Southern District of Ohio

CINCINNATI – Sharon Romaine Ward, 53, formerly of West Chester, was sentenced in U.S. District Court here today to 48 months in prison for fraudulently billing more than $8.5 million to Medicare, Medicaid and Veterans Affairs health care programs between 2015 and 2021. 

When Ward started Halo Home Healthcare in 2015, she concealed her ownership of the company because she had a prior felony conviction in 2013 for passing forged and fraudulent prescriptions for oxycodone and hydrocodone while serving as a nurse practitioner in Warren County. As a result of her conviction, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General excluded her from participating in federal health care programs for a minimum period of ten years.

According to court documents, Halo Home Healthcare routinely overbilled federal healthcare programs, charging them for services it did not perform. In one example cited in court documents, Halo continued to bill Medicaid for home health services while the patient was hospitalized. In addition, between 2017 and 2020, Halo hired over 50 employees with significant criminal histories which ordinarily should have excluded them from providing home health services, including one individual who was charged with a quadruple murder while ostensibly working for Halo. 

Ward submitted at least 92,770 claims to Medicaid seeking $8,556,776.58, receiving $8,403,299.24 between 2016 and 2021. Court documents say she also failed to provide accurate information to her business tax return preparer causing false tax returns to be prepared and filed.

Ward pleaded guilty in June 2024 to health care fraud and making or subscribing a false income tax return.

As part of her sentence, Ward will pay $8,403,299.24 in restitution to the Ohio Department of Medicaid and $195,5668.00 to the Department of Veterans Affairs Veterans Healthcare Administration. Ward will also prepare and file corrected business tax returns with the IRS and pay restitution in the amount of $81,617 to the IRS.

Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, announced the sentence imposed today by Senior U.S. District Judge Susan J. Dlott. This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the U.S. Secret Service, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s Health Care Fraud Section. Assistant United States Attorney Ebunoluwa A. Taiwo is representing the United States in this case.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – A local man and woman pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court here today to drug and money laundering crimes related to assisting two Chillicothe brothers traffic drugs from Mexico and Arizona. 

Todd Michael Fulkerson, 42, of Columbus, admitted to conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine.

In February 2024, Fulkerson traveled to Arizona at the request of Caleb Barillaro, 30, who was acquiring kilogram quantities of the drugs to resell through street-level drug dealers in Chillicothe and the surrounding areas. The men drove separate vehicles to Arizona, and Fulkerson accompanied Caleb on the trip to provide security. Fulkerson was recruited for this role based on his military experience.

In Arizona, Caleb purchased two kilograms of fentanyl and five kilograms of cocaine for $94,000 in cash. Caleb put the drugs in a cooler and placed ice on top of the drugs to conceal them before putting the cooler in Fulkerson’s car.

Law enforcement surveilled the two vehicles traveling in tandem back towards Ohio from Arizona.

The two stopped at a gas station near the Indiana and Ohio border. Caleb discovered that the melting ice in the cooler had ruined some of the kilograms of drugs. He became upset and took the cooler to his car. Caleb feared he was being surveilled by law enforcement as he traveled from the gas station, and he discarded the drugs along the side of the road.

Fulkerson faces up to 20 years in prison for his role in transporting the drugs.

Lazae Lett, 24, of Chillicothe, admitted to laundering drug proceeds to Sinaloa, Mexico, to help Dillon Barillaro, 31, obtain more drugs through a source of supply there. She sent several approximately $2,000 money orders via Western Union money orders from Walmart and two Kroger locations in Chillicothe. 

Dillon Barillaro provided the illicit money to Lett and instructed her on recipient names and payment amounts. Dillon Barillaro drove Lett to the Walmart and Kroger locations to conduct financial transactions in immediate succession.

Lett faces up to 20 years in prison.

The Barillaro brothers have each pleaded guilty to federal narcotics crimes punishable by at least 10 years and up to life in prison and await sentencing.

Congress sets minimum and maximum statutory sentences. Sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors at future hearings.

Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Andrew Lawton, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Detroit Field Office; Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and Chillicothe Police Chief Ron Meyers announced the guilty pleas offered today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Norah McCann King. Assistant United States Attorneys Nicole Pakiz and Damoun Delaviz are representing the United States in the related cases.

These investigations were originally designated as part of Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs). The 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 our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

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CINCINNATI – A Middletown man pleaded guilty in federal court in Cincinnati today to sexually exploiting a toddler in Snapchat videos.

Daveion Wright, 32, was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2024. His plea agreement includes a sentencing recommendation of 25 to 30 years in prison.

According to court documents, on at least five instances in January 2024, Wright sexually exploited a 2-year-old victim, uploaded videos of the explicit conduct, and shared one video on Snapchat.

For example, one 54-second video depicted Wright and an adult female having vaginal intercourse as the toddler victim pushed on Wright’s hips. The other videos showed Wright exposing the toddler’s anus and vagina while Wright had intercourse with the adult female.

He will be sentenced at a future court hearing.

Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division and Middletown Police Chief Earl Nelson announced the guilty plea entered today before Senior U.S. District Judge Michael R. Barrett. Assistant United States Attorney Kyle J. Healey is representing the United States in this case.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – A central Ohio man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to federal crimes related to three separate armed bank robberies. 

Hussein A. Mohamed, 27, of Dublin, pleaded guilty to three counts of committing bank robbery, three counts of conspiring to commit bank robbery, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

Mohamed admitted to committing three armed bank robberies in Columbus within a week in April 2024.

According to court documents, on April 11, 2024, Mohamed robbed the Telhio Credit Union on North Hamilton Road. He wore a dark Patagonia sweatshirt, light ripped jeans, white covid mask and black winter hat. Mohamed showed the bank teller a note on his cell phone that demanded cash and indicated he had a gun.

On April 16, 2024, Mohamed committed two separate armed robberies.

First, at approximately 4pm, he robbed a Fifth Third Bank on Bethel Road. He wore a red sweatshirt, light jeans, blue covid mask and black New Balance shoes. Again, he showed the teller a note on his phone demanding money and indicating he had a gun.

About 45 minutes later, he committed another bank robbery, this time at Huntington Bank on North High Street. Mohamed had changed clothes between the robberies.

At this final robbery, Mohamed showed his phone to one bank teller, who provided him with cash. He then told another teller to empty her drawer. When that victim told Mohamed she did not have any money in her drawer, Mohamed pulled a black firearm from the waist area of his pants, racked the slide on the handgun, and forced the tellers into the vault room while making threats.

For reach of the three robberies, Mohamed conspired with another individual who was present in the vehicle used to travel to and from the robberies.

Law enforcement officials recovered the clothing that Mohamed wore at each robbery, a loaded handgun, Mohamed’s wallet and identification at an apartment on Merriwick Crossing Drive in Columbus.

He was arrested in May 2024.

Bank robbery is a federal crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Conspiring to commit bank robbery carries a potential maximum penalty of five years in prison. Brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence is punishable by a mandatory seven years and up to life in prison, to run consecutively to any other sentence imposed. Congress sets minimum and maximum statutory sentences. Sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors at a future hearing.

Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the guilty plea entered today before U.S. District Judge Michael H. Watson. Assistant United States Attorneys Damoun Delaviz and Elizabeth A. Geraghty are representing the United States in this case.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – A previously convicted sex offender who, on multiple occasions, stood fully nude at the glass door of his Obetz residence and masturbated while school-aged children were getting off the bus and walking to their homes, pleaded guilty in federal court here today to federal child pornography crimes.

Joshua Bock, 32, of Edgeview Road in Columbus, pleaded guilty to distributing and possessing child pornography. As a convicted sex offender, he faces 15 to 40 years in prison for distributing child pornography and 10 to 20 years in prison for possessing the child sexual abuse material.

According to court documents, in September 2024, law enforcement officials contacted the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force regarding several civilian complaints about Bock. Multiple children witnessed him nude and masturbating while they walked from their school bus near Hamilton Local Schools.

Bock was arrested on local charges of public indecency, and law enforcement agents interviewed Bock and searched his electronic devices. He described the location of numerous devices and child pornography in his home, including a self-described “treasure chest” of material in his bedroom under the stairs. Law enforcement seized multiple laptops, hard drives, flash drives and cell phones from Bock’s residence.

His devices contained more than 3,500 images and videos of child sexual abuse, many including “bondage” of females ranging from toddler age to teenagers with gags in their mouths. Some of the video files depicted adults sexually abusing infants.

In his prior offense, Bock was charged as a hands-on sexual offender to a victim who was approximately 9 years old at the time.

Bock was charged federally in September 2024 via a criminal complaint. He has remained in custody since that time.

Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jared Murphey, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit; Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin and other members of the Franklin County Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force announced the guilty plea entered today before U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. Assistant United States Attorney Emily Czerniejewski is representing the United States in this case.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Columbus man who sexually abused a young girl and created child pornography of the abuse was sentenced in federal court here today to 300 months in prison.

Arturo Navarrete-Juarez, 30, pleaded guilty in July to sexually exploiting a minor. He was charged federally by a criminal complaint in March 2023.

According to court documents, between October 2021 and December 2022, Navarrete-Juarez sexually abused a minor female and filmed some of the abuse. Specifically, the child was between the ages of 9 and 10 in the videos recovered by law enforcement.

In March of 2023, the FBI investigated child sexual abuse material on a Tor network that featured Navarrete-Juarez. The defendant’s face was visible in the videos. Investigators also linked Navarrete-Juarez’s identity to the videos by distinctive tattoos on his hands, arms and chest and by the apartment depicted in the background of the videos.

Navarrete-Juarez is a Mexican national and does not currently have legal status in the United States.

Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the sentence imposed today by Chief U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison. Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer M. Rausch and Emily Czerniejewski are representing the United States in this case.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio announced today four new immigration convictions and charges pending against an additional five defendants for allegedly violating federal immigration law. New defendants include a man with pending rape and sexual battery charges and a man who is alleged to be part of a transnational gang.

Sixto Garcia-Garcia, 34, was previously indicted by a grand jury in Franklin County with three counts of rape and one count of sexual battery. There is also a warrant for his arrest in Texas on charges for reckless homicide. These charges all remain pending. On Wednesday, he was charged federally with illegally reentering the United States. Garcia-Garcia is a citizen of Mexico and has no legal status in the United States.

Milton Guevara-Cruz, 31, is a citizen of El Salvador who allegedly reentered the United States illegally after deportation. Charging documents filed against Guevara-Cruz detail that he is a member of the violent 18th Street transnational gang from El Salvador. It is alleged that he is a member of the gang’s Tyni Locos Surenos clique and has been arrested in El Salvador three times for related criminal activity.

A federal grand jury indicted Roberto Carlos Mar-Herrara, 33, yesterday. The Mexican national allegedly reentered the United States illegally twice following deportations. He is currently booked in the Franklin County Jail on felony drug trafficking charges. 

Jose Antonio Alvarenga, 43, is an El Salvadoran national who allegedly reentered the United States illegally after deportation. He was arrested outside of his home in New Lebanon, Ohio.

Agents encountered Ever Amador-Medina, 37, at the Butler County Jail. He is a native of Honduras and has no legal status in the United States. He was previously deported on two occasions, once from Atlanta and once from Houston. 

Four other defendants pleaded guilty in federal court in Columbus this week to federal immigration crimes. They include Elmer Edison Rodriguez-Guzman, 46; Sergio Gutierrez-Hernandez, 32; Mario Juarez-Iribe, 44; and Carlos Gonzales Hernandez, 55.

Illegally reentering the United States is a federal crime punishable by up to two years in prison. If the offender has a prior felony conviction (or multiple prior misdemeanor convictions of certain types), the penalty is increased to 10 years in prison, and if the offender has been previously convicted of an aggravated felony, the defendant faces up to 20 years in prison.

Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jared Murphey, acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit; and Robert Lynch, Field Office Director, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Detroit Field Office; announced the charges. Deputy Criminal Chief Brian J. Martinez and Assistant United States Attorneys Sheila G. Lafferty, Anthony Springer, Noah R. Litton, Elizabeth Geraghty, Emily Czerniejewski and Erica Lunderman are representing the United States in these cases.

Charging documents merely contain allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

These cases are being prosecuted as part of the Southern District of Ohio Immigration Enforcement Task Force, which dedicates agents, attorneys and other staff to investigating and prosecuting immigration violations.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Union County man was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 46 months in prison for a $1.4 million fraud scheme involving state agency contracts.

Nicholas Price, 45, of Marysville, defrauded three electronic equipment supplier businesses. The related state customers included the Ohio Department of Transportation, Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

As part of his sentence, Price will pay more than $1.4 million in restitution.

According to court documents, Price owned Right PriceIT, LLC, an information-technology business registered in Ohio. He accepted money in return for supplying electronic equipment to companies that were awarded state contracts. The state would pay the contracting company, and the contracting company would pay Price, who would broker lower-cost suppliers; however, Price never paid the suppliers.

For example, in 2019, Price made an agreement with a company that won contracts to provide electronic equipment to the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. According to the agreement, the company would pay Price funds for the equipment and a profit for Price, who would then purchase the equipment from a supplier to provide to the state. Price never paid the supplier the cost of the equipment, nearly $689,000, despite the state agencies and companies all holding up their ends of the agreement.

Likewise, Price engaged in a similar scheme with a business that won a contract to provide electronic equipment to the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction. Again, Price entered into an agreement with the contracting company and a supplier to purchase the equipment and provide it to the state. The state and contracting company provided Price with more than $685,000, and the supplier provided the equipment, but Price never paid the supplier for the equipment.

In total, Price engaged in a similar fraud three times, causing a loss of more than $1.4 million.

Price then laundered the proceeds of his fraud scheme and sent wires to people who own car dealerships with the expectation that the funds would be laundered through those businesses.

Throughout his pending federal fraud case, Price obstructed justice and violated the terms of his pretrial release.

On the day of his detention hearing, Price instructed an individual to delete Price’s iCloud account.

While out on bond, Price violated the terms of his release by using methamphetamine, cocaine and alcohol. Price was also caught by law enforcement on more than one occasion driving luxury vehicles faster than 100 miles per hour. In one instance, Price drove a Ferrari F8 Spider in a densely populated area near Emerald Parkway and Sawmill Road in Dublin and crashed into two vehicles at an intersection. The driver of one of the other cars suffered serious injuries and had to be removed from his car with the jaws of life. Price’s bond was revoked after the crash, and he has been detained since.

Price was arrested on federal fraud charges in March 2024. He pleaded guilty in October 2024 to wire fraud and monetary transaction money laundering.

Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; and Karen Wingerd, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Court Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. Assistant United States Attorney Peter K. Glenn-Applegate is representing the United States in this case.

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CINCINNATI – A former ICE deportation officer was sentenced in U.S. District Court here to 144 months in prison for crimes related to using his position to solicit and coerce sex from vulnerable women under his supervision. 

Andrew Golobic, 53, of Cincinnati and Mason, Ohio, abused his position to deprive the civil rights of a woman under his supervision in the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program. ATD allows certain asylum seekers and other immigrants who ICE has determined pose a low risk to public safety to remain in their communities while their immigration cases are pending.

Following a jury trial in January 2024, Golobic was found guilty on four of seven counts – obstructing a sex trafficking investigation, deprivation of rights under color of law, witness tampering and destruction of records in a federal investigation.

The jury found that Golobic deprived a woman under his supervision in the ATD program of her fundamental right to bodily integrity by engaging in unwanted, forced or coerced sexual activity.

The defendant was employed as a deportation officer with ICE from 2006 to 2020 and was assigned to the ICE office in Blue Ash, Ohio. He was assigned to the ATD program from approximately 2015 to 2020.

In his role, Golobic had discretion over the degree of freedom and movement afforded to participants under his supervision. He had the authority to decide the type of monitoring, frequency of reporting and level of supervision, as well as the authority to recommend that ATD participants who violated conditions of the program be detained or deported. 

To cover up his crimes, Golobic misled investigators, destroyed evidence and tampered with witnesses. Notably, after being approached by agents from FBI and the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General in June 2020 as part of this investigation, Golobic deleted evidence from his cellphones. 

The sentence was imposed on March 10 by Senior U.S. District Judge Michael R. Barrett.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security Office of the Inspector General (DHS-OIG) investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorneys Ebunoluwa A. Taiwo and Ashley N. Brucato represented the United States in this case.

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CINCINNATI – A disbarred attorney who previously practiced law in the Cincinnati area was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 37 months in prison. He used false identities to obtain employment with at least seven law firms.

Richard Louis Crosby III, 37, of Mason, Ohio, pleaded guilty in July 2024 to three counts of Social Security number fraud.

At various times throughout his scheme, Crosby used identifying information belonging to his elderly father, his girlfriend, a deceased man and others. He falsely told at least one law firm that he was a University of Michigan football player and an ex-Marine.

According to court documents, the Cincinnati Bar Association filed a complaint against Crosby in November 2020. In April 2021, he indicated his intent to resign from the practice of law.

In both June and November 2021, Crosby was indicted and charged in Hamilton County with crimes related to stealing client funds. After his indictments, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio entered an order disbarring Crosby.

In May 2022, Crosby was arrested in both of his Hamilton County cases. He was sentenced to probation in both cases in June 2023.

According to his federal plea agreement, while Crosby’s local cases were pending, he created an email account using “richardcwilliamsesq.” Crosby used the email address and the alias Richard Williams to communicate with a law firm in Washington D.C. in June 2021. The firm briefly employed “Williams.”

In June 2022 – at which point Crosby had been disbarred in Ohio and arrested on the Hamilton County charges – Crosby used his alias to apply online for an attorney position with a law firm in California. The firm offered Crosby a position as an associate attorney with a salary of $150,000. The defendant was employed under his alias for approximately three months and used a firm email address with his alias name.

In September 2022, Crosby used his alias to apply for an attorney position with a law firm based in Miami, Florida. Crosby met with a recruiter via Zoom, and represented himself as Richard Williams, a licensed attorney admitted to the bar in New York and D.C.

Crosby then met with one of the firm’s hiring managers in Florida and was ultimately offered employment in October 2022. His starting salary was $185,000 per year with a $5,000 signing bonus. Crosby used his girlfriend’s Social Security number, passport number and banking information to complete his onboarding paperwork at the law firm.

In April 2023, the firm received an inquiry from an investigator with the Clermont County Child Support Enforcement Office, making the firm aware of Crosby’s true identity. He was subsequently fired.

In July 2023, Crosby interviewed with the founding partner of a different California law firm. He also falsely claimed to work at the law firm of Kirkland and Ellis. After the founding partner asked Crosby to verify with whom he worked with at Kirkland and Ellis, Crosby withdrew his interest in the job.

A few days later, Crosby again used the alias to attempt to obtain employment. He interviewed over Zoom with senior management of a law firm located in Coral Gables, Florida. Crosby doctored a “screen shot” of the name Richard Coleman Williams Jr. in the online D.C. bar membership directory to attach with his resume.

The firm offered Crosby a starting salary of $195,000 per year with a $10,000 signing bonus, but eventually determined Crosby was using a false identity and did not hire him.

In August 2023, the defendant applied for a job at another law firm. The firm, located in Michigan, sent Crosby a letter offering a salary of $145,000 per year and a $10,000 signing bonus. When his credential information had discrepancies, the firm terminated their working relationship before issuing Crosby’s first paycheck.

In September 2023, one month prior to his arrest on federal charges, Crosby used a different alias to apply for a job at another law firm in California. He claimed that he was a University of Michigan football player and an ex-Marine.  Crosby was hired as an attorney at a salary of $250,000 per year. He used the Social Security number of a deceased man from North Carolina in his tax paperwork to the firm.

In early 2024, while out on bond, Crosby ran a new scheme in which he pretended to be an attorney who specialized in appeals and other criminal matters. He scammed local inmates and their families, claiming he could help local inmates with post-conviction relief like appeals, parole and sentence reductions. For example, he was paid $2,500 from the mother of a local inmate for the above mentioned but provided no services in return.

As part of his sentence, Crosby will pay nearly $171,000 in restitution to law firms he defrauded. The court also ordered him to serve three years of supervised release and perform 300 hours of community service.

Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, announced sentence imposed on March 7 by U.S. District Judge Jeffery P. Hopkins. The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration, Office of Inspector General, with assistance from the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office, Clermont County Department of Job and Family Services, U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and United States Marshals Service. Special Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Landry represented the United States in this case.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – A New Jersey man was sentenced in U.S. District Court here today to 18 months in prison for his role in a nationwide, off-the-road tire sale fraud scheme that resulted in tens of millions of dollars of losses.

Ahmet Neidik, 65, of Fort Lee, New Jersey, pleaded guilty in January 2024 to conspiring to commit wire fraud. Before his guilty plea, Neidik allegedly fled to Turkey and then returned to the United States.

Neidik was the co-owner of, and ran the daily operations for, purported transportation, logistics and importing/exporting businesses. Some of the proceeds of the scheme were sent to businesses controlled by Neidik. Neidik would then wire money to the bank accounts of co-conspirators.

John K. Eckerd, Jr., 61, of Dallas, was one of the leaders of the multi-state conspiracy. He pleaded guilty in December 2024 to conspiring to commit wire fraud and tax crimes and admitted responsibility for at least $14 million involved in the scheme. Based on his plea agreement, Eckerd will be sentenced to 36 to 109 months in prison.

Conspiring with previously convicted and sentenced defendant Jason E. Adkins, 47, of Jackson, Ohio, Eckerd and others orchestrated a $50 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 50 investors.

From 2012 until at least in or around late 2018, Eckerd represented himself to potential investors as an entrepreneur and businessman with expertise in the market for off-the-road tires. Off-the-road tires are over-sized tires that are used on earth moving equipment and/or mining equipment. Eckerd had control of or access to many corporations allegedly used as part of the scheme.

Co-conspirators solicited millions of dollars from investor-victims under false pretenses. Investors were told their money would be used to buy off-the-road tires at a steep discount, and that the tires would then be re-sold to a buyer at a much higher rate. Investors were promised a high percent rate of return on investment, generally within 180 days.

Defendants rarely bought or sold tires, and when they did, they used the same tires as the basis for multiple deals, promising multiple investors that they each owned the same tires.

Defendants corresponded with the potential investors face-to-face, as well as through a combination of phone calls, text messages, and, on occasion, emails. They used private planes to showcase their inventory and appear wealthy and successful. Defendants also provided investors with elaborate, fraudulent paperwork regarding the purported deals. The co-conspirators requested large investments and loans, most to be funded through wire transfers.

To give potential investors confidence in the tire deals, Eckerd and Adkins offered the services of a purportedly neutral third party to arrange shipment of the tires and/or hold investment funds in escrow until certain conditions were met in completing the deal. Neidik allowed Eckerd and Adkins to represent to investors that he was the neutral third party, and on some occasions, entered into escrow agreements with the investors.

As part of his sentence, Neidik will pay $370,000 in restitution for his part of the scheme. He was also fined $250,000.

Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Karen Wingerd, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation; and Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley. Assistant United States Attorneys S. Courter Shimeall, Peter K. Glenn-Applegate and David J. Twombly are representing the United States in this case.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio announced today new immigration charges or convictions in four cases in the District.

On Monday, task force agents arrested Sergio Diego-Sevilla, 35, and charged him with being an illegal reentrant into the United States. Diego-Sevilla is a Mexican national with no legal status in the United States. He has been apprehended in Arizona in the past and deported to Mexico.

According to court documents, on Jan. 23, investigators with the Licking County Sheriff’s Office received information from Customs and Border Patrol located in Southern Arizona that a Toyota Highlander with an Arizona license plate was allegedly involved in human smuggling.

Sheriff’s deputies stopped the vehicle in Licking County and discovered Adalberto Calixto Tolentino, 21, was transporting four individuals in the vehicle, including Diego-Sevilla. Investigators also discovered an envelope with $8,000 cash in the car. When interviewed by law enforcement, one passenger said he had paid $10,000 to be helped crossing the border of Mexico into the United States. He was picked up in the desert in Arizona and eventually transported by Tolentino. These related cases are being prosecuted in Columbus.

On Tuesday, in Cincinnati, Edgar Palomares-Ventura, 38, pleaded guilty to illegally reentering the United States. Palomares-Ventura is a citizen of Mexico and had been previously deported from the United States in 2022 from Texas. In February 2025, agents discovered the defendant in West Chester.

Palomares-Ventura has previous convictions in the United States, including trafficking marijuana in Hamilton County, and federal convictions in Ohio and Kentucky for visa, permit and passport fraud, as well as aggravated identity theft.

On Wednesday, another defendant pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati to illegally reentering the United States. Brayan Castaneda-Juarez, 32, also admitted to illegally possessing a firearm. Illegal aliens are prohibited from possessing firearms. The defendant forfeited a 9mm pistol.

Castaneda-Juarez is a Mexican national with no legal status in the United States. He had been previously removed from the country from a Port of Entry in Texas.

In December, loss prevention employees at Jungle Jim’s in Cincinnati stopped the defendant because he was attempting to shoplift. Fairfield police officers were dispatched to the scene and discovered the 9mm pistol in a bag that Castaneda-Juarez was carrying. He was later arrested by ICE officers.

Today, new charges and a plea document were filed in the case against Ismael Rodriguez-Mojica, 47, a national of El Salvador with no legal status in the United States. A bill of information charges Rodriguez-Mojica with illegally reentering the United States. The defendant had been deported from the United States three times before, including once after being booked into the Franklin County Jail. In his current case, ICE officers encountered Rodriguez-Mojica in Columbus in January 2025. He was originally charged by a criminal complaint.

Illegally reentering the United States is a federal crime punishable by up to two years in prison. If the offender has a prior felony conviction (or multiple prior misdemeanor convictions of certain types), the penalty is increased to 10 years in prison, and if the offender has been previously convicted of an aggravated felony, the defendant faces up to 20 years in prison.

Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jared Murphey, acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit; and Robert Lynch, Field Office Director, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Detroit Field Office; announced the charges. Criminal Chief Christy L. Muncy, Deputy Criminal Chief Brian J. Martinez, and Assistant United States Attorneys Tyler J. Aagard and Matthew C. Singer are representing the United States in these cases.

Charging documents merely contain allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

These cases are being prosecuted as part of the Southern District of Ohio Immigration Enforcement Task Force, which dedicates agents, attorneys and other staff to investigating and prosecuting immigration violations.

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DAYTON, Ohio – A man who operates kiosks at a local mall was arrested today by federal agents for allegedly trafficking counterfeit goods.

Emre Teski, 25, is a citizen of Turkey and illegally entered the United States of America from Mexico on September 10, 2022. Teski admitted to illegally crossing the international boundary without being inspected by an immigration officer at a designated Port of Entry. On January 3, 2024, Teski was ordered removed from the United States, but has since appealed this decision and was permitted employment authorization while his appeal is pending. Teski operates kiosks selling counterfeit goods at the Mall at Fairfield Commons in Beavercreek.

According to charging documents, Teski ran one kiosk that primarily sold replica professional soccer jerseys and hats containing trademarked soccer teams, including FC Barcelona, Club Internacional de Fútbol Miami, Manchester City and Arsenal. Teski operated another kiosk that sold primarily oversized slippers that look like sneakers and included Nike and Air Jordan trademarks.

Teski allegedly sold an investigator counterfeit Nike slippers that illegally used the trademark Nike Swoosh. It is alleged that he also sold a counterfeit pink Messi jersey.

Agents executed a search warrant at the kiosks today and seized numerous items containing confirmed or suspected counterfeit trademarks.

Trafficking counterfeit goods is a federal crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; and Jared Murphey, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit; announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorney Ryan A. Saunders is representing the United States in this case.

A criminal complaint merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

# # #

CINCINNATI – Vernon Powell, 44, of Cincinnati, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 120 months in prison for committing new narcotics crimes while on supervised release.

According to court documents, investigators determined that Powell had mailed a kilogram of cocaine from Houston to Cincinnati in June 2023.

In October 2023, during subsequent searches at properties that Powell used on Compton Road and Bassett Road, law enforcement officials discovered cocaine, fentanyl, multiple firearms and more than $28,000 in cash.

At the time, Powell was on supervised release for drug and firearm offenses for which he had been previously sentenced to 15 years in prison. 

Powell had petitioned the Court in September 2023, one month prior to the execution of search warrants in this case and asked the Court for early termination of his supervised release, noting that the “barriers of supervision” don’t allow him to “excel as he knows he is capable.”

Powell pleaded guilty in October 2024 to possessing with the intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl.

Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey and other members of the Regional Enforcement Narcotics Unit announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Court Judge U.S. District Judge Matthew W. McFarland. Assistant United States Attorneys Ryan A. Keefe and Timothy D. Oakley are representing the United States in this case.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A previously convicted sex offender who sexually exploited two minor females and forced one of the girls to engage in commercial sex acts with men at hotels pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today. 

Anthony Sims, 56, of Columbus, was scheduled to begin trial on March 17. He pleaded guilty today to two counts of sexually exploiting a minor and one count of sex trafficking a minor.

The guilty plea includes a sentencing recommendation of 25 to 50 years in prison.

Sims admitted that he raped a 12-year-old girl 40 to 50 times over the span of six months in 2020. Sims provided the girl marijuana and alcohol and talked her into getting high and drinking. At times, during the sexual assaults, Sims would hold down the victim’s arms or hold her in place. He also forced the girl to pose for photos in sexual positions either while nude or while wearing lingerie.

Likewise, Sims convinced another, a 13-year-old girl, to smoke marijuana with him, and once she was high, Sims raped her. He also held down this victim. Sims would take nude photos of her and made her pose with stuffed animals or pillows.

Sims also took the 13-year-old to various hotels to force her to have sex with men who paid Sims. The victim was forced to have sex with approximately 50 different men. Sims sold pornographic photos of the victim and coordinated the dates at the hotels.

At the time of his most recent crimes, Sims was a registered sex offender with two convictions out of Michigan.

Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission’s Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force and the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI); and Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant announced the guilty plea entered today before U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. Assistant United States Attorneys Emily Czerniejewski and Tyler J. Aagard are representing the United States in this case.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Two Columbus men were sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 25years and 23 years in prison for drug crimes, sex trafficking crimes and their roles in the deaths of a local man and woman. The defendants are two of nearly two dozen individuals charged in a case involving large-scale drug and human trafficking rings, the overdose death of at least one individual and the violent death of a second victim.

Dustin A. Speakman, 35, of Columbus, was sentenced to 276 months in prison. He pleaded guilty in March 2024 to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances within 1,000 of an elementary school. As part of his plea, Speakman admitted to his role in the violent death of one victim that occurred during the time he was operating a drug distribution house.

Tyler Bourdo, 31, of Columbus, was sentenced to 300 months in prison. He also pleaded guilty in March 2024 to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances within 1,000 of an elementary school, as well as distributing fentanyl and cocaine that resulted in death and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking.

Speakman and Bourdo are two of 23 defendants charged in a narcotics and human trafficking case that involves at least two deaths. Two of the defendants were found guilty following a jury trial last month. All 23 defendants have been convicted or pleaded guilty.

According to court documents, from 2008 until June 2022, lead defendants Patrick Saultz and Cordell Washington ran a large-scale drug trafficking organization in Columbus that included sex trafficking, labor trafficking and money laundering.

Court documents detail that the drug trafficking organization brought large quantities of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, oxycodone, alprazolam and marijuana into Columbus. These drugs were sold or used to coerce individuals into sexual activity for some members of the drug ring and their profit.

Speakman joined the drug trafficking organization after being released from jail in 2022, where he was housed with Saultz. Speakman was a mid-level drug distributor for the group out of residences on South Ogden and South Warren.

As part of his guilty plea, Speakman admitted to severely beating one of his drug runners in May 2022 and then providing him with free drugs to make up for the attack. Witnesses said the male was beaten by Speakman and then given cocaine and fentanyl as compensation. Shortly after, the victim began to seize and foam at the mouth and did not respond to Narcan. The victim was driven to an alley near Grant Hospital where he was found unconscious by Columbus Fire Department personnel with severe trauma to the face and head. His cause of death was ultimately determined to be blunt force trauma caused by Speakman.

Bourdo supplied and oversaw the drug distribution at one of the stash houses on North Warren. He was providing the property’s owners approximately $100 in illegal narcotics per day for use of the residence.

According to Bourdo’s plea agreement, on Oct. 14, 2021, an individual was found deceased in an alley between Bourdo’s primary residence and a drug distribution house. The woman was found with a needle in her hand and another needle in her pocket and had been dead for approximately 18 hours.

Further investigation revealed that, on Oct. 10, 2021, the woman had overdosed on crack cocaine and fentanyl at one of the organization’s drug houses that Bourdo supplied on North Warren. Witnesses on site immediately placed the woman in a bathtub and soaked her in cold water. The witnesses provided multiple rounds of Narcan, CPR and chest compressions, eventually resuscitating her. The woman left and, over the next 48 hours, met up with Bourdo on more than one occasion to get and use more drugs.

Video surveillance of the alley shows Bourdo walking to the deceased woman’s body just moments before police personnel arrived to attempt (unsuccessfully) to obtain her phone to prevent further investigation into her death.

As part of his plea, Bourdo admitted to coercing adult drug-addicted females into performing commercial sex acts by using violence as well as providing and then withholding or threatening to withhold narcotics and lodging.

Acting U.S. Attorney Kelly A. Norris commended the investigation coordinated by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force, which includes Columbus Division of Police Chief Elaine Bryant; Jared Murphey , Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit; and Andrew Lawton, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Other agencies that have assisted the task force with the investigation include the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, HIDTA Task Force, IRS-Criminal Investigation, FBI, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI), Ohio National Guard Counter Drug Task Force, Pickerington Police Department, New Albany Police Department, and the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office SWAT Team.

Assistant United States Attorneys Timothy Prichard and Emily Czerniejewski are representing the United States in this case.

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

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio announced today new immigration charges in four cases in the District.

Task force agents arrested Alberto Caiceros-Cruz, 40, after observing him leave his residence in Columbus and drive a vehicle with no registration displayed. Caiceros-Cruz is a Mexican national and was most recently removed from the United States in 2022.

On Tuesday, a federal grand jury in Columbus indicted an El Salvadoran national with illegally reentering the United States after being convicted of sex offenses and a Honduran national with illegally possessing firearms.

Carlos Gonzales-Hernandez, 55, was detained in January 2025 following a traffic stop in Madison County. He was then transferred into ICE custody. The defendant had been removed from the United States following a local prison sentence for sex offenses. Gonzales-Hernandez was previously convicted in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas of three counts of gross sexual imposition and received a prison sentence of six years.

Elmer Edison Rodriguez-Guzman, 46, was in a vehicle that was stopped in Cambridge, Ohio, in July 2024 due to no taillights. Law enforcement officials discovered items including a handgun, a double-barrel shotgun and ammunition. Rodriguez-Guzman was arrested in Guernsey County and then transferred into federal custody.

On Thursday, a federal grand jury in Columbus indicted Pedro Marquez, 34, who is also known as Peter Marquez, Pedro Ravas Rivas, Alex Rivas Vasquez and Alex Vasquez Rivas. In 2011, Marquez was convicted of participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy and illegally reentering the United States and was sentenced to federal prison. Marquez had conspired with others in the Eastern District of Oklahoma to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Marquez transported, delivered and distributed the drugs on behalf of the conspiracy. He was removed from the United States again in 2016 following his term of imprisonment. Law enforcement found and arrested Marquez in Bloomingburg, Ohio, on Feb. 13.

Illegally reentering the United States is a federal crime punishable by up to two years in prison. If the offender has a prior felony conviction (or multiple prior misdemeanor convictions of certain types), the penalty is increased to 10 years in prison, and if the offender has been previously convicted of an aggravated felony, the defendant faces up to 20 years in prison.

Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jared Murphey, acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit; and Robert Lynch, Field Office Director, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Detroit Field Office; announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorneys Tyler J. Aagard, Sheila G. Lafferty and David J. Twombly are representing the United States in these cases.

Indictments and criminal complaints merely contain allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

These cases are being prosecuted as part of the Southern District of Ohio Immigration Enforcement Task Force, which dedicates agents, attorneys and other staff to investigating and prosecuting immigration violations.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Jacob M. Rager, 21, of Columbus, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to sextorting at least two female victims and possessing child pornography. 

According to court documents, in April 2023, one of Rager’s victims contacted the FBI National Threat Operations Center to report the distribution of nude photos of her at age 17. The female had communicated with Rager on Instagram and sent nude photos of herself to Rager on two occasions in February and November 2022, including once for a $15 payment.

In March 2023, Rager told the victim to send another nude photo of herself or he would send the prior photos of her to her friends. The victim did not comply, and Rager sent the nude images to a high school friend of the victim.

In October 2023, Rager sent messages to the victim via a TikTok account saying, “I have your nudes still. Reply unless you want me to expose you to everyone you know…”

During the course of their investigation, FBI agents became aware of a second victim whose nude images were also distributed to various individuals by Rager.

Rager sent the second victim a link on her Instagram account in October 2023 that connected to a mega site containing 70 folders. The folders were named after girls who attended Ohio University, including a folder of the victim. The images of videos of the females appeared to have been saved from the Snapchat account of each person.

Further, Rager created an Instagram account titled with the full name of the second victim and ending with the word “destruction.” He messaged the victim from this account saying, “i have your nudes still. unless you want me to show your friends, family and both your brothers i suggest you reply. im gonna make an example out of you if you don’t reply.”

Even after being contacted by the FBI and learning of the federal investigation pending against him, Rager continued to contact the second victim from various accounts on TikTok and Instagram.

When agents searched his cell phone, they discovered Rager possessed other child pornography of females ages approximately 10 to 15 years old. The images included minor females inserting objects like bottles and brushes into their vaginas.

Possessing child pornography is a federal crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison and using interstate communications to extort carries a potential maximum sentence of up to two years in prison. Congress sets minimum and maximum statutory sentences. Sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors at a future hearing.

Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, and other members of the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force announced the guilty plea entered today before U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley. Assistant United States Attorney Emily Czerniejewski is representing the United States in this case.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Francisco Villegas-Garcia, 37, a Mexican national who is here illegally, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Columbus today to 120 months in prison for his role in a fentanyl conspiracy. Villegas-Garcia was a high-level drug trafficker in a large-scale drug trafficking organization tied to Mexico that transported and distributed multi-kilogram quantities of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine.

According to court documents, Villegas-Garcia often traveled from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Columbus as part of his drug trafficking. During one traffic stop in Charlotte, agents seized $100,000 in cash from Villegas-Garcia.

DEA field offices in Charlotte and Columbus coordinated additional investigation, which revealed that Villegas-Garcia often spoke to other members of the drug trafficking organization about their supply of drugs, drug sales, wiring money to Mexico, and securing couriers to transfer money to Mexico. He was often in communication with the source of drug supply in Mexico.

When agents executed a search warrant at the defendant’s Columbus home on Willowswitch Lane in January 2023, they discovered eight kilograms of fentanyl and fentanyl analogue and $120,000 in cash. These items were hidden inside the wall.

Agents detained and then arrested Villegas-Garcia in January 2023, at the Los Gauchos Taqueria on South Hamilton Road in Columbus. At the time, he had 28 grams of cocaine and more than $10,000 in cash on his person.

He pleaded guilty in March 2024 to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.

Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Andrew Lawton, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Detroit Field Division, announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. Assistant United States Attorney Damoun Delaviz is representing the United States in this case.

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

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal grand jury indicted two separate immigration cases here today involving a previously convicted felon and a repeat immigration crimes offender.

Carlos Gonzales-Hernandez, 55, is charged with illegally reentering the United States after a conviction for an aggravated felony. Gonzales-Hernandez is a citizen of El Salvador.

According to his court documents, Gonzales-Hernandez was detained in January 2025 following a traffic stop in Madison County. He was then transferred into ICE custody. The defendant had been removed from the United States following a local prison sentence for sex offenses. Gonzales-Hernandez was previously convicted in Franklin County Court of Common Pleas of three counts of gross sexual imposition and received a prison sentence of six years.

Elmer Edison Rodriguez-Guzman, 46, is charged with possession of a firearm or ammunition of an illegal alien and with illegally reentering the United States.

Rodriguez-Guzman is a citizen of Honduras and has no legal status in the United States. He has been removed from the United States on numerous prior occasions and either deported to Honduras or allowed to voluntarily return to Mexico.

According to his court documents, Rodriguez-Guzman was in a vehicle that was stopped in Cambridge, Ohio, in July 2024 due to no taillights. Law enforcement officials discovered items including a handgun, a double-barrel shotgun and ammunition. Rodriguez-Guzman was arrested in Guernsey County and then transferred into federal custody.

Illegally reentering the United States is a federal crime punishable by up to two years in prison. If the offender has multiple prior misdemeanor charges, the penalty is increased to 10 years in prison, and if the offender has been previously convicted of an aggravated felony, the defendant faces up to 20 years in prison.

Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jared Murphey, acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit, and Robert Lynch, Field Office Director, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Detroit Field Office; announced the cases. Assistant United States Attorney Sheila G. Lafferty is representing the United States in these cases.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

These cases are being prosecuted as part of the Southern District of Ohio Immigration Enforcement Task Force, which dedicates agents, attorneys and other staff to investigating and prosecuting immigration violations.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – An Arizona woman pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court here today to a narcotics crime related to driving a moving truck filled with 50 kilogram-bricks of cocaine from Arizona to Ohio. 

Andrea Celaya-Rodriguez, 28, of Tucson, pleaded guilty to possessing with the intent to distribute cocaine.

According to court documents, Celaya-Rodriguez was stopped by Ohio State Highway Patrol on 1-70 in Madison County on March 22, 2024. She was driving a Penske box truck that she rented a few days prior in Tucson and, according to her rental agreement, was set to return the vehicle to Arizona within the next four days.

A drug canine positively alerted to the presence of cocaine and troopers subsequently searched the moving truck. The cargo space of the truck had in it a sectional couch, a suitcase and a produce bin with a blanket over it. Within the produce bin there were three duffel bags, which contained 50 individually wrapped kilogram-packages of cocaine.

After being arrested, Celaya-Rodriguez told DEA agents she was driving the drugs from Arizona to New York in exchange for $50,000 from a man she had met in Mexico two weeks prior. The defendant met the man on a rural road in Arizona, where she was given the cocaine in shoe boxes to be re-packaged for transportation.

The plea agreement includes a sentencing recommendation of 33 to 41 months in prison. Congress sets minimum and maximum statutory sentences. Sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors at a future hearing.

Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Andrew Lawton, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Detroit Field Division; and Col. Charles A Jones, Superintendent, Ohio State Highway Patrol, announced the guilty plea entered today before Chief U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison. Assistant United States Attorneys Kevin W. Kelley and Nicole Pakiz are representing the United States in this case.

# # #

CINCINNATI – An Ohio physician has agreed to pay the United States $600,000, plus contingent payments, to resolve False Claims Act allegations that he submitted fraudulent Medicare claims related to electro-acupuncture devices.

Ronald F. Ambrosia, 56, of Powell, Ohio, is a doctor licensed in Ohio who provided electrical nerve pulse stimulation services to patients in facilities across the state.

From 2016 until 2018, Ambrosia allegedly improperly billed Medicare for the application of percutaneous electrical nerve pulse stimulation devices (the “P-Stim Device”) in an office setting. The P-Stim Device is a device for treatment of chronic pain that, pursuant to manufacturer’s instructions, is affixed behind a patient’s ear using an adhesive. Needles are inserted into the patient’s ear and affixed using another adhesive. Once activated, the device then provides intermittent stimulation by electrical pulses. It is a single-use, battery-powered device designed to be worn for several days until its battery runs out, at which time the device is thrown away.

The procedures allegedly did not involve any surgery, anesthesia, or take place in an operating room (or even at a facility with such capabilities) but were billed to Medicare as surgically implanted neurostimulators, contrary to repeated guidance from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, announced the settlement. This matter was investigated by agents with the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. Assistant United States Attorneys Linda Mindrutiu and W. Hunter West are representing the United States in this matter.

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

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal grand jury indicted four new immigration cases in Columbus this week.

According to their court documents, two defendants have prior convictions for drug trafficking, one defendant’s prior convictions include a firearms crime and driving under the influence, and the final defendant was allegedly smuggling illegal aliens across the United States.

Juan Carlos Garcia-Vasquez, 45, is a Mexican national who was charged with illegally reentering the United States. He was previous convicted in Franklin County for cocaine trafficking.

Ricardo Martinez-Nunez, 29, has prior convictions in Franklin County for improperly handling a firearm in a vehicle and driving under the influence. Martinez-Nunez is also charged with illegally reentering the United States. He is a Mexican national.

Previous convictions for Lino Mendiola-Vanegas, 45, include cocaine trafficking and forgery in Franklin County. He is charged with illegally reentering the United States and is a Mexican national.

Finally, it is alleged that Adalberto Calixto Tolentino, 21, was transporting four illegal aliens across the United States for financial gain.

According to his court documents, on Jan. 23, investigators with the Licking County Sheriff’s Office received information from Customs and Border Patrol located in Southern Arizona that a Toyota Highlander with an Arizona license plate was allegedly involved in human smuggling.

Sheriff’s deputies stopped Tolentino in Licking County and discovered four individuals in the vehicle as well as an envelope with $8,000 cash. When interviewed by law enforcement, one passenger said he had paid $10,000 to be helped crossing the border of Mexico into the United States. He was picked up in the desert in Arizona and eventually transported by Tolentino.

Tolentino was originally charged by criminal complaint and arrested on Jan. 24. He has remained in federal custody since that time. If convicted as charged, he faces up to 10 years in prison.

Illegally reentering the United States is a federal crime punishable by up to two years in prison. If the offender has multiple prior misdemeanor charges, the penalty is increased to 10 years in prison, and if the offender has been previously convicted of an aggravated felony, the defendant faces up to 20 years in prison.

Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jared Murphey, acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit, and Robert Lynch, Field Office Director, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Detroit Field Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Kenneth F. Affeldt and Tyler J. Aagard are representing the United States in these cases.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

These cases are being prosecuted as part of the Southern District of Ohio Immigration Enforcement Task Force, which dedicates agents, attorneys and other staff to investigating and prosecuting immigration violations.

# # #

CINCINNATI – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Ohio announces the departure of Kenneth L. Parker as U.S. Attorney. 

Effective as of Mr. Parker’s termination, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Kelly A. Norris is serving as Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio.

Mr. Parker was sworn in on November 23, 2021, as the 45th United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. Former President Joseph Biden nominated Parker on September 28, 2021, and the United States Senate unanimously approved his confirmation on November 19, 2021.

“It has been my highest honor to serve the people of the Southern District of Ohio as the United States Attorney.  There is no better feeling than to come to the office every day knowing I, along with all the prosecutors, trial attorneys, and staff, work to protect the rights, safety, and interests of the public with excellence and integrity,” said former U.S. Attorney Parker.

Mr. Parker first joined the office in 1999 as an Assistant United States Attorney and has since also served as the District’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Deputy Criminal Chief and as the District’s Criminal Chief. As U.S. Attorney, he served on Attorney General Merrick Garland’s Advisory Committee, serving as co-chair of the Law Enforcement, Victims, and Community Outreach committee, as well as a standing member on the Violent and Organized Crime and Civil Rights committees.

As U.S. Attorney, Mr. Parker served as the chief law enforcement officer and oversaw the investigation and litigation of all criminal and civil cases brought on behalf of the United States. During his tenure, Mr. Parker emphasized efforts related to protecting vulnerable populations like children and the elderly.  Under his  leadership, the District created a civil rights referral initiative for members of the public to report potential civil rights violations directly to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, hosted a roundtable to combat sexual harassment in housing, and established three annual community and law enforcement awards programs. The district also continued significant public corruption investigations, focused on violent crime committed against United States Postal Carriers and educated the public on glock switches and ghost guns.

Parker led an office of approximately 135 career professionals, including 65 Assistant United States Attorneys and 60 support staff personnel. The district remained steadfast in protecting the Southern District of Ohio with the following notable accomplishments:

• Emphasis on opioid prosecutions contributing to a decrease in overdose deaths in Hamilton County;
• Increased the number of alleged drug traffickers to be extradited from Colombia for prosecution;
• In addition to civil and criminal penalties, more than $260 million was collected in fiscal year 2024 in assets connected to criminal activity.  More than $20 million in additional assets is still pending forfeiture orders. In fiscal year 2024, the Southern District of Ohio ranked second out of all U.S. Attorney’s Offices nationwide in deposit amount.
• This past fiscal year the Financial Litigation program team held debtors accountable by recovering money for victims, collecting $8.1 million in criminal debts.
• Increased emphasis on the prosecution of postal robberies, machine gun conversion devices, ghost guns, and distributing narcotics within 1000 feet of a school throughout the district;
• Assisted the ATF and other law enforcement partners in establishing Crime Gun Intelligence Centers in Cincinnati and Columbus;
• Established a mock courtroom inside the Cincinnati office to allow attorneys and staff to further hone their skills as they prepare their cases in the district and appellate courts.  The courtroom has electronic capabilities to connect to other offices throughout the district.
• Increased the visibility of the office through sustained community outreach and engagement efforts.
• Our office continues to successfully defend federal government agencies against frivolous lawsuits and has protected taxpayer dollars with its success in a number of matters including against the VA, United States Air Force, Defense Logistics Agency, and the Sixth Circuit Judicial Council.
• The district also saw an increase in its conviction rate to 91.9%, which is higher than the national average of 90.7% and that of other large districts.  The district’s criminal and civil work included the following matters –

Violent/Firearms Crimes & Drug Trafficking

U.S. v.Goddard, et al. – Two Dayton men were convicted for their roles in the narcotics case that caused the 2019 death of Dayton Police Detective and DEA Task Force Officer Jorge DelRio. While attempting to prevent federal agents from seizing approximately half-a-million dollars in fentanyl and other drugs, Nathan Goddard, 44 was convicted of murdering Det. DelRio.  He and Cahke Cortner, 44, were also convicted of multiple narcotics and firearms charges.

U.S. v. Darod and Jama – Two central Ohio men were convicted for committing crimes related to the July 6, 2023, shooting of a Columbus police officer. Faisal Darod and Aden Abdullahi Jama participated in a crime spree that involved the armed robberies of five high-end automobile dealerships, banks and gaming stores in and around Columbus and ended in a shootout with police officers on I-70.

U.S. v. Roberts, et al. – Sterling H. Roberts was convicted for fatally shooting his girlfriend’s ex-husband in front of the victim’s children. A jury convicted Roberts in March 2022 of traveling interstate in August 2017 to murder Robert Caldwell, the former husband of Roberts’then-girlfriend after cyberstalking the victim. Roberts’ girlfriend at the time, co-defendant Tawnney Caldwell, and brothers, Chance Deakin and Christopher Roberts, as well asChandra Harmon (Tawnney’s mother); and James Harmon (Tawnney’s stepfather) were each charged in March 2018 and were all convicted of crimes related to the cyberstalking and murder.

U.S. v. Bryant, et al. – As of June 2022, all 19 defendants convicted as racketeering conspirators in a T&A Crips gang case were sentenced in federal court. The racketeering conspiracy was first charged in 2018 and included five murders, at least 26 attempted murders, and other violent and drug-trafficking crimes.

U.S. v. Williams, Jr., et al. – A jury convicted a Columbus man in December 2024 of murdering three victims as part of a narcotics conspiracy to rob a local marijuana dealer of drugs and cash. Williams had others dismember and bury two of the bodies to dispose of evidence of his crimes.

U.S. v. Robles, et al.  – A federal grand jury in Dayton indicted the Midwest Regional “boss” and 13 other members of the “outlaw motorcycle gang” known as the Thug Riders Motorcycle Club (TRMC). The indictment alleges that the TRMC operated a criminal enterprise whose members and associates engaged in acts of violence like murder, arson and assault. Members also allegedly participated in extortion and identity fraud.

U.S. v. Merino, U.S. v. Kotchkoski, U.S. v. Mefford – In these cases, former Columbus police officers were convicted for trafficking narcotics. Marco Merino conspired to distribute more than eight kilograms of fentanyl and accepted bribes to protect the transportation of cocaine. John Kotchkoski also conspired to traffic more than eight kilograms of fentanyl and conspired with a confidential informant to traffic 40 kilograms of cocaine. Joel Mefford conspired to steal and traffic more than 15 kilograms of cocaine from crime scenes and the evidence room and committed money laundering.

U.S. v. Washington, et al. – Nearly two dozen defendants were charged in a large-scale drug and human trafficking ring in Columbus. Defendants were charged with distributing bulk amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana, Xanax and Oxycodone within 1,000 feet of a Columbus elementary school. The case also involves an overdose death, sex trafficking and money laundering. As part of the case, law enforcement officials seized $1.7 million, 50 firearms and nine vehicles. To date, at least 21 of the defendants have been convicted and await sentencing.

U.S. v. Williams, Jr. – A Dayton man was sentenced in February 2023 to 250 months in prison for distributing fentanyl and cocaine that resulted in multiple fatal and nonfatal overdoses in the late hours of New Year’s Eve and into the early hours of New Year’s Day 2019.

U.S. v. Attaway & Johnson – Two Cincinnati men were convicted for crimes involving the murder of the owner of Madeira Beverage in February 2021 and multiple armed robberies. Willie James Attaway was convicted for murdering Roop C. Gupta and committing or attempting four other armed robberies on Feb. 8 and Feb. 9, 2021. Lamond Johnson also convicted and served as Attaway’s getaway driver during the two-day crime spree.

U.S. v. Blackshear, et al. – Five defendants from the Dayton area were convicted for participating in the summer 2019 kidnapping and subsequent death of Kwasi Casey, whose body was later found in a detached garage in Dayton.

U.S. v. Maye – A jury found Ricco Maye guilty on all 14 counts following a trial in Columbus in November 2024. The defendant led drug, sex trafficking and financial fraud conspiracies and then attempted to obstruct justice and tamper with witnesses. He was also convicted of coercing addicts into prostitution, overseeing a pandemic relief fraud scheme and tampering with witnesses.

U.S. v. Solomon, et al. – In August 2024, a jury in Columbus found two members of the Third World Mob gang guilty ofconspiring to traffic more than 2,000 pounds of marijuana. Third World Mob is a violent criminal organization in Columbus. The case also includes firearms and machine gun crimes. Lead defendant Menelik Solomon pleaded guilty for his role in the crimes.

U.S. v. King, et al. – Two Columbus men were convicted for the murder of Players Paradise internet café security guard Joseph Arrington and his wife Karen Arrington Chris King shot and murdered both the husband and wife while they were working. Justice B. Stringer drove co-defendants to and from the robbery resulting in murder.

U.S. Postal theft cases – Throughout this administration’s tenure, the district has prosecuted at least 20 defendants for crimes related to Postal robberies. Many of the cases include charges specifically for committing armed robbery against mail carriers. In other cases, defendants were charged with stealing USPS service keys or mail. Conspirators would steal any cash contained in the mail. They would also steal checks and “wash” or erase the original information to fraudulently convert the checks to deposit for themselves.

U.S. v. Holdbrook, et al. – Donte Holdbrook was one of 12 individuals convicted for conspiring to distribute narcotics and money laundering. His drug trafficking operation had ties to the Sinaloa Drug Cartel in Mexico.

U.S. v. Singh, et al. – In this case, the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Asset Forfeiture team secured one of the largest single cryptocurrency and cash seizures in DEA history, worth $150 million. Banmeet Singh ran a dark web narcotics conspiracy that moved hundreds of kilograms and tens of thousands of pills of controlled substances throughout the United States and established a multi-million-dollar drug enterprise. Singh created vendor marketing sites on dark web marketplaces such as Silk Road 1, Silk Road 2, Alpha Bay, Hansa and others, to sell controlled substances, including fentanyl, LSD, ecstasy, Xanax, Ketamine and Tramadol.

Civil Rights Offenses & Hate Crimes

Park National Bank settlement – The Justice Department announced in February 2023 an agreement to resolve allegations that Park National Bank (Park National), headquartered in Newark, Ohio, engaged in a pattern or practice of lending discrimination by “redlining” in the Columbus metropolitan area. The settlement required Park National to pay $9 million to ensure equal home loan opportunities and is part of the Justice Department’s nationwide Combating Redlining Initiative.

U.S. v. Eubanks – A Springfield, Ohio, man was convicted for crimes related to targeting and attacking at least eight Haitians residing in the area.

U.S. v. Genco – A Highland County, self-identified “Incel” was convicted for attempting to conduct a mass shooting of women. Genco plotted to commit the hate crime of shooting women at a university in Ohio.

U.S. v. Golobic – In January 2024, a federal jury convicted a former ICE deportation officer for depriving a woman under his supervision in the Alternatives to Detention (ATD) program of her fundamental right to bodily integrity, by forcing her to engage in nonconsensual sex. Andrew Golobic, was found guilty on four counts including obstructing a sex trafficking investigation, deprivation of rights under color of law, witness tampering and destruction of records in a federal investigation.

U.S. v. Johnson – Darrin Johnson pleaded guilty in February 2024 to committing a federal hate crime by physically assaulting a victim based on the victim’s race. In August 2021, Johnson assaulted an Asian American victim on Calhoun Street at the University of Cincinnati and made racist comments toward the victim, including, “Go back to your country…You brought the kung flu here…You’re going to die for bringing it.”

U.S. v. Mitchell – Former Columbus Vice Detective Andrew Mitchell was convicted for crimes related to kidnapping sex worker victims in the Hilltop neighborhood under the guise of an arrest.

U.S. v. Mooney & Stansberry – Former Pike County Deputy Jeremy Mooney was convicted by a federal jury of two counts of violating a victim’s constitutional rights by pepper spraying and punching the victim in the head, while the victim was in the custody of the Pike County Sheriff’s Office and posed no threat to himself or others. The jury found that Mooney’s offenses involved the use of a dangerous weapon and resulted in bodily injury. Mooney’s supervisor, William Stansberry, Jr., was also charged and was sentenced to six months in prison followed by six months of home detention.

U.S. v. Brime – Carlos Manuel Rodriguez Brime was convicted for threatening to bring a bomb to a local reproductive health services facility.

Martin lawsuit agreement – Kevin Martin, an owner and manager of residential rental properties in and around Athens, Ohio, agreed in August 2024 to pay $170,000 to resolve a lawsuit alleging that he sexually harassed female tenants and housing applicants in violation of the Fair Housing Act. Under the consent decree, Martin agreed to pay $165,000 to former female tenants and applicants harmed by his harassment and a $5,000 civil penalty to the United States. The consent decree permanently bars Martin from managing residential rental properties, requires him to retain a property manager for properties he continues to own, and mandates training and the adoption of policies and procedures to prevent future discrimination.

Child Exploitation

U.S. v. Davis – Springfield resident Marcus Leon Davis was sentenced in May 2024 to 100 years in prison for creating and distributing child pornography by documenting his sexual abuse of children. Davis received the maximum sentence on each count as charged and will serve those sentences consecutively.

U.S. v. Jackson – Nalah Jackson was convicted for kidnapping two twin five-month-old infants in December 2022. Jackson stole a car that was running at a Donatos Pizza on North High Street in Columbus; the infants were in the car. Jackson ultimately left one baby at Dayton International Airport the same night and one baby near a Papa Johns restaurant in Indianapolis the next day.

U.S. v. Morrison – Jeremiah Morrison was convicted for obtaining material on the dark web depicting the torture, mutilation and murder of children. He traded it for images and videos of sexual abuse of young children.

U.S. v. Porter, et al. – Larry Dean Porter, was convicted for running a a Scioto County child sex trafficking operation. In 2020, Porter and several of his family members and associates were charged in the case involving physical and sexual abuse of women and children in Scioto County that spanned numerous decades. Porterexchanged drugs obtained in Columbus and elsewhere for sexual access to the children of drug-addicted parents and guardians.

U.S. v. Kovacs – Former longtime Beavercreek police officer Kevin Kovacs was convicted for committing two counts of transporting and possessing child pornography. Kovacs spent the last six years of his police career as a D.A.R.E. officer in Beavercreek City Schools.

U.S. v. Wilson & Wilson – A Bexley husband and wife were convicted for their crimes related to the sexual abuse of minor children. Stephen Wilson and Jessica Wilson created child pornography videos and pictures of sexual abuse while exchanging text messages discussing the abuse. Stephen Wilson sexually abused at least three minors between the ages of 7 and 16. Stephen had video cameras inside his home, including his bedroom, and used those cameras to document and create videos and still images of the abuse. In one incident, Stephen drugged a minor victim with alcohol and ecstasy and raped the victim while she was semi-conscious-to-unconscious. He created a 22-minute video depicting that sexual assault.

U.S. v. Foley – In January 2024, former high school teacher Justin Foley was convicted for crimes related to secretly recording explicit videos of his students at school and possessing child sexual abuse material. Foley was employed as a chemistry teacher at Columbus Alternative High School at the time of his offenses. He used his cell phone and other digital media devices in a hidden manner to capture the genitalia of his female students under their skirts and shorts during the school day. He also secretly recorded victims at local department stores in central Ohio, public areas of downtown Delaware, Ohio, and various dressing rooms at different unidentified locations.

U.S. v. Roberts – Ty Brandon Roberts was convicted for victimizing children as young as 6 years old over a 15-year period. Roberts created images and videos of child pornography through the abuse. His case includes more than 175 victims.

U.S. v. Richards – In October 2024, Kelly Richards was convicted for sex trafficking and exploiting two teenagers. The defendant drugged, raped, abused, photographed and sold two teenage girls, holding them in his apartment for multiple days.

U.S. v. Williams – Raymond Williams was convicted for offering minor victims cash and gifts to entice them into performing and/or engaging in sex acts with him. Williams provided sex toys to one victim by hiding them in places at the downtown branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library.

U.S. v. Gemienhardt & Daniels – Robert Gemienhardt and Carrie Daniels groomed minor victims, sexually abused the victims and created child pornography of the abuse. They sexually exploited children as young as 3 years old. Daniels and Gemienhardt, who was a registered sex offender in the state of Ohio, exchanged thousands of illicit text messages detailing their sexual fantasies about four separate minor victims.

Fraud Schemes & Public Corruption

U.S. v. Householder, et al. – Former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder was convicted for leading a racketeering conspiracy that involved $60 million in bribes. He and former Ohio Republican Party Chair Matthew Borges were found guilty following a six-week trial that included more than 1,000 exhibits and 25 witnesses.

U.S. v. Jones & Dowling – Former FirstEnergy executives Charles Jones and Michael Dowling were indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2025. The two are charged in a racketeering conspiracy involving more than $60 million in schemes to bribe former Ohio House Representative Larry Householder and former PUCO Chairman Samuel Randazzo. 

U.S. v. Harrison – A Dayton man who claimed to be an African prince was convicted at jury trial of 10 counts of various federal fraud crimes. Daryl Robert Harrison – falsely holding himself out to be a royal prince from the African national of Ghana – told investors he had direct connections with African trucking and mining companies, and that they could expect an investment return of 28 to 33 percent. He defrauded at least 14 victims of more than $800,000.

U.S. v. Pastor – Former Cincinnati city councilman Jeffrey Pastor plead guilty to honest services wire fraud. Pastor received a $15,000 cash bribe in return for his official action to advance development projects in the city.

U.S. v. Sittenfeld – Former Cincinnati city councilman Alexander “P.G.” Sittenfeld was convicted for bribery and attempted extortion by a government official. Sittenfeld was convicted following a jury trial in June and July 2022. According to court documents and trial testimony, Sittenfeld accepted $20,000 in bribe payments to his political action committee (PAC) from undercover FBI agents posing as corrupt businessmen working with a real estate developer.

U.S. v. Asante, et al. – Seven defendants were convicted for conspiring to launder more than $11.8 million of online romance scam proceeds. Other individuals created several profiles on online dating sites. They then contacted men and women throughout the United States and elsewhere, with whom they cultivated a sense of affection, and often, romance. After establishing relationships, perpetrators of the romance scams requested money, typically for investment or need-based reasons, and provided account information and directions for where money should be sent. In part, these accounts were in the names of the defendants, their family members and their companies.

U.S. v. Adkins – Jason Adkins was convicted for orchestrating a $50 million Ponzi scheme involving over-sized tires. Adkins resided in Jackson County and defrauded more than 50 investors from all over the country and the world. Adkins and others claimed that they bought and sold over-sized tires commonly known as off-the-road tires, which are used on earth moving equipment and/or mining equipment. Investors were told their money would be used to buy the tires at a steep discount, and that the tires would then be re-sold to a buyer at a much higher rate. Two other defendants have been charged and convicted connected to this scheme.

U.S. v. Thomas – Mark Alan Thomas, a former Belmont County attorney, was convicted for committing mail fraud related to stealing more than $882,000 from an elderly woman with dementia while purporting to act in her best interests under a Power of Attorney.

U.S. v. Misseldine – Ava Misseldine is a former bakery owner who was convicted for stealing the identity of a deceased baby and committing more than $1.5 million in pandemic relief fraud. She was sentenced in August 2023 to 72 months in prison. As part of her sentence, she will pay more than $1.5 million in restitution and forfeit her Utah home and profits from the recent sale of her Michigan home, both of which she bought with stolen government money.

U.S. v. Buckner, et al. – Lorin Buckner was the lead defendant convicted in a foreclosure rescue scheme that defrauded at least 780 financially distressed homeowners throughout the United States, including more than 100 individuals in the Southern District of Ohio. Buckner preyed on homeowners who had defaulted on their mortgages and convinced the victims to pay to take part in fraudulent programs on the promise it would save their homes.

U.S. v. He – Yi He was convicted for embezzling more than $26 million from his employer, a furniture company that provides furniture to retailers like Wayfair, Overstock, Kohls, Walmart and Ashley. Yi was solely responsible for payroll and payroll tax-related duties for the company. 7

Health Carousel global resolution – In March 2024, Health Carousel agreed to pay $9.25 million and pledged an additional $8 million for related healthcare projects to resolve civil and criminal investigations into the company’s visa sponsorship program.  The global resolution resolves criminal fraud and civil False Claims Act allegations that Health Carousel submitted false visa immigrant applications and caused false statements to be made to government officials while recruiting nurses, physical therapists and other healthcare professionals to the United States.

National Security & Cybercrime

U.S. v. Xu – Xufirst Chinese government intelligence officer ever to be extradited to the United States to stand trial was convicted in federal court in Cincinnati. Xu targeted American aviation companies, recruited employees to travel to China, and solicited their proprietary information, all on behalf of China.

U.S. v. Shihab – Shihab Ahmed Shihab Shihab was convicted for attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization as part of a plot to murder former United States President George W. Bush. The defendant believed the former President was responsible for killing many Iraqis and breaking apart the entire country of Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Shihab hoped to smuggle at least four Iraqis associated with ISIS into the United States with the goal of completing the assassination.

U.S. v. Almadaoji – Arrested by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, Naser Almadaoji was convicted of trying to travel to Afghanistan to join ISIS or ISIS- Khorasan (ISIS-K). The defendant intended to travel to Astana, Kazahkstan, where he planned to be smuggled into Afghanistan so that he could join and receive military training from ISIS-K in support of both that terrorist group and ISIS.

U.S. v. Uwadiae – In December 2024, Omoruyi O. Uwadiae was convicted for harassing, cyberstalking, extorting and stealing the identities of victims in multiple states including Ohio, Colorado and Washington. The defendant committed crimes targeting gay and bisexual men. He obtained sexually explicit photographs and videos from potential victims and then used the content to threaten them. Uwadiae threatened to distribute the explicit material widely on the internet and specifically to victims’ friends, family members, employers and others, and, on several occasions, he carried through with his threats.

U.S. v. Cook & Frost – Two men were convicted for conspiring to attack power grids throughout the United States to promote their white supremacy ideology. Cook and Frost engaged in a plot to attack the country’s energy infrastructure, damage the economy, and stoke division in American society in the name of white supremacy. “Revolution is our solution” was a recurring theme in the defendants’ communications to one another. The pair took concrete actions in furtherance of their plans.

Former U.S. Attorney Parker added: “I thank President Joseph Biden and Senators Sherrod Brown and Robert Portman for this incredible opportunity of service.  My deepest gratitude goes to my entire office as well as our many law enforcement and community partners, who remain dedicated public servants.  We have accomplished a great deal together and I am confident that the people in the Southern District of Ohio will continue to benefit from our collective efforts.”

The Southern District of Ohio serves more than five million residents in 48 of the 88 counties in Ohio and has offices located in Cincinnati, Columbus and Dayton.

Former ATF Director Steven M. Dettelbach stated, “At ATF I saw first-hand that Ken Parker is a warrior in the fight against violent crime. His partnership with ATF and all our state and local law enforcement partners led to the formation of Crime Gun Intelligence Centers in both Columbus and Cincinnati. They have driven down the murder and violent crime all over those regions. He has led the fight to catch and punish those who deal in and use deadly and illegal machine gun conversion devices. More people in Ohio are alive today because Ken Parker was their U.S. Attorney.”

“Ken Parker has been an outstanding partner during his tenure as United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio. He prioritized protecting the public by taking on the most significant and impactful cases. I am grateful for his commitment to keeping communities throughout the country safe and his dedication to upholding the rule of law,” said former DEA Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene.

“I want to thank U.S. Attorney Ken Parker and his team for their strong partnership with the FBI,” stated FBI Cincinnati Special Agent in Charge Elena Iatarola. “U.S. Attorney Parker demonstrates a strong commitment to justice and tirelessly works to protect our community and keep all citizens safe.”

“As U.S. Attorney Kenneth Parker prepares to leave office, I want to express my deepest gratitude for the privilege of working alongside him,” said Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge. “His unwavering commitment to the safety of Ohio's residents and his steadfast dedication to holding accountable those who engage in criminal activity and cause harm to others has had a profound impact.  U.S. Attorney Parker’s passion for our community, his vision for growth, and his role as a trailblazer for change has left a lasting legacy. I am particularly grateful for his invaluable support in the development and success of our Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC), which has enabled the Cincinnati Police Department to work seamlessly with our federal, state, and local partners to remove dangerous criminals from our streets and save lives. His love for Cincinnati and his collaboration with our department will not be forgotten. I am deeply thankful for his leadership, partnership, and all he has done to make our city safer.”

“USA Parker’s commitment to justice has left a lasting impact on the community by upholding the rule of law, keeping our communities safe and selflessly serving the public in pursuit of justice,” said Columbus Division of Police Chief Elaine R. Bryant. “I am grateful for the profound impact his partnership has had on the safety and well-being of the community and wish him nothing but the best in his well-deserved retirement.”

Newtown Police Chief Tom Synan stated: “USA Parker has been a proactive partner with law enforcement and the community. During his tenure he has been hands-on with the issues and the people he served, getting an in-depth understanding of the complexities our communities face from the person all the way to the resources needed on the federal level. He is part of the community finding innovative ways to enhance law enforcement efforts and improve the lives of the people he served.

“When it came to addiction, he understood it was more than a crime but a chronic mental, medical health condition. He has been a pioneer in drug supply interdiction as well addiction response. There are few that can find the balance of drug supply reduction and overdose death reduction, USA Parker did, and is part of the reason our region is seeing a significant reduction in overdose deaths. He opened the door to federal resources that allowed law enforcement to find and convict those bringing the poison of fentanyl and other synthetic drugs that hit our region so hard. He also collaborated bringing resources for those struggling with addiction, knowing just cutting off drug supply did not end addiction and they would need resources for care and treatment.

“Although the United States Attorney's position brings a set of responsibilities, the void Ken Parker as a person will leave is immeasurable. It was the man that made him a leader in our community. His compassion that took him the extra mile to serve others. His authentic curiosity to learn more about people and the issues they faced led to successful partnerships. It is a goal of those who serve the public to leave the world a better place than when they arrived. USA Parker's legacy will make our community better for generations to come.”

Chief U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison stated: “For 25 years, U.S. Attorney Ken Parker has been an advocate for victims and for justice. Throughout his distinguished career with the federal government, he has been a respected attorney committed to the Constitution and the rule of law. 

“His dedication extended beyond the courtroom, as he worked to connect with the community he served.  And as U.S. Attorney, he showed a willingness and the leadership to work with defense attorneys and the Court to ensure everyone was treated fairly. 

“I want to thank U.S. Attorney Parker for his work over the last two decades and wish him success in what he may pursue next.”

“Ken Parker has been an outstanding U. S. Attorney,” said U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr. “I have worked with him for over twenty years. He is a very talented federal prosecutor. Ken represents a long tradition of federal prosecutions. He has prosecuted those who have violated federal law, but always in accord with the Constitution and ethical standards. Whenever Ken Parker made a statement in court, I could be sure it absolutely true. Ken has been a great asset to this district.”

“We are deeply grateful for the partnership we have built with U.S. Attorney Kenneth Parker. His unwavering commitment to justice and support for the families of murdered children in Columbus, Ohio has been invaluable. Together, we have worked tirelessly to advocate for change and healing in our community. While we will miss his leadership, we are inspired to continue this vital mission in his honor," said Malissa Thomas-St.Clair, Founder and CEO of Mothers of Murdered Columbus Children.

Mitch Morris, Cincinnati Works Outreach & Mentoring Coordinator, stated: “U.S. Attorney Parker has contributed countless hours to Save Our Youth Kings & Queens, a nonprofit I created to show youth positive lifestyles and ultimately prevent gun violence. Attorney Parker has been a driving force in multiple ways, including conducting classroom visits, speaking to young people about gun and drug laws, and keeping our communities safe. He’s a regular presence at community events that support youth as well as adults, and his being there puts a human face on the legal system and provides a model of achievement that young people can strive for.

“U.S. Attorney Parker is a highly approachable, stellar community member. He does not shy away when there are shootings and homicides, and he also works to educate people before the crisis happens. As someone who has worked closely with U.S. Attorney Parker, I can say that his impact on Save Our Youth’s mission is meaningful now and will be truly measurable as young people grow into adulthood and follow his example.”

“Ken Parker is one of the most thoroughly decent and kind individuals with whom I have ever had the pleasure of knowing,” said Jefferson County Prosecutor Jane Hanlin. “His commitment to fostering solid and meaningful relationships between federal, state, and local law enforcement is unparalleled. He is warm, intelligent and insightful and we can only hope that all of our public servants possess the integrity that Ken demonstrates every day.  He will be missed and we are lucky to have had him.”

“I have had the honor of knowing U.S Attorney Ken Parker from the time I took office as Butler County Prosecutor many years ago. He has dedicated himself and his office to the principle we share that justice always comes first in law enforcement, the courts and life itself. With his base in Cincinnati, the public will understand when I say he has never hit a foul ball, and he will be missed. Our shared profession is indebted to Ken for his leadership and consistent application of the law in his trust and I thank him for all he has accomplished,” stated Mike Gmoser, Butler County, Ohio Prosecuting Attorney.

# # #

CINCINNATI – Flighttime Enterprises, Inc., an American subsidiary of a Russian aircraft parts supplier, along with three of its current and former employees, have been charged federally with crimes related to a scheme to illegally export aircraft parts and components from the United States to Russia and Russian airline companies without the required licenses from the Department of Commerce.  

“We will not tolerate export violations or smuggling of items contrary to U.S. laws to any part of the world, Russia included,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “These illicit activities are extremely harmful to our country, regardless of the item that is smuggled.  I am confident in the prosecution bringing accountability to the individuals named in the indictment on behalf of the people of the Southern District of Ohio – but even greater, on behalf of our nation.”

The three individuals charged include Daniela Friery, 43, a naturalized U.S. citizen residing in Loveland, Ohio; Pavil Iglin, 46, a citizen of Russia who currently resides in Florida pursuant to a non-immigrant visa; and Marat Aysin, 39, a legal permanent resident of the United States who currently resides in Florida.

According to the 11-count indictment unsealed today, the three defendants worked for Flighttime Enterprises, Inc., an aircraft equipment supplier with office locations near West Chester, Ohio, and Miami, Florida.

As alleged in the indictment, following Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Flighttime and the individual defendants knowingly and willfully violated and evaded export restrictions imposed on Russia to ship aviation parts to Russia and Russian end users, including airlines subject to Department of Commerce Temporary Denial Orders, by mislabeling shipments, providing false certifications, and using intermediary companies and countries to obscure the true end destination and end users. The indictment details four specific export transactions totaling more than $2 million.

For example, in June 2022, Flighttime employees allegedly negotiated the purchase of an auxiliary power unit from an American supplier for $395,000. The U.S. supplier initially expressed hesitation about the transaction due to the company’s connections to Russia. In connection with the purchase, Aysin falsely told the American supplier that the part would be used to replenish stock in West Chester. Through Aysin, Iglin allegedly signed and dated a Russia end-user certificate with the supplier falsely certifying that the part would not be exported to Russia. The part was thereafter illegally exported to Russia for a Russian aviation company without the required license.

The company and three defendants are each charged with one count of conspiring to violate the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA), and multiple counts of violating the ECRA, which are federal crimes punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

They are also charged with conspiracy to commit smuggling, which carries a potential penalty of up to five years in prison, and multiple counts of smuggling, which carry potential penalties of up to 10 years in prison.

Finally, they are each charged with one count of conspiring to launder monetary instruments, a federal crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Sue Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division; Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and Jeffrey Levine, Special Agent in Charge, Washington Field Office, Office of Export Enforcement (BIS) announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy S. Mangan is representing the United States in this case, along with Trial Attorneys Maria Fedor and Menno Goedman from the Department of Justice’s National Security Division Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

# # #

Flighttime Enterprises Inc., an American subsidiary of a Russian aircraft parts supplier, along with three of its current and former employees, have been charged federally with crimes related to a scheme to illegally export aircraft parts and components from the United States to Russia and Russian airline companies without the required licenses from the Department of Commerce.

The three individuals charged include Daniela Friery, 43, a naturalized U.S. citizen residing in Loveland, Ohio; Pavil Iglin, 46, a citizen of Russia who currently resides in Florida pursuant to a non-immigrant visa; and Marat Aysin, 39, a legal permanent resident of the United States who currently resides in Florida.

According to the 11-count indictment unsealed today, the three defendants worked for Flighttime Enterprises Inc., an aircraft equipment supplier with office locations near West Chester, Ohio, and Miami.

As alleged in the indictment, following Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Flighttime and the individual defendants knowingly and willfully violated and evaded the export restrictions imposed on Russia to ship aviation parts to Russia and Russian end users, including airlines subject to Department of Commerce Temporary Denial Orders, by mislabeling shipments, providing false certifications, and using intermediary companies and countries to obscure the true end destination and end users. The indictment details four specific export transactions totaling more than $2 million.

For example, in June 2022, Flighttime employees allegedly negotiated the purchase of an auxiliary power unit from an American supplier for $395,000. The U.S. supplier initially expressed hesitation about the transaction due to the company’s connections to Russia. In connection with the purchase, Aysin falsely told the American supplier that the part would be used to replenish stock in West Chester. Through Aysin, Iglin allegedly signed and dated a Russia end-user certificate with the supplier falsely certifying that the part would not be exported to Russia. The part was thereafter illegally exported to Russia for a Russian aviation company without the required license.

The company and three defendants are each charged with one count of conspiring to violate the Export Control Reform Act (ECRA), and multiple counts of violating the ECRA, which are federal crimes punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

They are also charged with conspiracy to commit smuggling, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, and multiple counts of smuggling, which carry maximum penalties of 10 years in prison. Finally, they are each charged with one count of conspiring to launder monetary instruments, a federal crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Sue J. Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division; U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker for the Southern District of Ohio; Special Agent in Charge Elena Iatarola of the FBI Cincinnati Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Levine of the Office of Export Enforcement, Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) announced the case.

The FBI and BIS are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy S. Mangan for the Southern District of Ohio is prosecuting the case with assistance from Trial Attorneys Maria Fedor and Menno Goedman of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.

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

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Fayette County man was charged with illegally reentering the United States after being convicted of an aggravated felony.

Pedro Marquez, 34, of Bloomingburg, Ohio, was arrested by federal agents today.

According to court documents, Marquez is from Mexico and was originally removed from the United States in 2009.

In 2011, Marquez was convicted of participating in a drug trafficking conspiracy and illegally reentering the United States and was sentenced to federal prison. Marquez had conspired with others in the Eastern District of Oklahoma to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Marquez transported, delivered and distributed the drugs on behalf of the conspiracy.

He was removed from the United States again in 2016 following his term of imprisonment.

Illegally reentering the United States after being convicted of an aggravated felony crime is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and subsequent deportation.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Angie M. Salazar, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit, announced the arrest. Assistant United States Attorney David J. Twombly is representing the United States in this case.

A criminal complaint merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A registered sex offender pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court here today to sexually exploiting a minor and possessing child pornography. 

Brian J. Roberts, 44, of Washington Court House, admitted to sharing child pornography of infants and toddlers and sexually abusing a young boy.

According to court documents, federal agents began investigating Roberts as a result of his activity across various dark web sites dedicated to the sexual abuse of children.

Roberts sexually exploited an approximately 3-year-old boy he had access to from November 2022 until August 2023 and uploaded videos and photos of the abuse. For example, one video titled Preview.mp4 showed more than three minutes of Roberts sexually abusing the child and ended with the words “NEXT TIME…POTTY FUN!”

The defendant uploaded 195 images to one dark web site, more than 100 of which focused on child sexual abuse of babies and toddlers as young as three weeks old.

Roberts was a twice-convicted sex offender at the time of his online conduct. He has prior convictions in Madison and Clark counties and, at the time of his arrest, had an active warrant in Highland County for telecommunications harassment toward a family member of the 3-year-old boy based on his alleged attempts to contact the child.

Sexually exploiting a minor is a federal crime punishable by 15 to 30 years in prison and possessing child pornography carries a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison. If the Court finds that Roberts’s prior conviction qualifies as a predicate offense, he will face 25 to 50 years in prison and 10 to 20 years in prison respectively.

Congress sets minimum and maximum statutory sentences and sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors at a future hearing.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Angie M. Salazar, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Detroit, announced the guilty plea entered today before Chief U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison. Assistant United States Attorney Emily Czerniejewski is representing the United States in this case.

# # #

CINCINNATI – Kipterrez James, 44, of Cincinnati, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 13 months in prison for COVID-19 pandemic relief fraud.

According to court documents, in 2021, James applied for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan claiming that he had been running a taxi/rideshare business called “Kip James.”

In reality, he was at a halfway house in Cincinnati and had just been released following a 92-month federal prison sentence for illegally possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon. James listed the halfway house address as his address on the application.

The defendant claimed on his loan application that his business had approximately $99,000 in gross income in 2019, when he was actually still incarcerated. In support of his loan, James submitted a forged bank statement.

James received nearly $21,000 and spent the money at restaurants, shopping at clothing, shoe and liquor stores, and on a trip to Las Vegas.

As part of his sentence, he is ordered to pay back the $20,725 in restitution.

James pleaded guilty in September 2024 to making false statements to the federal government.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Angie M. Salazar, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit, announced the sentence imposed yesterday by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Michael R. Barrett. Special Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Landry is representing the United States in this case.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A former fire department administrator and police officer was sentenced in federal court here to 18 months in prison for starting dozens of arson fires in Wayne National Forest.

James A. Bartels, 52, of Rio Grande, Ohio, started 26 fires in the national forest in 2022, creating a substantial risk of death or significant injury to the public, as well as to firefighters from federal, state and local governments who were summoned to extinguish the fires.

In total, more than 100 firefighters from several states responded to the fires. Approximately 1,300 acres of federal and state land were burned, and the U.S. Forest Service incurred more than $638,000 in resulting expenditures.

At the time, Bartels was an administrator at the Greenfield Township Volunteer Fire Department. He also served as a police officer at various law enforcement agencies in Ohio and a 911 dispatcher for Gallia County.

According to court documents, Ohio Department of Natural Resources law enforcement officers observed a truck registered to Bartels near Wayne National Forest on Oct. 29, 2022. Within an hour, a fire was reported in the forest near where Bartels had been.

In the days after Bartels’s Nov. 8, 2022, resignation from working as a 911 dispatcher for Gallia County, at least 17 fires were lit.

Bartels was seen at two separate locations in the vicinity of multiple fire starts within minutes of their ignition. His truck’s infotainment system data also placed him at the locations of the fires.

Bartels admitted to starting the fires with a lighter to “give the boys something to do” and to distract himself from his depression.

The defendant was arrested in December 2022 and pleaded guilty in September 2023.  As part of his sentence, Bartels was ordered to pay $638,000 in restitution and register through the Ohio Arson Registry. 

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and the U.S. Forest Service announced the sentence imposed on Feb. 7 by U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley. Deputy Criminal Chief Brian J. Martinez represented the United States at sentencing.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal jury has convicted two local men for their roles in a narcotics distribution ring involving bulk amounts of fentanyl, crack cocaine, cocaine, methamphetamine & other narcotics. As part of this case, the government has seized more than $1.7 million, 50 firearms, and nine vehicles, including a motorcycle. One of the defendants convicted at trial also sex-trafficked at least three adult victims.

The jury found David Price, 56, of Columbus, guilty on all counts, and Tavaryyuan Johnson, 25, of Columbus, guilty on drug trafficking counts.

The verdict was announced on Feb. 5 following a trial that began on January 13, 2025 before U.S. District Judge Edmund A. Sargus, Jr.

A multi-agency law enforcement task force initially announced the case in July 2022 after a federal grand jury initially indicted 11 defendants for distributing bulk amounts of fentanyl, cocaine, and crack cocaine in central Ohio within 1,000 feet of a Columbus elementary school.

A superseding indictment returned in October 2022 charged additional co-conspirators with distributing those same drugs in addition to methamphetamine, heroin, marijuana, Xanax and Oxycodone.

Price, who is also known as “DP,” was charged in a third superseding indictment in December 2024 with 11 drug, firearm and sex trafficking crimes. He faces a minimum of 25 years and up to life in prison.

Johnson is also known as “Gucci” and “TJ,” and was also charged in a third superseding indictment in December 2024. He was convicted of four drug offenses, including using a family residence in Columbus as his stash house for bulk amounts of narcotics. Johnson faces a minimum of 10 years and up to life in prison.

According to court documents and trial testimony, the two men were part of a conspiracy to distribute and possess to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, five kilograms or more of cocaine, 280 grams or more of “crack” cocaine and 100 grams or more of heroin, as well as marijuana, oxycodone and alprazolam. The drug trafficking organization operated from January 2008 until it was dismantled by law enforcement in 2022.

Drug offenses took place at residences on Burgess and Harris avenues, which are within 1,000 feet of Burroughs Elementary School.

In July 2021, Price distributed fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine that resulted in the overdose death of an adult female.  The testimony at trial indicated he purposefully killed her to get rid of her as she was talking to the police about his drug business.

The government also proved beyond a reasonable doubt at trial that Price conspired to commit sex trafficking. From 2016 until 2022, Price and other members of the conspiracy would force and/or coerce adult female drug addicts into performing commercial sex acts by providing, withholding, or threatening to withhold controlled substances and lodging. Law enforcement’s investigation showed that various women engaged in a “rinse and repeat” cycle where they would be allowed to stay at a drug residence associated with Price, receive a front of drugs so they were not in active drug withdrawal, go to Sullivant Avenue, have sex for money, pay the debt from the front drugs, and then be allowed to remain at the house.

Price was also found guilty of three counts of sex trafficking related to his violence and coercion towards three adult females.  The testimony at trial indicated that he would lock the females inside his residence for days or weeks at a time and refuse to let them leave, forcing them to engage in sex acts.  One victim was locked in a dog cage, shot and stabbed by Price. Another was restrained.  A third was beaten and choked and left with a black eye. Price would refuse to provide them drugs unless or until they engaged in the sex acts, forcing them into withdrawal if they did not comply.

U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker commended the investigation coordinated by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission task force, which includes Columbus Division of Police Chief Elaine Bryant; Angie M. Salazar, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit; and Andrew Lawton, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Other agencies that have assisted the task force with the investigation include the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, HIDTA Task Force, IRS-Criminal Investigation, FBI, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI), Ohio National Guard Counter Drug Task Force, Pickerington Police Department, New Albany Police Department, and the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office SWAT Team.

Assistant United States Attorneys Timothy Prichard and Emily Czerniejewski are representing the United States in this case.

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

# # #

CINCINNATI – The leader of a drug trafficking organization was sentenced in federal court here to 324 months in prison. He is one of 16 individuals convicted in a narcotics and firearms conspiracies case. 

Ryan Haskamp, 36, of Cincinnati, pleaded guilty in September 2024 to conspiring to distribute controlled substances, conspiring to possess firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes and possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes.

A federal grand jury indicted all 16 defendants in July 2021, charging the defendants in a firearms conspiracy and in a narcotics conspiracy involving 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and cocaine and 10 grams or more of LSD, as well as detectable amounts of MDMA, DMT, marijuana and ketamine.

In total, as part of this case, law enforcement seized 11 firearms and more than one kilogram of methamphetamine, more than 200 pounds of DMT, more than five kilograms of marijuana, more than 15 kilograms of hashish and hashish oil, more than one kilogram of MDMA, more than 19,000 dose units of LSD, fentanyl, cocaine, and other synthetic and counterfeit drugs.

The case originated with two individuals involved in an Aug. 7, 2020, police chase through Cincinnati that resulted in the deaths of two bystanders in Newport, Kentucky. Mason Meyer, 32, and Kirsten Johnson, 26, both of Cincinnati, were charged federally in August 2020. Ongoing investigation led to the additional 14 defendants and charges.

According to court documents, officials with the ATF, Cincinnati Police and the Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force were surveilling Meyer in Cincinnati on Aug. 7, 2020, when Meyer drove away. Cincinnati Police officers attempted to stop Meyer when he fled, causing a police chase through Cincinnati and into Covington and Newport, Kentucky.

Local court documents detail that Meyer’s vehicle struck and killed a couple dining on the patio of Press on Monmouth in Newport, Kentucky. Two other pedestrians were struck and suffered minor injuries.

At the time of the chase, Meyer and Johnson possessed 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, two loaded handguns and a loaded rifle.

Additional investigation tied Meyer and Johnson to Haskamp’s drug trafficking organization. Haskamp was Meyer’s source of supply of methamphetamine. Haskamp used at least five Cincinnati residences as stash houses to store and sell drugs. He also had others rent Airbnb locations and hotel rooms to further his drug trafficking. Haskamp had packages of drugs delivered to the Airbnb rental properties. Haskamp supplied drugs for redistribution in Cincinnati and Dayton via numerous co-defendants.

Others convicted in this case include:

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Andrew Lawton, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa A. Theetge and agencies with the Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force and Drug Abuse Reduction Task Force (DART) announced the sentence imposed on Feb. 6 by U.S. District Judge Jeffery P. Hopkins. Assistant United States Attorney Ashley N. Brucato is representing the United States in this case.

# # #

CINCINNATI – Two local men pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to stealing USPS arrow keys during armed robberies of postal carriers.

Antonio Toombs, 21, and Lorenzo Brandon, 22, participated in two separate armed robberies on the same day.

Toombs and Brandon each pleaded guilty to two counts of stealing mail or property of the United States Postal Service, a crime punishable by up to 25 years in prison.

According to their plea agreements, on Oct. 21, 2023, Toombs, Brandon and a juvenile participated in the assaults and armed robberies of two postal carriers. At approximately 12:40pm, they assaulted the first victim near Hanna Avenue in Cincinnati and stole the postal carrier’s arrow key. Later that day, around 3:40pm, they did the same against a second victim near Harry Lee Lane in Cincinnati.

Congress sets the maximum statutory sentence. Sentencing of the defendants is determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors and will be imposed at future hearings.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Lesley Allison, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Pittsburgh Division, announced the guilty pleas entered before U.S. District Court Judge Jeffery P. Hopkins. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy S. Mangan is representing the United States in this case.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – An Arizona fentanyl supplier who mailed drugs to Ohio was sentenced in U.S. District Court here today to 120 months in prison.

Court documents say Jose Ruben Leyva, 46, of Phoenix, used the U.S. Postal Service to mail at least seven parcels containing controlled substances to drug traffickers in Columbus, including Ontario M. Yarbrough, 26, of Columbus.

From April until October 2023, Leyva mailed narcotics to central Ohio. Two parcels intercepted on Oct. 11 and Oct. 12 each contained between 499 and 500 grams of fentanyl.

Yarbrough operated a drug house in the city’s Hilltop area. During the same sixth month period, Yarbrough received and accepted five packages and tracked at least 13 packages from Arizona to the Columbus area. Yarbrough accepted the parcels at various locations in the city.

Investigators executed a search warrant at Yarbrough’s house after he received one of the packages. They found that the package contained almost 500 grams of fentanyl. They also seized ten other bags of white powder, two firearms and ammunition, cash and drug trafficking material from the house.

A search warrant executed days later at Leyva’s Arizona house recovered pills and powder containing fentanyl, two firearms, packaging and mailing materials, other drug paraphernalia and cash.

The defendants pleaded guilty in June and July 2024. Yarbrough was sentenced in November 2024 to 135 months in prison.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Lesley Allison, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Pittsburgh Division, and officials with the Ohio HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Sarah D. Morrison. Assistant United States Attorney Damoun Delaviz is representing the United States in this case.

# # #

CINCINNATI – A federal grand jury in Cincinnati has charged defendants believed to be operating as part of a South American Theft Group with transporting stolen goods interstate and falsifying records in a federal investigation. The three men allegedly committed the Dec. 9, 2024, burglary at the home of a local NFL player.

A federal complaint was filed on Feb. 3 and the indictment was returned today, charging Jordan Francisco Quiroga Sanchez, 22, Bastian Alejandro Orellana Morales, 23, and Sergio Andres Ortega Cabello, 38, all of Chile.

“Our investigation remains ongoing as these individuals seem to be the alleged tip of the iceberg of South American Theft Groups committing crimes throughout our district and elsewhere,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “We owe it to the victims, whether they are or are not professional athletes, to follow the evidence into these alleged criminal networks and hold the law-breakers accountable. I cannot thank our law enforcement partners enough for their commitment to working together to track down these perpetrators. Today is a day that law enforcement scored and spiked the ball.”

“South American Theft Groups have been a major concern in the Cincinnati area,” said FBI Cincinnati Special Agent in Charge Elena Iatarola. “We appreciate the partnerships of all the agencies involved in the Southwest Ohio South American Theft Group Task Force for their hard work on this investigation.”

“The Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission was created for – and excels at – these types of complex, multi-jurisdictional cases,” Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said. “I’m proud of the work done so far, and look forward to more results as our task force continues its work.” 

According to charging documents, law enforcement responded to the NFL player’s home around 8:14pm on Dec. 9, 2024, in reference to a reported burglary. An associate of the homeowner had been dropped off at the residence shortly after 8pm and discovered rooms were unusually messy and a primary bedroom window on the back side of the home had been broken.

It is believed the burglary likely occurred between 6pm and 8pm. The homeowner was away from his residence playing in an NFL game in Dallas. During a security detail shift change at the home at approximately 6pm, security personnel walked the perimeter of the house and no windows appeared to be broken at that time.

Continued investigation at the Cincinnati home led investigators to discover a trail camera image of a man carrying luggage and walking through the wooded area behind the home.

Law enforcement tracked the subjects in various states following the burglary, and subsequently located the vehicle at the La Quinta hotel on University Boulevard in Fairborn. The Ohio State Highway Patrol later stopped the vehicle for a traffic violation.

Phone analysis shows Cabello allegedly deleted photographs of the stolen goods and the back of the victim’s home during the traffic stop with the Ohio State Highway Patrol, thus falsifying records in a federal investigation. Additional cell phone analysis revealed other photos of the defendants in southeast Florida days after the burglary with luxury luggage and wearing the stolen jewelry.

Also in the car with the defendants were punch tools to break glass, as well as an old Louisiana State University shirt and a Cincinnati Bengals hat believed to be taken from the victim’s home.

The men were taken into local custody at the time of the traffic stop.

Interstate transportation of stolen property is a federal crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison. Falsification of records in a federal investigation carries a potential penalty of up to 20 years in prison. The three men were previously charged locally and those state charges remain pending.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission’s Southwest Ohio Burglary Task Force; Hamilton County Sheriff Charmaine McGuffey; Ohio State Highway Patrol Superintendent Col. Charles A. Jones; Clark County Sheriff Christopher D. Clark; and Angie M. Salazar, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Detroit; announced the charges.

Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Springer is representing the United States in this case.

Charging documents merely contain allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

# # #

CINCINNATI – Maurice B. Stewart, 41, of Cincinnati, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 180 months in prison for distributing fentanyl, as a result of a joint investigation by Mason Police Department and the Heroin Coalition Task Force. 

According to court documents, Stewart, who is also known as “Reese” and “Suave, worked as a chef in various restaurants in and around Cincinnati. He used his employment to gain customers to buy blue purported “Percocet” pills from him. He’d often sell the blue pills to his coworkers while at work or to other customers directly outside the restaurant.

On Sept. 18, 2022, Stewart agreed to sell three pills to a customer for $60. They agreed to meet at the Westin Hotel in downtown Cincinnati. The customer’s mother discovered him unresponsive on their bathroom floor at 3:30am. First responders pronounced him dead at the scene and discovered one of the three blue pills. The victim’s toxicology report tested positive for fentanyl, and the coroner determined the cause of death was due to a fatal fentanyl overdose.

Stewart was indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2023 and pled guilty in July 2024.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Andrew Lawton, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Detroit; and Officials with the Mason Police Department and the Heroin Coalition Task Force announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Matthew W. McFarland. Assistant United States Attorneys David P. Dornette and Timothy D. Oakley are representing the United States in this case.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, and gangs that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

# # #

CINCINNATI – A jury found a local man guilty on all counts for crimes related to two murders in Cincinnati during the summer of 2021. 

Jamal Binford, 33, of Dallas and Cincinnati, was convicted of five counts as charged in a second superseding indictment. The verdict was announced yesterday afternoon following a trial that began on Jan. 15 before Senior U.S. District Judge Michael R. Barrett.

According to court documents and trial testimony, Binford purported to manage two co-defendants as boxers, presenting himself as a boxing manager helping young men he wanted to help off the streets. Instead, he directed them to sell fentanyl and marijuana and, after assisting the coconspirators following one murder, he directed a second murder.

Co-defendants Antwan Coach, Jr., 22, of Cincinnati, and Markel Hardy, 23, of Cincinnati, robbed and murdered Kamar Williams on July 5, 2021, in North College Hill. It is alleged Coach and Hardy robbed Mr. Williams of marijuana and a firearm and shot him to death.

In August 2021, all three defendants conspired to murder a second victim, Deonte Nuckols, in St. Bernard in connection with a narcotics conspiracy involving 400 grams or more of fentanyl and five kilograms or more of cocaine.

As the government outlined at trial, Binford paid the two other men to kill Mr. Nuckols, who had had been texting Binford that day about Binford paying a drug debt.

Binford was arrested in February 2023 at the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.

The narcotics conspiracy in this case includes 400 grams or more of fentanyl, five kilograms or more of cocaine, and 100 kilograms or more of marijuana.

Binford faces a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 20 years and up to life in prison for participating in the narcotics conspiracy, being an accessory after the fact, murder in connection with the drug trafficking conspiracy, use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and use of a firearm to commit murder.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF); Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa A. Theetge; North College Hill Police Chief Ryan Schrand; and St. Bernard Police Chief Michael Simos announced the verdicts. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs of the Department’s Criminal Division also aided during the investigation.

Assistant United States Attorneys Ashley N. Brucato and OCDETF Deputy Criminal Chief Frederic C. Shadley represented the United States in this case.

# # #

CINCINNATI – Joshua M. Riley, 46, of Hamilton, Ohio, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 180 months in prison for narcotics and firearms crimes.

According to court documents, Riley was having bulk amounts of narcotics mailed to his home on Symmes Avenue in Hamilton through the United States Postal Service. In November 2022, law enforcement intercepted a package in route to Riley’s residence that included fictitious sender and recipient names. The package contained more than two kilograms of methamphetamine.

When agents later executed a search warrant at Riley’s residence, they discovered approximately 1,000 fentanyl pills, 40 pounds of marijuana, cocaine, drug trafficking paraphernalia, high-end jewelry and $18,500 in cash.  Riley also illegally possessed at least 15 firearms, firearm magazines, and ammunition. Four of those firearms were later found to have been previously reported as stolen, and a fifth had an obliterated/filed off serial number. The other firearms included an Akdal Arms, 12 gauge semi-automatic shotgun and a Hi-Point nine millimeter high-powered rifle.

In July 2024, Riley pleaded guilty to possessing with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and 40 grams or more of fentanyl, as well as cocaine and marijuana. He also admitted to illegally possessing a firearm as a previously convicted felon.

While detained during this case, Riley was repeatedly caught smuggling drugs – namely, dozens of suboxone strips and amphetamines – into the Butler County Jail.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Lesley Allison, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Pittsburgh Division; and Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Jeffery P. Hopkins. Assistant United States Attorneys David P. Dornette and Timothy D. Oakley represented the United States in this case.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, and gangs that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Columbus man was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 204 months in prison for four armed robberies of Postal carriers. 

Thierno S. Bah, 22, of Columbus, used firearms and robbed postal carriers of their U.S. Postal Service keys on four occasions between December 2022 and May 2023. He was arrested in August 2023.

“Seventeen years in federal prison is a serious consequence in line with the seriousness of this type of violent crime. We have held numerous individuals accountable in the Southern District of Ohio in recent years for their crimes against United States Postal Service carriers who are simply doing their jobs. As a result of our focused efforts and the vigorous investigations by our federal law enforcement partners, we’ve seen a decrease in new assaults,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker.

Bah, who is also known as “Wopo” and “Wopoonese,” worked with others to steal service keys, which are then used to steal mail from USPS receptacles (a process known as “fishing”). Individuals then “cook” the mail by washing personal and business checks and other financial instruments to reflect new payees and new payment amounts. Bah and others would then recruit third parties to deposit the newly washed checks in their own accounts and split the profit.       

The thefts occurred in Central Ohio on:

• Dec. 29, 2022
• Jan. 3, 2023 (two separate robberies on this date)
• May 11, 2023

Bah pleaded guilty in November 2023 and admitted to using a handgun to rob a postal carrier in German Village on Dec. 29, 2022. Bah pointed the handgun at the victim’s stomach and demanded his vehicle and service keys.

On Jan. 3, 2023, Bah pushed a postal carrier into her mail truck while she was sorting mail in the back of the truck on East Columbus Street. He then pushed a gun into the victim’s side before stealing her keys.

Later that day, Bah committed another armed postal robbery, this time in Whitehall. Bah approached the victim and pushed the handgun into her stomach before stealing her personal car keys and the USPS service keys.

On May 11, 2023, Bah robbed a Postal worker at the Post Office Retail Store on West Broad Street. Bah approached the victim while she was outside on a break. Bah asked the victim for her keys, and when she asked, “What keys?” he pistol-whipped her in the head with his handgun. Bah forcibly accompanied the victim into the post office to retrieve her service keys.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; Lesley Allison, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS); Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant; Westerville Police Chief Charles Chandler; and Whitehall Police Chief Mike Crispen announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley. Assistant United States Attorney Noah R. Litton is representing the United States in this case.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A previously convicted sex offender was arrested and charged federally with illegally reentering the United States.

Carlos Gonzales Hernandez, 55, of El Salvador, is scheduled to appear in federal court in Columbus today.

According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, in August 2017, Gonzales Hernandez was convicted in Franklin County for three felony counts of gross sexual imposition and sentenced to six years in prison.

In September 2022, Gonzales Hernandez was physically removed based on a final immigration order.

On Jan. 2, Madison County sheriff’s deputies conducted a traffic stop on Gonzales Hernandez for traffic violations and he was subsequently arrested and placed in the Tri-County Regional Jail in Mechanicsburg. Gonzales Hernandez was then taken into federal custody and charged with illegally reentering the United States, a crime punishable by up to 10 years in prison. If his prior conviction is determined to be an aggravated felony, the penalty could increase to up to 20 years in prison.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; and Robert Lynch, Field Office Director, ERO Detroit Field Office; announced the charge. Assistant United States Attorney Sheila G. Lafferty is representing the United States in this case.

A criminal complaint merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

# # #

CINCINNATI – A woman who formerly resided in Cincinnati was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 24 months in prison for crimes related to pandemic relief fraud.

Lashawnda Alexander, 40, currently of Katy, Texas, was convicted of three counts of wire fraud following a jury trial in August 2024.

According to court documents and trial testimony, in June 2020, Alexander submitted several fraudulent COVID-19 relief loan applications.

Specifically, on June 23, 2020, Alexander applied for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) for business “Lashawnda Alexander.” Alexander stated in the application that the business employed 10 employees and had $125,000 in gross revenue in the year prior to January 31, 2020.  Minutes later using the same device another application was submitted in the name of a family member claiming that the business employed 10 employees and had $120,000 in gross revenue.

The next day, on June 24, 2020, Alexander applied for an EIDL for business “TressD LLC,” a hair and nail salon that she said employed 15 employees and made gross revenue of $175,000 during the prior year.

In total, Alexander attempted to obtain at least $137,500 and ultimately received $91,000 in EIDL funds, including $20,000 in grants. On June 25, 2020, Alexander electronically signed an EIDL loan authorization and agreement for business TressD LLC certifying that the representations made in the loan application were true, correct and complete. Alexander’s applications, however, contradicted her 2019 tax return. 

In the following months, Alexander bought a Mercedes Benz SUV and moved to Texas all while continuing to collect pandemic unemployment assistance from the Ohio Department of Job & Family Services.

Alexander was indicted by a federal grand jury in July 2022.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Yvonne Dicristoforo, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service, announced the sentence imposed on Jan. 28 by U.S. District Judge Matthew W. McFarland. Assistant United States Attorneys Ebunoluwa A. Taiwo and Anthony Springer represented the United States in this case. The case was investigated by members of the Financial Crimes Working Group Pandemic Fraud Committee.

# # #

CINCINNATI – A New Jersey man pleaded guilty in federal court in Cincinnati today to conspiracy related to his involvement with online groups dedicated to creating and distributing “animal crush” videos depicting acts of extreme violence and sexual abuse against monkeys.

According to court documents, Giancarlo Morelli, of Wharton, conspired with others to create and distribute videos depicting acts of sadistic violence against baby and adult monkeys. The conspirators used encrypted chat applications to direct money to individuals in Indonesia willing to commit the requested acts of torture on camera. 

According to a statement of facts signed by Morelli, the videos in question included depictions of monkeys having their genitals burned and cut off.

U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker for the Southern District of Ohio made today’s announcement.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and FBI investigated the case.

Senior Trial Attorney Adam C. Cullman of the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Oakley for the Southern District of Ohio are prosecuting the case.

# # #

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Adrian McKinney, 29, of Columbus, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 84 months in prison for illegally possessing a firearm and narcotics near a local school.

According to court documents, in March 2024, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at McKinney’s apartment in the Wedgewood Village Apartment Complex, which is within 1,000 feet of Wedgewood Middle School.

The Hilltop apartment complex has 700 units and is near multiple schools. This case was investigated by the Wedgewood Enforcement Team, which was developed by the Columbus Division of Police beginning in October 2023 and is dedicated to addressing the consistently high crime level at the apartment complex.

While searching McKinney’s apartment, officers located a loaded multi-caliber firearm, fentanyl and cocaine. As a previously convicted felon, McKinney is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition. McKinney has been convicted of various state narcotics crimes in the past and was under court supervision when he committed these latest offenses.

McKinney pleaded guilty in August 2024 to possessing with intent to distribute cocaine near a school, illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF); and Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Watson. Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer M. Rausch is representing the United States in this case.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A Columbus man was arrested in conjunction with the unsealing of a grand jury indictment charging him with illegally possessing dogs for fighting purposes, possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute and illegally possessing a firearm subsequent to a felony conviction.

Joel Brown, 37, was arrested yesterday and appeared in federal court in Columbus.

According to the 13-count indictment, Brown was keeping 11 pit bull-type dogs for fighting purposes in Franklin County. The dogs were rescued by Columbus Humane, which worked in conjunction with the Columbus Division of Police. Authorities also recovered tools and supplies commonly used in the training and keeping of dogs for fighting.

The defendant also allegedly possessed a shotgun and various types of ammunition, as well as at least 50 grams of methamphetamine.

The indictment was returned in December and unsealed following Brown’s arrest.

If convicted, Brown faces a maximum penalty of up to 40 years in prison on the drug charge and a maximum of 15 years in prison on the firearms charge. He also faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison per count on each of the 11 animal fighting charges. Under federal law, it is illegal to possess, train, transport, deliver, receive, buy or sell animals intended for use in an animal fighting venture.

Assistant United States Attorneys Nicole Pakiz and Kevin W. Kelley and Senior Trial Attorney Adam Cullman of the Department of Justice’s Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crimes Section are representing the United States in this case. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and Columbus Humane are investigating the case.

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

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – A former Columbus police officer offered a guilty plea in federal court here today for destroying or altering records related to a criminal investigation.

Nicholas P. Duty, 35, of Commercial Point, Ohio, admitted to two counts of the crime. The plea agreement includes a sentencing recommendation of 18 to 48 months in prison.

According to court documents, on two occasions, Duty destroyed, altered or falsified records by purposefully deactivating or removing his police body worn camera. Duty’s actions were intended to impede, obstruct or influence a federal investigation.

In February 2024, Columbus police officers were working street-level prostitution crimes in the area of Sullivant Avenue on the west side of Columbus when a witness expressed concerns about Duty’s on-duty activities. Duty was positively identified during the administration of a blind photo array.

Further investigation revealed that, on Oct. 31, 2023, and March 22, 2024, Duty deactivated or removed his body worn camera during interactions with two women, including during a sexual encounter.

During the incidents, Duty was on duty, wearing a police uniform, in a marked police vehicle and assigned a body worn camera. He knew he was required to comply with Columbus Division of Police policies for wearing the division-issued camera.

On Halloween 2023, the first woman had called Columbus police and asked for assistance, stating her boyfriend was attempting to kill himself. Duty transported the woman following the call and disabled his body worn and in-car cameras. Duty and the woman exchanged phone numbers and Duty reached out to her, including in April 2024 a few days before his arrest.

On March 22, 2024, video footage shows Duty speaking with the second woman near the Sunoco station at Sullivant and Clarendon avenues. The woman confirmed that Duty had money with him and asked if he wanted to go to their “normal spot.” Duty drove away in his police vehicle, relocated to a different alley, and met up with the woman. Duty removed his body worn camera and blocked it from recording video. The camera, however, still recorded audio from the incident. The audio recording reveals Duty asking the woman several times to have sex. She declines but performs oral sex on Duty. The two discuss meeting up later for sex and Duty is reported to have paid the woman $20.

Duty was indicted by a federal grand jury in April 2024. He had been employed with the Columbus Division of Police since June 2018.

United States Attorney Kenneth L. Parker, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) Special Agent in Charge Daryl S. McCormick, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Angie M. Salazar, and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge Elena Iatarola announced the plea offered today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Norah McCann King.

Assistant United States Attorneys Emily Czerniejewski and Kevin W. Kelley are representing the United States in this case, which is being investigated by the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission’s Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force.

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CINCINNATI – Joseph Lentine III, 55, of Cincinnati, was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 63 months in prison for orchestrating a COVID-19 relief fraud scheme involving millions of dollars.

According to court documents, Lentine oversaw a fraud scheme in which he prepared and filed fraudulent loan applications and controlled a significant portion of the loan proceeds once obtained. He knowingly and intentionally made false statements to receive funds to which he and other applicants were not entitled. In addition to defrauding Small Business Administration loan programs, Lentine also fraudulently sought unemployment assistance and emergency rental assistance.

In total, Lentine submitted more than 20 loan applications seeking more than $3 million and obtaining $1.5 million.

The defendant personally received more than $450,000 in PPP loan proceeds related to this scheme and used the money to buy a yacht and a Mercedes Benz vehicle.

As part of his sentence, Lentine was ordered to pay $1.2 million in restitution to the Small Business Administration and nearly $33,000 to the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services.

Lentine pleaded guilty in April 2023 to conspiring to commit bank fraud and making a false statement on a loan or credit application.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the sentence imposed yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge Jeffery P. Hopkins. Assistant United States Attorney Ebunoluwa A. Taiwo is representing the United States in this case.

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DAYTON, Ohio – Neuro Stat Analytical Solutions, LLC (Neurostat), a Texas company that contracted with the United States Air Force to, among other things, develop and implement psychological assessments and occupational health stress screening tools, has agreed to pay $1.2 million to the United States to settle False Claims Act and related allegations.

The settlement resolves allegations that Neurostat paid more than $1 million between 2016 and 2021 to a federal employee for preferential treatment related to various federal contracts awarded to or performed by Neurostat.  As part of the settlement, Neurostat agrees to fully cooperate with the United States’ investigation of individuals not included in the settlement.

“This investigation and settlement show our continued commitment to protect taxpayers’ resources,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “We will continue to vigorously investigate and address allegations of fraud or inappropriate conflicts by those that seek or perform federal contracts.”

“Today’s announcement demonstrates our commitment to work with our partner agencies and the Department of Justice to pursue individuals and corporations that attempt to corrupt the Department of Defense (DoD) procurement system,” stated Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Hegarty of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the law enforcement arm of the DoD’s Office of Inspector General.  “Investigating schemes that undermine the integrity of the Defense Health Agency, which manages the healthcare program and hospitals for military members and their families, is a top priority for the Defense Criminal Investigative Service.”

“Department of the Air Force OSI is proud to partner with the US Attorney’s Office, DCIS, and Air Force Acquisition Fraud Counsel, to protect the integrity of defense contracting and America’s warfighter,” said William Rouse, Special Agent In Charge, OSI Procurement Fraud Det 4, WrightPatterson AFB. “We will continue to join together and hold those accountable who attempt to defraud the US government of the resources provided by American taxpayer.  

Assistant United States Attorney Matthew J. Horwitz represented the United States in this settlement. Air Force Material Command Law Office, Procurement Fraud Law Division attorneys Sarah Schild and Kate Rottmayer also helped pursue this matter.

The settlement agreement is neither an admission of liability by Neurostat nor a concession by the United States this its claims are not well founded.

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The final three of eight defendants in related cocaine conspiracy cases were sentenced in U.S. District Court throughout the last two weeks, including lead defendant Herminio Gonzalez-Quintana, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The drug trafficking organization shipped tens of kilograms of cocaine into Ohio from Puerto Rico. 

Gonzalez-Quintana and several coconspirators were indicted in November 2023 and charged with conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute bulk amounts of cocaine.

According to court documents, in 2021, the DEA began investigating the drug trafficking organization that was transporting large volumes of cocaine into the Southern District of Ohio. The defendants sourced cocaine in and through Puerto Rico and shipped the drugs in 2-to-3-kilogram increments through the United States Postal Service to the Columbus area, often to the addresses of friends and family members, using fictitious recipient names. Conspirators then received and redistributed the cocaine from central Ohio.

The drug trafficking organization was responsible for a steady stream of illicit drugs into Ohio and elsewhere. In total, law enforcement seized nearly 20 kilograms of cocaine that were tied to this drug trafficking organization.

The defendants and sentences imposed include:

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Andrew Lawton, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Detroit Division, announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Algenon L. Marbley. Assistant United States Attorneys S. Courter Shimeall and Jennifer M. Rausch represented the United States in this case.

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CINCINNATI – Two former FirstEnergy executives have been indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with one count of participating in a racketeering (RICO) conspiracy.

Charles E. Jones, 69, of Akron, and Michael Dowling, 60, of Massillon, will be scheduled to appear in federal court in Cincinnati today. The indictment was returned on Jan. 15 and unsealed this morning.

It is alleged that Jones and Dowling participated in an enterprise (FirstEnergy Corp. and its subsidiaries) through a pattern of racketeering activity – including bribery, money laundering and obstruction – to increase the company’s stock price and enrich themselves. Although the defendants helped pursue the legal interests of FirstEnergy, Jones and Dowling also corrupted FirstEnergy by allegedly abusing their positions of trust and engaging in criminal activities in pursuit of personal and commercial gain.

Jones served in senior executive positions for FirstEnergy, including as President and CEO, from approximately 2015 until his employment was terminated in 2020. During that time, Jones made approximately $65 million in compensation. Approximately $60 million of his earnings came from performance-based pay tied, in part, to FirstEnergy stock prices. Dowling served as Senior Vice President at the time of his termination in 2020. Part of his pay was also tied to company financial performance and growth.

The 42-page indictment details the ways in which Jones and Dowling allegedly acted in support of the RICO conspiracy, including schemes to bribe former Ohio House Representative Larry Householder and former PUCO Chairman Samuel Randazzo.

According to the indictment, between 2017 and March 2020, FirstEnergy paid more than $59 million to 501(c)(4) entity Generation Now, which Jones and Dowling knew was operated for the benefit of and controlled by Householder. The bribe money helped Householder gain the position of Speaker of the House and pass and uphold House Bill 6, a billion-dollar nuclear plant bailout to benefit FirstEnergy.

It is alleged Jones and Dowling used a different 501(c)(4) entity, Energy Pass-Through, to fund with FirstEnergy money and direct payments to Generation Now and other entities they believed were associated with public officials for FirstEnergy’s and the officials’ benefit. Dowling allegedly referred to the 501(c)(4) as a “political tool.”

The indictment also alleges that Jones and Dowling pushed for FirstEnergy-approved appointments to the state public utilities board, including Randazzo as PUCO Chairman. In January 2019, FirstEnergy allegedly paid Randazzo’s companies more than $4.3 million for Randazzo providing favorable official actions for FirstEnergy through PUCO proceedings.

The indictment alleges that Jones referred to Householder as his “expensive friend,” and thanked Randazzo after PUCO, under Randazzo’s leadership, took action in 2019 that Jones attributed to raising FirstEnergy’s stock price.

After the passage of House Bill 6, Dowling wrote, “Huge bet and we played it all right on the budget and HB 6 – so we can go back for more!”

“I stated following the jury conviction of Householder and Borges that this office would continue to work tirelessly to hold more people accountable for their actions to harm Ohioans, and we have,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “This indictment is yet another step in the direction of that accountability.”

“This alleged $60 million racketeering conspiracy defrauded Ohioans to enrich the defendants," stated FBI Cincinnati Special Agent in Charge Elena Iatarola. “The FBI will continue to pursue political corruption and corporate fraud to protect taxpayers and hold white-collar criminals responsible for their actions.”

The RICO conspiracy as charged in this case is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; and Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; announced the charges. Deputy Criminal Chief Emily N. Glatfelter and Assistant United States Attorney Matthew C. Singer are representing the United States in this case.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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DAYTON, Ohio – A Dayton man was indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with committing 12 separate armed robberies last month throughout southwest Ohio.

Timothy Farr, 43, was originally arrested in December 2024 after being charged by criminal complaint for committing eight of the robberies.

The 24-count indictment includes 12 counts of interfering with commerce by threats or violence (punishable by up to 20 years in prison) and 12 counts of using a firearm during a crime of violence (punishable by at least seven years and up to life in prison).

The indictment says Farr allegedly brandished a firearm at local gas stations, convenience stores and drive thru stores, demanding cash and cigarettes.

During the robberies, it is alleged Farr often wore a dark jacket, pants and shoes, as well as gray two-tone style gloves and a black balaclava mask covering part of his face. In some instances, Farr also allegedly wore an N-95 style mask. Farr allegedly brandished a black firearm.

Farr is accused of committing armed robberies on:

• Dec. 3, 2024, at Sunoco gas station on Wayne Avenue in Dayton,
• Dec. 4, 2024, at Marathon gas station on Linden Avenue in Riverside,
• Dec. 6, 2024, at Ray’s Xenia Avenue Market on Xenia Avenue in Dayton,
• Dec. 7, 2024, at Free Pike Drive-Thru on Free Pike in Dayton,
• Dec. 8, 2024, at Sunoco gas station on Selma Road in Springfield,
• *Dec. 8, 2024, at Family Dollar on Salem Avenue in Trotwood,
• Dec. 10, 2024, at Mini Mart on N. Main Street in Dayton,
• Dec. 11, 2024, at Marathon gas station on E. Fifth Street in Dayton,
• *Dec. 12, 2024, at White Oak Deli on Cheviot Road in Green Township,
• *Dec. 14, 2024, at Family Dollar on West Main Street in Springfield,
• Dec. 15, 2024, at Sammy’s Drive-thru store on Woodman Drive in Riverside, and
• *Dec. 15, 2024, at United Dairy Farmers on Vine Street in Cincinnati.

*Robberies added at indictment

During the investigation, law enforcement was able to identify a vehicle of interest using the Flock Safety Camera System and identified a 2011 red Ford Taurus linked to armed robbery locations.

When Dayton police officers initiated a traffic stop of the red Taurus on Dec. 16, 2024, Farr was allegedly in the front passenger seat wearing the outfit described in the armed robberies, had an N-95 style mask on the floorboard and gray two-tone gloves in his pocket. Farr also allegedly had a 9mm pistol in his waistband.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF); Springfield Police Chief Allison Elliott; Dayton Police Chief Kamran Afzal; Green Township Police Chief James Vetter; Cincinnati Police Chief Teresa Theetge; Trotwood Police Chief Erik Wilson; and Riverside Police Chief Frank Robinson announced the charges filed yesterday afternoon. Assistant United States Attorney Ryan A. Saunders is representing the United States in this case.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

Anyone with information regarding these incidents should contact ATF at 1-888-ATF-TIPS (888-283-8477). Individuals may also email ATFTips@atf.gov, or contact ATF through its website at www.atf.gov/contact/atf-tips. Tips may also be submitted to ATF using the ReportIt® app, available on both Google Play and the Apple App Store, or by visiting www.reportit.com.

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