s conduct inflated the value of Terraform’s cryptocurrencies, which KWON and entities he controlled possessed in large amounts and sold to investors in exchange for billions of dollars’ worth of other assets.

KWON’s misrepresentations included the following:

• The Stablecoin Misrepresentations: KWON made misrepresentations about the effectiveness of the system that lay at the heart of Terraform’s cryptocurrency empire, the “Terra Protocol,” which purportedly used a computer algorithm to maintain the value of Terraform’s so-called “stablecoin” pegged to the U.S. dollar, TerraUSD (“UST”), at a value of $1 for one UST. But as KWON knew, after the Terra Protocol failed to cause the restoration of UST’s $1 peg in May 2021, KWON reached an agreement with executives at a high-frequency trading firm (the “Trading Firm”) so that the Trading Firm would purchase large amounts of UST in order to artificially support UST’s $1 peg.
• The LFG Misrepresentations: KWON made misrepresentations about the governance of the Luna Foundation Guard Ltd. (the “LFG”), which KWON claimed was managed by an independent governing body and was tasked with deploying billions of dollars’ worth of financial reserves to defend UST’s peg. But as KWON knew, he controlled both the LFG and Terraform. In addition, KWON misappropriated hundreds of millions of dollars in assets from the LFG. KWON and others acting at his direction sought to launder those misappropriated funds through transactions designed to conceal and disguise the nature, location, source, ownership, and control of the funds.
• The Mirror Misrepresentations: KWON made misrepresentations about the success and operation of an investing platform on Terraform’s blockchain (the “Terra blockchain”) called Mirror Protocol (“Mirror”), that purportedly allowed users to create, buy, and sell synthetic versions of stocks listed on U.S. securities exchanges. KWON claimed that Mirror operated in a decentralized manner and that he and Terraform played no role in Mirror’s governance. But as KNOW knew, he and Terraform secretly maintained control over Mirror, and used automated trading bots to manipulate the prices of synthetic assets that Mirror issued. KWON also caused Terraform to inflate key user metrics to deceive investors.
• The Chai Misrepresentations: KWON falsely claimed that the Terra blockchain was being used to process billions of dollars in financial transactions for the Korean payment-processing application Chai. In doing so, KWON claimed that the Terra blockchain had “real world” applications or uses, as distinct from competing cryptocurrency platforms. But as KWON knew, Chai processed transactions through traditional financial processing networks, not the Terra blockchain.
• The Genesis Coin Misrepresentations: KWON made misrepresentations about the use of a supply of one billion stablecoins programmed into the Terra blockchain at its creation (the “Genesis Stablecoins”), which were purportedly held in reserve for Terraform for certain specified uses. But KWON used at least $145 million worth of Genesis Stablecoins, among other things, to fund fake Chai blockchain transactions and trading bots to manipulate the prices of synthetic assets that Mirror issued.

At its peak in the spring of 2022, the total apparent market value of all UST and another Terraform cryptocurrency, LUNA, exceeded $50 billion. Much of this growth followed KWON’s misrepresentations about Terraform and its technology, including efforts in May 2021 by KWON and his associates to secretly manipulate the market for UST. By May 2022, the UST market was approximately nine times larger in terms of market capitalization and more than eight times larger in terms of daily trading volume relative to May 2021. In May 2022, UST’s peg began to break down as it had a year prior. While KWON was able to cover up the weaknesses of the Terra Protocol in May 2021, he was not able to do so in May 2022. As a result, the value of UST and LUNA crashed and investors suffered over $40 billion in losses. After the crash of UST and LUNA in May 2022, KWON caused the distribution of a misleading “third party audit” report to cover up his crimes, and sought to launder the proceeds of his fraud through different blockchains, cryptocurrency exchanges, and a Swiss bank account.

On or about March 23, 2023, KWON was arrested in Europe for trying to use a fraudulent passport to travel to a country that did not have an extradition treaty with the U.S.

KWON was previously charged in this District in an initial Indictment on March 23, 2023.

*                *                *

KWON, 33, a citizen of the Republic of Korea, is charged with two counts of commodities fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison; two counts of securities fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; two counts of wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; two counts of conspiracy to commit commodities fraud, securities fraud, and wire fraud, each of which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison; and one count of money laundering conspiracy, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. In aggregate, KWON faces a maximum sentence of 130 years in prison.

The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.

Mr. Gitner praised the investigative and operational work of the FBI. He also thanked Jason Cunningham and Goran Krnaich of the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, Interpol, and the Ministry of Justice, Supreme State Prosecutor’s Office, Special State Prosecutor’s Office, and Police Directorate of Montenegro for their assistance in the extradition of the defendant. Mr. Gitner further thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which previously filed a separate civil action against KWON, and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared Lenow, Kimberly Ravener, and Andrew Thomas are in charge of the prosecution.
 

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Superseding Indictment, and the description of the Superseding Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.

Edward Y. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today the filing and settlement of a lawsuit against the owner and operator of KATZ’S DELICATESSEN OF HOUSTON ST. INC. (“KATZ’S DELI”) for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”).  The settlement, in the form of a consent decree, was entered today by U.S. District Judge Katherine Polk Failla.

Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim said: “The corrections and modifications agreed to by Katz’s Deli will give individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to enjoy one of New York City’s most popular restaurants, as is required by the ADA.”

The lawsuit and consent decree brings to a close the Office’s Manhattan Restaurants ADA Compliance Initiative, first announced in September 2011.  As part of the initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reviewed and evaluated the ADA compliance of the 50 “most popular” restaurants in Manhattan as designated by the 2011 Zagat Guide.

Many restaurants required only minor accessibility improvements to comply with the law, and over the next few years, the Office resolved its concerns by letter to approximately two dozen restaurants.  In approximately two dozen cases where more extensive accessibility improvements were necessary, the Office entered into voluntary compliance agreements.  In two cases, where there were multiple locations of restaurants with significant barriers to accessibility, the Office filed suit: the Office filed a complaint against the owners and operators of three Rosa Mexicano restaurants on October 15, 2012, and the Court approved the Consent Decree with the owners of Rosa Mexicano on January 30, 2013.  The Office filed a complaint on October 30, 2013, against the owners and operators of two Carmine’s locations (Upper West Side and Theater District locations), and the Court approved the Consent Decree resolving that matter on November 12, 2013.  A handful of restaurants closed before the accessibility review could be completed.

According to the Complaint and Consent Decree filed in Manhattan federal court:

The U.S. Attorney’s Office identified numerous violations of the ADA at KATZ’S DELI, located on the Lower East Side of Manhattan.  Most significantly, the main entrance of KATZ’S DELI is not accessible, the restaurant does not provide sufficient dining surfaces for persons with disabilities, and despite having been renovated in 2018, its restrooms fail to comply with the ADA.

Today’s consent decree requires KATZ’S DELI to improve the accessibility of their entrances, dining areas, and restrooms.  Notably, the consent decree provides for staff to assist individuals with disabilities in using the main public entrance, ensures that the required number of accessible dining surfaces are provided, and requires renovations to the men’s and women’s restrooms at KATZ’S DELI.  In addition, KATZ’S DELI will pay a $20,000 civil penalty to the U.S.

Mr. Kim thanked the Disability Rights Section of the Department of Justice, in particular its architectural staff, for their assistance in this matter.

To file a complaint alleging that any place of public accommodation within the Southern District of New York is not accessible to persons with disabilities, use the Civil Rights Complaint Form available on the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s website, https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/civil-rights.  Complaints should be emailed or sent by mail to:

U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of New York

86 Chambers Street, 3rd Floor

New York, New York, 10007

Attention: Chief, Civil Rights Unit

USANYS-CivilRights@usdoj.gov

The case is being handled by the Office’s Civil Rights Unit in the Civil Division.  Assistant U.S. Attorney David Farber is in charge of the case.                                                                  

Edward Y. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Brent S. Wible, the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the United States and head of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division; and James E. Dennehy, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced today that the Madoff Victim Fund (“MVF”) began its tenth and final distribution to victims of the Bernard L. Madoff fraud scheme of over $131.4 million.  These funds were forfeited by the U.S. government in connection with the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (“BLMIS”) fraud scheme.

In this distribution, payments will be sent to more than 23,000 victims across the globe, bringing their total recoveries to 93.71% of their fraud losses. Most of these victims were small investors who lost less than $500,000 in the fraud.  Through its ten distributions, MVF has paid over $4.3 billion to 40,930 victims in 127 countries as compensation for losses they suffered from the collapse of BLMIS.

This distribution represents the culmination of a decade of work identifying thousands of victims around the world and unwinding layers of complex financial transactions to provide compensation to eligible victims.

Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim said: “This Office has never stopped pursuing justice for victims of history’s largest Ponzi scheme.  With this tenth and final distribution, we have succeeded in compensating 40,930 victims with close to 94% of their losses.  As this extraordinary effort demonstrates, this Office and the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section are committed to protecting and assisting victims of crime, no matter how long it takes and no matter how complicated the endeavor.”

Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent S. Wible said: “The Criminal Division, through its Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (“MLARS”), is proud to administer the department’s remission program to compensate victims using forfeited assets.  The unprecedented scope and complexity of the Madoff remission process shows the power of forfeiture to recover assets and to compensate victims — a primary goal of the department’s Asset Forfeiture Program.  This tenth and final distribution, led by MLARS’s dedicated victim compensation team, achieves the department’s goal of compensating victims by returning over $4 billion in forfeited assets to more than 40,000 victims of Madoff’s crimes and achieving nearly full recovery for these victims.”

FBI Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy said: “Today’s distribution represents an unprecedented conclusion of victim compensation from civil forfeiture actions related to the Madoff scheme with more than $4 billion repaid to over 40,000 victims.  These victims implicitly trusted Madoff with their investments only to ultimately lose significant monies to his selfish plan.  With the steadfast support from the Justice Department, the FBI will continue its tireless seizure of assets from criminals who steal from others and seek to recover those assets for victim losses.” 

According to court documents and information presented in related proceedings, for decades, Bernard L. Madoff used his position as chairman of BLMIS, the investment advisory business he founded in 1960, to steal billions from his clients. On March 12, 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 federal felonies, admitting that he had turned his wealth management business into the world’s largest Ponzi scheme, benefitting himself, his family and select members of his inner circle.

On June 29, 2009, then-U.S. District Judge (now senior U.S. Circuit Judge), Denny Chin sentenced Madoff to serve 150 years in prison for running the largest fraudulent scheme in history. Of the over $4 billion that has been made available to victims, approximately $2.2 billion was collected as part of the historic civil forfeiture recovery from the estate of deceased Madoff investor Jeffry Picower. An additional $1.7 billion was collected as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. and civilly forfeited in a parallel action. The remaining funds were collected through a civil forfeiture action against investor Carl Shapiro and his family and from civil and criminal forfeiture actions against Bernard L. Madoff, Peter B. Madoff and their co-conspirators.

The MVF’s payouts would not have been possible without the extraordinary efforts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, and the FBI in the prosecution of Madoff’s crimes and the recovery of assets supporting the forfeiture in this case.

The MVF is overseen by Richard Breeden, former Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, who serves as Special Master appointed by the Department of Justice to assist in connection with the victim remission proceedings.  Mr. Breeden and his team at MVF have been essential in working with the Department to evaluate over 66,000 remission petitions involving billions in cash flows, and to compute each victim’s fraud losses to enable payments to be made.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Illicit Finance and Money Laundering Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara M. La Morte is in charge of the prosecution.  The remission of these forfeited funds is being handled by the Office and the U.S. Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section.

More information about MVF and its compensation to victims of BLMIS is available on the MVF website at www.madoffvictimfund.com, such as eligibility criteria, process updates, and frequently asked questions. Further questions may be directed to the MVF at 866-624-3670 or info@madoffvictimfund.com.

The Justice Department announced today that the Madoff Victim Fund (MVF) began its 10th and final distribution of over $131.4 million to victims of the Bernard L. Madoff fraud scheme. These funds were forfeited by the U.S. government in connection with the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (BLMIS) fraud scheme.

In this distribution, payments will be sent to more than 23,000 victims across the globe. With this 10th distribution, over 40,000 victims in the Madoff scheme will have recovered 93.71% of their fraud losses. Most of these victims were small investors who lost less than $500,000 in the fraud. Through its 10 distributions, MVF has paid over $4.3 billion from forfeited funds to 40,930 victims in 127 countries for losses they suffered from the collapse of BLMIS.

“The Criminal Division, through its Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS), is proud to administer the department’s remission program to compensate victims using forfeited assets,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brent S. Wible, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The unprecedented scope and complexity of the Madoff remission process shows the power of forfeiture to recover assets and to compensate victims — a primary goal of the department’s Asset Forfeiture Program. This 10th and final distribution, led by MLARS’ dedicated victim compensation team, achieves the department’s goal of compensating victims by returning over $4 billion in forfeited assets to more than 40,000 victims of Madoff’s crimes and achieving nearly full recovery for these victims.”

“This office has never stopped at pursuing justice for victims of history’s largest Ponzi scheme,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim for the Southern District of New York. “With this 10th and final distribution, we have succeeded in compensating 40,930 victims with close to 94% of their losses. As this extraordinary effort demonstrates, this office and MLARS are committed to protecting and assisting victims of crime, no matter how long it takes and no matter how complicated the endeavor.”

“Today’s distribution represents an unprecedented conclusion of victim compensation from civil forfeiture actions related to the Madoff scheme with more than $4 billion repaid to over 40,000 victims,” said Assistant Director in Charge James E. Dennehy of the FBI New York Field Office. “These victims implicitly trusted Madoff with their investments only to ultimately lose significant monies to his selfish plan. With the Justice Department’s steadfast support, the FBI will continue its tireless seizure of assets from criminals who steal from others and seek to recover those assets for victim losses.” 

This 10th and final distribution represents the culmination of a decade of work identifying thousands of victims around the world and unwinding layers of complex financial transactions to provide compensation to eligible victims.

According to court documents and information presented in related proceedings, for decades, Bernard L. Madoff used his position as chairman of BLMIS, the investment advisory business he founded in 1960, to steal billions from his clients. On March 12, 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 federal felonies, admitting that he had turned his wealth management business into the world’s largest Ponzi scheme, benefitting himself, his family, and select members of his inner circle.

On June 29, 2009, Madoff was sentenced to 150 years in prison for running the largest fraudulent scheme in history. Of the over $4 billion that has been made available to victims, approximately $2.2 billion was collected as part of the historic civil forfeiture recovery from the estate of deceased Madoff investor Jeffry Picower. An additional $1.7 billion was collected as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank N.A. and civilly forfeited in a parallel action. The remaining funds were collected through a civil forfeiture action against investor Carl Shapiro and his family and from civil and criminal forfeiture actions against Bernard L. Madoff, Peter B. Madoff, and their co-conspirators.

Compensation from the MVF is possible due to the extraordinary efforts of MLARS, which administers the forfeiture victim compensation program; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York; and the FBI, which led the prosecution of Madoff’s crimes and the recovery of assets supporting the forfeiture in this case.

The MVF is overseen by Richard Breeden, former Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, who serves as Special Master appointed by the Justice Department to assist in connection with the victim remission proceedings. Mr. Breeden and his team at MVF have been essential in working with the department to evaluate over 66,000 remission petitions involving billions in cash flows, and to compute each victim’s fraud losses to enable payments to be made.

More information about MVF and its compensation to victims of BLMIS is available at www.madoffvictimfund.com, such as eligibility criteria, process updates, and frequently asked questions. Further questions may be directed to the MVF at 866-624-3670 or info@madoffvictimfund.com.

Returning assets to victims of crime is a primary goal of the department’s Asset Forfeiture Program. Since 2000, the victim compensation program has returned more than $12 billion in forfeited assets to victims. MLARS, through its Program Management and Training Unit, coordinates with U.S. Attorneys’ Offices, federal law enforcement and regulatory agencies, and private parties to ensure consistent and efficient return of forfeited assets to victims.

Edward Y. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; David A. Hubbert, the Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Tax Division; and Danny Werfel, Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), announced that U.S. District Judge John P. Cronan entered an order today authorizing the IRS to issue summonses requiring certain entities to produce information about U.S. taxpayers, including individuals and trusts, who may have used the services of a multinational group of affiliated companies that operate under the trade name “Trident Trust” (collectively, the “Trident Trust Group”) to evade federal income taxes.  Specifically, the IRS summonses seek records from a Trident Trust Group affiliate, as well as from companies that may have facilitated electronic fund transfers and courier deliveries to Trident Trust Group entities, to identify U.S. taxpayers who may have used the Trident Trust Group’s services to create or control foreign assets and entities to potentially avoid compliance with their U.S. tax obligations.

Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim said: “Today’s action is part of this Office’s steadfast commitment to hold accountable those who use offshore service providers to avoid paying their U.S. taxes.  In obtaining authority to issue these latest John Doe summonses, we continue our joint efforts with the IRS to investigate tax evaders who use foreign financial accounts and sham foreign entities to hide their assets and income.”

Tax Division Deputy Assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert said: “The Department of Justice and the IRS are committed to using the tools available to us, including John Doe summonses like the ones authorized today, to ensure that taxpayers fully meet their responsibilities, including reporting their worldwide income and use of foreign accounts.”

IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel said: “U.S. taxpayers and their facilitators who hide offshore income generating activities and assets from the U.S. government are on notice that the IRS continues to prioritize combatting offshore abusive activities.  These records will assist the IRS and its partners in finding those taxpayers, ensuring their compliance with the U.S. tax laws and delivering on our mission of a fair tax system.”

Federal tax law requires U.S. citizens, resident aliens, and trusts with gross annual income above the reporting threshold to pay taxes on all their income earned worldwide.  They must also disclose their interests in certain foreign financial accounts, assets, and entities.  Failure to report these offshore arrangements or pay associated taxes can result in serious civil and criminal consequences.  According to the allegations set forth in the documents filed in support of the petition to authorize the John Doe summonses, and other information in the public record:

The Trident Trust Group is a privately owned network of entities operating in nearly 30 jurisdictions worldwide, including known tax havens.  The Trident Trust Group has provided corporate, trust, and fund administration services for over 40 years.  It offers, among other things, services that enable customers to conceal their interests in offshore accounts and entities, including creating opaque corporate structures in jurisdictions with strict privacy laws, providing corporate directors and officers who act on their customers’ behalf, mail forwarding and retention services, and inactive companies known as “shelf companies” that are dormant and sitting “on a shelf” for purpose of later sale, that are incorporated with a standard memoranda or articles of association and have inactive shareholders, directors, and secretaries.  The Trident Trust Group advertises these services as assisting its clients in keeping confidential their beneficial ownership of assets and avoiding public reporting, including for “tax and estate planning.”

Some U.S. clients of the Trident Trust Group use or may use these services to conceal their interests in assets and avoid paying U.S. taxes on them.  For example, Trident Trust Group employees have listed themselves as the founders, directors, and officers of thousands of Panamanian companies to help their U.S. taxpayer clients potentially conceal their interests in and income from these foreign entities.  Indeed, at least nine U.S. taxpayers who used the Trident Trust Group’s services to conceal their interests in foreign assets have reported their tax non-compliance to the IRS through the agency’s Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program—which allowed U.S. taxpayers to voluntarily disclose their foreign accounts or entities used to evade tax liability in exchange for fixed penalties.

In this action, the Court granted the IRS permission to serve what is known as a “John Doe” summons on Nevis Services Limited, a Trident Trust Group affiliate based in Manhattan, that seeks information about U.S. taxpayers who may have used its services or those of other entities within the Trident Trust Group to establish, maintain, operate, or control: any foreign financial account or other foreign asset; any foreign corporation, company, trust, foundation, or other legal entity; or any foreign or domestic financial account or other asset in the name of such foreign entity, from 2014 through 2023.  By obtaining these records, the IRS expects to be able to identify Trident Trust Group clients who used the Group’s services to avoid or evade U.S. taxes.

In addition, the Court also granted the IRS leave to serve summonses on twelve financial entities and courier services: the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; Clearing House Payments Company LLC; HSBC Bank USA, N.A.; the Bank of New York Mellon Corporation; Citibank, N.A.; UBS AG; Bank of America, N.A.; Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas; FedEx Corporation; DHL Express (USA), Inc.; and United Parcel Service, Inc.  There is no allegation in this action that these financial entities and courier services have engaged in any wrongdoing.  Rather, the IRS uses John Doe summonses to obtain information about possible violations of internal revenue laws by individuals whose identities are unknown.  The John Doe summonses direct these financial entities and courier services to produce records that will enable the IRS to identify U.S. taxpayers who have sent or received money or documents to or from the Trident Trust Group, along with other records relating to these transactions.

In parallel, the U.S. has sought John Doe summonses in the U.S. District Courts for the Northern District of Georgia and the District of South Dakota authorizing the IRS to issue summonses to four other U.S.-based entities in the Trident Trust Group seeking information about U.S. taxpayers who may have used the Group’s services.

*               *                *

This case is being handled by the Office’s Tax and Bankruptcy Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony J. Sun is in charge of the case.

Note: View the unsealed complaint here.

A complaint was unsealed today charging Mohammad Reza Nouri, 36, of Iran, also known as Muhammad Rida Husayn, Ali Asghar Nuri, and Abu Abbas, an Iranian national and officer in the IRGC, in connection with Nouri’s alleged role in orchestrating the Nov. 7, 2022, murder of American Stephen Troell in Baghdad, Iraq. Nouri was arrested in Iraq in March 2023.

“The Department of Justice will not tolerate terrorists and authoritarian regimes targeting and murdering Americans anywhere in the world,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “We allege that Mohammad Reza Nouri, an officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, orchestrated the murder of Stephen Troell, an American citizen living in Iraq, carrying out the Iranian Regime’s efforts to take vengeance for the death of Qasim Soleimani. Stephen should still be alive today, and the Justice Department will work relentlessly to ensure accountability for his murder.”

“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps remains determined to target U.S. citizens, and orchestrated a cold-blooded plot to brutally murder Stephen Troell, a Tennessee native working at an English language institute in Iraq,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “According to the allegations, Mohammad Reza Nouri, an IRGC captain, played a key role in planning the attack in which Troell was ambushed as he drove home from work with his wife. Today’s announcement makes clear that the FBI and our partners will not tolerate the IRGC’s ruthless attacks on Americans, here in the United States or overseas, and will hold accountable any who seek to harm our citizens.”

“As alleged, Mohammad Reza Nouri, a Captain in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, orchestrated the murder of American Steven Troell in Iraq,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Kim for the Southern District of New York. “Nouri is alleged to have gathered intelligence on Troell’s daily routine and whereabouts, procured weapons and vehicles, and provided safe harbor to the operatives who carried out the sinister plot to brutally attack Troell in front of his wife. As alleged, the Iranian regime is actively targeting U.S. citizens, such as Troell, living in countries around the world for kidnapping and execution both to repress and silence dissidents critical of the regime and to take vengeance for the death of Qasem Soleimani. This office will not stand by when an American is attacked and murdered in cold blood, and we will continue working with our law enforcement partners to bring Nouri to justice.”

“As alleged in the complaint, Nouri facilitated Troell’s murder. He gathered information and coordinated with a co-conspirator to procure supplies that operatives relied on during their attack on Troell,” said Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the FBI Washington Field Office. “The FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to bring IRGC operatives, including Nouri’s co-conspirator, to justice for harming Americans.”

According to court documents, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Iran) is actively targeting nationals of the United States and its allies living in countries around the world for kidnapping and/or execution both to repress and silence dissidents critical of the Iranian regime and to take vengeance for the January 2020 death of then-Commander of the IRGC-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), Qasem Soleimani, who was killed by a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad. The IRGC is an Iranian military and counterintelligence agency under the authority of Iran’s Supreme Leader, comprised of components including an external operations force, the IRGC-QF, and has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. Secretary of State since April 15, 2019. The IRGC has publicly stated its desire to avenge the death of Soleimani, and, among its activities, the IRGC plots and conducts attack operations outside Iran targeting U.S. citizens residing in the United States and abroad. In November 2022, the Iranian regime struck in Iraq: a group of operatives working on behalf of the IRGC brutally murdered Stephen Troell, a 45-year-old American living in Baghdad, where he worked at an English language institute, as Troell was driving home with his wife after work.

Nouri is an IRGC Captain who works for the IRGC in Iraq and is involved in the IRGC’s external attack plotting against U.S. citizens and others. Nouri played a key role in the IRGC’s targeting and ultimate murder of Troell, whom Nouri appears to have believed was working as an American or Israeli intelligence officer. Nouri, on behalf of the IRGC, collected critical, highly personal information about Troell to facilitate stalking, attacking, and ultimately killing Troell. Nouri, with the assistance of co-conspirators, developed a source with access to details of Troell’s life and daily routine. With this information, Nouri created intelligence documents for his IRGC associates and a group of operatives recruited to execute the attack, which included Troell’s date of birth, coordinates of his residence, occupation, work schedule, telephone number, wife’s name, and children’s names, among other information. In the weeks leading up to the murder, Nouri coordinated with one of his co-conspirators (CC-1) in the plot targeting Troell to procure some of the means for attacking Troell, including firearms as well as a vehicle for use in the lethal attack on Troell. On the evening of Nov. 7, 2022, the group of recruited operatives carried out the attack. Troell was driving home from work with his wife when heavily armed gunmen in two cars forced the Troells to stop shortly before they reached their residence, blocked any possible escape route, approached Troell on the driver’s side, and, using an assault weapon, shot and killed Troell as his wife witnessed the attack in the passenger seat.   

On the day of the murder, Nouri coordinated with CC-1 shortly before and immediately after the attack. Nouri and CC-1 spoke repeatedly in the hours leading up to the attack. Less than a half hour after the attack, Nouri sent CC-1 encrypted messages inquiring about the wellbeing of the operatives tasked with carrying out the hit on Troell, asking, “The guys are fine?” and “They are doing well?” to which CC-1 responded, “One is injured.”  As the night went on, CC-1 continued to update Nouri, noting that “two so far” of the operatives on the hit squad — whom Nouri referred to as “our guys” — had gathered safely since the murder, that “the rest are on the way,” and that the injury sustained by one of their confederates was “slight.”  In the course of these encrypted messages, Nouri and CC-1 celebrated the events of the day and their success. That night, after the murder, Nouri left Iraq for Iran. Shortly before departing Baghdad, Nouri visited a religious site associated with mourning for Soleimani’s death.

Following the murder, approximately nine of the operatives on the hit squad also left Iraq and entered Iran, where they joined Nouri. In Iran, Nouri arranged housing for the operatives, providing them safe harbor in the aftermath of the murder. Nouri and another IRGC official addressed the operatives during their stay in Iran, offered their blessings to the hit squad, and told them that Troell was purportedly a spy on behalf of America and Israel, that Troell threatened Islam by attracting Iraqi youths to the Jewish religion and spreading it in Iraq, and that Troell therefore deserved to be murdered.

In March 2023, Iraqi authorities arrested Nouri, and he was subsequently convicted by an Iraqi court for his role in Troell’s murder. Nouri remains in custody in Iraq.

Nouri has been charged with conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization resulting in death, and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison; providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization resulting in death, and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison; conspiring to provide material support for acts of terrorism resulting in death, and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison; providing material support for acts of terrorism resulting in death, and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison; conspiring to take hostages, and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison; conspiring to murder U.S. nationals outside the United States, and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison; murdering a U.S. national outside the United States, and faces a maximum penalty of death or life in prison; and  causing death through the use of a firearm, and faces a maximum penalty of death or life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI Washington Field Office’s Counterterrorism Division is investigating the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs; Justice Department’s Attaché in Iraq; FBI Legal Attaché office in Iraq; Iraqi authorities; and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia provided valuable assistance.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob H. Gutwillig, Matthew J.C. Hellman, and Kyle A. Wirshba for the Southern District of New York and Trial Attorneys Joshua Champagne and Timothy J. Reardon III of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section are prosecuting the case.

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

Edward Y. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Merrick B. Garland, the Attorney General of the United States; Christopher A. Wray, the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”); and David Sundberg, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office, announced the unsealing of murder and terrorism charges against MOHAMMAD REZA NOURI, a/k/a “Muhammad Rida Husayn ‘Ali Asghar Nuri,” a/k/a “Abu Abbas,” an Iranian national and officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (“IRGC”), in connection with NOURI’s alleged role in orchestrating the November 7, 2022 murder of American Stephen Troell in Baghdad, Iraq.  The charges are contained in a Complaint unsealed today in Manhattan federal court.  NOURI was arrested in Iraq in March 2023.

Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim said: “As alleged, Mohammad Reza Nouri, a Captain in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, orchestrated the murder of American Steven Troell in Iraq.  Nouri is alleged to have gathered intelligence on Troell’s daily routine and whereabouts, procured weapons and vehicles, and provided safe harbor to the operatives who carried out the sinister plot to brutally attack Troell in front of his wife.  As alleged, the Iranian regime is actively targeting U.S. citizens, such as Troell, living in countries around the world for kidnapping and execution both to repress and silence dissidents critical of the regime and to take vengeance for the death of Qasem Soleimani.  This Office will not stand by when an American is attacked and murdered in cold blood, and we will continue working with our law enforcement partners to bring Nouri to justice.”

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said: “The Department of Justice will not tolerate terrorists and authoritarian regimes targeting and murdering Americans anywhere in the world.  We allege that Mohammad Reza Nouri, an officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, orchestrated the murder of Stephen Troell, an American citizen living in Iraq, carrying out the Iranian Regime’s efforts to take vengeance for the death of Qasim Soleimani.  Stephen should still be alive today, and the Justice Department will work relentlessly to ensure accountability for his murder.”

FBI Director Christopher A. Wray said: “The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps remains determined to target U.S. citizens, and orchestrated a cold-blooded plot to brutally murder Stephen Troell, a Tennessee native working at an English language institute in Iraq.  According to the allegations, Mohammad Reza Nouri, an IRGC captain, played a key role in planning the attack in which Troell was ambushed as he drove home from work with his wife.  Today’s announcement makes clear that the FBI and our partners will not tolerate the IRGC’s ruthless attacks on Americans, here in the U.S. or overseas, and will hold accountable any who seek to harm our citizens.”

FBI Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg said: “As alleged in the complaint, Nouri facilitated Troell's murder. He allegedly gathered information and coordinated with a co-conspirator to procure supplies that operatives relied on during their attack on Troell.  The FBI will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to bring IRGC operatives, including Nouri's co-conspirator, to justice for harming Americans.”

According to the allegations contained in the Complaint charging the defendant:[1] 

The Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran (“Iran”) is actively targeting nationals of the United States and its allies living in countries around the world for kidnapping and/or execution both to repress and silence dissidents critical of the Iranian regime and to take vengeance for the January 2020 death of then-Commander of the IRGC-Qods Force (“IRGC-QF”), Qasem Soleimani, who was killed by a U.S. drone strike in Baghdad.  The IRGC is an Iranian military and counterintelligence agency under the authority of Iran’s Supreme Leader, comprised of components including an external operations force, the IRGC-QF, and has been designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S. Secretary of State since April 15, 2019.  The IRGC has publicly stated its desire to avenge the death of Soleimani, and, among its activities, the IRGC plots and conducts attack operations outside Iran targeting U.S. citizens residing in the United States and abroad.  In November 2022, the Iranian regime struck in Iraq: a group of operatives working on behalf of the IRGC brutally murdered Stephen Troell, a 45-year-old American living in Baghdad, where he worked at an English language institute, as Troell was driving home with his wife after work.

NOURI is an IRGC Captain who works for the IRGC in Iraq and is involved in the IRGC’s external attack plotting against U.S. citizens and others.  NOURI played a key role in the IRGC’s targeting and ultimate murder of Troell, whom NOURI appears to have believed was working as an American or Israeli intelligence officer.  NOURI, on behalf of the IRGC, collected critical, highly personal information about Troell to facilitate stalking, attacking, and ultimately killing Troell. NOURI, with the assistance of co-conspirators, developed a source with access to details of Troell’s life and daily routine.  With this information, NOURI created intelligence documents for his IRGC associates and a group of operatives recruited to execute the attack, which included Troell’s date of birth, coordinates of his residence, occupation, work schedule, telephone number, wife’s name, and children’s names, among other information.  In the weeks leading up to the murder, NOURI coordinated with one of his co-conspirators (“CC-1”) in the plot targeting Troell to procure some of the means for attacking Troell, including firearms as well as a vehicle for use in the lethal attack on Troell.  On the evening of November 7, 2022, the group of recruited operatives carried out the attack. Troell was driving home from work with his wife when heavily armed gunmen in two cars forced the Troells to stop shortly before they reached their residence, blocked any possible escape route, approached Troell on the driver’s side, and, using an assault weapon, shot and killed Troell as his wife witnessed the attack in the passenger seat. 

On the day of the murder, NOURI coordinated with CC-1 shortly before and immediately after the attack.  NOURI and CC-1 spoke repeatedly in the hours leading up to the attack.  Less than a half hour after the attack, NOURI sent CC-1 encrypted messages inquiring about the wellbeing of the operatives tasked with carrying out the hit on Troell, asking, “The guys are fine?” and “They are doing well?” to which CC-1 responded, “One is injured.”  As the night went on, CC-1 continued to update NOURI, noting that “two so far” of the operatives on the hit squad — whom NOURI referred to as “our guys” — had gathered safely since the murder, that “the rest are on the way,” and that the injury sustained by one of their confederates was “slight.”  In the course of these encrypted messages, NOURI and CC-1 celebrated the events of the day and their success.  That night, after the murder, NOURI left Iraq for Iran.  Shortly before departing Baghdad, NOURI visited a religious site associated with mourning for Soleimani’s death.

Following the murder, approximately nine of the operatives on the hit squad also left Iraq and entered Iran, where they joined NOURI.  In Iran, NOURI arranged housing for the operatives, providing them safe harbor in the aftermath of the murder.  NOURI and another IRGC official addressed the operatives during their stay in Iran, offered their blessings to the hit squad, and told them that Troell was purportedly a spy on behalf of America and Israel, that Troell threatened Islam by attracting Iraqi youths to the Jewish religion and spreading it in Iraq, and that Troell therefore deserved to be murdered.

In March 2023, Iraqi authorities arrested NOURI, and he was subsequently convicted by an Iraqi court for his role in Troell’s murder.  NOURI remains in custody in Iraq.

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NOURI, 36, of Iran, has been charged with: (i) conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization resulting in death, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison; (ii) providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization resulting in death, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison; (iii) conspiring to provide material support for acts of terrorism resulting in death, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison; (iv) providing material support for acts of terrorism resulting in death, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison; (v) conspiring to take hostages, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison; (vi) conspiring to murder U.S. nationals outside the United States, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison; (vii) murdering a U.S. national outside the United States, which carries a maximum penalty of death or life in prison; and (viii) causing death through the use of a firearm, which carries a maximum penalty of death or life in prison.

The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant would be imposed by a judge.

Mr. Kim praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI Washington Field Office, Counterterrorism Division.  Mr. Kim also thanked Iraqi authorities for providing invaluable support, as well as the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Counterterrorism Section; the Department’s Office of International Affairs; the Department’s Office of the Justice Attaché in Iraq; the FBI Legal Attaché office in Iraq; and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia for their assistance.

This case is being handled by the Office’s National Security and International Narcotics Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob H. Gutwillig, Matthew J.C. Hellman, and Kyle A. Wirshba are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Trial Attorneys Joshua Champagne and Timothy J. Reardon III of the Counterterrorism Section.

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

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.

A criminal complaint was unsealed today charging Luigi Nicholas Mangione, 26, of Towson, Maryland, in connection with the Dec. 4 murder of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan. Mangione was taken into federal custody today and will be presented this afternoon in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker for the Southern District of New York.

“Today, the Justice Department has brought federal murder charges against Luigi Mangione,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “As alleged, Mangione planned his attack for months and stalked his victim for days before murdering him — methodically planning when, where, and how to carry out his crime. I am grateful to our state and local law enforcement partners for their tireless efforts to locate and apprehend the defendant and to ensure that he answers for his alleged crime.”

“Brian Thompson was gunned down in cold blood as he walked down a street in midtown Manhattan,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim for the Southern District of New York. “Thompson was allegedly killed just because he held the position of chief executive officer of a health insurance company. As alleged, Luigi Mangione traveled to New York to stalk and shoot Thompson in broad daylight in front of a Manhattan hotel, all in a grossly misguided attempt to broadcast Mangione’s views across the country. But this wasn’t a debate, it was murder, and Mangione now faces federal charges. This office and its law enforcement partners remain steadfast in our commitment to fight violence in whatever form it takes.”

“Luigi Mangione allegedly conducted the carefully premeditated and targeted execution of Brian Thompson to incite national debates,” said Assistant Director James E. Dennehy of the FBI New York Field Office. “This alleged plot demonstrates a cavalier attitude towards humanity — deeming murder an appropriate recourse to satiate personal grievances. Through continued close partnership with the NYPD, the FBI maintains our steadfast commitment to fervently pursue any individual who promotes a personal agenda through violence.”

“NYPD detectives worked relentlessly to identify and widely distribute images of the suspect who allegedly carried out this premeditated, preplanned, targeted murder, and they are committed to assisting prosecutors in seeing this important case through to its rightful conclusion,” said Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch of the New York City Police Department (NYPD). “This senseless incident highlights the critical role of the public in the NYPD’s public safety mission, and I thank everyone who saw something, said something, and did something.  It is because of the public’s actions that we now have an alleged killer in custody back in New York City.”

As alleged in the complaint, over the course of the last several months, Mangione meticulously planned the execution of Brian Thompson in an effort to initiate a public discussion about the healthcare industry. Mangione targeted the victim, tracked his whereabouts, and traveled from out of state to New York City, where the victim was scheduled to attend the company’s investor conference. After arriving in the city on Nov. 24, more than one week before the murder, Mangione performed reconnaissance in the area around the victim’s hotel and the conference venue where the victim was scheduled to speak. Using a false identification, Mangione checked into an Upper West Side hostel.

In the early morning hours of Dec. 4, Mangione traveled by bicycle from the Upper West Side to the area around West 54th Street and Sixth Avenue. At approximately 6:45 a.m., Mangione strategically placed himself in between two cars on West 54th Street, and as the victim passed by, Mangione walked up behind the victim and fired several gunshots from a 9mm pistol causing the victim’s death. The pistol was equipped with what appeared to be a firearm sound suppressor or silencer. After the murder, Mangione fled on his bicycle northbound through Central Park and ultimately back to the Upper West Side.

On Dec. 9, Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, while he sat in a fast-food restaurant after being recognized by one of the restaurant’s workers. Members of the Altoona Police Department confronted Mangione, who provided the same false identification that he used when checking into the Upper West Side hostel. Mangione was also found in possession of, among other things, a 9mm pistol and a sound suppressor consistent with the weapon used to kill the victim.

Mangione is charged with one count of using a firearm to commit murder, which carries a maximum penalty of death or life in prison; one count of interstate stalking resulting in death, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison; one count of stalking through use of interstate facilities resulting in death, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison; and one count of discharging a firearm that was equipped with a silencer in furtherance of a crime of violence, which carries a maximum penalty of life in prison and a mandatory minimum penalty of 30 years. A federal district court judge will determine any sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force and NYPD are investigating the case. The Justice Department also thanks the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which has brought a separate prosecution against Mangione, which is currently expected to proceed to trial before the federal case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dominic A. Gentile, Jun Xiang, and Alexandra Messiter for the Southern District of New York are prosecuting the case.

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

Edward Y. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; Merrick B. Garland, the Attorney General of the United States; James E. Dennehy, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”); and Jessica S. Tisch, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced the unsealing today of a Complaint charging LUIGI NICHOLAS MANGIONE in connection with the December 4, 2024, murder of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson in Midtown Manhattan. MANGIONE was taken into federal custody today and will be presented this afternoon in Manhattan federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Katharine H. Parker.  

Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim said: “Brian Thompson was gunned down in cold blood as he walked down a street in midtown Manhattan.  Thompson was allegedly killed just because he held the position of chief executive officer of a health insurance company.  As alleged, Luigi Mangione traveled to New York to stalk and shoot Thompson in broad daylight in front of a Manhattan hotel, all in a grossly misguided attempt to broadcast Mangione’s views across the country.  But this wasn’t a debate, it was murder, and Mangione now faces federal charges.  This Office and its law enforcement partners remain steadfast in our commitment to fight violence in whatever form it takes.”

Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said: “Today, the Justice Department has brought federal murder charges against Luigi Mangione.  As alleged, Mangione planned his attack for months and stalked his victim for days before murdering him — methodically planning when, where, and how to carry out his crime.  I am grateful to our state and local law enforcement partners for their tireless efforts to locate and apprehend the defendant and to ensure that he answers for his alleged crime.”

FBI Assistant Director James E. Dennehy said: “Luigi Mangione allegedly conducted the carefully premeditated and targeted execution of Brian Thompson to incite national debates.  This alleged plot demonstrates a cavalier attitude towards humanity – deeming murder an appropriate recourse to satiate personal grievances.  Through continued close partnership with the NYPD, the FBI maintains our steadfast commitment to fervently pursue any individual who promotes a personal agenda through violence.”

NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch said: “NYPD detectives worked relentlessly to identify and widely distribute images of the suspect who allegedly carried out this premeditated, preplanned, targeted murder, and they are committed to assisting prosecutors in seeing this important case through to its rightful conclusion.  This senseless incident highlights the critical role of the public in the NYPD’s public safety mission, and I thank everyone who saw something, said something, and did something.  It is because of the public’s actions that we now have an alleged killer in custody back in New York City.”

As alleged in the Complaint:

Over the course of the last several months, MANGIONE meticulously planned the execution of Brian Thompson in an effort to initiate a public discussion about the healthcare industry. MANGIONE targeted the victim, tracked his whereabouts, and traveled from out of state to New York City, where the victim was scheduled to attend the company’s investor conference. After arriving in the City on November 24, 2024, more than one week before the murder, MANGIONE performed reconnaissance in the area around the victim’s hotel and the conference venue where the victim was scheduled to speak. Using a false identification, MANGIONE checked into an Upper West Side hostel.

In the early morning hours of December 4, 2024, MANGIONE traveled by bicycle from the Upper West Side to the area around West 54th Street and Sixth Avenue. At approximately 6:45 a.m., MANGIONE strategically placed himself in between two cars on West 54th Street, and as the victim passed by, MANGIONE walked up behind the victim and fired several gunshots from a 9mm pistol causing the victim’s death. The pistol was equipped with what appeared to be a firearm sound suppressor or silencer. After the murder, MANGIONE fled on his bicycle northbound through Central Park and ultimately back to the Upper West Side.

On December 9, 2024, MANGIONE was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania while he sat in a fast-food restaurant after being recognized by one of the restaurant’s workers. Members of the Altoona Police Department confronted MANGIONE, who provided the same false identification that he used when checking-in to the Upper West Side hostel. MANGIONE was also found in possession of, among other things, a 9mm pistol and a sound suppressor consistent with the weapon used to kill the victim.

*                *                *

MANGIONE, 26, of Towson, Maryland, is charged with one count of using a firearm to commit murder, which carries a maximum potential sentence of death or life in prison; one count of interstate stalking resulting in death, which carries a maximum potential sentence of life in prison;  one count of stalking through use of interstate facilities resulting in death, which carries a maximum potential sentence of life in prison; and one count of discharging a firearm that was equipped with a silencer in furtherance of a crime of violence, which carries a maximum potential sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years.

The maximum and minimum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge. 

Mr. Kim praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force and the NYPD.

Mr. Kim also thanked the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which has brought a separate prosecution against MANGIONE, which is currently expected to proceed to trial before the federal case.

The case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dominic A. Gentile, Jun Xiang, and Alexandra Messiter are in charge of the prosecution.

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

Edward Y. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that SUNG KOOK (BILL) HWANG, the founder and head of a private investment firm known as Archegos, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Alvin K. Hellerstein to 18 years in prison concurrently on each count charged for leading a criminal enterprise that manipulated the prices of multiple stocks and defrauded at least nine investment banks. In July 2024, HWANG was convicted following a nine-week jury trial of racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, market manipulation, and wire fraud.

Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim said: “Bill Hwang weaponized his personal hedge fund, Archegos, to pursue financial fraud on a national scale.  For months on end, Hwang and his coconspirators used an array of lies and manipulative trading strategies to rig the stock market in Hwang’s favor.  Hwang’s crimes brought him to the brink of staggering wealth before his fraud collapsed and left investors, banks, and even Hwang’s own employees with billions of dollars in losses.  Today’s sentence sends a clear message that criminal manipulation schemes will be met with serious prison sentences.”

As reflected in the Indictment, court filings, and the evidence presented at trial:

Beginning in 2020, HWANG—along with his co-conspirators, including codefendant Patrick Halligan (Archegos’s Chief Financial Officer)—used the Archegos enterprise to pursue two interrelated criminal schemes, one involving manipulative trading in the marketplace and the other involving false and misleading statements to Archegos’s trading counterparties.  Although HWANG held himself out as an investor focused on company fundamentals with a three- to five-year investment horizon, which had been Archegos’s investment approach for years, by the fall of 2020, HWANG spent his time—and nearly all Archegos’s capital—on constant trading in the same core stocks.  HWANG began deploying strategies aimed to manipulate, control, and artificially affect the market for securities in Archegos’s portfolio.  Those techniques included purchasing or selling securities at particular times of day including marking the price of securities up at the close of trading to trigger payouts to Archegos and trading at times and in a manner to give the false impression of additional interest in the securities, transacting in certain securities in large amounts or high volume, and timing or coordinating certain transactions to maximize impact on the market.

HWANG’s manipulative trading was sustained and furthered by lies and misrepresentations made to Archegos’s counterparties.  As HWANG’s trading led to large position sizes, Archegos’s counterparties started to impose limits on Archegos’s trading.  To enable HWANG to continue to trade the same names at larger sizes, HWANG, Halligan, and others conspired to make repeated, materially false and misleading statements to Archegos’s counterparties about Archegos’s portfolio of securities.  These false and misleading statements were designed to fraudulently induce the counterparties into trading with and extending credit to Archegos, enabling and facilitating the market manipulation scheme, and to hide the true risk of doing business with Archegos.

By March 2021, HWANG’s manipulative trading scheme—which relied in part on continually increasing the size of Archegos’s positions in a handful of equities—had profoundly reshaped Archegos’s portfolio and risk profile. Now Archegos had concentrated its investments in a number of publicly traded stocks with markets that HWANG found he could distort, including of large companies, such as ViacomCBS and Discovery.  Archegos’s portfolio became highly vulnerable to external events that might deflate the artificial prices HWANG had created.  In late March 2021, the markets exposed HWANG’s price manipulation.  On March 22, 2021, ViacomCBS announced a seasoned equity offering.  Following that announcement, on March 23, 2021, HWANG directed nearly a billion dollars in additional purchases of stock in ViacomCBS and other companies whose stock HWANG had manipulated in a final effort to control the prices of those stocks and prevent them from declining and harming the value of his portfolio. On March 24, 2021, using what cash and trading capacity remained, HWANG made one final attempt to reverse market forces, but he failed.  When the markets closed, Archegos faced substantial margin calls that it could not meet, causing billions of dollars in losses to the counterparties that had financed HWANG’s trading.

Ultimately, the market manipulation and fraud schemes, and the billions of dollars in losses that they caused, victimized a wide swath of market participants, including counterparties that engaged in loans and securities trading with Archegos based on lies and deceit, ordinary investors who purchased and sold the relevant securities at artificial prices, and securities issuers who made business decisions based on the artificial prices of their stocks.  The schemes also caused millions of dollars of losses to innocent Archegos employees who had been required to allocate to Archegos a substantial amount of their pay as deferred compensation.

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In addition to the prison term, HWANG, 60, of Tenafly, New Jersey, was sentenced to three years of supervised release concurrently on each count and ordered to pay more than nine billion dollars in restitution.

Halligan, who was convicted at trial alongside HWANG of racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, and wire fraud, is scheduled to be sentenced on January 27, 2025.

Mr. Kim praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Podolsky, Alexandra Rothman, Samuel P. Rothschild, and Andrew Thomas are in charge of the prosecution.

Edward Y. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York; William S. Walker, the Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”); and Jessica Tisch, the Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), announced the unsealing of an Indictment charging PAUL JOHNSON, a/k/a “PJ Glizzy,” with racketeering conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, and a firearms offense. The charges relate to JOHNSON’s membership in a Bronx-based street gang known as the “Original Goonz,” or “OGz.” As alleged, on February 6, 2022, JOHNSON murdered 18-year-old Jayquan McKenley. JOHNSON, who was in New York City Department of Correction custody, was transferred to federal custody earlier today and made his initial appearance in federal court in Manhattan. The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero.

Acting U.S. Attorney Edward Y. Kim said: “Jayquan McKenley’s death was senseless.  As alleged, Paul Johnson murdered him as part of a dispute between rival gangs.  We hope that today’s charges bring some measure of comfort to McKenley’s family and make clear that this Office and our law enforcement partners will never stop investigating those who commit violence on our streets.”

HSI Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker said: “Paul Johnson's alleged ruthless murder of Jayquan McKenley sent shockwaves through our Brooklyn neighborhoods and shone a light on the level of senseless violence committed by street gangs in New York City.  Today's indictment is the result of the relentless work and determination of HSI New York's Violent Gang Task Force.  The streets are made safer everyday thanks to the dedication of New York's local, state, and federal law enforcement who work together to obtain justice for victims of violent crime.”

According to the allegations in the Indictment unsealed today in Manhattan federal court,[1] other court documents, and statements made during court proceedings:

From at least 2019 up to and including December 2024, JOHNSON was a member of the “Original Goonz,” or “OGz” street gang, which is based in the Bronx, New York.  In order to fund the gang, protect its territory, and promote its standing, members of the OGz engaged in, among other things, narcotics trafficking and other acts of violence, including murder.

On February 6, 2022, JOHNSON and others murdered Jayquan McKenley in a drive-by shooting in Brooklyn, New York. Jayquan McKenley was 18 years old.

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JOHNSON, 23, of the Bronx, is charged with one count of racketeering conspiracy, which carries a maximum term of life in prison; one count of murder in aid of racketeering, which carries a mandatory minimum term of life in prison or death; one count of conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, which carries a maximum term of 10 years in prison; and one count of use, carrying, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, which carries a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison to run consecutive to any other term imposed and a maximum sentence of life in prison.

The minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge.

Mr. Kim praised the outstanding investigative work of HSI and NYPD.

The case is being handled by the Office’s Violent and Organized Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick R. Moroney is in charge of the prosecution.

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

[1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment, and the description of the Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.