Northern District of Ohio

CLEVELAND – Vall Iliev, 70, of Stow, Ohio, has been sentenced to 63 months (5.25 years) in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Donald C. Nugent after he pleaded guilty in March to smuggling foreign-made body armor and then selling it to law enforcement agencies and other members of the public as legitimate, domestically-made certified products. Iliev was additionally ordered to serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment. Judge Nugent also ordered him to pay approximately $5.2 million in restitution.

According to court documents and testimony, in May 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at the Blaine, Washington port of entry (POE) intercepted a Canadian-registered truck found to be carrying more than 200 ballistic body armor plates in boxes originating from China. The plates were hidden using a technique known as “Master Carton Smuggling,” which is typically used in attempts to evade detection by POE officials. The pre-packaged boxes were concealed within a larger shipping container and pre-addressed to be delivered to Iliev’s home or his businesses, Vallmar Studios and ShotStop, in Stow.

Vallmar Studios was used as a warehouse to process the armor before being sold to law enforcement agencies and the general public through the ShotStop website. The armor was touted as American made and marked with labels as being certified by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). The NIJ is the research, development, and evaluation arm of the U.S. Department of Justice, which has published performance standards for ballistic-resistant police body armor for more than 50 years. Manufacturers and distributors are permitted to use the NIJ trademarked symbol if the products meet established standards for protection.

However, inspectors who examined the body armor found that none of the items from the Chinese manufacturers qualified to be NIJ-certified because approved manufacturers are only located within the United States. Federal investigators discovered that NIJ-certified and American-made labels on the armor were affixed to the products after arriving from China but before they were sold by ShotStop. Although the company’s advertising claimed that the products were NIJ-certified and made in Stow, Ohio, investigators learned that neither the Vallmar Studios nor the ShotStop facilities were equipped to manufacture body armor.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Cleveland Office alongside the Ohio Attorney General’s Bureau of Criminal Investigation with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Duncan T. Brown for the Northern District of Ohio. 

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Aug. 11, 2026 

Restitution update:

The canvass for victims to join the restitution list for the criminal case closed and the order of restitution to that class is final.

As of earlier this year, both the state and federal civil cases have also been resolved and orders for restitution have been entered by the court.

CLEVELAND – Christopher M. Callaway, 41, of West Farmington, Ohio, has been sentenced to 50 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Gaughan, after he pleaded guilty in March to six counts of sexually exploiting children, receipt and distribution of minors engaged in sexually explicit content, and possession of child pornography, also known as child sexual abuse material (CSAM).  He was also ordered pay $40,000 to the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. Judge Gaughan imposed the sentence July 1.

According to court documents, Callaway groomed victims from 2015 to 2022 and targeted vulnerable girls who ranged in age from 10 to 17 years old. He targeted his victims on social media and initiated contact with them through messaging apps such as KIK, Snapchat, or Facebook. Specifically, he sought out so called “daddy-daughter” online groups where older men communicated with underage girls.

Callaway groomed his victims by telling them that he loved them and by sending them food, clothing, money, and gift cards. Once victims trusted him, he manipulated them into sending nude images or videos of themselves performing sexual acts. Callaway also sent victims sex toys, lingerie, and other items which he directed them to use so he could produce pornography to distribute online. Additionally, the defendant sent his victims sexually explicit photos and videos of himself.

In total, federal investigators found that Callaway produced CSAM of more than 40 minors with 21 identified in the case. Most of the victims were from outside the state of Ohio and one from New Zealand. Callaway traveled to Virginia and Florida to rape victims and record the crimes as he committed them. He also traveled to the minors and brought a few to live with him in Ohio.

During a search warrant execution of Callaway’s residence, federal agents seized electronic devices containing more than 20,000 images and videos of CSAM.

The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the FBI Cleveland Division in conjunction with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office Bureau of Criminal Investigation.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer J. King for the Northern District of Ohio.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The initiative is led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices throughout the country and marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information, about Project Safe Childhood, visit justice.gov/PSC.

To report child exploitation, please visit cybertipline.org, or call 1-800-843-5678, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

CLEVELAND – Joseph Gunter, 41, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, has been sentenced to 28 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Charles E. Fleming, after pleading guilty in February to driving more than 1,600 miles from New Mexico to Ohio to sexually exploit a child and to transporting a minor with intent to engage in unlawful sexual activity. Gunter was also ordered to serve lifetime supervised release after imprisonment and to pay restitution in the amount of $5,000 to the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Assistance Act, which was established in 2018 to provide monetary assistance for victims of child sexual abuse. In addition, he was ordered to pay $10,000 to the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, which was established in 2015 to provide justice for victims of trafficking. Judge Fleming imposed the sentence June 30.

According to court documents, on the morning of Sept. 21, 2023, a 12-year-old female was reported missing to local authorities in Ashtabula County. An interview with one witness revealed that the victim had been communicating with a person from Albuquerque, whom investigators were able to later identify as Gunter. Through a series of intensive and investigative efforts among, state, local, and federal agencies, Gunter’s vehicle was located in Gray County, Texas. Officers there conducted a traffic stop and found the victim in his car. Two firearms were also located inside the vehicle.

In the original complaint and underlying affidavit, investigators learned that Gunter had been communicating with the victim through the Twitter cellphone application for a number of months. At one point, the 12-year-old deleted her account in an attempt to stop all communications with him. However, when she set up a new account, he found her soon thereafter and they became in contact again. The victim indicated that as she was out for a walk on the morning she was reported missing, Gunter had driven up next to her and threatened her with a gun if she didn’t get into his vehicle. He then transported the minor victim out of state with the intention of engaging in sexual activity with her. On the drive back to his home in New Mexico, they stayed in several hotels where he proceeded to physically assault and repeatedly rape her.

This multi-state investigation was conducted by the FBI Cleveland Division, FBI Albuquerque, FBI Dallas, FBI Chicago, FBI Little Rock, Gray County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office, and the Ashtabula (Ohio) County Sheriff’s Office.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Margaret A. Kane and Michael Sullivan.

To report child exploitation, please visit cybertipline.org, or call 1-800-843-5678, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

About the Northern District of Ohio

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio covers the 40 northern-most counties in the state of Ohio, which is home to nearly six million people. The office operates from its main headquarters in Cleveland, with additional branches in Akron, Toledo, and Youngstown. The U.S. Attorney serves as the chief federal law enforcement officer in the District and oversees the prosecution of federal crimes and protects victims’ rights.

CLEVELAND – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging a former medical doctor with naturalization fraud, for providing false answers on a U.S. citizenship application and during an in-person interview.

According to the factual allegations in the indictment, Yousif Abdulraouf Alhallaq, 46, of Canton, was born in Kuwait but was a Jordanian citizen at the time he entered the United States on an H1B visa in 2006. In 2011, Alhallaq filed an application to become a permanent resident of the United States, which was approved and granted him lawful status. Since approximately 2012, Alhallaq worked as a medical doctor in Northeast Ohio. Then, in December 2014, the defendant poisoned a victim who was pregnant with his child, in an attempt to terminate the pregnancy without her knowledge. On March 18, 2021, Alhallaq was indicted in the Stark County Court of Common Pleas and charged with one count of attempted murder and two counts of felonious assault for trying to purposely cause the termination of the victim’s pregnancy and knowingly causing serious physical harm to the victim and her unborn child. In September 2021, Alhallaq pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to four years in prison.

Before Alhallaq was indicted and sentenced in 2021, Alhallaq mailed a federal application in late 2017, Form N-400, to become a naturalized U.S. citizen. In the application he submitted “no” answers to the following questions:

• 14C - Were you ever involved in any way with killing or trying to kill someone?
• 14D - Were you ever involved in any way with badly hurting, or trying to hurt a person on purpose?
• 22 - Have you ever committed, assisted in committing, or attempted to commit a crime or offense for which you were not arrested?

In March 2018, Alhallaq continued with the process of applying for U.S. citizenship and was interviewed by an immigration officer to review the previously submitted naturalization application. Under oath, the defendant verbally confirmed answers to questions 14C, 14D, and 22 as “no” which matched those initially submitted by mail. On May 4, 2018, the defendant became a naturalized U.S. citizen during a ceremony in Stark County, Ohio.

The grand jury charges that although Alhallaq knowingly committed acts of attempted murder and felonious assault against his unborn child in 2014, he nonetheless proceeded to sign his naturalization application in 2017 and then provided verbal confirmation to an immigration official during an interview in 2018 and in both instances attested to the truthfulness of the information he provided, which resulted in being granted U.S. citizenship.

Alhallaq faces a maximum of up to 10 years in prison for naturalization fraud.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after a review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, his role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum, and in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.

The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). This case is being prosecuted by Matthew W. Shepherd for the Northern District of Ohio.

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

TOLEDO, Ohio – A federal grand jury has returned a four-count indictment charging Anthony Emmanuel Labrador-Sierra, 24, a Venezuelan national residing in Perrysburg, Ohio, with possession of a firearm by an alien unlawfully in the United States, making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm, and making or using false writings or documents.

According to the indictment, the defendant is accused of submitting a false date of birth to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services on federal applications for Temporary Protective Status and Employment Authorization Documents in 2024 and 2025.

In the original criminal complaint and underlying affidavit filed May 22, 2025, investigators learned that Perrysburg Schools reported to the Perrysburg Police Department that they received information that Labrador-Sierra, a student attending Perrysburg High School, was actually a 24-year-old man who enrolled under false pretenses.

The grand jury further charges that Labrador-Sierra was in possession of a Taurus G3C 9mm, semiautomatic pistol, which he did not have lawful status to purchase or own in the United States, and that he submitted false information on the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Form 4473 to purchase the firearm. Among the alleged false statements the defendant submitted that were intended and likely to deceive the licensed firearms dealer at the point of sale, were that:

• He was a United States citizen or national.
• He was not illegally or unlawfully in the United States.
• He was not an alien who had entered the United States under a nonimmigrant visa.

If convicted, Labrador-Sierra faces up to 15 years in prison for possession of a firearm by an alien; 10 years in prison for making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm; and up to five years in prison for making or using false writings or documents.

This case is being investigated by the City of Perrysburg Police Department, United States Border Patrol−Sandusky Bay Station, the FBI Toledo Field Office, and the ATF, with assistance from the Wood County Prosecutor’s Office.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert N. Melching and Tracey Tangeman for the Northern District of Ohio, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Dobson.

This investigation is ongoing. Anyone with knowledge and information about this matter, please call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or visit fbi.gov/tips.

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

TOLEDO, Ohio – Three Lima, Ohio, men who robbed a federal worker while serving on official duty as a postal carrier have been sentenced to prison by U.S. District Court Judge James R. Knepp.

According to the indictment, the robbery occurred on Nov. 30, 2023, while a United States Postal Service letter carrier was on a routine delivery route in Lima. Specially suited keys which unlock postal service bags, drawers, and other authorized receptacles for the deposit of mail were stolen under threat of force and violence to the postal carrier. As a result of this robbery, U.S. mail was stolen on several occasions.

The following sentences were imposed June 20, 2025:

• Ahmir Curtis, 24, was sentenced to 24 months in prison after pleading guilty to robbery of mail, money, or other property of the United States, stealing keys adopted by the post office, and theft of mail. He was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release, and pay $650 in restitution for damage to federal property.
• Zenesto Martin, Jr., 26,  was sentenced to 30 months in prison after pleading guilty to robbery of mail, money, or other property of the United States, stealing keys adopted by the post office, and theft of mail. He was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release.
• Christian Proby, 26, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison after pleading guilty to robbery of mail, money, or other property of the United States and stealing keys adopted by the post office. He was also ordered to serve two years of supervised release.

The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Safe Streets Task Force, and the Lima Police Department.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank H. Spryszak for the Northern District of Ohio.

The USPIS is the federal agency with jurisdiction for investigating crimes against postal carriers and crimes involving the U.S. Mail. Anyone having information about blue collection box thefts, or thefts or attempted thefts of mail carriers or mail, should contact USPIS at 1-877-876-2455. All information will be kept confidential.

CLEVELAND – David P. Greulich, 61, of Cleveland, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison by U.S. District Judge David A. Ruiz, after pleading guilty in March to driving more than 400 miles across state lines to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor, to child exploitation, to transporting visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and to possession of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM), also referred to as child pornography. Greulich was also ordered to serve lifetime supervised release after imprisonment and to pay special assessments totaling $35,000. Restitution is to be determined at a later date.

According to court documents, in February 2024, Greulich started communicating with a 14-year old girl residing in Jefferson County, New York, through the Snapchat cellphone application. After chatting with her for several weeks through the app, the defendant drove from his home in Ohio to her home in New York to pick her up on April 20, 2024. He then took her to a hotel where he kept her for two days while he violently and sexually abused her which he recorded on a digital device. Greulich drove across state lines from Ohio to New York a second time on May 11, 2024, to again engage in illicit sexual conduct with the same minor victim. He took video and photographs of the victim which he later emailed to himself.

During a federal search warrant execution of Greulich’s home in Cleveland, investigators seized several electronic devices which were found to contain CSAM, including a cellphone with more than 100 images of the victim by herself as well as with the defendant. Investigators also discovered 14 sexually explicit video files of the victim in his personal cloud storage account.

The investigation was led by the Homeland Security Investigations Cleveland Office, with assistance from the Jefferson County (New York) Sheriff’s Office, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Margaret A. Kane and Segev Phillips.

To report child exploitation, please visit cybertipline.org, or call 1-800-843-5678, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

TOLEDO, Ohio – Brent Bennett, 55, of Norwalk, Ohio, was sentenced to 12 years in prison by U.S. District Judge James G. Carr for receipt and distribution of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM), also known as child pornography. The judge imposed the sentence June 10, 2025, with Bennett previously pleading guilty to the charges in January. Additionally, the defendant was ordered to serve five years of supervised release after imprisonment and register as a sex offender, per the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act. He has also been ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $126,500 to victims and $35,000 to the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Assistance Act. The Act was established in 2018 to provide monetary assistance for victims of child sexual abuse. 

According to court documents, from Jan. 19 to March 13, 2023, Bennett used peer-to-peer file sharing programs to download and distribute sexually explicit photos and videos of children, including prepubescent females as well as sadistic depictions. During a federal search warrant execution in April 2023, investigators seized two cellphones, two laptops and several digital storage devices from his apartment. Forensic analysis of Bennett’s electronic devices revealed that they contained more than 10,000 images and nearly 1,800 videos of child exploitation. Of those, 6,845 images and 1,282 videos were found to be sexually graphic and were confirmed to be designated as CSAM. The visuals were submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for further review and to identify victimized children. In total, 22 victims were identified and submitted impact statements to the court.

The investigation also identified Bennett’s IP address as one of the top 10 in the state of Ohio for CSAM downloads at the time.

The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the United States Secret Service.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank H. Spryszak for the Northern District of Ohio.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The initiative is led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices throughout the country and marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.

To report child exploitation, please visit cybertipline.org, or call 1-800-843-5678, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

CLEVELAND – A federal grand jury has returned a 10-count indictment charging two men with defrauding elderly victims in Northeast Ohio out of thousands of dollars. The victims affected reside in Cleveland Heights, Willoughby, Canton, and Warren.

According to a recently unsealed indictment, Jinrong Shi, 28, of New York, New York, and Jiyang Zhong, 27, a Chinese national residing in Little Neck, New York, were part of a criminal network that targeted senior citizens in Ohio, and elsewhere, with either a “grandparent” or “tech support” scam in May and June 2024.

In tech support scams, victims are led to believe that their electronic devices, or online account, has been compromised. Unsuspecting victims are then persuaded to pay for assistance to resolve the fabricated issues. In grandparent scams, perpetrators impersonate law enforcement, or other authority figures, to convince elderly victims that their grandchildren are in trouble with the law. The victims are told that they must provide immediate financial assistance to help their grandchild out of the legal bind.

The indictment further alleges that once the scam victims were persuaded to withdraw cash from their bank accounts, Shi and Zhong collaborated with a network of co-conspirators to collect it. The defendants used “fraud callers” to speak with victims and gather their addresses and other information. These details were then given to “fraud couriers,” who were tasked with meeting victims to pick up cash, or other items of value, at or near their homes. In an effort to further gain victims’ trust, the fraudulent callers would give them a password and told that a courier they would meet would provide this same password to confirm the validity of the transaction. In other instances, victims were instructed to mail cash to locations which the members of the conspiracy controlled. In total, more than $201,000 was taken from victims in Ohio.

The ill-gotten proceeds from these fraudulent activities were allegedly laundered across state lines through various methods. In attempts to conceal the origins of the funds, conspirators also routed proceeds through cryptocurrency account holders based in China.

Shi has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, money laundering conspiracy, and concealment of money laundering and faces up to 20 years in prison.

Zhong has been charged with conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, and money laundering conspiracy and faces up to 20 years in prison.

If convicted, each defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after a review of factors unique to this case, including each defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, their roles in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentences will not exceed the statutory maximum, and in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Defendants are entitled to a fair trial in which it is the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the FBI Cleveland Division and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian M. McDonough for the Northern District of Ohio. The U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Northern District of Ohio would like to acknowledge and thank the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office and the Cleveland Heights Police Department for their cooperation with this matter.

The investigation and prosecution of this case is in response to the Elder Justice Initiative Program originating from the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act of 2017 (EAPPA). The mission of the EAPPA and Elder Justice Initiative is to support and coordinate the Department of Justice’s enforcement efforts to combat elder abuse, neglect, financial fraud, and scams that target the nation’s elderly population.

To bring awareness to the financial abuse of senior citizens, the USAO recently issued an announcement warning of scams that target the elderly. Click here to read more about Elder Abuse Awareness Month.

To submit a report of suspected elder financial abuse, visit tips.fbi.gov/home or justice.gov/elderjustice/financial-exploitation.

CLEVELAND – Acting U.S. Attorney Carol M. Skutnik joins leaders across the country to recognize June as Elder Abuse Awareness Month. The initiative brings attention to the types of abuse that can affect some of the most vulnerable members of our communities, senior citizens.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Northern District of Ohio is committed to combatting fraud in all its forms, and in particular, financial schemes that target older victims for their money.

“Seniors are frequently targets of financial exploitation. These fraudsters will use unsolicited text messages, spam emails, and robocalls, to find ways to take the hard-earned money that victims have saved up over the years,” said Skutnik. “Scammers will even pretend to be government officials and frighten seniors into giving them their money using elaborate stories and tactics. We’ve seen some individuals lose their entire life savings. Together with our state, local and federal law enforcement partners we’ll investigate and prosecute these perpetrators to protect our seniors.”

While the USAO can seek justice for victims, Skutnik recommends being vigilant and informed to prevent these crimes from happening. Here are some of the types of scams that typically target older adults:

• Cryptocurrency scams, where a victim is promised large returns by investing in cryptocurrency.
• Lottery scams, where a caller convinces a senior that they have won money, but they must first pay a fee or tax before claiming the prize.
• Grandparent scams, where a scammer convinces a senior that their grandchildren have been arrested and need money for bail.
• Romance or friendship scams, where the victim is convinced by their new acquaintance that they need money for any number of reasons.
• Government agent schemes, where victims are told they owe back taxes by fake IRS agents or are contacted by someone posing as a Social Security employee and told to provide money to fix a problem with their account.
• Money Mule scams, where a scammer recruits seniors to send or receive money or packages.
• Tech support scams, where victims will click on a pop up message on their computer claiming that there is malware or a virus on a device and can offer assistance in exchange for money.

There are countless ways that fraudsters use to trick people into giving them money. Other fraud cases in Northern Ohio that have affected older victims include sports betting, investing in gold, wine or whiskey.

• Sports betting scam
• Gold bar investing scam
• Wine and whiskey scam
• Theft from a caretaker

To report elder financial abuse, visit tips.fbi.gov/home or justice.gov/elderjustice/financial-exploitation.

TOLEDO, Ohio – A Canadian citizen has admitted to having possession of 90 pounds of a Schedule I controlled substance, typically used as a party drug, which he intended to further distribute.

According to court documents, on Aug. 7, 2024, a U.S. Border Patrol agent observed a compact sport utility vehicle with Canadian license plates parked in a service plaza parking lot near the interstate 80/90 Ohio turnpike in Sandusky County. After the agent ran a check on the license plates, it was found that the vehicle entered the U.S. from Canada on Nov. 21, 2023. The agent proceeded to have a consensual encounter with the driver, Dontavius Forbes, 27, to inquire about his visitation status since the vehicle’s last entry into the country was more than 180 days prior. During the consensual search of the SUV, agents observed what appeared to be aftermarket modifications to the rear cargo area. In the rear cargo floor panel agents discovered a hidden compartment packed with 20 vacuum sealed packages containing a crystal-like substance. Upon further search of the vehicle, a second hidden compartment was also found which provided access to the other compartment containing the suspected illegal drugs. A field test of one of the packages tested positive for methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). MDMA is more commonly known as ecstasy or molly, and typically used by adolescents and young adults as a “party drug” because it lowers inhibitions, according to DEA.gov. Agents also seized nearly $3,000 in U.S. currency from the vehicle.

During the investigation, the packages recovered from the vehicle were submitted to a forensic laboratory for analysis which confirmed the accuracy of the field test indicating the presence of MDMA.

On June 6, 2025, Forbes pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance for which he faces up to 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 16, 2025.

This investigation was conducted by the U.S. Border Patrol-Sandusky Bay Station and the Drug Enforcement Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank H. Spryszak prosecuted the case for the Northern District of Ohio.

TOLEDO, Ohio – The United States Attorney’s Office (USAO) has announced that a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Ohio has returned indictments charging two Mexican nationals with violating Title 8 U.S. Code (USC) 1326, illegal reentry. Additionally, one defendant was charged with using fraudulent documents. These are separate cases and not related.

Pedro Martinez-Garcia, 28, has been charged with one count of illegal reentry. He has two previous removals from the United States with the most recent being Oct. 11, 2017. On June 1, 2025, he was found in Marion, Ohio, without the consent of the U.S. Attorney General or the Secretary for Homeland Security for readmission.

Bersain Alvarez-Lopez, 37, has been charged with one count of illegal reentry. He has three previous removals from the United States with the most recent being Jan. 15, 2019. He was again found in the country on May 9, 2025, in Norwalk, Ohio without the consent of the U.S. Attorney General or the Secretary for Homeland Security to be readmitted. He was also charged with two counts of possession of a fraudulent identification document for possessing a fraudulent permanent resident card and a fraudulent Social Security card in violation of Title 18 USC 1546 (a). Additionally, the defendant is charged with misuse of a Social Security Number, in violation of Title 42, USC 408 (a)(7)(B).

The investigations preceding the indictments were conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ava Rotell Dustin is leading the prosecution.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  Each defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after a review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal records, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violations.

These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

CLEVELAND – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio (USAO) has filed a civil complaint in forfeiture against 679,981.22 Tether (USDT) cryptocurrency suspected of being fraudulently obtained as part of an investment scam. USDT are digital tokens that are circulated through the internet and tied to, or “tethered,” to a fiat currency such as the U.S. dollar. The USDT amount in the complaint is valued at $679,981.22, at a 1:1 ratio to the dollar.

According to court documents, on July 22, 2024, a woman using the name “Kristina Tian” contacted a victim located in Solon, Ohio, through the LinkedIn online professional networking platform. The two began messaging and became friendly with one another. Tian then suggested to move their conversation to the WhatsApp messaging platform where they continued to communicate. She then steered the conversation toward her successes in cryptocurrency to gain the victim’s interest. Prior to being contacted by Tian, the victim already had a cryptocurrency account through the Kraken exchange. While corresponding with Tian, he sent her screenshots of his investment holdings to prove that he had a significant amount of funds to invest. In total, he transferred approximately $500,000 of his money to his Kraken account. Tian then instructed him to transfer his Kraken cryptocurrency to an investment platform that the victim did not know was fraudulent. Following his initial investment, the victim requested that a portion of the first deposit be returned. Once that transaction was successful, he felt comfortable to proceed with investing more money. However, around this time, the FBI intervened. FBI agents informed the Solon man that they were investigating investment fraud schemes, and they believed he was a victim. After learning about the scam, the victim confronted Tian through WhatsApp. She responded with a series of mocking messages such as, “I feel for you. But thank you for you giving me half of your savings,” and “Lol, I enjoyed it and thank you for the money so I can find more. Glad to use your life savings.”

Investigators also identified a second victim of the underlying cryptocurrency fraud scam. The female victim was a resident of Arizona who met a man on a dating app, “Coffee Meets Bagel.” After some time spent messaging through the app and building trust, the man suggested that she invest in cryptocurrencies. The victim made an initial purchase of cryptocurrency through Crypto.com and then transferred the full amount to the fraudulent investment platform that the man recommended. Later, the victim was unable to retrieve her funds. The Arizona woman lost $63,000 to the investment fraud scheme. This included $15,000 that she cashed out from her 401(k) retirement account, and another $48,000 from a home equity loan that her daughter took out and had given to her to invest.

Because many virtual currencies record their transactions on publicly accessible digital ledgers known as a blockchain, investigators were able to conduct analysis for signs of fraudulent activity. They ultimately traced a portion of the funds stolen from the two victims to two cryptocurrency addresses on the Tron blockchain. Further investigation revealed that the stolen currency had been converted to the USDT virtual currency.

By the complaint in forfeiture filed on June 2, 2025, the United States seeks to forfeit the entire 679,981.22 in USDT cryptocurrency. In the complaint, the United States alleges that the funds contained in the two cryptocurrency addresses in excess of the victims’ traceable losses also are proceeds of fraud and, accordingly, are subject to forfeiture. Additionally, the complaint alleges that such other funds were involved in money laundering violations.

The claims asserted in the complaint are allegations only. The United States must prove the claims by a preponderance of evidence.

If successful in this forfeiture action, the United States would seek to return the stolen funds to the victims.

This case was investigated by the FBI Cleveland Division and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James L. Morford for the Northern District of Ohio.

The case is part of the FBI’s initiative against cryptocurrency fraud scams perpetrated on victims throughout the United States, including the Northern District of Ohio.

To report fraudulent conduct involving older adults, contact the dedicated National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 or 1-833-372-8311 and visit the FBI’s IC3 Elder Fraud Complaint Center at IC3.gov to submit a report. 

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – A Jamaican man residing in Cleveland has been sentenced to 100 months (8.3 years) in prison for his role in trafficking more than 150 pounds of a popular party drug.

Tonie Neno Mitchell, 34, previously pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. U.S. District Court Judge Benita Y. Pearson imposed the sentence on May 29.

According to court documents, in July 2024, investigators with the DEA executed a federal search warrant at Mitchell’s residence in Cleveland. The search warrant was based on a DEA money laundering investigation into Mitchell, and others, and had already resulted in the seizure of more than $350,000 in suspected drug cash.

Mitchell attempted to flee when investigators made entry to his house, but he was apprehended.  In Mitchell’s living room closet, investigators found approximately 70 vacuum-sealed bags containing colored rock crystal substances that were later determined to be 70 kilograms of methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). According to DEA.gov, MDMA, also known as ecstasy or molly, is a “party drug” popular among adolescents and young adults because it is known to reduce inhibition. In Mitchell’s bedroom, investigators found a loaded 9mm handgun, ammunition, a ledger notebook listing drug prices and money owed for drugs, more than $50,000 in cash, and eight cellphones. Investigators determined that Mitchell was a Jamaican national present in the United States illegally, and that he had entered the country in approximately August 2023.

The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information about Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, visit Justice.gov/OCDETF.

This case was investigated by the DEA Cleveland District Office and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James P. Lewis for the Northern District of Ohio.

TOLEDO, Ohio – Jose Tiscareno-Rangel, 35, a citizen of Mexico, has been sentenced to 14 months in federal prison by U.S. District Court Judge Jack Zouhary after pleading guilty to illegally reentering the United States. He will be deported to Mexico upon completion of his prison sentence.

Tiscareno-Rangel admitted to illegally re-entering the country without the consent of the United States Attorney General or the Secretary for Homeland Security. He was previously removed from the U.S. on Sept.10, 2018. The defendant also had a previous conviction for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 1.5 kilograms of heroin.

In July 2024, immigration officials learned that Tiscareno-Rangel was once again illegally in the United States and was found during an encounter with law enforcement at a gas station in Toledo.

This case was investigated by the United States Border Patrol-Sandusky Bay Station and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Dexter L. Phillips for the Northern District of Ohio.

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

CLEVELAND – An Alexandria, Virginia woman has pleaded guilty to driving more than 300 miles across state lines after she arranged to meet a victim, whom she shot and killed at a national park in Northeast Ohio. 

According to court documents, Chelsea Perkins, 35, traveled to Ohio to meet the victim, Matthew Dunmire, whom she knew previously. On March 6, 2021, they visited the Terra Vista Natural Study Area, a hiking trail located in Valley View, Ohio, within the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. While hiking off-trail into a wooded area of the park, Perkins used a loaded firearm she brought with her to shoot the victim in the back of the head, killing him.

Criminal investigators found evidence linking Perkins to the shooting through GPS data, DNA, social media and phone records, and ballistics analysis. During a federal search warrant execution at her Virginia residence, federal agents found three 9mm pistols, including one recovered from a woman’s purse that also contained Perkins’ identification.

On May 27, 2025, Chelsea Perkins pleaded guilty to murder in the second degree and using or carrying and discharging a firearm during, and in relation to, a crime of violence on federal property. If the Court accepts the plea agreement at sentencing, Perkins faces between 20 and 25 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine her sentence after considering the plea agreement, U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other statutory factors.

Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 9, 2025.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI Cleveland Division, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation, National Park Service Investigative Branch, Valley View Police Department, and Cuyahoga Valley National Park Police Department.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Scott Zarzycki, Margaret A. Kane, and Adam J. Joines.

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio − Sidney L. Glover, Jr., 36, of Warren, Ohio, has pleaded guilty to failing to report three years’ worth of business earnings to the IRS.

According to court documents, Glover was the sole owner of Teaching Excellence, LLC, a business dedicated to providing home healthcare services for individuals with disabilities. Because it specialized in serving clients with special needs, most of the company’s income was generated from the Ohio Department of Disabilities, which receives its funding through Ohio Medicaid.

IRS records analysis confirmed that the defendant did not file income tax returns for calendar years 2015 and 2016, but he eventually prepared and filed those documents two years later in April 2018. At that time, he also submitted the filing for the 2017 tax year. During the investigation, authorities learned that Glover’s Teaching Excellence business, had in fact, generated more than $1 million in gross receipts for 2015, 2016, and 2017 combined, and that he did not report those earnings in his tax filings for those years. Investigators also found that Glover had spent some of the unreported business earnings on various personal expenses.

In total, the defendant’s failure to report business income resulted in a loss of approximately $155,000 in unpaid taxes owed to the United States Treasury.

On May 21, 2025, Glover pleaded guilty to making and subscribing false tax returns for which he faces a maximum of up to three years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing is yet to be scheduled.

The investigation was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI). IRS-CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian M. McDonough and Brenna L. Fasko prosecuted the case for the Northern District of Ohio.

TOLEDO, Ohio – A Venezuelan man residing in Perrysburg, Ohio, has been accused of lying on immigration forms and on applications to purchase a firearm. Anthony Emmanuel Labrador-Sierra, 24, was charged by criminal complaint today for possession of a firearm by an alien unlawfully in the United States, making false statements during the purchase of a firearm and for using false documents.

According to the criminal complaint and underlying affidavit, Perrysburg Schools reported to the Perrysburg Police Department that they had received information that Labrador-Sierra, a student attending Perrysburg High School, was actually a 24-year-old man who enrolled under false pretenses. Labrador-Sierra is also alleged to have submitted false material information to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services about his date of birth in connection with applications for Temporary Protective Status and Employment Authorization Documents in 2024 and 2025.

The complaint further alleges that Labrador-Sierra does not have lawful status to purchase, own or possess a firearm in the United States, and that he submitted false information on the Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Form 4473 to purchase a firearm. Among the alleged false statements he submitted when he purchased a Taurus 9mm, semiautomatic pistol from a licensed firearms dealer, were that he attested to being a United States citizen or national.

If convicted, Labrador-Sierra faces up to 15 years in prison for possession of a firearm by an alien; 10 years in prison for making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm; and up to five years in prison for using false documents.

This case is being investigated by the City of Perrysburg Police Department, U.S. Border Patrol Detroit Sector−Sandusky Bay Station, the FBI Toledo Field Office, the ATF, with assistance from the Wood County Prosecutor’s Office.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Melching and Tracey Tangeman for the Northern District of Ohio, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Dobson.

This investigation is ongoing. Anyone with knowledge and information about this matter, please call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or visit fbi.gov/tips.

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

CLEVELAND – Matthew J. Turnipseede, 51, of Las Vegas, Nevada, has been sentenced to more than five years in prison (65 months) by U.S. District Court Judge Christopher A. Boyko after admitting to orchestrating a Ponzi scheme that defrauded business investors out of over $8.5 million. He was also ordered to pay $4,731,165.10 in restitution. Turnipseede pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud in November 2024.

According to the indictment, from March 2015 to May 2021, Turnipseede induced approximately 72 individuals in Ohio and elsewhere to invest over $8.5 million in his betting companies, Edgewize and Moneyline Analytics. He promised that their funds would be used to make sophisticated sports wagers which used an algorithm that generated double-digit returns. Turnipseede also told investors that he would not take compensation for placing wagers, but instead would retain a percentage of winning profits.

In truth, none of Turnipseede’s companies ever generated the promised profits. Instead, the defendant used the investors’ money to maintain the businesses, seek additional sources of funds, and pay off earlier investors.

To perpetuate the scheme, the defendant emailed the victim-investors periodic updates describing how successful Edgewize and Moneyline Analytics were. He also emailed the victim-investors falsified financial statements purporting to show substantial gains on their investments. When a victim wanted to withdraw some, or all, of their funds, Turnipseede would use money invested by other victims to cover the withdrawal request. The scheme collapsed in May 2021 when Turnipseede declared bankruptcy, still owing his investors over $4.7 million in principal alone.

The defendant also admitted to using investor funds for his personal expenses such as family trips, spa treatments, lease payments on multiple vehicles, and country club membership dues.

This case was investigated by the FBI Cleveland Division and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erica D. Barnhill and Brian M. McDonough for the Northern District of Ohio.

CLEVELAND – The Justice Department has announced that Cosmax USA, a corporation having previously done business as two separate entities, Cosmax USA and Nu-World Corporation, has agreed to pay $6 million, of which $3 million is restitution, to resolve allegations under the False Claims Act (FCA) that they knowingly provided false information to obtain Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and loan forgiveness. The companies are part of a global conglomerate that supplies cosmetics and nutritional supplements. Nu-World was merged into Cosmax USA in 2023.

Cosmax USA operated a manufacturing facility in Solon, Ohio up until 2023. This settlement resolves a lawsuit filed by a former employee who worked at that location. Under the whistleblower provisions of the FCA, an individual, known in legal terms as the “relator,” may file suit on behalf of the United States for false claims and share in a portion of the government’s recovery. The relator in this case, Alexander Novik, served as Cosmax USA’s controller and also in its human resources department.

The PPP was launched through the Small Business Administration (SBA), with the enactment of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act in 2020. The program provided eligible companies with financial support as businesses faced unprecedented challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. This resolution addresses two alleged violations in which the United States contended that Cosmax USA and Nu-World submitted false information to be eligible to receive PPP funds.

First, the resolution addresses allegations that Nu-World submitted an application in April 2020 for a First-Draw PPP loan, and an application for forgiveness of that loan in 2021, based on a calculated loan amount that was partially based on payments to temporary employees who were not employees of Nu-World.

Second, the resolution addresses allegations that Cosmax USA falsely certified that it was a small business with fewer than 300 employees (including employees at affiliated companies) when it submitted its Second-Draw PPP loan application. In reality, the number of Cosmax USA’s employees, when combined with the number of employees working at its affiliate Nu-World, exceeded the PPP program’s 300-employee limit.

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio, with assistance from the SBA’s Office of General Counsel (SBA-OGC) and Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG).

Trial Attorney Graham D. Welch of the Justice Department’s Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Jackson Froliklong for the Northern District of Ohio handled the matter, with assistance from Thomas W. Rigby and Arlene P. Messinger Lerner of the SBA.

Anyone with information about allegations of CARES Act fraud may submit a report with the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or online at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability. 

TOLEDO, Ohio – An Ohio man has been sentenced to 27 months in prison for submitting false information to be eligible to receive Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. Daniel R. Hitlan, 34, of Huron, Ohio, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and one count of money laundering in February. U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey J. Helmick imposed the sentence May 20. Hitlan was also ordered to pay $2,744,013.33 in restitution and serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment.

Court documents show that in April and May of 2020, the defendant obtained three fraudulent PPP loans for small businesses that he owned. The PPP was meant to assist small businesses and was launched with the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act in 2020. The program provided eligible companies with much-needed financial support as businesses faced unprecedented challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hitlan admitted to creating fictitious payroll documents and forms to submit with PPP loan applications. Federal investigators further found that the information he submitted was not supported or found to be valid when crosschecked with IRS, state, and other records. The IRS showed no records of payroll, withholdings, or return filings for the entities he included in the loan applications.

According to the indictment, Hitlan used the fraudulently obtained loan proceeds to purchase multiple items for himself and others. Among his purchases were Rolex watches, a Cadillac Escalade, a vintage Chevrolet Corvette, and real estate.

This case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigations (CI) and the FBI Cleveland Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Gene Crawford for the Northern District of Ohio.

IRS-CI is the criminal investigative arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money-laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. IRS-CI special agents are the only federal law enforcement agents with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code, obtaining a 90% federal conviction rate. The agency has 20 field offices located across the U.S. and 14 attaché posts abroad.

Anyone with information about allegations of CARES Act fraud may submit a report with the Justice Department’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or online at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

CLEVELAND – Gregory Drake, 35, of Cleveland, has been sentenced to 41 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Bridget Meehan Brennan after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and theft of mail by a postal employee. The scheme involved stealing checks from the mail and giving them to co-conspirators to alter and deposit at banks.

According to court documents, in May 2022, in Lakewood, Ohio, many businesses began to report a rash of stolen checks that were either mailed in or out of the Lakewood Post Office, which prompted the U.S. Postal Service-Office of the Inspector General (USPS-OIG) to begin an investigation.

During that time and in the months that followed, Drake served as a postal worker in the Lakewood Post Office. Because of his role, he had access to mail that was in the custody of the USPS and was able to identify mail that contained checks. He would then give stolen checks to co-conspirators who would alter, duplicate, or forge them.

On Oct. 6, 2022, USPS-OIG inspectors caught Drake stealing two business checks from the mail.

During the subsequent investigation, authorities discovered that, in total, 127 checks were stolen with a value of $1,988,715.78.

This case was investigated by the United States Postal Service-Office of the Inspector General and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brenna L. Fasko for the Northern District of Ohio.

To report fraud, visit https://www.uspis.gov/report. 

CLEVELAND – The U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) has announced that federal grand juries in the Northern District of Ohio have returned indictments for multiple individuals on charges of illegal reentry offenses. Additionally, one defendant pleaded guilty to illegal reentry. These are separate cases and are not related.

Oscar Arcos-Carvajal, 40, a citizen of Mexico, has been charged with illegal reentry. He was previously removed from the United States on at least one occasion with the last being Oct. 22, 2009. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the U.S. Border Patrol, Sandusky Bay Station.

Erick Cordova Rodriguez, 37, a citizen of Mexico, has been charged with illegal reentry. He was previously removed from the United States on at least one occasion with the last being June 13, 2018. He was also previously convicted of attempted illegal reentry on June 7, 2018. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Department of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Antonio G. Nicolas-Pedro, 31, a citizen of Guatemala, has been charged with illegal reentry. He was previously removed from the United States on three occasions: Jan. 24, 2018, April 3, 2018, and June 7, 2018. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by ICE-HSI.

Dino De Laurentis Rivera-Lopez, aka Jorge Palmero Rivera Lopez, 44, a citizen of Honduras, has been charged with illegal reentry. He was previously removed from the United States on three occasions with the last being Jan. 20, 2020. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by ICE-HSI and the Campbell Police Department.

Additionally, Veronica Rios-Ruiz, 47, a citizen of Mexico, has been sentenced to time served by U.S. District Judge Donald C. Nugent after pleading guilty in federal court to illegal reentry of a removed alien. According to information presented in court, Rios-Ruiz was previously removed from the United States three times with the most recent being Dec. 15, 2007. She was also previously convicted of identity fraud in 2007. Rios-Ruiz has been in custody since her arrest on Feb. 25, 2025 and will remain detained pending deportation from the United States. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by ICE-HSI.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  Each defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after a review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal records, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation.  In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.

These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

CLEVELAND - In honor of National Police Week, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio will recognize the service and sacrifice of federal, state, and local law enforcement. This year, the week is observed May 11-17, 2025.

“This week as we remember those who lost their lives in the line of duty, it’s especially tough for our District, as several communities continue to mourn the loss of two of our local police officers. We honor and pay tribute to them, and to the others throughout the country, who have paid the ultimate price while protecting our communities,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Carol M. Skutnik. “To these courageous men and women, we say thank you.”

Based on data in the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Fund (NLEOMF) 2024 Annual Report, 148 law enforcement officers died nationwide in the line of duty in 2024. Of those, four were from Ohio with two fatal shootings taking place in the Northern District of Ohio.

The first fatality in the USAO District was Jacob Derbin, 23, who served with the Euclid Police Department. On May 11, 2024, Officer Derbin was shot as he responded to a call to assist a woman who was receiving death threats from an ex-boyfriend. The second fatality was Jamieson Ritter, 27, who served with the Cleveland Division of Police. Officer Ritter was shot while serving an arrest warrant on July 4, 2024.

The names of all fallen officers in 2024 will be engraved on the wall of the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial and will be read aloud at the 37th Annual Candlelight Vigil in Washington, D.C., on Friday, May 16, 2025, at 8 p.m. The vigil will be streamed live, online via the NLEOMF YouTube channel found at https://www.youtube.com/TheNLEOMF. 

Locally, the Cleveland Police Memorial Society will host a series of events to honor law enforcement including a grave marker ceremony, a candlelight vigil, and a number of gatherings. Local, county, state, and federal agencies will take part in a Police Week Parade Friday, May 16, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. Details are available at policememorialsociety.org.

Police Week memorial events will also be held throughout the District in Akron, Canton, Youngstown, Toledo, Mansfield, and Elyria.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy issued the first proclamation for Peace Officers Memorial Day and National Police Week as a way to remember and honor law enforcement officers for their service and sacrifice. Peace Officers Memorial Day is observed annually on May 15 and specifically honors law enforcement officers killed or disabled in the line of duty. 

CLEVELAND – A federal grand jury in the Northern District of Ohio has returned a 29-count indictment against 19 members and associates of a Cleveland drug trafficking ring. Those charged are Derek Brantley, 41, Cleveland Heights; Juan Johnny Colon, 42, Cleveland; Luis Joel Rondon, 44, Cleveland; Sydney Anthony, 25, Parma Heights; Ryan Bell, 39, Brunswick; Mark Byrd, 44, Cleveland; Nicholas Calvert, 37, Avon Lake; Jocelyn Dolan, 22, Newton Falls; Antonio Greenlee, 37, Cleveland; Andre Jenkins, 43, Cleveland; Melanie Crespo, 32, Elyria; Jordan Marsh, 27, Cleveland; Nicholas Malusky, 38, Parma; Sean Masters, 54, Fort Pierce, Florida; Brandon Payne, 32, Cleveland; Lee Pomales, 38, Cleveland; Mason Pulvino, 28, North Ridgeville; Martha Rios, 68, Cleveland; and Kalem Watts, 45, Cleveland.

Federal and local law enforcement agents and officers made the apprehensions in a series of coordinated arrests.

According to court documents, from October 2023 to December 2024, the defendants charged were alleged to have trafficked various controlled substances but were mostly dealing cocaine. Although based in Cleveland, the ring operated throughout Northeast Ohio and as far away as Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Their operations also included attempts to infiltrate the Ohio prison system.

Throughout the investigation, authorities seized thousands of dollars in cash and a number of illegal drugs that included cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl. Several illegally possessed firearms were also confiscated throughout the investigation.

During the investigation, several locations in Cleveland were found to be used as stash houses to store and package cocaine and methamphetamine, as well as store firearms.

An indictment is merely an allegation. Defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

If convicted, each defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to the case, including each defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, their role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum, and, in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi­-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.

The specific mission of the OCDETF Cleveland Strike Force is to disrupt and dismantle major criminal organizations and subsidiary organizations, including criminal gangs, transnational drug cartels, racketeering organizations, and other groups engaged in illicit activities that present a threat to public safety and national security and are related to the illegal smuggling and trafficking of narcotics or other controlled substances, weapons, humans, or the illegal concealment or transfer of proceeds derived from such illicit activities in the Northern District of Ohio. The OCDETF Cleveland Strike Force is composed of agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms (ATF), and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations, United States Marshals Service (USMS), U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Internal Revenue Service, and U.S. Border Patrol, along with task force officers from numerous local law enforcement agencies, including the Cleveland Division of Police. Prosecutions are led by the Office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

This case was investigated by the FBI Cleveland Division.

Assistant United States Attorney Robert F. Corts for the Northern District of Ohio is leading the prosecution in this case.

TOLEDO, Ohio – Gurpinder Singh, 30, and Gursharn Singh, 25, both citizens of India, have each been sentenced to 10 years in prison by U.S. District Court Judge James R. Knepp. Both defendants pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance.

According to court documents, on Oct. 3, 2023, a U.S. Border Patrol agent and Ohio State Highway Patrol troopers observed a semi-tractor trailer truck parked for an unusually extended amount of time at a travel plaza in Wood County off Interstate 280. Upon the verification of the truck’s displayed U.S. Department of Transportation numbers, they learned that one of the numbers had a previous association with drug trafficking and was therefore not authorized to haul interstate commerce. Officers then began to conduct surveillance on the truck. The following day, the truck was observed being relocated to a second travel plaza also located along Interstate 280, where it again remained parked for an extended period of time. Because authorities observed the truck being stationary for a total of over 24 hours at two different travel plazas, they proceeded to contact the DEA Toledo Field Office for assistance. Agents then had a consensual encounter with the two defendants associated with the truck. During the encounter, Gurpinder Singh denied being parked at the previous location where the truck was observed the day before.  

A border patrol agent then deployed a K-9 partner near the defendants’ truck. The K-9 conducted an exterior sniff of the vehicle and alerted to the presence of narcotics on the passenger side of the truck. Officers then conducted a probable cause search of the truck and found several duffel bags with kilogram-sized packages of suspected cocaine. Two of the packages yielded a positive field test result for cocaine. The remaining substances were submitted to the DEA crime laboratory for analysis. Lab tests conducted on the substances yielded a net result of 49.9 kilograms of powder cocaine.   

Upon further investigation, federal agents discovered that the defendants lacked legal status in the United States. They will be subject to removal from the United States upon the completion of their sentences.

This case was investigated by the DEA Task Force of Toledo Field Office in partnership with the Ohio State Highway Patrol, and the U.S. Border Patrol Sandusky Bay Station.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank H. Spryszak for the Northern District of Ohio.

TOLEDO, Ohio – Michael D. Aspinwall, 38, of Toledo, Ohio, was sentenced to 27 years in prison by U.S. District Judge James R. Knepp, after he admitted to creating and distributing child sexual abuse materials (CSAM). Aspinwall pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography. He was also ordered to serve lifetime supervised release after imprisonment and register as a sex offender, per the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act.

According to court documents, from about Oct. 1, 2023 to Feb. 9, 2024, Aspinwall admitted to producing sexual abuse materials of children and sending and receiving the digital files through mobile applications. FBI-Toledo, along with the assistance of Toledo Police officers, executed a search warrant on Feb. 9, 2024, and seized the defendant’s cellphone which was found to contain sexually explicit photos and videos of minors, including infants and toddlers. Additionally, during conversations with an online covert investigator, Aspinwall admitted to sexually abusing children−whom he babysat−while they were sleeping.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI Toledo Field Office and the Toledo Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Al-Sorghali for the Northern District of Ohio.

To report child exploitation, please visit cybertipline.org, or call 1-800-843-5678, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

CLEVELAND – A federal grand jury has returned a four-count indictment charging Molly Elisabeth Duncan, 25, of Beachwood, Ohio, with sexual exploitation of children, distribution of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and possession of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM), which is also known as child pornography.

According to the indictment, from November 2023 to March 2024, Duncan allegedly engaged in the sexual exploitation of minor victim #1 for the purpose of producing a visual depiction to distribute to others. From April 2024 to July 2024, she engaged in the sexual exploitation of minor victim #2 for the purpose of producing a visual depiction to distribute to others. Duncan is also alleged to have used a mobile application to send numerous CSAM digital files to others that contained the visual depictions of the minor victims.

In the original criminal complaint and underlying affidavit filed April 4, 2025, Duncan was a nanny to two toddler-aged victims and was alleged to have produced sexual abuse materials of each in their homes located in the Northern District of Ohio. During a forensic examination of a cellphone found in her possession, investigators discovered multiple CSAM images and videos on the device.

If convicted of sexual exploitation of children, Duncan faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 30 years. If convicted of distributing visual depictions of real minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, she faces a mandatory minimum of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years. 

This case is being investigated by the Cleveland Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations and the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, with assistance from the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Margaret A. Kane and Michelle M. Baeppler for the Northern District of Ohio.

Anyone with knowledge and information about this matter, please call the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force at 216-698-3151.

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

This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood initiative. Launched in May 2006, this nationwide initiative combats the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOs, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.

CLEVELAND – A Pennsylvania man was sentenced to 24 months in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Bridget Meehan Brennan after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

Marquise A. Billy, 31, of Long Pond, was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release after imprisonment. Additionally, he was ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $107,800.

According to court documents, Billy collaborated with a co-conspirator, Rodney A. Martin, 62, of the Bronx, New York, to carry out a criminal scheme to find banks where they could cash fake checks. On Oct. 12, 2022, the two took a flight from New York to Ohio. After arriving in Columbus, Billy rented a car and the two proceeded to drive throughout the state to cash fraudulent checks at banks they had pre-selected to target. Billy provided Martin with counterfeit United States passport identification cards of 14 individuals to use as ID to cash checks. Martin rotated through the IDs and used a different one at each bank transaction. Using this tactic, Martin was able to fraudulently cash checks at several financial institutions in amounts ranging from $4,500 to $5,500.

During the investigation, authorities discovered that the defendants, had in fact, made multiple trips to Ohio and elsewhere to carry out their conspiracy to commit bank fraud. The two men visited 21 bank locations where Martin cashed fraudulent checks using the fake IDs that Billy provided. In the Northern District of Ohio, the banks targeted were located in Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Portage, Trumbull, and Wayne Counties. In total, Billy and Martin stole $107,800 from several community banks.

On Feb. 6, 2024, U.S. District Court Judge John R. Adams sentenced Martin to 30 months in prison and five years of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations, the Social Security Administration-Office of the Inspector General, the Geauga County Sheriff’s Office, and the New York City Police Department.

The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason W. White.

AKRON, Ohio – Andrew Corbin, 36, and Calvin Roberts, 42, both of Akron, have been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to drug trafficking conspiracy charges. U.S. District Court Judge John R. Adams sentenced Corbin to 15 years (180 months) in prison. Corbin pleaded guilty to conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine and to using his residence to conduct drug-related activities. Roberts was sentenced to more than 19 years in prison (235 months) by Judge Adams. Roberts pleaded guilty to conspiracy and distribution of fentanyl and methamphetamine and for using his home to store the substances and conduct drug transactions. Additionally, Roberts pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. He was previously convicted of trafficking heroin in 2013 and 2020.

According to court documents, from about April 1 to about Aug. 28, 2023, Roberts obtained distribution quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl from a local supplier. In turn, Roberts would sell drugs to his neighbor, Corbin, who lived only a short distance away on the same street. The two defendants regularly sold drugs out of their homes. Using a network of co-conspirators, they further distributed these drugs to customers in and around the Summit County area. 

During a search warrant execution of Roberts’s residence on Aug. 28, 2023, investigators seized a loaded Smith and Wesson 9mm pistol, ecstasy pills, a digital scale, an extended magazine, and two cellphones. He later admitted to selling fentanyl and methamphetamine out of his home for about $1,600-$1,900 per pound. On the same day, investigators executed a search warrant at Corbin’s residence and seized a Phoenix Arms 9mm pistol, ammunition, scales, drug paraphernalia, and several cellphones. During the investigation, Corbin admitted to using and selling drugs that he purchased from Roberts.

Collectively, the seized drugs weighed in at approximately 17 ounces and were calculated to have a street value of more than $8,000.

Other co-conspirators were also indicted in this case. Ernest Shropshire, 39, of Akron, pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy charges and is scheduled to be sentenced May 22, 2025. Phillip August, 57, of Akron, pleaded guilty to drug conspiracy charges and is scheduled to be sentenced May 20, 2025.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph P. Dangelo for the Northern District of Ohio.

CLEVELAND – An Ohio man was sentenced to 17 and a half years in prison by U.S. District Judge J. Philip Calabrese after being found guilty of conspiring to artificially inflate prices on a low-value stock being sold to investors. He was also ordered to pay a $200,000 fine. After imprisonment, he was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release. Restitution amounts are yet to be determined.

Last September, a federal jury convicted Paul Spivak, 66, of Willoughby Hills, Ohio, of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. Spivak was also found guilty on two counts of wire fraud. He then pleaded guilty to four other counts of wire fraud, two counts of securities fraud, and a separate count of conspiracy to commit securities fraud. The jury also convicted codefendant Charles Scott, 70, of Alexandria, Virginia, of securities fraud and conspiracy to commit securities fraud.

According to court documents, trial testimony, and exhibits, Spivak was the majority owner and chief executive officer of U.S. Lighting Group, Inc. (USLG), a publicly traded Florida corporation based in Euclid, Ohio. At various times, the company designed and manufactured commercial LED lights, aftermarket auto parts, and fiberglass recreational campers, and boats. USLG traded on OTC Markets as a “penny” stock due to its low market value. Penny stocks are known to be vulnerable to price manipulation due to lower trading volume and because they draw less scrutiny than other stocks.

Between 2016 and 2019, Spivak and several co-conspirators took USLG public through a reverse merger with a shell company. Using a variety of tactics, they artificially inflated the price of USLG stock to facilitate getting the company listed on a stock exchange.

When the stock price was artificially high, Spivak had a team of co-conspirators use aliases to act as unlicensed stockbrokers to cold-call potential investors and persuade them to buy restricted stock shares. The brokers offered the stock at a steep discount relative to the apparent market price, convincing investors that the stock purchase was a great investment.

USLG took in approximately $6.9 million between 2016 and 2019 from investors throughout the country, including many who were elderly. Individuals paid anywhere between $4,000 and $1 million to purchase the restricted stock shares which they were led to believe were a good deal on the investment.

Spivak rewarded the success of these unlicensed stockbrokers with large, undisclosed commissions. He disguised their compensation as payments on invoices he asked them to submit for purported consulting services. In total, approximately 200 payments worth $2 million in undisclosed commissions were paid out to the unlicensed stockbrokers.

Additionally, in early 2021 Spivak and Scott worked with co-conspirators to continue manipulating stock value by having them receive USLG shares to sell at inflated prices. They arranged for co-conspirators to manipulate the price of the stock through the use of a call room, also known as a boiler room.

In covertly recorded discussions with one of the would-be co-conspirators, Spivak explained that, because of how few shares the investing public traded without manipulation, it “wouldn't take very much to get the stock to go very high. I mean like very high.” Spivak explained that securities regulators “don't care what we do out of the country.” So, for his long-term plans to get USLG’s stock price “going like crazy,” he hoped to set up a boiler room operation “someplace in Barcelona, someplace outta the United States.” 

Spivak set up a cyclical arrangement for all participants to profit from this stock manipulation. At Spivak’s direction, co-conspirators Scott and Forrest Church, 62, of Haleyville, Alabama, acting as Spivak’s and USLG’s nominees, would sell stock they had acquired at a low price, to the boiler room operators at a higher price. Those operators would then sell that stock to unsuspecting investors at the inflated prices, also netting a profit. Scott and Church would then send about half of the funds they received back to USLG and receive additional low-priced stock, which they would later sell to the boiler room operators to start the cycle again.

The defendants would later learn that the co-conspirators who had agreed to run the boiler room and buy the stock from Scott and Church were, in fact, undercover agents investigating the case.

Spivak took numerous steps to conceal the scheme, hide evidence, and otherwise end the investigation and prosecution. He took many of those steps after he was arrested, which investigators discovered on recorded phone calls that he placed to his wife and employees from jail. For example, he repeatedly pressured his wife to have USLG’s chief financial officer call the FBI agent and offer to pay $200,000 “for this thing to go away.” On another call, Spivak outlined plans for USLG and its shareholders to “sue the FBI.”

Other co-conspirators involved in the scheme have previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and other charges, including Spivak’s wife, Church, and some of the unlicensed stockbrokers who Spivak employed. Two of those brokers, Larry Matyas, 43, of Las Vegas, Nevada, and Christopher Bongiorno, 46, of Mayfield Heights, Ohio, were each sentenced to one year and one day in prison earlier this week. The remaining co-conspirators are scheduled to be sentenced on April 29 and 30, 2025.

On Feb. 12, 2025, Scott was sentenced to three years and five months in prison after a conviction for securities fraud conspiracy and one count of securities fraud. He was also ordered to pay $500,000.

The case was investigated by the FBI Cleveland Division. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elliot Morrison, Megan Miller, and Stephanie Wojtasik for the Northern District of Ohio.

To report investment, financial, and related violations, visit https://www.sec.gov/submit-tip-or-complaint.

CLEVELAND – Jamill H. McDonald, 43, of Mayfield Heights, Ohio, has been sentenced to 35 years in prison by U.S. District Judge John R. Adams, after a federal jury found him guilty of possessing distribution quantities of fentanyl and cocaine.

According to court documents, on Oct. 18, 2023, McDonald contacted law enforcement to report that someone was breaking into his apartment. When officers arrived, McDonald granted them entry into his residence. The defendant showed officers his cellphone to view the video footage from his external security camera. The videos showed a male attempting to break into McDonald’s apartment. Officers did not find any other occupants inside the defendant’s apartment. However, as officers continued to check the apartment for signs of intrusion, they found a package in one of the bedrooms which they suspected contained narcotics. The defendant was shown the package in question, and he then informed officers that he had never seen the package before and did not know what they contained. The defendant was subsequently detained by the officers.

During a search warrant execution of the defendant’s residence, authorities confiscated a number of suspicious items from the kitchen. They found baggies filled with various amounts of either marijuana or white powder, and a scale with residue. In the defendant’s bedroom, officers recovered three cellphones, a box with two large packages containing white powder, and two men’s jackets. In one jacket, investigators found three additional baggies that contained suspected narcotic pills. In the other jacket, investigators found $10,200 cash.

Laboratory tests conducted on the suspected narcotics found in McDonald’s residence were confirmed to be fentanyl, cocaine, and heroin. Collectively, the seized drugs weighed in at approximately 1 kilogram of cocaine, and 310 grams of fentanyl and heroin, and were calculated to have a street value of more than $30,000.

During the investigation, authorities discovered that McDonald had at least two prior felony convictions of either a crime of violence or controlled substance offenses. Because of the defendant’s significant criminal history, Judge Adams designated him as a career offender, therefore making him eligible to receive an enhanced penalty at sentencing.

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Mayfield Heights Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Yasmine Makridis for the Northern District of Ohio.

CLEVELAND – The U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) has announced that federal grand juries in the Northern District of Ohio have returned indictments for the following individuals on charges of immigration-related law violations. These are separate cases and are not related.

Hector Linares, 47, a citizen of El Salvador, has been indicted on three counts. He has been charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm or ammunition, and for being an alien in possession of a firearm, for possessing a Smith & Wesson .40 caliber pistol and ammunition. In 2010, he was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and distribution of, cocaine. Linares was also charged with illegal reentry. He was previously removed from the United States on at least one occasion with the last being Nov. 24, 2023. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the United States Marshals Service.

Edil A. Martinez-Padilla, 38, a citizen of Honduras, has been charged with illegal reentry. He was previously removed from the United States twice with the last being April 24, 2013. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Carlos Daniel Romero-Esborar, 39, a citizen of Honduras, has been charged with illegal reentry. He was previously removed from the United States on at least one occasion with the last being April 27, 2012. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

A team of Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the USAO’s criminal division are prosecuting the cases above.

Additionally, Juan Tiul Xi, 26, a citizen of Guatemala unlawfully residing in Cleveland, has been indicted for allegedly submitting a sponsorship application with false statements to the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). Tiul Xi encouraged and induced a 14-year-old female unaccompanied minor from Guatemala to illegally enter the United States. It is alleged that he used his sister’s identity for the girl to provide as an alias which he included on paperwork in an effort to obtain custody of her. This indictment is the result of the coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). The ICE HSI and FBI Cleveland Division are jointly investigating with assistance from HSI’s attaché team in Guatemala. Senior Trial Attorney Christian Levesque of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP), Joint Task Force Alpha detailee/Trial Attorney Spencer M. Perry of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section, and Acting U.S. Attorney Carol M. Skutnik and Criminal Division Chief Michael L. Collyer for the Northern District of Ohio are prosecuting the case, with assistance from HRSP Analyst/Latin America Specialist Joanna Crandall.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  Each defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after a review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal records, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation.  In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.

These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

CLEVELAND – The U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) has announced that federal grand juries in the Northern District of Ohio have returned indictments for the following individuals on charges of immigration-related law violations. These are separate cases and are not related.

Ana Alvarez-Limonche, 20, a citizen of Venezuela, was indicted on two charges of fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents for having fraudulent permanent resident and Social Security cards. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP).

Gildardo Alvarez-Rodriguez, 59, a citizen of Mexico, has been charged with illegal reentry. He was previously removed from the United States on at least one occasion with the last being Sept. 24, 2020. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by CBP.

Franklin Calix-Romero, 34, a citizen of Honduras, has been charged with possession of a firearm by a prohibited person for possessing a Ruger 9mm semiautomatic pistol and 9mm ammunition. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by a joint FBI/State/Local Task Force.

Jose Cruz-Aguilar, 41, a citizen of Mexico, has been charged with illegal reentry. He was previously removed from the United States on at least one occasion with the last being Feb. 27, 2017. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by a joint FBI/State/Local Task Force.

Carlos Garcia-Garcia, 45, a citizen of Mexico, has been charged with illegal reentry. He was previously removed from the United States on at least one occasion with the last being Feb. 19, 2005. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by CBP.

Jhofran Andres Laya-Gutierrez, 28, a citizen of Venezuela, has been charged with assaulting, resisting, or impeding a federal officer; destruction, alteration, or falsification or records; fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents; and misrepresentation of a Social Security number. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by CBP and the FBI Toledo Field Office.

Jeyson Martinez, aka, Jayson Martinez-Juarez, 32, a citizen of Honduras, has been charged with illegal reentry. He was previously removed from the United States on at least one occasion with the last being Nov. 23, 2018. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by CBP.

Jose Maximiliano Zepeda-Gutierrez, 45, a citizen of Guatemala, has been charged with illegal reentry. He was previously removed from the United States on at least one occasion with the last being July 10, 2019. The defendant was previously convicted in 2018 for conspiracy to transport an undocumented alien. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the FBI Toledo Field Office.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt.  Each defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after a review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal records, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation.  In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.

A team of Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the USAO’s criminal division are prosecuting these cases.

These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

CLEVELAND – The U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Northern District of Ohio is raising awareness of Child Abuse Prevention Month in April by bringing attention to the some of the youngest victims of crime.

While child abuse can take many forms, the USAO specifically handles online cases where children have been sexually exploited by adults. Federal law prohibits the production, advertisement, transportation, distribution, receipt, sale, access or possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) utilizing a means of interstate commerce. The law further prohibits the online coercion or enticement of a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity. The USAO also prosecutes cases where offenders travel to engage in sexual activity with a minor under 16 or who transport a minor across state lines to engage in unlawful sexual activity.

Although the term “child pornography” is currently used in federal statutes, the term “pornography” can conjure up a false connection to adult pornography that is created by consenting adults 18 years and older. Instead, child pornography consists of videos and images of victims ranging in age from newborn to 17 years old, and who are physically tortured, sexually abused, extorted, manipulated, or simply incapable of comprehending the ramifications of their material posted online. Therefore, organizations who work to combat child exploitation prefer that these actions be referred to as “CSAM” as it reflects the abuse and exploitation depicted in the images and videos that result in prolonged trauma to children.

“Offenders use the easy access of the internet to perpetuate this type of criminal behavior against our most vulnerable. Unbeknownst to parents, they connect with children online through social media, video games and other apps. In other cases, victims know their abuser. It could be a trusted friend, neighbor, coach, religious leader, babysitter −or even a parent−committing these crimes,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Carol M. Skutnik for the Northern District of Ohio. “Our office is determined to go after these perpetrators and will continue to dedicate time and resources to investigate and prosecute CSAM offenders so that we can protect and rescue the children of our District as well as those in the worldwide internet community.”

With the proliferation of the internet, the Department of Justice launched the Project Safe Childhood initiative in 2006 to combat technology-facilitated crimes that involve the sexual exploitation of children. Sexual predators use online avenues such as social media, to solicit children for physical sexual contact. Increasingly, offenders entice, coerce or groom minors into producing CSAM. They accomplish this by gaining their trust in a number of ways quickly. Some minors report chatting with offenders for less than an hour before being asked to provide sexually explicit photos of themselves. Minors who comply with the request oftentimes become the victims of sextortion, where the perpetrator threatens to blackmail them in some way.

Recent USAO cases involving child exploitation and sexual abuse include:

U.S v. Rudra - A Pennsylvania man was sentenced to 30 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to traveling across state lines to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor. He admitted to picking her up in his vehicle to drive her to a hotel for the purpose of engaging in criminal sexual acts with her. He was also found to possess CSAM on his electronic devices.

U.S. v. Chesser – A former firefighter from Maumee, Ohio, was sentenced to 30 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to sexually exploiting a two-year-old and produced child pornography of the toddler. He sexually exploited a second minor who was a teenager.

U.S. v. Walker – A Rocky River, Ohio, man was sentenced to 35 years in prison after admitted to harming his victims and recording the sexual abuse on his cellphone. He connected with an 11-year-old victim through a children’s app and coerced her to send him sexually explicit photos. Two additional victims were identified as toddlers at a home daycare where he visited a friend who resided there.

U.S. v. Patterson – A Canton, Ohio, man was sentenced to 26 years in prison after pleading guilty to multiple charges including possessing hundreds of CSAM images that included children under the age of 12. Some of the images were of a minor who was unaware that she was being surreptitiously recorded by a hidden camera.

U.S. v. Hughes – A Piqua, Ohio, man was sentenced to 14 years in prison for admitting his intention to engage in sexual activity with a purported seven-year-old daughter of an undercover agent.

U.S. v. Reebel – A federal jury convicted a Toledo, Ohio, man of receiving and distributing CSAM, for nearly eight years. Investigators also discovered that he used social media for years to chat with minors and send them sexually explicit messages and photos of himself. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 23, 2025.

U.S. v. Greulich – A Cleveland man pleaded guilty to gaining the trust of a 14-year-old girl through a social media app and then driving to her home in New York on two separate occasions to take her to a hotel where he violently and sexually abused her which he recorded on a digital device. Sentencing is scheduled for June 23, 2025.

To report child sexual abuse, please visit www.cybertipline.org, or call 1-800-843-5678, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

TOLEDO, Ohio - Hershel Winbush, 68, of Toledo, Ohio, was sentenced to prison by U.S. District Judge Jack Zouhary after he pleaded guilty to four counts of bank robbery in Lucas County, Ohio, and for violating the conditions of his supervised release for a prior conviction. Imprisonment will be for a total term of 140 months (more than 11 years) for each count to run concurrently and pay $8,210 in restitution. Upon release from imprisonment, the defendant was also ordered to serve two years of supervised release.

According to court documents and court records, Winbush entered several financial institutions in the Toledo, Ohio, area from 2019 through 2024 and threatened bank employees with violence by presenting notes such as “I have a gun, give me all the cash available,” and “This is a hold up. I have a gun.” Federally insured banking institutions that were affected included:

• Woodforest National Bank, Glendale Ave., Oct. 24, 2019
• Woodforest National Bank, Glendale Ave., Nov. 5, 2019
• Jeep Federal Credit Union, Manhattan Blvd., April 8, 2024
• Key Bank, Secor Rd., April 22, 2024

During the investigation, authorities discovered that Winbush had a decades-long pattern of bank robberies and had multiple incarcerations and prior convictions for crimes of violence in Michigan. Winbush was classified as a Career-Offender by Judge Jack Zouhary.

This case was investigated by the FBI Toledo Field Office and the Toledo Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Simko for the Northern District of Ohio.

CLEVELAND – A federal grand jury has charged Behrouz Parsarad, an Iranian national, for his role as the creator and operator of Nemesis Market, a dark web marketplace designed to enable users to buy and sell illegal drugs and other illicit goods. The market also sold criminal cyber-services such as obtaining stolen financial information, fraudulent identification documents, counterfeit currencies, and computer malware.

According to the indictment, Parsarad, 36, of Tehran, Iran, launched Nemesis Market in or around March 2021. Nemesis Market operated on the dark web, a network that uses The Onion Router (TOR) to encrypt traffic and hide users’ Internet Protocol (IP) address. At its peak, Nemesis Market had over 150,000 users and more than 1,100 vendor accounts registered worldwide. Between 2021 and 2024, Nemesis Market processed more than 400,000 orders, including more than 60,000 orders in 2022 and more than 250,000 orders in 2023. Of these, more than 55,000 orders were categorized as stimulants, which included sub-categories for methamphetamine, cocaine, cocaine base (crack), and other controlled substances. More than 17,000 orders were categorized as opioids, which included sub-categories for fentanyl, heroin, and oxycodone. All of the substances covertly purchased by the government and marketed on Nemesis as “isotonitazene,” “M30s” (purporting to be oxycodone), and “Percs” (purporting to be Percocet) were confirmed by laboratory reports to be mixtures and substances containing fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance and/or acetylfentanyl, heroin, and/or protonitazene, each a Schedule I controlled substance.

“The allegations in this indictment span over four hundred thousand transactions involving fentanyl, other dangerous drugs, and a wide range of contraband made accessible on the darknet for more than three years,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Through cooperation with German and Lithuanian partners, the alleged administrator of this marketplace has been charged, servers and other infrastructure have been seized, and dangerous drugs and other contraband have been stopped from entering the United States. This case demonstrates the Department’s tireless commitment to protecting U.S. communities from the harms caused by fentanyl and darknet marketplaces and pursuing accountability for those who would endanger our communities no matter where they are located.”

“Anyone who tries to profit from the sale of illegal drugs - whether it’s on the streets or online – will face consequences. Whether you sell or help others sell these dangerous drugs, you will be held accountable,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Carol M. Skutnik for the Northern District of Ohio. “I want to acknowledge the excellent investigative work of our federal agency partners here in Ohio who helped us to bring the charges in this case. Together, we remain committed to keeping our neighborhoods safe and our streets free from illegal narcotics.”

“This indictment, made possible by the assistance of our German and Lithuanian allies, underscores the importance of global partnerships and international collaboration,” said FBI Cleveland Acting Special Agent in Charge Charles Johnston. “Nemesis Market, through the darknet, was a borderless powerhouse of criminal activity that not only fueled the drug epidemic, but also a multitude of illegal acts with the capacity to harm our citizens and destroy our communities. The FBI stands firm in its commitment to identify and investigate unlawful individuals and dismantle their networks operating with criminal intent.”

Parsarad is charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and distribution of controlled substances in the Northern District of Ohio and elsewhere. In addition, Parsarad is also charged with money laundering conspiracy for both using proceeds to promote illegal drug dealing and for offering money laundering services through Nemesis Market by mixing cryptocurrencies used to pay for goods and services to obscure their origins. Nemesis users were not allowed to conduct transactions in official, government-backed currencies.

On March 20, 2024, U.S. law enforcement, in cooperation with German and Lithuanian authorities, seized Nemesis Market and stemmed the flow of these drugs into the United States and elsewhere. In March 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against Parsarad for his role as the administrator of Nemesis Market. According to OFAC, Nemesis Market facilitated the sale of nearly $30 million worth of drugs between 2021 and 2024.

If convicted, Parsarad faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum penalty of life.

The FBI Cleveland Division is investigating the case with assistance from the DEA and IRS-Criminal Investigations Chicago. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and Cybercrime Liaison Prosecutor to Eurojust provided significant assistance.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Segev Phillips for the Northern District of Ohio and Trial Attorney Gaelin Bernstein of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section are prosecuting the case, with substantial assistance from the U.S. Attorneys Offices for the Northern District of Illinois and District of Massachusetts.

This case was investigated as part of an FBI-led interagency Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement (J-CODE) operation. J-CODE brings together experts from the DEA, the Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, as well as the Department of Defense and the Customs and Border Protection, along with the FBI. The Justice Department appreciates the cooperation and significant assistance provided by law enforcement partners in the British Virgin Islands, Germany, Lithuania, and Türkiye.

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

CLEVELAND – An Ohio doctor has pleaded guilty to his role in a conspiracy that prescribed medical equipment and lab tests for patients who did not need them and then submitted claims to Medicare to receive payment. Medicare is a federal health benefit program administered under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and most notably covers beneficiaries aged 65 and older.

According to court documents, Timothy Sutton, 43, of North Ridgeville, Ohio, admitted that he and other co-conspirators engaged in a scheme to fraudulently bill more than $14.5 million in payments from Medicare. Sutton was employed by two telemedicine companies; Real Time Physicians, LLC, based in Nevada, and 24 Hour Virtual MD, LLC, based in Florida. The companies provided Sutton with pre-completed orders for durable medical equipment (DME), such as braces, and/or cancer genetic testing (CGX) for him to approve and digitally sign. In doing so, he affirmed that he had examined patients using a telemedicine platform and determined that they needed DME or that CGX testing was necessary. In truth, he never examined any of the patients who resided throughout Ohio and Florida.

Once Sutton prescribed the equipment or ordered testing, Real Time Physicians and 24 Hour Virtual MD furthered the conspiracy by forwarding the orders to companies under their control or sold the orders to other medical entities to provide DME or conduct the lab testing. Sutton defrauded Medicare by submitting claims that were not reasonable and necessary for medical treatment and did not comply with Medicare rules and regulations or applicable federal laws.

On April 4, 2025, Sutton pleaded guilty to attempt and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, false statements related to health care matters, and aggravated identity theft. He faces a maximum penalty of 27 years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for July 26, 2025.  A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services-Office of the Inspector General, and the FBI Cleveland Division. In the Northern District of Ohio, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Om Kakani and Rebecca Lutzko are prosecuting the case.

About the Northern District of Ohio

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio covers the 40 northern-most counties in the state of Ohio, which is home to nearly six million people. The office operates from its main headquarters in Cleveland, with additional branches in Akron, Toledo, and Youngstown. The U.S. Attorney serves as the chief federal law enforcement officer in the District and oversees the prosecution of federal crimes and protect victims’ rights. 

AKRON, Ohio - A federal jury has convicted Michael Roberts, 38, of Mentor, Ohio, of not paying required employment taxes to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). After a two-day trial, Roberts was found guilty on two counts of failure to account for and pay over taxes.

According to court documents, Roberts was the executive director and co-owner of Progressive Alternatives, an in-home care business that served individuals with developmental disabilities throughout Lake and Ashtabula Counties. The business was initially purchased by Roberts’s spouse, Larry Keith Gildersleeve III, 43, also of Mentor, in February 2011. Within several years Roberts assumed responsibility for the business’s payroll and day-to-day financial operations, and he assumed the title of co-owner of the business beginning in 2014.

Businesses are required to comply with IRS statutes and regulations such as withholding amounts for Social Security, Medicare taxes, and federal income taxes from employees’ gross pay. Employers typically hold these amounts in trust until they submit payments each quarter as required by federal law by using Form 941, “Employer’s Quarterly Federal Tax Return.”

Investigators found that Progressive Alternatives’ records showed that payroll checks issued by Roberts did reflect appropriate withholdings from employees’ wages. The withholdings were also reflected on W-2 forms that the employees received. Upon further investigation, it was discovered that Progressive Alternatives never filed W-2 forms for employees, nor did they submit any Form 941 with quarterly payments.

In late 2017, an employee who was preparing to retire was informed by the Social Security Administration that Progressive Alternatives had not paid required payroll taxes over to the IRS. Although Roberts was made aware of this and taxes were withheld from employee paychecks, he did not submit payments to the IRS. At trial, the defendant was determined to be guilty of not paying taxes for quarters ending Dec. 31, 2017, in the amount of $112,616.50, and March 31, 2018, in the amount of $114,070.75.

Gildersleeve pleaded guilty Oct. 17, 2024, to eight counts of failure to account for and pay over taxes, including the two quarters for which Roberts was also found guilty of failing to pay. The remaining counts included the quarters ending June 30, 2018, in the amount of $114,070.75; Sept. 30, 2018, in the amount of $114,070.75; Dec. 31, 2018, in the amount of $114,070.75; March 31 2019, in the amount of $41,356.00; June 30, 2019, in the amount of $41,356.00; and Sept. 30, 2019, in the amount of $41,356.00.

Roberts’ sentencing is scheduled for July 17, 2025. He faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

Gildersleeve’s sentencing is scheduled for April 22, 2025, and he faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison.

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

The IRS-Criminal Investigation Division investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erica D. Barnhill and Brett S. Hammond prosecuted the case for the Northern District of Ohio.

About the Northern District of Ohio

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio covers the 40 northern-most counties in the state of Ohio, which is home to nearly six million people. The office operates from its main headquarters in Cleveland, with additional branches in Akron, Toledo, and Youngstown. The U.S. Attorney serves as the chief federal law enforcement officer in the District and oversees the prosecution of federal crimes and protect victims’ rights. 

CLEVELAND – National Crime Victims’ Rights Week is April 6-12, 2025. The U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) is commemorating this important awareness week by highlighting those who have been impacted by crime.

In a September 2024 report, the Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs released data from their National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), that indicated that in 2023, the rate of nonfatal violent victimization in the United States was 22.5 victimizations per 1,000 persons ages 12 or older, which was similar to the 2022 rate of 23.5 violent victimizations per 1,000 persons ages 12 or older. Violent victimization includes rape or sexual assault, robbery, aggravated assault and simple assault.

The USAO has a special unit dedicated to ensuring that the victims of federal crimes are treated with dignity, fairness, and respect throughout their involvement with the federal criminal justice system. A team of dedicated Victim Assistance Specialists work with those who are recognized as crime victims and make sure that they are notified about case-related matters. Victims are provided with an opportunity to be heard and receive the services and protections provided by federal law. In particular, Assistant U.S. Attorneys and Victim Specialists in the Northern District of Ohio take special care to protect the most vulnerable among us, our senior citizens and our children..

“Our district has a deep commitment to victims from all populations, including our seniors and children.  Criminals prey on these populations because they are, or appear to be the most vulnerable among us,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Carol M. Skutnik for the Northern District of Ohio. “Our office’s dedicated team of prosecutors serves to bring justice to victims of all federal crimes. We realize that the work we do to hold criminals accountable is of vital importance to those that have suffered at their hands.  Whether it’s achieving a sense of safety in their home, their community, or on the internet, our work is an important first step to their healing.  That’s why most of us signed up for this job.”

The DOJ’s Elder Justice Initiative combats elder abuse, neglect, financial fraud, and other scams that target our nation’s senior citizens. Elder fraud schemes take a variety of forms that range from small-scale identity thefts to mass mail fraud schemes that steal money and other assets from thousands of elderly victims. Annually, these fraud schemes bilk seniors out of billions of dollars throughout the country. In recent years, USAO cases related to elder fraud involved more than 360 victims from across the country including seven in the Northern District of Ohio.

Project Safe Childhood is a DOJ initiative that combats the proliferation of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation crimes against children. The threat of sexual predators soliciting children for sexual contact is well-known and serious. The danger of perpetrators who produce, distribute and possess child sexual abuse material (CSAM), also known as child pornography, is equally dramatic and disturbing as it creates a permanent record of the child’s victimization. In 2024, District cases included nearly 30 identified victims under the age of 18 that were discovered during federal investigations. However, because perpetrators share files digitally across the country, the number of CSAM victims can number into the hundreds in some cases.”

To learn more about how to support all victims of crime, visit the Office for Victims of Crime’s website at ovc.ojp.gov.

About the Northern District of Ohio

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio covers the 40 northern-most counties in the state of Ohio, which is home to nearly six million people. The office operates from its main headquarters in Cleveland, with additional branches in Akron, Toledo, and Youngstown. The U.S. Attorney serves as the chief federal law enforcement officer in the District and oversees the prosecution of federal crimes and protect victims’ rights. 

CLEVELAND – Today, a former Northeast Ohio nanny was charged by criminal complaint with sexual exploitation of children, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2251(a), and distribution of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, in violation of 18 U.S.C. 2252(a)(2).

According to the criminal complaint and underlying affidavit, Molly Duncan, 25, of Beachwood, Ohio, was employed as a nanny and is alleged to have created sexual abuse materials of toddler-aged victims in their Northeast Ohio homes in 2024, and distributed the materials to others in 2024 and 2025. During a search of the defendant’s residence, authorities seized several electronic devices that were found to contain child sexual abuse materials (CSAM), also known as child pornography.

If convicted of sexual exploitation of children, Duncan faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years, up to 30 years. If convicted of distribution of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, she faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 5 years, up to 20 years. 

This case is being investigated by the Cleveland Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations and the Ohio Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, with assistance from the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Margaret Kane and Michelle M. Baeppler for the Northern District of Ohio.

Anyone with knowledge and information about this matter, please call the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force at 216-698-3151.

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

CLEVELAND – Basheer Jones, 40, of Cleveland, Ohio, has been sentenced to 28 months in prison by U.S. District Judge J. Philip Calabrese, after pleading guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and honest services fraud by using his role as a public official for personal financial gain by seeking to defraud multiple community stakeholders out of more than $200,000. He was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment and pay $143,598.47 in restitution to local nonprofits.

According to court documents, from about December 2018 to June 2021, the former Cleveland city councilman for Ward 7 persuaded several local nonprofits to enter into arrangements that benefitted Jones and his romantic partner and co-conspirator. Jones sought and obtained funds from the nonprofits under the guise of working on projects to redevelop Ward 7. Throughout the scheme, he took steps to ensure that his personal connection to his romantic partner, through whom he benefited from these arrangements, was not discovered.

“Mr. Jones used his position to dishonestly line his pockets with tens of thousands of dollars,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Carol M. Skutnik for the Northern District of Ohio. “He betrayed the city of Cleveland and its citizens, who elected him to serve as a leader in our community. With his deceptive actions, he also violated federal laws. Anyone who thinks they can use a public office to defraud nonprofits and obtain bribes will face consequences and pay the price for those decisions, and my office will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”

The defendant’s schemes worked by convincing nonprofits to make payments toward projects they believed were for Ward 7 revitalization projects, including to buy real estate from purported third parties. Instead, the money went into bank accounts that his romantic partner controlled. Jones then instructed her to divert those funds to herself, to himself, and to others he chose.

Jones also convinced a nonprofit to make payments to an entity controlled by his co-conspiring partner, all while knowing that the funds would flow back to himself. Jones recommended that the nonprofit should hire a consultant for community outreach. Unbeknownst to the nonprofit, the consultant was actually Jones’s romantic partner. She submitted invoices to the unsuspecting nonprofit and was subsequently paid through her consulting business.

Jones later defrauded the same nonprofit out of an additional $50,000, again through his partner’s consulting business. Jones claimed that he needed $50,000 to plan a community event, which included buying backpacks for schoolchildren, and falsely promised that the city would reimburse the organization. Instead, after the funds were paid, no event was held, and Jones again directed his romantic partner to divide the money amongst herself, Jones, and others Jones chose.

“Public corruption at any level of government will not be tolerated. Jones abused his position of trust for personal gain while scheming against the people he was elected to serve, including non-profit entities and well-meaning leaders,” said FBI Cleveland Acting Special Agent in Charge Charles Johnston. “Elected officials who demonstrate a reckless disregard for violating the oath they swore to uphold is detestable. Today’s sentence underscores the FBIs commitment to ensuring that those who engage in fraud and corruption will be investigated and held accountable. We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to root out corruption and ensure elected officials are serving with honesty, fairness, and integrity.”

Some of the projects Jones pushed included seeking community funding to rehabilitate certain distressed properties while concealing his financial interest in them. In one instance, Jones devised a bribery scheme under which he arranged for co-conspirators, including his romantic partner, to acquire a dilapidated property on Superior Road, and used his position as councilperson to pass ordinances allocating city funds to buy that property from them. Jones arranged for a co-conspirator to buy the property a minimal cost. After asking a nonprofit to purchase and rehabilitate the property, and promising city funding, Jones sponsored an emergency ordinance to fund the nonprofit’s purchase and renovation of the property. When Jones was unable to convince the nonprofit to proceed, he arranged to transfer the property to his romantic partner’s consulting business, with the understanding that she would share the proceeds of the sale with him. After sponsoring another ordinance to reauthorize city funding for the same project, Jones sought to finalize the nonprofit’s purchase of the property from his partner’s entity for $80,000. Ultimately that scheme failed when the nonprofit decided not to proceed with the purchase.

However, Jones and his romantic partner did succeed in obtaining funds for the sale of a different property to another nonprofit. He misled them to believe that he was assisting with the acquisition of the property from the original owner. Instead, he was simultaneously arranging for his partner to acquire the property from the original owner in the name of another business entity, and then immediately to resell it to the nonprofit. Jones and his romantic partner arranged to purchase the property for only $1, promising to pay a $40,500 city demolition bill. But without paying that bill or disclosing it, Jones’s romantic partner immediately re-sold the property to the nonprofit for $45,000.

“Basheer Jones abused his position of trust by deliberately engaging in fraudulent schemes to divert HUD money – funds meant to improve the community— for his own personal gain,” said Special Agent in Charge Shawn Rice with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG). "HUD OIG will continue to work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and law enforcement to investigate and hold accountable bad actors who exploit HUD-funded programs for their own benefit.”

“As an elected official, the crimes Basheer Jones committed are particularly flagrant. He not only stole from nonprofits that serve the local community, he stole from the people of Ward 7, the same citizens that had voted for him to advocate for their best interests on the Cleveland City Council,” said Special Agent in Charge Karen Wingerd, Cincinnati Field Office, IRS Criminal Investigation. “IRS-CI is committed to holding those accountable who betray the public trust and use municipalities as their personal piggy bank. Status as an elected official does not make you immune from federal prosecution.”

This case was investigated by the FBI Cleveland Division, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of the Inspector General, and the IRS – Criminal Investigation.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Erica Barnhill and Elliot Morrison for the Northern District of Ohio.

To report fraud, visit justice.gov/action-center/report-crime-or-submit-complaint.

CLEVELAND – A federal jury has convicted Mustafa Ayoub Diab, 41, of Ravenna, Ohio, of orchestrating a financial conspiracy that defrauded the U.S. government of pandemic benefits. After an approximately week-long trial, Diab was found guilty on 12 counts of theft of government funds, 12 counts of bank fraud, 11 counts of wire fraud, 6 counts of aggravated identity theft, and 1 count each of conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud and to launder monetary instruments.

According to court documents, Diab owned and operated a tax return preparation business in Akron, Ohio. Along with his co-conspirator, Elizabeth Lorraine Robinson, 33, of Ravenna, the couple developed a scheme to take advantage of government programs that expanded unemployment and small business benefits that became available during the COVID-19 pandemic.

One such program, the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program, was expanded to individuals who otherwise did not qualify for regular benefits. Additionally, the Paycheck Protection Program, was administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration and provided resources and assistance to small businesses to cover payroll, utilities, rent/mortgage, accounts payable and other bills incurred which were tied to the COVID-19 pandemic. Diab exploited both of these programs for his benefit.

From around, June 2020 to August 2021, Diab submitted fraudulent applications for pandemic unemployment benefits and small business assistance for many of his tax preparation business clients. Without their knowledge, he lied about their employment, or about being small business owners, on the applications so they would qualify to receive pandemic funds and benefits.

Investigators also discovered that Diab opened bank accounts in his clients’ names to receive the pandemic benefit funds via direct deposit, which the clients did not have access to, along with accounts in the names of Robinson and Diab’s sister. When the pandemic relief funds were deposited into these accounts, he immediately withdrew the funds in cash for his personal use. With the cash, Diab bought real estate, cars and took international trips. In evidence presented to the jury at trial, Diab submitted fraudulent applications in the names of nearly 80 victims, causing the federal government to pay out more than $1.2 million in pandemic benefits that were deposited into the various bank accounts that Diab controlled.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 28, 2025. Diab faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Robinson pleaded guilty to conspiracy, wire fraud, bank fraud, and theft of government funds in February and is currently awaiting sentencing. She also faces up to 30 years in prison.

The FBI Akron Division investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vanessa V. Healy and Brenna L. Fasko prosecuted that case for the Northern District of Ohio.

AKRON, Ohio – Joshua Fortson, 37, of Akron, has been sentenced to 29 years in prison by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Sara Lioi after a trial in which a federal jury found him guilty of distribution of methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. He was previously convicted of trafficking cocaine in 2009 and of committing sexual battery in 2011.

During this investigation, federal law enforcement officials learned that Fortson received his methamphetamine supply for a number of years from sources in Georgia who were affiliated with members of a gang “La Mara Salvatrucha,” also known as “MS-13.” The defendant paid a driver to transport methamphetamine from Atlanta, Georgia, to Akron, Ohio, while he followed closely behind on the 700-mile trek.

According to court documents, once back in Akron, Fortson would conduct the drug business out of his apartment. He was a known supplier of methamphetamine, as well as other drugs, to various individuals throughout Portage and Summit Counties.

In 2019, while out on supervised released after serving a prison sentence for a separate case, parole officers visited Fortson at his residence and found that he was not in compliance with the terms of his release. Subsequently, a search warrant was executed on Fortson’s residence where authorities discovered $26,275 in cash and a loaded pistol. Various bags containing suspected methamphetamine were found concealed in 18 different chip bags and a breakfast pastry box. A heat sealer was also discovered, and it was learned that it was used to seal the chip bags closed after being filled with drugs. The investigation also determined that Fortson possessed more than seven kilograms of methamphetamine that he intended to sell.

This case was investigated by the DEA Youngstown Field Office, the Streetsboro Police Department, and the Portage County Drug Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Yasmine Makridis for the Northern District of Ohio.

AKRON, Ohio – Matthew Lamp, 29, of Coventry Township, Ohio, was sentenced March 11, 2025, by U.S. District Judge David Ruiz to 130 months in prison after he admitted to transporting and possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM), also known as child pornography. He pleaded guilty to transportation of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and possession of child pornography.  Lamp was also ordered to pay $20,000 in restitution to the victims of the child pornography images he possessed.

According to court documents, in February 2024 during a search warrant execution at the defendant’s residence, federal investigators seized a cellphone and other electronic devices that contained CSAM. During the investigation, it was determined that Lamp possessed more than 2,000 images of CSAM, including prepubescent minors, toddlers, and images involving sadistic or masochistic conduct.  

The investigation was conducted by the FBI-Akron Field Office. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Dangelo for the Northern District of Ohio.

To report child exploitation, please visit cybertipline.org, or call 1-800-843-5678, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

AKRON, Ohio – Brandon E. Crawford, 24, of Copley, Ohio, was sentenced March 11, 2025, by U.S. District Judge David Ruiz to 13 years in prison after he admitted to committing child sexual abuse related offenses (CSAM), also known as child pornography. He pleaded guilty to receipt and distribution of visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct and possession of child pornography. He was also ordered to serve 10 years of supervised release after imprisonment and register as a sex offender, per the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act.

According to court documents, Crawford admitted to receiving and distributing CSAM files from about November 2022 to January 2024. During a search warrant execution, federal investigators seized a cellphone that contained sexually explicit content of children. During the investigation, they found that Crawford used social media applications on his cellphone to trade CSAM with others, including at least one image that involved a minor under the age of 12.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI-Akron Field Office. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter E. Daly for the Northern District of Ohio.

To report child exploitation, please visit cybertipline.org, or call 1-800-843-5678, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

TOLEDO, Ohio – Eduardo Lopez-Jiguan, 35, a citizen of Guatemala who illegally returned to the United States after being deported was sentenced on March 18, 2025, to 13 months in federal prison for illegal reentry.  U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey J. Helmick also imposed a consecutive six-month sentence on a supervised release violation for a total prison sentence of 19 months.  Lopez-Jiguan was on supervised release after being convicted in February 2023 of illegal reentry and possession of a fraudulent identification document.

At the guilty plea, Lopez-Jiguan admitted he had previously been deported from the United States and illegally reentered the United States without the permission of the United States government. Lopez-Jiguan was previously deported in 2020 and 2023.  In August 2024, immigration officials learned Lopez-Jiguan had illegally returned to the United States and found him at the Huron County Jail after previously serving a jail sentence for falsification and operating a vehicle while intoxicated.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ava Rotell Dustin for the Northern District of Ohio.

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

CLEVELAND – The Northern Ohio Violent Crime Consortium (NOVCC) recently brought together more than 100 regional law enforcement participants, representing more than 20 agencies, to take part in a region-wide initiative to discuss public safety. The annual event is hosted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Northern District of Ohio. The District covers the 40 northern-most counties in the state of Ohio, which is home to more than 5.7 million people.

The violent crime consortium was established in 2007 through a Department of Justice grant to specifically address violent crime issues in eight Northern Ohio cities: Akron, Canton, Cleveland, Elyria, Lorain, Mansfield, Toledo, and Youngstown.

As the current top federal law enforcement officer for the District, Acting U.S. Attorney Carol M. Skutnik provided welcoming remarks on the importance of the consortium’s work to keep crime off the streets.

“The Consortium’s purpose is to prevent and reduce violent crime through the use of data-driven and evidence-based technologies,” said Skutnik. “NOVCC enhances our member agencies through skills training on accepted best practices and emerging technologies.”

Subject-matter experts addressed several key topics at this year’s gathering including the importance of inter-agency data sharing and information to combat crime, promising law enforcement practices, and modern policing in the digital age.

The USAO would like to acknowledge and thank the following for attending and participating in this year’s event:

Event speakers representing

• Fordham University
• Johns Hopkins University Center for Gun Violence Solutions
• Blacksburg, Virginia Police Department
• Brookhaven, Georgia Police Department
• Research Innovations, Inc.

Law enforcement agencies represented

• Akron Police Department
• Avon Police Department
• The University of Akron Police Department
• Barberton Police Department
• Berea Police Department
• Canton Police Department
• Cleveland Division of Police
• Cuyahoga County Sheriff
• Elyria Police Department
• Lorain Police Department
• Mansfield Police Department
• Maple Heights Police Department
• North Royalton Police Department
• Put-in-Bay Police Department
• Sandusky Police Department
• Toledo Police Department
• Warren Police Department
• Westlake Police Department
• Youngstown Police Department

State agencies

• Ohio Adult Parole Authority
• Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
• Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services

Nonprofit agency

• Partnership for a Safer Cleveland

Federal agencies

• ATF-Cleveland
• FBI-Cleveland
• U.S. Marshals Service-Cleveland
• U.S. Department of Justice-Office of Legal Policy

For more information about the consortium, contact Thomas McCartney at 216-622-3955.

CLEVELAND – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio has announced sentencings in connection with a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that transported suitcases stuffed with illegal drugs from California to Ohio. Eleven defendants were charged with numerous federal crime violations, including Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy, in a superseding indictment on Feb. 22, 2024, with the initial indictment issued on Sept. 20, 2023.

According to court documents, from about May 2021 to about Nov. 29, 2022, the defendants played different roles in a drug trafficking conspiracy. Jerry Baker, aka Jerry Bogarty, 34, of Cleveland, established a criminal organization primarily active on the city's east side. He led the day-to-day operations of the organization, directing members and associates to generate income by engaging in illegal activities including drug trafficking, extortion, and robbery. Baker determined who was allowed to traffic narcotics on behalf of the enterprise and who was permitted to collect and launder the proceeds. Some enterprise members conspired and attempted to threaten others with acts of violence, including extortion, robbery, and assault, in attempts to collect outstanding debts.

Overall, the DTO received more than 600 pounds of marijuana from a major supplier based in California. Walter Sornoza, 50, of Los Angeles, led a nationwide distribution network that he named “Empire Genetics.” To get the drugs to Cleveland, enterprise associates would fly from California to Ohio and check-in their baggage, which were suitcases filled with packaged marijuana. The drugs would then be delivered to Cleveland-based members of the organization. Baker directed associates to launder the cash profits from the marijuana sales by converting the proceeds into money orders. Another associate was responsible for flying from Cleveland to Los Angeles to hand the money orders and cash over to the Sornoza enterprise as payment for the marijuana supply received.

Baker also purchased a small business in Cleveland, “In & Out Tires,” which served as a hub for members and associates to store and distribute drugs. During the investigation, agents also seized several firearms scattered throughout the business, which were intended to be used for protection of the drug enterprise. Other items recovered included money order receipts, packing materials, suitcases, and other supplies used to transport, store and distribute marijuana.

The defendants were each sentenced to imprisonment and/or probation by U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Gaughan after pleading guilty to their roles in the drug trafficking conspiracy.

• Baker was sentenced to 168 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to launder money, RICO conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute, and distribution, of marijuana, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin, maintaining a drug premise, and for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. He was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release after imprisonment.
• Deshaun Martin, 36, of Cleveland, was sentenced to 87 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, RICO conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute marijuana and cocaine base (crack), and for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. He was also ordered to serve four years of supervised release after imprisonment.
• Sornoza was sentenced to 108 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, and possession with intent to distribute, and distribution, of marijuana. He was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release after imprisonment.
• Noblys Garcia, aka Flaco, 43, of Studio City, California, was sentenced to 60 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, distribution of marijuana, and possession with intent to distribute, and distribution, of marijuana. He was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release after imprisonment.
• Sidne Spencer, 28, of North Hollywood, California, was sentenced to two years of probation for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and marijuana.
• Keveon Lewis, 44, of Corona, California, was sentenced to six months in prison and six months location monitoring for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and distribution of marijuana. He was also ordered to serve two years of supervised release after imprisonment.
• Moniqka Hazzard, 32, of Riverside, California, was sentenced to 30 days in prison and seven months location monitoring for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. She was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment.
• Jerry Baker Sr., 55, of Cleveland, was sentenced to three years of probation for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and for maintaining a drug premise.
• Antonio Lanier, 35, of Cleveland, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, and RICO conspiracy. He was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment.
• Herman Wilson, 43, of Katy, Texas, was sentenced to two years of probation for conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.
• Ajeremiah Baker, aka AJ, 20, of Garfield Heights, Ohio, was sentenced to 24 months in prison for RICO conspiracy. He was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi­-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.

The specific mission of the OCDETF Cleveland Strike Force is to disrupt and dismantle major criminal organizations and subsidiary organizations, including criminal gangs, transnational drug cartels, racketeering organizations, and other groups engaged in illicit activities that present a threat to public safety and national security and are related to the illegal smuggling and trafficking of narcotics or other controlled substances, weapons, humans, or the illegal concealment or transfer of proceeds derived from such illicit activities in the Northern District of Ohio. The OCDETF Cleveland Strike Force is composed of agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), United States Marshals Service (USMS), U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), along with task force officers from numerous local law enforcement agencies, including the Cleveland Division of Police. Prosecutions are led by the Office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

This case was investigated by the FBI Cleveland Division, IRS Criminal Investigation, ATF Cleveland Division, U.S. Marshals Service Cleveland, the Cleveland Division of Police, and the Los Angeles Police Department Narcotics Unit. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret A. Sweeney for the Northern District of Ohio and Trial Attorney Brian Lynch of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section.

CLEVELAND – The U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) has announced that federal grand juries in the Northern District of Ohio have returned indictments for the following individuals on charges of immigration law violations. These are separate and unrelated cases filed during the months of January and February 2025.

Yeixon Brito-Gonzalez, aka Yiexon Maikenedy Brito-Gonzalez, 21, a citizen of Venezuela, was indicted on two counts of possession of a fraudulent identification document. He possessed counterfeit Legal Permanent Resident and Social Security cards. Brito-Gonzalez was arrested Jan. 30, 2025, in Sandusky, Ohio. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Sandusky Bay Station.

Juan A. Cabrera-Claros, 42, a citizen of El Salvador, was indicted on one charge of illegal re-entry into the United States. He has been previously removed three times: July 13, 2011; Nov. 23, 2011; and Feb. 22, 2013. Cabrera-Claros was arrested Feb. 15, 2025, in South Euclid, Ohio. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Mardoqueo Hernandez-Gomez, aka, Gabino Toj-Chac, 31, a citizen of Guatemala, was indicted on one charge of making a false claim of citizenship to obtain a federal or state benefit, and one count of misuse of a Social Security number. On April 17, 2023, the defendant is alleged to have attempted to obtain an Ohio Driver’s License by providing a Social Security card issued to another individual. Hernandez-Gomez was arrested Jan. 16, 2025, in the state of Kansas. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by CBP Sandusky Bay Station.

Angel Baltazar Lux-Santay, 32, a citizen of Guatemala, was indicted on one charge of illegal re-entry into the United States after having previously been removed on Sept. 12, 2019 and Jan. 20, 2020. Lux-Santay was arrested in Ashland County, Ohio, on Feb. 2, 2025. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by ICE.

Jorge Marrero-Padilla, 36, a citizen of Mexico, was indicted on one charge of illegal re-entry into the United States. He has been previously removed four times: July 9, 2008; June 29, 2010; Nov. 13, 2010; and Dec. 26, 2012. Marrero-Padilla was arrested in Painesville, Ohio, on Jan. 15, 2025. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by ICE.

Raul Montes-Rodriguez, 52, a citizen of Mexico, was indicted on one charge of illegal re-entry into the United States after having been removed twice from the U.S. on Jan. 21, 2014 and April 23, 2013. Montes-Rodriguez was arrested Jan. 29, 2025 in Lorain, Ohio. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by CBP Sandusky Bay Station.

Alando Roach, 24, a citizen of Jamaica, was charged with being an undocumented alien in possession of a firearm. Roach was arrested March 3, 2025, in Youngstown, Ohio. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and ICE.

Mariano Tomas-Aguilar, 44, a citizen of Guatemala, was indicted on one charge of illegal re-entry into the United States. He was previously removed from the U.S. five times: Aug. 14, 2008; Sept. 8, 2009; Oct. 26, 2018; Feb. 19, 2019; and March 12, 2020. Tomas-Aguilar was arrested Dec. 9, 2024, in Eastlake, Ohio. The investigation preceding the indictment was conducted by ICE.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. Each defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after a review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal records, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum and in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.

A team of Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the USAO’s criminal division are prosecuting these cases.

These cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.