Northern District of Texas

A 26-year-old inmate who used a video-visitation kiosk to entice a teenager into making sexually explicit videos from behind bars was sentenced this week to more than 28 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Obadiah Fraser was indicted in September 2022 and pleaded guilty in May 2023 to production of child pornography. He was sentenced Wednesday to 340 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr, who also ordered him to register as a sex offender.

“This defendant willfully exploited a minor by coercing the victim into producing sexually explicit material without any regard for the mental and physical anguish his offenses would cause,” said Lester R. Hayes Jr., Special Agent in Charge of HSI Dallas.  “I’m grateful for the collaborative efforts between HSI and our law enforcement partners in ensuring another child predator is brought to justice.”

While incarcerated in Dallas County Jail on an unrelated charge of possession of child pornography, Mr. Fraser used the jail’s video visitation kiosk to communicate with a 17-year-old girl.

Because the video visitation platform requires users to be 18 years of age or older, the child used Mr. Fraser’s cellmate’s wife’s account to communicate with him.

During their calls – which were monitored by a third-party company – Mr. Fraser instructed the girl to make sexually explicit videos of herself. When she hesitated, he yelled and cursed at her.

When Dallas County Jail officials confronted him about the videos, Mr. Fraser admitted to making them and said he knew the child was only 17.

Homeland Security Investigations’ Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office and the full cooperation of Dallas County Jail. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Douglas and Camille Sparks (fmr.) prosecuted the case.

UPDATE: The United States Attorney's Office initially misidentified the technology Mr. Fraser used to communicate with the victim. He spoke to her via a video-visitation kiosk inside the jail, not via a jail-issued tablet. 

A violent felon armed with a Glock switch has been charged with a firearm crime, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Jaterrian Damon Johnson, 28, was arrested last Wednesday and charged via criminal complaint with felon in possession of a firearm. He made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Rebecca Rutherford Monday morning.

According to the complaint, on Aug. 7, plainclothes officers were conducting increased surveillance at an apartment complex near Walnut Hill Lane and Greenville Avenue when they witnessed a black Kia Sorrento commit traffic violations while exiting the parking lot. (The increased police surveillance was in response to an incident involving Dallas Police Department officers who engaged suspects who crashed a stolen pickup truck into a patrol vehicle.)

Patrol officers stopped the Kia. While walking back to their patrol vehicle with the driver’s license, the officers observed Mr. Johnson, who was seated in the passenger seat, making furtive movements and repeatedly turning to look back at the officer.

When they returned to the Kia, they observed a high-capacity Glock magazine resting on the passenger floorboard underneath Mr. Johnson’s seat. Inside the glove compartment, they found a .40 caliber Glock handgun with a live round inserted in the chamber and a Glock switch slotted into the backplate.
 

A criminal history query revealed that Mr. Johnson previously pleaded guilty to a state charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and was sentenced to three years in prison.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation of wrongdoing, not evidence. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

If convicted, Mr. Johnson faces up to 15 years in federal prison.

The Dallas Police Department’s Violent Crimes Task Force, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives’ Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Withers is prosecuting the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. 

It is also a part of “Operation Texas Kill Switch,” a statewide initiative taking aim at machinegun conversion devices, also known as “switches,” which transform commercially available semi-automatic firearms into fully-automatic weapons capable of firing faster than military-grade machine guns. Spearheaded by U.S. Attorneys Leigha Simonton, Alamdar Hamdani, Damien Diggs and Jaime Esparza, Operation Texas Kill Switch relies on partnerships with state and local law enforcement as well as rewards offered by Crime Stoppers

Three Fort Worth men have been sentenced to a combined 17 years in federal prison for robbing a U.S. letter carrier, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Cedrick Eugene Mims, Danny Yogi Oriszul Powell, and Cameron Kemond Gist were indicted in February. They each pleaded guilty to robbery of property of the United States. Mr. Gist was sentenced Friday to U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman to 70 months in federal prison; Mr. Mims and Mr. Powell were previously sentenced to 75 months and 70 months, respectively.

“These defendants brazenly robbed a U.S.P.S. letter carrier at gunpoint in pursuit of an arrow key that would allow them to steal mail from collection boxes,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton. “In response to a concerning rise in arrow key robberies, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas has become laser-focused on prosecuting these cases. We commend our partners at the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for their commitment to investigating these crimes and stopping them in their tracks.”

“The sentencing of these three individuals shows the utmost importance we place on the safety of U.S. Postal Service employees,” said Fort Worth Division Inspector in Charge Kai Pickens.  “We will not stop pursuing those who seek to harm our employees and will bring them to justice to account for their violent crimes.  Robberies of our employees are a top investigative priority for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and a traumatic event for our employees which we do not take lightly.  The partnerships we’ve established with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Fort Worth Police Department allowed us to work jointly to pursue and hold these individuals accountable.  Let this serve as reminder to those who harm and traumatize our employees: We will find you and bring you to justice.”

According to plea papers, the three men robbed a letter carrier, identified in court documents as C.S., in Fort Worth on Oct. 24, 2023.

Mr. Mimms admitted he pointed a 39mm pistol at the carrier and demanded “the key” – a reference to the carrier’s “Arrow Key,” a master key used by the U.S. Postal Service to gather mail deposited in blue collection boxes that is prized by mail thieves.

The men admitted that they also purloined a postal scanner and the keys to the letter carrier’s official vehicle. Mr. Powell drove the getaway car and Mr. Gist provided the firearms, plea papers indicate.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Fort Worth  Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Montes prosecuted the case.

This case is the result of Project Safe Delivery (PSD), a joint U.S. Postal Service and U.S. Postal Inspection Service initiative aimed at countering postal crime and safeguarding postal employees. Announced in May 2023, in direct response to a rise in threats and attacks on letter carriers and mail theft incidents, PSD seeks to protect Postal employees and the mail stream, prevent incidents through education and awareness, and enforce the laws that protect our nation’s mail stream.  Since the launch of PSD, postal inspectors, working with law enforcement partners, have arrested more than 287 individuals for postal-related robberies through June 30, 2024. In the first six months of the fiscal year, the number of arrests for postal-related robberies rose 72% versus the same period the previous year, while the number of postal-related robberies dropped 21%. Meanwhile, the number of mail theft complaints received during that period decreased 35%, suggesting the PSD approach is achieving the intended result.

A 46-year-old Amarillo man who pretended to be a 14-year-old boy in order to obtain pornographic images from a child was sentenced today to 25 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Willie Gonzales was indicted in December 2023 and pleaded guilty in April 2024 to production of child pornography. He was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk to 300 months in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release.

According to plea papers, in the fall of 2022, Homeland Security Investigations and the Texas Department of Public Safety – acting off a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children – conducted a search warrant at Mr. Gonzales’ home, where they found an iPhone containing sexually explicit images of a 10-year-old girl.

A forensic examination of the phone revealed that Mr. Gonzales persuaded the child to send him photos and videos of herself.  At sentencing, the judge noted that Mr. Gonzales had posed on Snapchat as a 14-year-old boy in order to entice his victim.  

Homeland Security Investigations and the Texas Department of Public Safety conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Frausto prosecuted the case.

A Texas tax preparer who pleaded guilty to a $2.6 million tax fraud was sentenced to more than six years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Anthony “Tony” Floyd, 51, was charged in June 2023 with ten counts of aiding in the preparation and presentation of false tax returns. On the morning of his trial, shortly after a jury was seated, Mr. Floyd pleaded guilty to all 10 charges. He was sentenced Monday to 77 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, who also ordered him to pay more than $1.9 million in restitution.  

According to court documents, Mr. Floyd filed approximately 400 fraudulent tax returns that included false information designed to increase the amount of refund owed to the taxpayer.

He recruited victim “clients” outside big box stores and through other clients. He obtained their personal information, such as income and deduction information, via text or cell phone conversations, rarely meeting clients in person. Mr. Floyd purposely submitted the returns without reviewing with the taxpayer, then diverted all or most of the refund to his own account.

The resultant tax loss to the United States exceeded $2.6 million.

The tax filings included falsified W2s – filed on behalf of individuals purportedly working in catering, lawn care, event planning, interior décor, and other professions -- and included nonexistent charitable deductions, nonexistent college attendance, and even fictitious relatives.

“Mr. Floyd’s sentencing sends a message that tax fraud is not a victimless crime,” said Christopher J. Altemus Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation’s Dallas Field Office. “Mr. Floyd took advantage of his neighbors by preparing fraudulent tax returns and trying to steal approximately $2 million from the U.S. government. His sentence of 77 months in prison holds him accountable for his crimes.”

“Everyone must ensure what is submitted is true and accurate when filing their taxes, even if they are prepared by a professional,” Mr. Altemus added.

IRS – Criminal Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys P.J. Meitl, Nancy Larson, and Mark Nicols (fmr) prosecuted the case.

A robber who led police on a 100 mph chase before crashing into an apartment complex was sentenced today to over 21 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Jaden Christofer Tipton, 21, was indicted in October 2023 and pleaded guilty in February 2024 to two counts of Hobbs Act robbery and two counts of brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. He was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix to a total of 255 months imprisonment.

In plea papers, Mr. Tipton admitted to robbing two Lubbock gas stations the course of just 53 minutes on July 10, 2023.

In both robberies, Mr. Tipton pulled a firearm from his waistband, chambered a round, pointed it at the nearest cashier, and demanded all the money in the register.

Shortly after the second robbery, officers located Mr. Tipton’s blue four-door traveling eastbound. They attempted to conduct a traffic stop, but Mr. Tipton fled, leading officers on a high-speed chase before crashing into an apartment complex, where he was taken into custody.

Inside Mr. Tipton’s vehicle, officers found a black bag of cash and a loaded Taurus 9mm pistol.

At Thursday's sentencing hearing, prosecutors noted that when the defendant crashed into the apartment complex, he rammed into a couple’s bedroom. Both were hospitalized with serious injuries.

Both convenience store clerks submitted written statements to the Court, which were read at sentencing.

Tipton’s crime “uprooted my entire life and sent my mental state spiraling,” wrote clerk B.V.

“I wake up from night terrors, seeing that whole experience replaying in my mind, hearing that bullet going into the chamber,” clerk J.N. wrote.

The Lubbock Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives’ Dallas Field Division conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Rancourt prosecuted the case.

A fentanyl dealer who admitted he was involved in at least three overdoses, two of them fatal, was sentenced Thursday to nearly 23 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton. 

Rhett Barclay, 23, was indicted in September 2023 and pleaded guilty in February to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. He was sentenced Thursday to 275 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman. 

“This defendant is implicated in multiple deaths, including the tragic demise of his unborn child,” said U.S Attorney Leigha Simonton. “Those who traffic in fentanyl should know that the poison they peddle can take the lives of anyone who ingests it – even their nearest and dearest. Once again, this case proves that even half of one pill can kill.”

“Overdose deaths from fentanyl continue to have a devastating impact on communities across North Texas,” said DEA Fort Worth Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chávez.  “We are directing all our available resources to investigate those who distribute this deadly, illicit poison to our friends and family.  Mr. Barclay, while responsible for the deaths of these individuals, also impacted countless others by his callous disregard for life.  May others see this as a warning that DEA Fort Worth and our law enforcement partners across North Texas will continue to investigate drug distributors and seek significant jail sentences for their criminal activity.”

In plea papers, Mr. Barclay admitted that the fentanyl he obtained led to two fatal overdoses in less than two years. 

On Jan. 24, 2021, Mr. Barclay distributed a single fentanyl pill to two women, identified in court documents as A.R. and T.M. The women split the pill. Both overdosed. Medics were able to resuscitate T.M., but A.R.'s overdose was fatal. 

Less than two years later, on Jan. 12, 2023, Mr. Barclay obtained approximately 40 fentanyl pills. His girlfriend, identified in court documents as K.H., ingested one of the pills and suffered a fatal overdose. 

At Thursday's sentencing hearing, prosecutors noted that K.H. was pregnant at the time. She passed away as their toddler watched. 

The Drug Enforcement Administration's Dallas Field Division – Fort Worth Resident Agency conducted the investigation with the help of the Wise County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Montes prosecuted the case. 

Illicitly produced fentanyl pills – often referred to as “M-30s” because of their resemblance to legitimate prescription pills like Oxycontin or Percocet – are highly dangerous. According to the DEA, six out of ten pills laced with fentanyl contain a potentially lethal dose. One pill can kill. For resources, visit https://www.dea.gov/onepill.

A Forney man who filmed himself molesting a toddler and used concealed cameras to capture nude images of preteens was sentenced Thursday to 120 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton. 

Leslie Michael Alt, 40, was indicted in September 2022 and pleaded guilty in September 2023 to two counts of production of child pornography and three counts of transportation of child pornography. He was sentenced Thursday to 1,440 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Ada Brown.

According to court documents, Mr. Alt admitted to using concealed cameras to surreptitiously record sexually explicit videos of two preteen girls. 

At Thursday's sentencing hearing, prosecutors noted that sexually explicit videos were found on a computer recovered from Mr. Alt’s home in late August 2022. 

During a subsequent search of Mr. Alt’s residence, an FBI electronic detection canine alerted to a safe in Mr. Alt’s closet. The safe was open and appeared to be empty, but the canine insistently continued to alert on the safe. Agents removed the carpeted flooring of the safe and found SD cards and a concealed camera. 

On one of the SD cards, they found videos of Mr. Alt sexually abusing a toddler.

“Seeing the images he had of my daughter as a toddler shattered me. Unable to voice she was uncomfortable, unable to communicate to me, her mother, that any of this was happening to her,” the victim’s mother testified at sentencing. “She currently does not have a conscious memory of what has happened. One day, I will have to tell her.” 

One of the teenage victims also spoke, saying the news of the defendant’s crimes “shattered me.” 

“My trust had been used against me, and I would never fully recover,” she said. “It makes me sick to my stomach.” 

The Texas Department of Public Safety’s Criminal Investigations Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Grand Prairie Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit. FBI Electronics Detection Canine “Iris” played an important role in the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brandie Wade and Camille Sparks (ret.) prosecuted the case. 

A Nigerian man pleaded guilty today to conning prospective homeowners and others out of down payments using a “man-in-the-middle” email phishing and spoofing attack, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Kolade Akinwale Ojelade, a 34-year-old Nigerian national living abroad in Leicester, was indicted in February 2023. He was extradited from the U.K. to the U.S. in April 2024 and pleaded guilty Wednesday to wire fraud affecting a financial institution and aggravated identity theft.

“Unfortunately, sophisticated phishing and spoofing attacks can ensnare even the most tech-savvy among us. They can be disastrous for companies and absolutely calamitous for individuals,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton. “We look forward to holding this defendant accountable for the financial devastation he has wrought. In the meantime, I urge the public to follow CFPB’s  best practices for wiring down payments.”

“Mr. Ojelade orchestrated the theft of funds from unsuspecting homeowners and real estate companies who believed they were legitimately wiring money to a trusted party,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Chad Yarbrough. “The FBI successfully worked with our foreign partners to ensure he is held accountable by the U.S. judicial system.”

According to court documents, Mr. Ojelade sent phishing emails to real estate businesses, gained unauthorized access to many of their accounts, and monitored their email traffic to determine when large transactions were about to take place. He then intercepted wire payment instructions, changed the information, and resent the emails via spoofed email addresses that mimicked the original senders’ addresses.

Unbeknownst to the victims – including prospective homeowners wiring money to real estate companies and real estate companies wiring money to title companies – the modified wiring instructions directed them to accounts controlled by Mr. Ojelade and his co-conspirators. Once the funds hit the accounts, Mr. Ojelade and his coconspirators withdrew the money or transferred it into other bank accounts.

Mr. Ojelade now faces up to 32 years in federal prison. After serving his sentence, he will be subject to deportation.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation, with substantial assistance from FBI International Operations at Mission U.K., United Kingdom authorities, and the U.S. Marshals Service. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of Mr. Ojelade from the United Kingdom. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Weybrecht is prosecuting the case.  

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau advises prospective homeowners to confirm wiring instructions – including account numbers – in person or by phone, and instructs anyone who believes they may have fallen victim to a scam to call their banks as soon as possible to ask for a wire recall.  

A 38-year-old Abilene man who attempted to meet a “kid” for sex at a local park was convicted at trial, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Jose Luis Espinoza, Jr., 38, was indicted in February. In May, he pleaded guilty before Magistrate Judge D. Gordon Bryant, Jr, but withdrew the plea before the District Court accepted it, citing intimidation by counsel. Following a two-day trial, a jury deliberated for just 30 minutes before convicting Mr. Espinoza of attempted enticement of a minor.

At trial, a Synder police officer testified that Mr. Espinoza was caught in an undercover online investigation.

On Feb. 5, the officer created a social media profile posing as a 13-year-old girl named “Maddi.” Later that day, Mr. Espinoza reached out to Maddi’s profile and immediately began discussing sexual activity and requesting photographs.

After receiving a photograph of what appeared to be a 13-year-old girl (but was in actuality an age-regressed photo of the officer), Mr. Espinoza asked Maddie how old she was.

“I am almost 14,” she replied.

Mr. Espinoza continued to send lewd and lascivious messages, asking Maddi about her body and her sexual history and detailing what he wanted to do to her.  

“You really are a kid, aren’t you,” he wrote. “I’m a horny old guy… guys get locked up for talking to girls like you.”

Two days later, Mr. Espinoza instructed Maddi to meet him at a park near her house. Mr. Espinoza promised the child Skittles and whisky and said he would bring a towel, as Maddi would likely bleed following intercourse.

“Idk if I wanna do it I am scared,” she said.

Mr. Espinoza responded with a laughing emoji, then told her she was “so whiny” and needed to “relax.”

Mr. Espinoza was arrested at a park in Snyder on Feb. 7. Inside his car, officers found Skittles, whiskey, condoms, a towel, and a 9mm Glock handgun.   

He now faces not less than ten years and up to life in federal prison.

The Snyder Police Department conducted the investigation with the help of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Redd, Callie Woolam, and Jeffrey Haag prosecuted the case. U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix presided over the trial.

Slync founder Christopher Kirchner was sentenced today to 20 years in federal prison for defrauding investors of tens of millions of dollars, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Mr. Kirchner, 37,  who founded supply chain management software company Slync in 2017 and held the position of CEO until his termination by the Board of Directors in 2022, was initially charged in February 2023.  Just 11 months later, a jury convicted him of four counts of wire fraud and seven counts of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity. He was sentenced Thursday to 240 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, who also ordered him to pay more than $65 million in restitution.

“Even as his company was circling the drain, Chris Kirchner was spending millions of his investors’ money on himself. Apparently, projecting personal prosperity was more important to him than making payroll,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton. “His duplicity earned him 20 years in prison. We are proud to hold him accountable for his crimes and are committed to pursuing all businesspeople engaged in criminal conduct.”

"Mr. Kirchner fraudulently raised money from investors and embezzled those funds from the company he led to fund a lavish lifestyle. Today’s sentence underscores the gravity of those crimes. He acted without any regard for how it would affect the company, employees, or investors," said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Chad Yarbrough. “The FBI is committed to working with our partners to investigate any allegation of financial misconduct. We will hold individuals accountable who use their positions of trust for personal profit.”

According to evidence presented at the sentencing hearing, between 2020 and 2022, Mr. Kirchner fraudulently raised more than $71 million from numerous investors based on false representations and promises about Slync’s business operations, false representations about Slync’s financials, false representations about Slync’s customers, and fantastical revenue projections. As the jury’s verdict indicated, Mr. Kirchner then misappropriated over $25 million of the investor funds in various ways.

Between April 2020 and March 2022, Mr. Kirchner initiated nearly 100 wire transfers moving money from Slync’s Silicon Valley Bank account into the company’s account at JPMorgan Chase Bank – an account only he had access to.  He then wired much of the money from the Chase account to his personal bank accounts.  In addition, Mr. Kirchner wired $20 million directly from Slync’s Silicon Valley Bank account into his personal checking account.  Mr. Kirchner then used the misappropriated funds to buy, among other things, a $16 million private jet, a suite at AT&T Stadium, exotic vehicles including a Rolls Royce and Mercedes Benz G-Class, and jewelry including a $500,000 Richard Mille watch, several Rolex watches, and a Cartier necklace.

When Slync, drained of funds, struggled to make payroll in the spring of 2022, Mr. Kirchner attempted to replace some of the money he had misappropriated by convincing at least four investors to wire approximately $850,000 to Slync as part of a purported Series C investment round.  Slync’s Board of Directors never authorized a Series C investment round.

In the meantime, Mr. Kirchner offered various explanations for Slync’s payroll issues – all of which were untrue. Mr. Kirchner also fired a Slync employee after the employee reported to the Board of Directors that Mr. Kirchner may have falsely exaggerated Slync’s financial performance to investors.

Immediately following his suspension by the Board of Directors in late July 2022, Mr. Kirchner removed certain IT administrator privileges from key Slync employees, preventing the employees from accessing Slync’s computer systems.  He then attempted to delete approximately 18 gigabytes of Slync data, including emails.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua D. Detzky, Nashonme Johnson, and Jay Weimer prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dimitri Rocha handled the forfeiture; Assistant U.S. Attorney Katie Carr Jacobs worked on restitution. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian McKay served as appellate liaison.

Five people involved in sex trafficking a 17-year-old girl have been sentenced to a combined 63 ½ years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.

They include:

• Jaelind Fountaine, 27, who was sentenced today to 327 months in prison for sex trafficking and attempted sex trafficking of a minor and required to register as a sex offender
• Sarah Gonzales, 26,  who was previously sentenced to 87 months for interstate transportation to engage in prostitution and required to register as a sex offender
• Cameron Phifer, 25, who was sentenced to 240 months for distribution and receipt of child pornography and required to register as a sex offender
• Deryan Thomas, 33, who was sentenced to 87 months for interstate transportation to engage in prostitution and required to register as a sex offender
• Bianka Vega, 23, who was sentenced to 21 months for misprision (concealment) of a felony

“As a prosecutor and as a mother, my heart breaks for this teenager, who was passed from trafficker to trafficker like a piece of livestock, beaten and even branded by violent men looking to profit from her misery. No person, adult or child, should have to suffer like that,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners will stop at nothing to recover these victims, and we tenaciously prosecute anyone involved in trafficking them.”

According to plea papers, the 17-year-old victim went missing from her apartment complex in Lubbock on Nov. 28, 2022.

The investigation revealed that her neighbor and neighbor’s boyfriend, Bianka Vega and Deryan Thomas, took the child to Odessa to meet with known sex trafficker Cameron Phifer. The four of them then drove to Carlsbad, New Mexico, where they took sexually explicit photographs of the child and posted ads for her sexual services online.

At one point, Ms. Vega reminded Mr. Phifer that the victim was a minor, and informed him that both her mother and law enforcement were looking for her. Phifer told Ms. Vega it was “too late to stop,” and continued trafficking the child until abandoning her at a hotel in Carlsbad in early January.

On Jan. 15, Sarah Gonzales approached the victim in the hotel lobby, and later introduced her to Jaelind Fountaine, a known trafficker who went by the alias “Valentino.”

In an interview with law enforcement, the child said Mr. Fountaine arranged for meetings with clients, taught her how to engage in the sex trade, and took all the money she made – approximately $10,000.  She said that she believed she would receive some of that money, but in the end, she never did.

The child told investigators that Mr. Fountaine physically assaulted her on multiple occasions, threatened to hurt her if she left him, and forced her to “brand” herself with a “V” tattoo to indicate his ownership of her.  Law enforcement found photos of the tattoo on Mr. Fountaine’s phone. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office – Lubbock Resident Agency, and the Lubbock, Abilene, and Carlsbad Police Departments conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Callie Woolam, Jeff Haag, and Matt McLeod prosecuted the case.

The men responsible for eight mail carrier robberies have entered guilty pleas, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Jerrad Coleman, 18, and Louis Dixon, 18, were charged via criminal complaint in April. Mr. Dixon pleaded guilty on June 26 to robbery of property of the United States and conspiracy to rob and unlawfully possess property of the United States; Mr. Coleman pleaded guilty to the same charges on July 2.

“The U.S. Postal Service and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service will never cease placing employee safety as one of our top priorities,” said Inspector in Charge Kai Pickens, Fort Worth Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. “Let this serve as a warning to anyone who seeks to harm and traumatize our employees: The U.S. Postal Inspection Service will utilize every resource to find you and bring you to justice.  I appreciate our partnerships with the U.S. Attorney’s Office as well as the Arlington Police Department, Dallas Police Department, Fort Worth Police Department, and Frisco Police Department, which assisted with the investigation into Mr. Coleman and Mr. Dixon.”

According to court documents, the men trawled the streets of DFW looking for U.S. Postal Service letter carriers to rob in hopes of obtaining an Arrow Key, a master key used by letter carriers to gather mail deposited in blue collection boxes. Unauthorized possession of these keys, prized by mail thieves, allows individuals to illicitly access mailboxes to steal victim mail, checks, credit cards, bank account information, and other sensitive information.

Over the course of about four months, the men conspired to commit robberies against U.S. Postal Service Letter Carriers, including those on Jan. 17 in Fort Worth, Jan. 18 in Fort Worth, Jan. 25 in Dallas, Jan. 29 in Dallas, March 15 in Fort Worth, March 28 in Arlington, April 4 in Frisco, and April 17 in Fort Worth.

After robbing the mail carriers, often at gunpoint, the men fled in getaway vehicles. They then unlawfully used, sold, or disposed of the Arrow Keys.

Both men now face up to 15 years in federal prison.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation with the help of the Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth, and Frisco Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Levi Thomas is prosecuting

A Mansfield woman convicted in a $3.7 million wire fraud scheme was sentenced Monday to more than four years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Tanisha Adderley, 51, was charged via criminal information in September 2023. She pleaded guilty to wire fraud in November 2023 and was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge Sam A. Lindsay to 51 months in federal prison. The judge also ordered her to pay $3,769,401.90 in restitution.

According to court documents, Ms. Adderley worked for a health and human services technology company that recovered fees paid by their clients and remitted refunds to them via wires from their funds recovery bank account. Ms. Adderley had access to the funds recovery bank account and was responsible for obtaining approvals and processing fee refunds.

Over the course of four years, from 2019 to 2023, Ms. Adderley manufactured false approvals and processed wire payments to business bank accounts that she controlled.

Ms. Adderley fraudulently obtained more than $3.7 million in company funds.

The United States Secret Service Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nashonme Johnson prosecuted the case.

A gang-affiliated murder suspect has been charged with possessing multiple Glock switches, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Jamarion White, 19, was charged by the feds via criminal complaint with possession of a machinegun and was arrested Thursday evening. He was subsequently charged by the state with the June 9 murder of an 18-year-old boy.

“To think that some of our DFW’s most violent alleged criminals are armed with machinegun conversion devices is not just unsettling – it’s terrifying,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton. “Switch-equipped guns can fire faster than military-issue M4s. This is not the kind of weapon we want criminals carrying. This is why my office is focused on prosecuting switch cases—to protect our north Texas communities from the life-shattering effects of these devices.”

According to the federal complaint, on June 12, just three days after the alleged murder, law enforcement received a call about two suspicious men smoking marijuana inside a “beat-up Ford.”  When officers arrived on scene, they approached the suspect vehicle and found Mr. White, a known member of the 65 Groveside criminal street gang, in the front seat.

An officer spotted a Glock pistol under Mr. White’s leg and directed him to place his hands on the dash. Instead, Mr. White allegedly fled, leaving the gun in plain view on the seat. Officers pursued him into a wooded area, where they lost sight of him. Eventually, they located him at a nearby home after receiving a call about an unknown intruder.

When the officers returned to the vehicle to secure the firearm, it was gone. A bystander reported that during the pursuit, another man had removed a bag from the Ford and placed it in a nearby car. Officers located the bag, which contained three loaded Glocks, all equipped with machinegun conversion devices, colloquially known as “switches.”

A subsequent search of Mr. White’s social media accounts yielded photos of the defendant allegedly holding one of the switch-equipped guns, as well as a music video in which the defendant allegedly explained how switches operate and the devastation they cause.

A complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Mr. White is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

If convicted of the machinegun charge, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

Homeland Security Investigations’ Dallas Field Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives’ Dallas Field Division, and the Mesquite Police Department conducted the federal firearms investigation. The Dallas Police Department conducted the homicide investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marissa Aulbaugh is prosecuting the federal case.

The case is part of “Operation Texas Kill Switch,” a statewide initiative taking aim at machinegun conversion devices, which transform commercially available semi-automatic firearms into fully-automatic weapons capable of firing faster than military-grade machine guns. Spearheaded by U.S. Attorneys Leigha Simonton, Alamdar Hamdani, Damien Diggs and Jaime Esparza, Operation Texas Kill Switch relies on partnerships with state and local law enforcement as well as rewards offered by Crime Stoppers.

A Rockwall man who allegedly imported Glock switches from China has been charged with a firearm crime, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Joshua Javier Menjivar, 20, was charged via criminal complaint on Friday with unlawful possession of an unregistered firearm. He made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renée Harris Toliver on Wednesday.

“This defendant allegedly imported machinegun conversion devices from China and installed at least one of them in an untraceable ghost gun,” said Leigha Simonton, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas. “Whether manufactured abroad or printed here at home, switches are capable of firing a stunning amount of ammunition in seconds and are highly erratic – making them highly dangerous weapons. We cannot and will not allow these lethal devices to proliferate in north Texas.”

 “As this arrest proves, we weren’t joking a few weeks ago when we told you that we were coming for you. The possession or importation of machine gun conversion devices will eventually lead to a visit by ATF or any of our law enforcement partners. I commend US Attorney Simonton and her team for their dedication to protecting the people of North Texas by aggressively  prosecuting these cases. Further, I thank our partners at CBP who work tirelessly to keep Americans safe, a lot of times going unnoticed,” said ATF Dallas Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Boshek. 

According to the complaint, on May 16, Customs & Border Protection agents intercepted a suspicious package bound for Mr. Menjivar’s home. The parcel allegedly contained four machinegun conversion devices, also known as switches.

Further investigation showed that between May 2023 and May 2024, approximately 35 suspicious packages were allegedly delivered to Mr. Menjivar’s address. The shipments – at least one of which was allegedly sent by a known international firearms supplier – were manifested as various items, including household tools, protective gloves, glass cups, hats, and clothing, and were addressed to various fictitious individuals.    

On June 10, ATF agents collected trash placed in a bin outside Mr. Menjivar’s home. Inside, they allegedly found a non-value gold metal commemorative bitcoin, an item often used to conceal switches by confusing x-ray machines and packaging consistent with illicit firearms shipments.

On June 20, agents executed a search warrant on Mr. Menjivar’s residence, where they allegedly found a privately made firearm, also known as a “ghost gun,” equipped with a switch, five additional switches, 72 rounds of assorted ammunition, two commemorative bitcoins, and various firearm accessories. In an interview, Mr. Menjivar allegedly asserted that anything illegal found in the residence, including the switches, belonged to him and affirmed that he knew how switches work.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives’ Dallas Field Division, Homeland Security Investigations’ Dallas Field Office, the Dallas Police Department, the Rockwall County Sheriff’s Department, and U.S. Customs & Border Patrol conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Withers is prosecuting the case.

The case is part of “Operation Texas Kill Switch,” a statewide initiative taking aim at machinegun conversion devices, which transform commercially available semi-automatic firearms into fully-automatic weapons capable of firing faster than military-grade machine guns. Spearheaded by U.S. Attorneys Leigha Simonton, Alamdar Hamdani, Damien Diggs and Jaime Esparza, Operation Texas Kill Switch relies on partnerships with state and local law enforcement as well as rewards offered by Crime Stoppers.

A Texas doctor who prescribed hydrocodone and other controlled substances to drug-seekers without legitimate medical purpose was sentenced to seven years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Dr. Leovares Mendez, 59, and his coconspirators, Dr. Cesar Pena-Rodriguez, 56, and recruiter Jorge Hernandez, 35, were indicted in February 2020. Dr Pena-Rodriguez and Mr. Hernandez pleaded guilty to trial, but Dr. Mendez elected to stand trial by jury. He was convicted in February 2024 of one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substances and six counts of unlawful distribution of controlled substances and sentenced Monday by Chief U.S. District Judge David Godbey.

“This defendant wasn’t practicing medicine – he was dealing drugs, plain and simple,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton. “The vast majority of doctors prescribe opioids to ease suffering. But when medical professionals abuse their DEA registrations in ways that cause suffering, the Justice Department will bring the full force of the law to bear.” 

“We will continue to investigate and seek prosecution against medical professionals who break the law and simply put, deal drugs,” said DEA Dallas Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chávez.  “Not only did Dr. Mendez flagrantly dismiss his professional and ethical duties, evidence showed he attempted to conceal his criminal conduct by suggesting methods to thwart law enforcement intervention.  He failed.  DEA will continue to hold these rouge doctors responsible for their reckless and illegal behavior.”

According to evidence presented at trial, Dr. Mendez and Dr. Pena-Rodriguez, owners of Cumbre Medical Center, prescribed hydrocodone, alprazolam, and tramadol to “patients” including those brought to them by recruiter Jorge Hernandez.

They wrote the prescriptions for no legitimate medical purpose, without conducting medical exams, in return for cash payments of between $200 and $250.

In video and audio recordings introduced into evidence, undercover officers posing as patients requested medications by name and received prescriptions despite never having complained of pain. The undercover officers received the illegal prescriptions on multiple visits that spanned almost two years.  On multiple occasions, Dr. Mendez coached the undercover officers about what to say if ever contacted law enforcement, but urged them to keep a low-profile so as not to attract the attention of any potential investigators.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Division conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Donna Max, Rachael Jones, Marty Basu, and Renee Hunter prosecuted the case, with help from appellate liaisons Gail Hayworth and Amy Mitchell.

An Amarillo city employee pleaded guilty today to embezzling more than $465,000 in funds meant to provide shelter for homeless people, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Amy Dixon, 44, the City of Amarillo’s former Homeless Management Information Specialist, pleaded guilty Monday to a criminal information charging conspiracy to embezzle from a federally funded program.

In her role, Ms. Dixon was responsible for distributing funds to local landlords through the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development’s Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) Program. She communicated with Amarillo property owners who were willing to lease their properties through the program, assisted in completing lease agreements, coordinated physical inspections of their properties, and assembled payment voucher packages. (The program paid market-rate rents to landlords willing to house those who needed assistance.)

According to plea papers, in September 2020, Ms. Dixon used a relative's personally identifiable information to create a fictitious landlord, for whom she created fraudulent payment voucher packages. She instructed Amarillo’s Finance Department to call her when the payment vouchers were ready, then signed the relative’s name on the checks and deposited the funds into her personal bank account.

In April 2021, when HUD announced that it would accept inspections completed by outside companies, she began to process payments for fictitious properties.

In total, Ms. Dixon created 223 fraudulent payment vouchers resulting in 66 checks written to fictitious landlords, with a total loss amount of $465,511.65.

Ms. Dixon now faces up to five years in federal prison.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office – Amarillo Resident Agency and the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development – Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Frausto is prosecuting the case.

A Fort Worth man has been charged with threatening an FBI agent involved in a high-profile investigation, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton. 

Timothy Muller, 43, was charged via criminal complaint on Thursday with interstate threatening communications and influencing, impeding, or retaliating against a federal official. He was arrested outside his home on Thursday morning without incident.

According to the complaint, Mr. Muller allegedly placed a call to an FBI special agent at 5:03 p.m. on June 11. 

The agent was known to have been involved in an investigation into a laptop belonging to H.B. Shortly before Mr. Muller allegedly placed his call to the agent, media outlets reported that H.B. had been convicted following a trial related to a 2018 firearm purchase. 

According to the complaint, Mr. Muller said, “hey,” and the agent disconnected the call. Mr. Muller immediately called back and allegedly left a one-minute and five-second message threatening the agent and his family: 

“You can run, but you can’t [expletive] hide,” Mr. Muller allegedly said. “ You covered up child pornography.  You covered up [H.B.] raping his own [expletive] niece.”  

“So here’s how it’s gonna go,” Mr. Muller allegedly continued. “[T.]’s gonna win the re-election, and then we’re gonna [expletive] go through the FBI and just start throwing you [expletive]s into jail.  Or, you can steal another election, and then the guns will come out, and we’ll hunt you [expletive]s down and slaughter you like the traitorous dogs you are in your own [expletive] homes.  In your own [expletive] beds.  The last thing you’ll ever hear are the horrified shrieks of your widow and orphans.  And then you know what we’re going to do? … We’re going to slaughter your whole [expletive] family.” 

Mr. Muller then allegedly sent the agent several texts, writing, “How’s the family? Safe?” and “Did you [expletive]s really think you were going to disenfranchise 75 million Americans and not die? Lol.”

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Mr. Muller is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. 

If convicted, he faces up to 10 years in federal prison. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas is prosecuting the case.

A Garland man was sentenced Monday to two years in prison for his role in a $2 million unemployment insurance fraud, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Frank Sherman, 60,  was indicted in November 2022. He pleaded guilty in October 2023 to theft of government funds and was sentenced Monday by U.S. District Judge David Godbey, who also ordered him jointly and severally liable for nearly $2.3 million in restitution.

According to plea papers, Mr. Sherman admitted that from July 2020 through September 2021, he helped unknown coconspirators he met on social media pass fraudulently-obtained unemployment funds to individuals in Canada.

Mr. Sherman agreed to ship preloaded debit cards issued by the Nevada Department of Employment, Training, & Rehabilitation from his home in Garland to unknown individuals in Canada.  

Over the course of 14 months, he received at least 200 Nevada unemployment insurance debit cards loaded with more than $2 million in unemployment insurance funds. He shipped most of the cards to Canada, but on at least one occasion, kept a debit card and used it for his own benefit.

Mr. Sherman also admitted to purloining $3,000 in unemployment funds from the California Employment Development Department, despite never having worked in the state.

The U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General and U.S. Department of Homeland Security – Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marty Basu prosecuted the case.

Today, U.S. Attorneys for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas announced “Operation Texas Kill Switch,” a statewide initiative targeting illegal machinegun conversion devices, colloquially known as “switches.”

At simultaneous press conferences throughout the state, U.S. Attorneys Leigha Simonton, Alamdar Hamdani, Damien Diggs, and Jaime Esparza, joined by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives Special Agents in Charge Jeffrey Boshek and Michael Weddel, lambasted switches, which transform commercially available firearms into fully automatic weapons capable of firing faster than military-grade M4s.

“We’re here to talk about a roughly one-inch piece of plastic. It looks innocuous enough, a little like a lego or a k’nex block. But this one-inch piece of plastic is killing people,” U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton said at Monday’s press conference. “Machinegun conversion devices can turn Second Amendment-protected firearms into illegal weapons of war, and petty criminals into brutal killers. We cannot have our streets turned into war zones. We cannot – and we will not – allow switches to proliferate in north Texas.”

“I have been in this business for a long time, and nothing scares me more than the rapid flood of machine gun conversion devices on the streets of Texas and beyond. Rest assured that ATF and its partners are doing everything we can to stop the flow of these things and to prevent the carnage they can create. I applaud our U.S. Attorney partners for their willingness to aggressively prosecute these criminals and gangsters” stated ATF Dallas Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey C. Boshek II.

About an inch long, switches may be made of metal or plastic and can be printed on commercially available 3D printers. They generally slot into the butt of a gun and allow the shooter to fire “full auto,” unloading dozens of rounds with a single pull of the trigger. (In contrast, regular semi-automatic firearms require a separate trigger pull for each round fired.)  To date, switches have been used in numerous fatal shootings, including at least one juvenile mass shooting and multiple police killings.

Except in very limited circumstances, possession of a switch is illegal, as the National Firearms Act classifies the switch itself as a machinegun.

Yet the number of switches recovered by law enforcement has risen dramatically in the past few years. Between 2017 and 2023, Texas-based ATF agents seized 991 switches; 490 of those, 50 percent, were seized just last year. They are often sold over social media, marketed to adults and juveniles alike.

At Monday’s press conference, the U.S. Attorneys announced that as part of  Operation Texas Kill  Switch, they are partnering with Crime Stopper programs statewide to combat the proliferation of these illegal devices.

From now until Aug. 31, local Crime Stopper programs will offer cash rewards for information leading to the apprehension or prosecution of those who possess switches or 3D printers being used to manufacture them. To be eligible for cash rewards, tipsters must provide information to their local Crime Stoppers program. Tipsters may also use **TIPS to be connected to a Crime Stoppers program in their area. Tips can be submitted 24 hours a day, and anonymity is guaranteed by law. Information may also be submitted directly to ATF at www.atf.gov/contact/atf-tips.

U.S. Attorneys Simonton, Esparza, Diggs, and Hamdani also urged local law enforcement to partner with the feds on switch cases, which carry maximum sentences of up to 10 years in the federal system. They laid out their case in a joint op-ed published Monday in the Austin American Statesman, which you can read here. Watch clips from a machinegun conversion device shooting demonstration here and here. 

A Perrytown ISD coach has been charged following an alleged sexual relationship with his 15-year-old student, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Cole Underwood, 29, was charged via criminal complaint with enticement of a minor. He made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lee Ann Reno on Thursday afternoon.

According to the complaint, Perryton ISD’s superintendent reached out to law enforcement on May 7 to report a possible inappropriate relationship between Mr. Underwood and a female student. According to the superintendent, surveillance video allegedly showed Mr. Underwood meeting with the girl alone after hours, despite being given a specific directive not to be alone with her.

Agents reviewed the footage and observed Mr. Underwood propping an exterior door open and then shutting off lights. Approximately 15 minutes later, the girl entered the darkened building through the propped door and walked into Mr. Underwood’s office.

In interviews with law enforcement, the child said Mr. Underwood had sex with her in his office more than a dozen times between February and May.

She said that after she added him as a contact on Snapchat, he established a personal friendship with her, and even invited her to his office to confide in him. She said that Mr. Underwood began messaging her in a flirtatious and sexual manner in December, and eventually used Snapchat to arrange sexual encounters.

A search of the girl’s cell phone revealed multiple late-night conversations – some lasting more than six hours – between her and Mr. Underwood, who allegedly occasionally referred to the child as “wifey” and told her he loved her.

A complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Mr. Underwood is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

If convicted, he faces up to life in federal prison.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office – Amarillo Resident Agency and the Ochiltree County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation with the full cooperation of the Perryton Independent School District. Assistant U.S. Attorney Callie Woolam is prosecuting the case.

A drug trafficker who dealt fentanyl to a 16-year-old who overdosed was sentenced 20 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Julian Apodaca, 28, and several co-conspirators were indicted in August 2023. Mr. Apodaca pleaded guilty in January to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk.

“Shockingly, this defendant gave a deadly drug to a 16-year-old child and watched as the child overdosed; then, instead of rendering aid, he fled the scene to avoid criminal liability,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton.  “My office is proud to have brought this man to justice to pay for these heinous actions, and we are also proud that we are holding accountable several others in the defendant’s drug network who contributed to this child receiving fentanyl.  But we cannot end this epidemic alone.  Please talk with your kids about avoiding fentanyl.  They should not take any pill that wasn’t bought in a pharmacy.  Remember: One pill can kill.”

“Justice has been served with the recognition by the court of the callous actions and total disregard of human life by defendant Apodaca,” said DEA Dallas Special Agent in Charge, Eduardo A. Chávez, who oversees all DEA operations in Amarillo. “DEA Amarillo and our law enforcement partners in the panhandle will relentlessly pursue individuals like defendant Apodaca and hold them accountable for the poison they peddle on our streets.”

According to plea papers, Mr. Apodaca admitted he dealt fentanyl to several individuals in the Amarillo area.

In his vehicle, officers found 113 blue M-30 pills containing fentanyl and a 9mm pistol.

At his sentencing hearing, prosecutors introduced evidence that Mr. Apodaca dealt fentanyl to a 16-year-old who overdosed in the defendant’s car.

When he realized the teen had suffered an overdose, Mr. Apodaca, fearful that he would be arrested on outstanding warrants if he called authorities, fled the scene and contacted associates asking them to call 911. First responders eventually revived the victim with Narcan.

Eight of Mr. Apodaca’s co-conspirators – including his sources of supply, Gary Eugene Carlisle, Robert Tucker Witt, and Rebecca Ann Schmitkons – pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and one co-conspirator, Rachel Lynn Waddell, was convicted at trial of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. Mr. Witt was sentenced in May to 20 years in federal prison; eight of the defendants are awaiting sentencing; one defendant is set for trial in August 2024.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Division – Amarillo Resident Office and the Amarillo Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Marie Bell prosecuted the case.

A Dallas man who filmed himself sexually assaulting girls as young as six years old was sentenced today to 60 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Gemond Copage Miller, 34, was indicted in December 2021 and pleaded guilty in January 2024 to two counts of production of child pornography. He was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr, who also ordered that the defendant be supervised for life following his release from prison.  

According to plea papers, Mr. Miller filmed himself sexually assaulting children as young as six years old, then sold the footage on the internet.

Investigators were able to match distinctive tattoos shown in the footage to Mr. Miller’s tattoo.

At Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, prosecutors said Mr. Miller admitted to abusing at least ten girls under the age of twelve. Law enforcement identified at least 38 videos of child sexual abuse material produced by Mr. Miller. To date, not all of the victims have been identified.

Mr. Miller was also in possession of approximately 722 images and 1,733 videos constituting child sexual abuse material.

“My sense of safety and security has been shattered,” a 13-year-old victim, just six years old when she was first assaulted, said in a statement read aloud by her mother. “I am the first victim to come forward… Knowing that there are others shows that this is what he does. This is who he is. And he does not care that he took the innocence of children.”

Homeland Security Investigations' Dallas Field Office and the Dallas Police Department conducted the investigation, which began with a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Winters prosecuted the case.  

Spinal device manufacturer Innovasis Inc. and senior executives Brent Felix and Garth Felix agreed to pay a total of $12 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by paying kickbacks to spine surgeons to induce their use of Innovasis’s spinal devices. Brent Felix is the founder, President and Chairman of the Board of Innovasis, which is headquartered in Utah. Garth Felix served in various leadership roles for Innovasis, including as the company’s Chief Financial Officer.

“Payments from medical device manufacturers intended to influence a physician’s judgment about which medical devices or supplies to select are illegal,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “When medical devices are used in surgical procedures, patients deserve to know that their device was selected based on quality of care considerations and not on improper payments from manufacturers.”

“The integrity of our healthcare system is dependent upon physicians’ recommendations being motivated by patient health,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton for the Northern District of Texas. “Any time we learn that physician recommendations are being corrupted by improper financial inducements, we will seek to hold those involved accountable.”

“Improper financial arrangements can compromise medical judgment and adversely influence the medical decision-making process,” said Special Agent in Charge Jason E. Meadows of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “These arrangements have no place in our healthcare system, and we will continue working with our federal partners to pursue such allegations.”

The Federal Anti-Kickback Statute prohibits offering or paying anything of value to induce referrals of items or services covered by Medicare and other federally funded programs. The statute is intended to ensure that medical providers’ judgments are not compromised by improper financial incentives.

The settlement announced today resolves allegations that from Jan. 1, 2014, through Dec. 31, 2022, Innovasis provided improper remuneration to seventeen orthopedic surgeons and neurosurgeons to induce them to use Innovasis spinal implants, devices and other equipment in medical procedures the physicians performed on Medicare beneficiaries, in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute. The improper remuneration was allegedly provided in the form of consulting fees, intellectual property acquisition and licensing fees, registry payments and performance shares in Innovasis, as well as travel to a luxury ski resort, lavish dinners and holiday parties for surgeons, their office staff and family members. For example, Innovasis allegedly paid physicians for consulting services at rates far in excess of fair market value or, in some cases, for work that was never actually performed. Similarly, the company allegedly paid physicians far in excess of fair market value to acquire or license purported intellectual property for which Innovasis never obtained any valuation prior to purchase and thereafter never used for meaningful product development. Innovasis also paid physicians to attend a company-sponsored conference held at a luxury resort in Deer Valley, Utah, which included the cost of travel, lodging and high-end meals, among other things. During the relevant period, Brent Felix, along with his brother Garth Felix, allegedly controlled or otherwise directed Innovasis’s operations, strategic decisions, and the agreements with surgeons who allegedly received improper remuneration from Innovasis.

The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Robert Richardson, a former Regional Sales Director for Innovasis. Under those provisions, a private party can file an action for false claims on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. Richardson will receive approximately $2.2 million as his share of the recovery in this case. The qui tam case is captioned United States ex rel. Richardson v. Innovasis Inc., et al., No. 3:19-CV-02440-X (N.D. Tex.).

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, with assistance from HHS-OIG.

Trial Attorneys Jessica E. Krieg, Olga Yevtukhova and Adam J. DiClemente of the Justice Department’s Civil Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew S. Robbins and George M. Padis for the Northern District of Texas handled the matter.

The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating health care fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse and mismanagement can be reported to the HHS at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

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

A major source of supply in the Carrollton juvenile fentanyl overdose case, which has claimed the lives of four children to date, was sentenced today to 15 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Julio Gonzales, Jr., a 19-year-old who called himself “J-Money,” was charged via criminal complaint in July 2023. He pleaded guilty in October 2023 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a Schedule II controlled substance (fentanyl) and was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade.

“This defendant – a heavily-armed, prolific drug trafficker – was involved in providing pills that caused 14 Carrollton kids to overdose, and four of them to die,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton. “I want to implore our community: Please, educate your children on the dangers of fentanyl. Drug traffickers are not your friends. They know one pill can kill, and they hand them over anyway.” 

“Julio Gonzalez will spend the next 15 years in federal prison because of his involvement in supplying and distributing poison in the form of one deadly pill.  Because of that same pill, illicit fentanyl, lives have been lost and families have been forever changed,” said DEA Dallas Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A. Chávez.  “The women and men of DEA Dallas will never stop investigating overdose and poisoning deaths and bring those responsible to justice.  We all must do our part to prevent and educate others that truly One Pill Can Kill.”

According to evidence presented at Wednesday’s hearing, Mr. Gonzales was one of three main sources of supply for Luis Eduardo Navarrete, the 22-year-old dealer who supplied fentanyl to students at R.L. Turner High School, Dewitt Perry Middle School, and Dan Long Middle School.

(Mr. Navarrete was sentenced last week to 20 years in federal prison after prosecutors introduced evidence showing that he blatantly ignored a text message, “another youngin dead bro,” alerting him to multiple child overdoses. One of Mr. Navarrete’s other main sources of supply, Jason Xavier Villanueva, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and distribution of fentanyl to a person under 21 and was sentenced to 15 years in prison; his third source, Jessie Alexander Perez Martinez, is awaiting trial.)

In plea papers, Mr. Gonzales admitted he trafficked blue M-30 pills laced with fentanyl to Mr. Navarrete, Navarrete’s drug runner Robert Gaitan, and at least one juvenile dealer. He stipulated that he trafficked approximately 120,000 pills over the course of the conspiracy, often selling them in “K Packs,” which consisted of 1,000 pills at a time.

When he was arrested on July 20, agents searched his Dallas home and seized from 16,000 counterfeit M-30 pills from his microwave, $74,294 in drug proceeds from shoe boxes in his bedroom, and at least nine firearms, including a Romanian Draco AK-47 style handgun, a Kel-Tec long-range pistol, and a Glock equipped with a machinegun conversion device. They also recovered numerous high-capacity magazines, body armor, a vacuum sealer, digital scales, a money counter, and multiple cell phones.

Mr. Gonzales, Jr. is one of 11 defendants charged federally in connection with the case, which has resulted in 14 juvenile overdoses, four of them fatal, of children as young as 13.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Office and the Carrollton Police Department conducted the investigation with the assistance of School Resource Officers from the Carrollton – Farmer’s Branch Independent School. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rick Calvert and Phelesa Guy are prosecuting the case.

Note: Illicitly produced, fentanyl-laced pills often look similar to legitimate prescription pills like Oxycontin or Percocet, but can pose significantly more danger. On the street, these pills are often referred to as “M30s” (a reference to the markings on some of the pills), “blues,” “perks,” “yerks,” “china girls,” or “TNT.” DEA research shows that six out of ten pills laced with fentanyl contain a potentially lethal dose. One pill can kill. For resources, visit https://www.dea.gov/onepill.

A would-be lawyer who falsely inflated dozens of client tax returns was convicted Friday of 33 counts of tax fraud, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

John Anthony Castro, 40, owner of the virtual tax preparation business Castro & Company, was indicted in January. Following a five-day bench trial before Senior U.S. District Judge Terry R Means, he was convicted on all 33 counts of assisting in the preparation of a fraudulent return and was immediately taken into custody.

“While most tax preparers are honest and provide honest tax services to their clients, some like Mr. Castro victimize their clients all in the name of greed,” stated Jenifer L. Piovesan, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Newark Field Office.  “Mr. Castro is now a convicted felon facing a lengthy prison sentence.”

According to evidence presented in court, Mr. Castro – who had graduated law school but repeatedly failed the bar exam – held himself out as an “international tax expert” and “federal practitioner.” (He also falsely claimed to be a graduate of West Point.)

He was successful at marketing to clients around the world, claiming to be an expert on certain tax issues related to Australian ex-pats, among other things.  Between 2017 and 2019, he filed more than 1,900 tax returns on behalf of individuals from all over the world.

As part of his pitch, Mr. Castro promised his clients a significantly higher refund than they would receive from other preparers, claiming he knew how to identify and claim deductions that others did not.  He added there was no risk, as he would simply split the additional refund amount with them to account for his fee.  He would not share the tax return with clients before filing, but would instead simply inform them of the amount of the anticipated refund. 

On many occasions, he filed tax returns on behalf of clients without their permission or knowledge.  In other instances, he claimed deductions that had no basis in fact.  For example, for one client, who made approximately $103,000 in income, Mr. Castro claimed over $90,000 in deductions related to unreimbursed employee expenses.

Mr. Castro claimed deductions based on extreme and unsupported legal theories, including deductions such as (1) those for any expense related to preventing an illness qualified as an “impairment related work expense,” (2) those for expenses related to commuting to and from work, (3) the full value of one’s mortgage and utilities as long as the taxpayer had some type of Schedule C business to claim, (4) those related to dry-cleaning for work clothes, and (5) the full value of one’s cell phone bill even when their employer provided them with a work phone.  For example, with respect to one client, Mr. Castro deducted over $26,000 in expenses that he claimed related to a nascent cupcake business that had generated only $250 in revenue.

According to trial testimony, in February 2018, an undercover IRS – CI agent contacted Mr. Castro for assistance. The agent asked to meet with Mr. Castro in person, but Mr. Castro’s office told him that in-person meetings required a $5,000 retainer. They spoke via email instead.

On February 13, 2018, the undercover agent submitted a W2 and a Form 1098-T showing wages of $142,217. About two weeks later, one of Mr. Castro’s employees called the agent to discuss deductions, noting that Mr. Castro would make any decisions regarding what items would be included on the tax filing. The agent denied having any unreimbursed employee expenses, charitable contributions, or other items that could lead to deductions.

On March 12, 2018, Mr. Castro sent the undercover agent his tax analysis. He said that if the agent used another preparer, he would receive a refund of $373, but that if he used Mr. Castro, he would receive a refund of $6,007. Mr. Castro would take half, netting him $3,008. The analysis said the return would include $29,339 in deductions but did not specify which deductions would be used.

Two days later, Mr. Castro filed the agent’s return, which claimed $29,339 in fraudulent deductions, including $2,400 in employee expenses, and 28,600 in other expenses that the undercover agent had never discussed with Mr. Castro or his employees.

According to evidence presented at trial, Mr. Castro engaged in a similar pattern with his other clients. When the victim-taxpayers learned what Mr. Castro had done, many of them demanded copies of their tax returns. Mr. Castro refused to engage in conversation and even delayed providing returns for months at a time.  Mr. Castro often acted in a highly vindictive manner when questioned or challenged by clients or others, often berating individuals in emails, threatening legal actions, or by filing amended tax returns, without clients’ permission or knowledge, that removed all deductions, causing the taxpayer-victim to then owe the IRS tens of thousands of dollars.  

During the trial, Mr. Castro took the stand in his own defense, and upon cross-examination, admitted that his positions were extreme, outlandish, and not supported by the law.  He also admitted to a bevy of prior falsifications and vindictive actions.

Many of the victim-taxpayers have since been audited and/or filed amended returns, causing them significant financial hardship.

Mr. Castro now faces up to 99 years in federal prison, three years per count.

IRS Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys P.J. Meitl and Nancy Larson are prosecuting the case.

The first defendant charged in the Carrollton juvenile fentanyl overdose scandal – which claimed the lives of at least four North Texas teenagers – was sentenced today to 20 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Luis Eduardo Navarrete, 22, was charged via criminal complaint in February 2023 and indicted the following month. He pleaded guilty in November 2023 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a Schedule II controlled substance and distribution of a controlled substance to a person under 21 years of age and was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade.

“Even as children overdosed and died around him, this defendant continued to distribute poisonous pills to juvenile dealers to sell in grade schools,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton. “Brushing off the pain of his young victims’ family and friends, he delivered fentanyl into the hands of children, extinguishing lives before they’d even really begun. The callousness he displayed is truly chilling. Although we can never bring these kids back, we hope today’s verdict is a balm to their families’ unbearable suffering.”

“Today’s a very important day for DEA Dallas and all of those who were involved in this investigation.  Defendant Navarrete was one of the first individuals identified in what later became a complex ring of various fentanyl traffickers selling poison in our neighborhoods,” said DEA Dallas Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A.. Chavez. “While we cannot bring back the lives lost and undo so much tragedy amongst the affected families, we are proud that justice has been served and remained committed to fighting illicit fentanyl trafficking in North Texas.”

“Today’s sentencing of twenty years, I feel, is appropriate for the seriousness of Navarrete’s crimes.  Navarrete and others were responsible for causing enormous heartache and sorrow to many families. It is appropriate to show that the Carrollton Police Department and the DOJ remain serious about protecting our citizens, and especially our youth, from drug dealers who think they can prey on our children by pushing poison on them.  I am grateful for our partnership with the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas and DEA-Dallas; without their help, this would not have been possible.”

According to court documents, Mr. Navarrete and several co-conspirators trafficked fentanyl pills to a network of juvenile drug dealers, who then sold the pills – stamped M-30 to resemble oxycodone – to students at R.L. Turner High School, Dewitt Perry Middle School, and Dan Long Middle School.

At Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, a DEA task force officer testified that Mr. Navarrete began trafficking fentanyl in August 2022.  When he was placed on a GPS ankle monitor following a domestic altercation, he relied on two drug runners, co-defendants Rafael Soliz Jr. and Robert Gaitan, to pick up counterfeit M-30 pills from his sources and deliver them to his residence in Carrollton.

According to evidence presented at the hearing, Mr. Navarrete continued to supply fentanyl pills to children even after he was told they were causing overdoses.

On Jan. 26, 2023, a juvenile dealer informed Mr. Navarrete that one of his counterfeit M30 pills had caused a 14-year-old middle school student, identified in court documents by the initials J.P., to “pass away.” The dealer even included a photograph of first responders at the victim’s residence attempting, unsuccessfully, to resuscitate him.  Despite being told that a minor had died from pills that he was distributing, Navarrete continued to distribute the pills to adult and minor customers.

Less than a week later, on Feb. 1, 2023, a different juvenile dealer informed Mr. Navarrete that a 17-year-old high school student who had taken one of his counterfeit M-30 pills “couldn’t wake up.”

“Od bro… wtf happening,” the dealer wrote. “Don’t tell me it was u that sold em like 18 30s … that’s another youngin dead bro.”

After being told of the second overdose death, Mr. Navarrete continued to traffic fentanyl, unabated, until his arrest two days later.  

At Thursday’s sentencing hearing, the DEA task force officer testified that the fentanyl Mr. Navarrete sold originated from the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico. Over the course of the investigation, he said, officers and agents made roughly 40 adult and juvenile arrests and seized more than 1.2 million fentanyl pills off the street. The conspiracy resulted in at least 14 juvenile overdoses, four of them fatal.  

Mr. Navarrete is one of 11 defendants charged federally in connection with the case. Mr. Navarrete’s main supplier, Jason Xavier Villanueva, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison, and his drug runners, Mr. Soliz and Mr. Gaitan, were sentenced to 15 to and five years respectively.

At Mr. Navarrete’s sentencing hearing, the mother of one of the late juvenile victims testified:

“He was the soul of our home,” she said of her son in Spanish. “I would like for everyone who’s present to know that these people who sell fentanyl, they destroy families…. On behalf of all those children who have passed away due to fentanyl, this has to stop.”

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Office and the Carrollton Police Department conducted the investigation with the assistance of School Resource Officers from the Carrollton – Farmer’s Branch Independent School. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rick Calvert and Phelesa Guy are prosecuting the case.

Note: Illicitly produced, fentanyl-laced pills often look similar to legitimate prescription pills like Oxycontin or Percocet, but can pose significantly more danger. On the street, these pills are often referred to as “M30s” (a reference to the markings on some of the pills), “blues,” “perks,” “yerks,” “china girls,” or “TNT.” DEA research shows that six out of ten pills laced with fentanyl contain a potentially lethal dose. One pill can kill. For resources, visit https://www.dea.gov/onepill.

Two pain management doctors who pantomimed injections on patients pleaded guilty today to healthcare fraud charges, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Drs. Desi Barroga, 51, and Deno Barroga, 51, were indicted in November 2023. The pair pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count each of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud before U.S. Magistrate Judge Rebecca Rutherford.

According to court documents, the twin brothers admitted that they conspired to defraud Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, and United Healthcare by submitting claims for corticosteroid injections that were never administered.

As part of the conspiracy, the Barrogas required patients to submit to monthly office visits. This allowed patients to continue receiving highly addictive Schedule II controlled substances – including hydrocodone, oxycodone, and morphine  – while allowing the defendants to bill patients’ insurance companies for expensive services they never provided.

The Barrogas reported to insurance that they performed as many as 80 corticosteroid injections per patient per visit. In reality, the majority of these injections were never administered. In many instances, the doctor simply placed a needle on the patient’s body without actually piercing the skin to mimic giving an injection.

They defendants created fake medical records, which were often cut and pasted, or cloned, from patient to patient with little to no variation. They also instructed patients to include false statements pertaining to the injections and other treatments in the record.

In plea papers, the brothers admitted that they billed insurers at least $45 million and were paid at least $9 million as part of the scheme.

They now face up to 10 years each in federal prison.

Under the terms of their plea agreement, both men agreed to immediately surrender their DEA registrations and to forfeit their medical licenses at least 14 days prior to sentencing. They also agreed to joint and several restitution in an amount to be determined at a later date by the court.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General, the U.S Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S Office of Personnel Management’s Office of the Inspector General, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Division Diversion Group, and the Texas Department of Insurance – Fraud Unit – Austin and Fort Worth Field Offices conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Renee Hunter is prosecuting the case.

Twenty-two alleged drug dealers in Wichita Falls, Texas have been federally charged, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Sixteen of the 22 defendants were arrested during a takedown on Thursday that included the use of multiple tactical units, including SWAT teams from five FBI divisions, the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team (HRT), the Texas Department of Public Safety Special Response Teams, the U.S. Marshals, and the Wichita Falls Police Department. Six defendants had been previously taken into custody.

Twenty-one of the 22 defendants were charged via criminal complaint with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances:

• Dywane Cecil Graham, aka “D”
• Dmetrius Lakeith Brooks, aka “D Blocc”
• Dominique Equincy Hall, aka “Playa D”
• Nicholas Bryan Darcus, aka “Locc D”
• Brandy Lynn Flowers, aka Brandy Mason
• Jaryd Blake Howard
• Jewel Wayne Fletcher, Sr., aka “Goofi”
• Sarah Leann Parker, aka Sarah Davis
• Robert “Bobby” Lee Collins
• Madeline Josephine Stephens, aka Madeline Kearney
• Elisha Earl Johnson, aka “Cash”
• Samuel Conta Manuel, aka “Butterman”
• Kiesha Tanga Wyatt, aka “Tanga”
• Shedrick “Sed” Cortez Cyrus
• Robert Thomas Bustamante
• Kenzie June Lozano
• William Lee Freeman, aka “Ghost”
• Jack Bishop Cline
• Dwight Albert Simpson, aka “Tray”
• Jimmie Scott Williams, aka “Motorcycle Man”
• Stanley Wayne Britt

The 22nd defendant, Ujamaa Jelani Rashaun Ballard, was charged in a sperate criminal complaint with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.

According to the 21-defendant criminal complaint, the investigation began in March 2023, when law enforcement learned from confidential informants that Dwayne Graham and Dmetrius Brooks – both associated with the notoriously violent Crips street gang – were operating a methamphetamine distribution ring in Wichita Falls, Vernon, and its environs.

Over the ensuing months, law enforcement deployed several confidential sources to make multiple drug buys, which were video and audio recorded. They also searched several suspects’ vehicles and residences, where they recovered copious amounts of methamphetamine and numerous firearms. On one occasion, a defendant led police on a 9.5- mile pursuit, tossing a Ziploc baggie full of meth out his window as he sped off.

To date, law enforcement has recovered 7,229.46 grams of methamphetamine, approximately 719 grams of powder cocaine, approximately 55 grams of crack cocaine, approximately 49.75 grams of powdered fentanyl, approximately 2,197 counterfeit Percocet pills laced with fentanyl, and nine firearms in the course of the investigation.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation of wrongdoing, not evidence. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

If convicted, they each face a minimum of 10 years and up life in federal prison.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office - Wichita Falls Resident Agency, the Wichita Falls Police Department, the Wichita County Sheriff’s Office, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Texas Department of Public Safety conducted the investigation with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s South Central Lab. Valuable assistance was also provided by Wichita County District Attorney’s Office Drug Enforcement Division, Wilbarger County District Attorney’s Office, Vernon Police Department, Crowell Police Department, Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Montes is prosecuting the case.

Nine men and a company have been charged with conspiring to install so-called “defeat devices” on diesel trucks, thereby allowing the vehicles to emit far more pollutants than allowed by law, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Phillip Dwain Waddell, Philip Matthew Ormand, Kolby Douglas Huneycutt, Kyle Kris Kizer, Jonathan Joseph Lohrmeyer, Justin Loutoyama Pasamonte, Archie George Sims, and Adam Marsh Stanley, along with auto dealership James Hodge Motors, Inc. (doing business as Jay Hodge Dodge) and its Chief Operating Officer, Curtis Kevin Poore, were indicted on conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act. They made their initial appearances before U.S. Magistrate Judges Hal R. Ray, Jr., Rebecca Rutherford, and Renée H. Toliver.

“These defendants intentionally flouted laws designed to ensure our children – and our children’s children – have clean air to breathe. By installing devices that bypassed automakers’ built in emissions controls, they spewed pollutants into our neighborhoods. The Justice Department, along with our partners at the Environmental Protection Agency, take violations of the Clean Air Act very seriously," said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton. 

"Pollutants emitted from tampered vehicles can have significant harm to public health,” said Kim Bahney, Special Agent in Charge for the Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division. "This scheme occurred over several years and spanned across multiple states, diminishing air quality."

According to the indictment, Mr. Waddell allegedly sold aftermarket diesel exhaust components, tuners, and so-called “delete tunes” that allowed vehicles to spew excess pollutants into the air by overriding on-board diagnostic (OBD) systems required by the Clean Air Act.

Operating normally, OBDs monitor vehicle emissions to ensure they fall below the limits set by the Clean Air Act. When an OBD detects excess emissions, it sends input to the vehicle’s on-board computer, which may activate an indicator light and place the vehicle in “limp mode,” capping its speed at as low as five miles per hour.

With delete tunes installed, diesel exhaust systems can be modified so that OBDs cannot detect emission changes; thus, the vehicle cannot activate indicator lights, record diagnostic trouble codes, or place a vehicle into limp mode.

Mr. Waddell allegedly purchased the delete tunes from Mr. Ormand, who allegedly customized each tune for a specific vehicle. From Aug. 2018 to April 2021, Mr. Waddell allegedly paid Mr. Ormand more than $2 million for delete tunes, and allegedly sold the tunes for between $300 and $1,350.  Mr. Waddell’s customers included James Hodge Motors and several individuals who operated their own diesel repair and customization businesses.

Mr. Huneycutt, Mr. Kizer, Mr. Lohrmeyer, Mr. Pasamonte, Mr. Sims, and Mr. Stanley allegedly purchased tuners and delete tunes from Mr. Waddell and installed them on their customer’s vehicles in a process called “tuning” or “reflashing.”  James Hodge Motors, acting with the knowledge and under the supervision of Mr. Poore, also engaged in such behavior, and on at least one occasion, falsified invoices to conceal the nature of such work it performed on a customer’s truck.

An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

If convicted, each defendant faces up to five years in federal prison; the company faces up to $500,000 in fines.

The Environmental Protection Agency – Criminal Investigation Division’s Southwest Area Branch (Region 6) conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Brasher is prosecuting the case.

Three men pleaded guilty to stealing a U.S. Postal Service arrow key, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton. 

Jlynn Laneil Dunn, age 21, Daylin Darden, age 24, and D Colby Vashion Lewis, age 23, were charged via criminal complaint in February and indicted the following month. Each pleaded guilty to robbery of mail matter, money, or other property of the United States, entering their pleas on May 8. 

According to plea papers, the defendants admitted they robbed a letter carrier at gunpoint on Oct. 2, 2023. 

The carrier, identified in court documents as T.W., reported to police that the robbers demanded a U.S. Postal Service master key used by letter carriers to gather mail deposited in blue collection boxes. (Unauthorized possession of these keys allows individuals to illicitly access mail boxes to steal victim mail, checks, credit cards, bank account information, and other sensitive information.) 

Surveillance video captured the robbery and the defendants’ subsequent flight.

During a search of an address associated with one of the defendants, law enforcement recovered guns, drugs, mail, checks, and a DVR system. DVR footage showed all three robbers gathered at the residence prior to the robbery on Oct. 2. On the video, Mr. Darden can be seen exiting the residence with a gun matching the one used during the robbery. The DVR also showed them return to the residence after the robbery. On the video, Mr. Dunn can be seen holding a small item attached to a long gold chain — the same type of chain used to carry USPS arrow keys.

A subsequent search of Mr. Dunn’s Instagram account revealed a direct message Mr. Dunn sent 10 to 12 minutes before the robbery that read, “I’m tryna go get us a key rn so I can get these real scam Money.”

The defendants now face up to 10 years in federal prison; sentencing is set for Sept. 3.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Fort Worth and Arlington Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Beck is prosecuting the case.

The United States Supreme Court on Monday declined to review the United Development Funding (UDF) case, allowing a Fifth Circuit decision upholding the convictions of four company executives to stand, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

In January 2022, a federal jury convicted UDF CEO Hollis Morrison Greenlaw, UDF Partnership President Benjamin Lee Wissink, UDF CFO Cara Delin Obert, and UDF Asset Management Director Jeffrey Brandon Jester of ten counts, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution, conspiracy to commit securities fraud, and securities fraud.  The UDF executives were sentenced in May 2022 to a combined 20 years in federal prison.

That same month, the UDF executives appealed their convictions to the Fifth Circuit.  Following oral argument, the Fifth Circuit affirmed the UDF executives’ convictions and noted the government’s “avalanche of evidence” proving its case.   After the Fifth Circuit denied rehearing en banc, the UDF executives asked the Supreme Court to review their case.

On Monday, the Supreme Court denied certiorari without comment.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy Burch, Amy Mitchell, Elise Aldendifer, and Brian McKay handled the appeal in the Fifth Circuit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tiffany H. Eggers, Rachael Jones, Elyse Lyons, and Errin Martin prosecuted the case in the district court.

A Bedford woman who attempted to hire a hitman to kill her boyfriend’s lover was sentenced today to nine years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Michelle Murphy, 58, was charged via criminal complaint in September 2023 and pleaded guilty in December 2023 to one count of murder-for-hire. She was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman.

According to court documents, Ms. Murphy used the dark web to attempt to pay a hitman $10,510 in Bitcoin to murder her boyfriend’s lover.

Blockchain analysis showed that Ms. Murphy used an ATM to convert cash into cryptocurrency on at least three occasions. On July 27, 2023, she transferred approximately 0.358 BTC ($10,510) to a Bitcoin wallet she believed belonged to the murder-for-hire recipient.

Agents subsequently confronted Ms. Murphy and the boyfriend in question. After being read her Miranda rights, Ms. Murphy admitted that when she found out her boyfriend was seeing another woman, she attempted to hire a hit man to kill the woman.

At Thursday’s sentencing hearing, prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed that it appeared the “hitman” who accepted funds from Ms. Murphy likely never intended to carry out the murder.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Bedford, Euless, Grapevine, and Hurst Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Weybrecht prosecuted the case.

A Ukrainian national was sentenced today to 13 years and seven months in prison and ordered to pay over $16 million in restitution for his role in conducting more than 2,500 ransomware attacks and demanding over $700 million in ransom payments.

“As this sentencing shows, the Justice Department is working with our international partners and using all tools at our disposal to identify cybercriminals, capture their illicit profits, and hold them accountable for their crimes,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.

“Deploying the REvil ransomware variant, the defendant reached out across the globe to demand hundreds of millions of dollars from U.S. victims,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “But this case shows the Justice Department’s reach is also global—working with our international partners, we are bringing to justice those who target U.S. victims, and we are disrupting the broader cybercrime ecosystem.”

“Today, the FBI’s close collaboration with our worldwide partners has again ensured that a cybercriminal who thought he was beyond our reach faces the consequences of his actions,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “We will continue to relentlessly pursue cyber criminals like Vasinksyi wherever they may hide, while we disrupt their criminal schemes, seize their money and infrastructure, and target their enablers and criminal associates to the fullest extent of the law.”

According to court documents, Yaroslav Vasinskyi, also known as Rabotnik, 24, conducted thousands of ransomware attacks using the ransomware variant known as Sodinokibi/REvil.  Ransomware is malicious software designed to encrypt data on victim computers, allowing bad actors the ability to demand a ransom payment in exchange for the decryption key. The co-conspirators demanded ransom payments in cryptocurrency and used cryptocurrency exchangers and mixing services to hide their ill-gotten gains. To drive their ransom demands higher, Sodinokibi/REvil co-conspirators also publicly exposed their victims’ data when victims would not pay ransom demands.

“Yaroslav Vasinskyi and his co-conspirators hacked into thousands of computers around the world and encrypted them with ransomware,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Then they demanded over $700 million in ransom payments and threatened to publicly disclose victims’ data if they refused to pay. Although the conspirators attempted to cover their tracks by laundering the payments from victims, Vasinskyi could not hide from law enforcement. Vasinskyi’s sentence today should serve as a reminder to ransomware actors everywhere: we will track you down and bring you to justice.”

“Using ransomware, malicious actors from around the globe can paralyze U.S. companies in a matter of minutes,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton for the Northern District of Texas. “But as cybercriminals work together to deploy these attacks, law enforcement throughout the United States stands ready to dismantle their criminal enterprises. The dedicated prosecutors from the Northern District of Texas and the skilled agents at the FBI Dallas Field Office proved once again today to ransomware actors everywhere: When you hit targets in the United States, the Justice Department and its partners will come after you.”  

Vasinskyi previously pleaded guilty in the Northern District of Texas to an 11-count indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit fraud and related activity in connection with computers, damage to protected computers, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was previously extradited to the United States from Poland. 

Relatedly, in 2023, the Department obtained the final forfeiture of millions of dollars’ worth of ransom payments obtained through two related civil forfeiture cases, which included 39.89138522 Bitcoin and $6.1 million in U.S. dollar funds traceable to alleged ransom payments received by other members of the conspiracy.

The FBI investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany H. Eggers for the Northern District of Texas and Senior Counsel Frank Lin of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dimitri N. Rocha for the Northern District of Texas assisted with the related civil forfeiture cases.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with Polish authorities to secure the extradition of Vasinskyi.

A Ukrainian national was sentenced today to 13 years and seven months in prison and ordered to pay over $16 million in restitution for his role in conducting over 2,500 ransomware attacks and demanding over $700 million in ransom payments.

“As this sentencing shows, the Justice Department is working with our international partners and using all tools at our disposal to identify cybercriminals, capture their illicit profits, and hold them accountable for their crimes,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland.

“Deploying the REvil ransomware variant, the defendant reached out across the globe to demand hundreds of millions of dollars from U.S. victims,” said Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. “But this case shows the Justice Department’s reach is also global—working with our international partners, we are bringing to justice those who target U.S. victims, and we are disrupting the broader cybercrime ecosystem.”

“Today, the FBI’s close collaboration with our worldwide partners has again ensured that a cybercriminal who thought he was beyond our reach faces the consequences of his actions,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “We will continue to relentlessly pursue cyber criminals like Vasinksyi wherever they may hide, while we disrupt their criminal schemes, seize their money and infrastructure, and target their enablers and criminal associates to the fullest extent of the law.”

According to court documents, Yaroslav Vasinskyi, also known as Rabotnik, 24, conducted thousands of ransomware attacks using the ransomware variant known as Sodinokibi/REvil.  Ransomware is malicious software designed to encrypt data on victim computers, allowing bad actors the ability to demand a ransom payment in exchange for the decryption key. The co-conspirators demanded ransom payments in cryptocurrency and used cryptocurrency exchangers and mixing services to hide their ill-gotten gains. To drive their ransom demands higher, Sodinokibi/REvil co-conspirators also publicly exposed their victims’ data when victims would not pay ransom demands.

“Yaroslav Vasinskyi and his co-conspirators hacked into thousands of computers around the world and encrypted them with ransomware,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Then they demanded over $700 million in ransom payments and threatened to publicly disclose victims’ data if they refused to pay. Although the conspirators attempted to cover their tracks by laundering the payments from victims, Vasinskyi could not hide from law enforcement. Vasinskyi’s sentence today should serve as a reminder to ransomware actors everywhere: we will track you down and bring you to justice.”

“Using ransomware, malicious actors from around the globe can paralyze U.S. companies in a matter of minutes,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton for the Northern District of Texas. “But as cybercriminals work together to deploy these attacks, law enforcement throughout the United States stands ready to dismantle their criminal enterprises. The dedicated prosecutors from the Northern District of Texas and the skilled agents at the FBI Dallas Field Office proved once again today to ransomware actors everywhere: When you hit targets in the United States, the Justice Department and its partners will come after you.”  

Vasinskyi previously pleaded guilty in the Northern District of Texas to an 11-count indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit fraud and related activity in connection with computers, damage to protected computers, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was previously extradited to the United States from Poland. 

Relatedly, in 2023, the Department obtained the final forfeiture of millions of dollars’ worth of ransom payments obtained through two related civil forfeiture cases, which included 39.89138522 Bitcoin and $6.1 million in U.S. dollar funds traceable to alleged ransom payments received by other members of the conspiracy.

The FBI investigated the case.

Senior Counsel Frank Lin of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany H. Eggers for the Northern District of Texas prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Dimitri N. Rocha for the Northern District of Texas assisted with the related civil forfeiture cases.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with Polish authorities to secure the extradition of Vasinskyi.

The final defendant arrested in a large-scale drug and gun bust in Lubbock in July 2023 has been sentenced, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

In total, 23 defendants were sentenced to a combined total of 218 years in federal prison.

The final defendant, Beatrice Eunice Gutierrez, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge James Wesley Hendrix to 18 years in prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine on Thursday. 

“Project Safe Neighborhoods is designed to target an areas’ most dangerous offenders. Key to the initiative’s success are productive partnerships between state, federal, and local law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton. “We hope the Lubbock community will feel more at ease knowing these defendants will spend significant time off their streets and behind bars.”

Members of the group are linked to at least one fatal overdose. The victim, identified in court documents as T.F., was located in a bedroom surrounded by blue pills later confirmed to contain fentanyl. Defendant Alexus Grubelnik later admitted she delivered the pills to his residence, hiding them under the doormat.

Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement seized more than 12,354  grams of fentanyl pills, 12,7311 grams of methamphetamine, 4393 grams of heroin, 31 grams of oxycodone, 1.26 grams of cocaine, 35 firearms, and $155,204 in U.S. currency.

Those sentenced include:

•             Steven Paul Echols, sentenced to 210 months for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine

•             Rachel Michelle Melendez, sentenced to 210 months for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine

•             Nicolas Blake Pereida, sentenced to 240 months for distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine

•             Brent Reed Angelle, sentenced to 188 months for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine

•             Alexus Michelle Grubelnik, sentenced to 135 months for distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl

•             Beatrice Eunice Gutierrez, sentenced to 216 months for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine

•             Erik Hans Grosstueck, sentenced to 216 months for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl

•             Brian Jacob Miller, sentenced to 70 months for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl

•             Alexander Erik Pierce, sentenced to 186 months for distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl

•             Christian Carlisle Enochs, sentenced to 60 months for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl

•             Brannon Mikel Burns, sentenced to 42 months for distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl

•             Matthew Ryan Chandler, sentenced to 42 months for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl

•             Loddy Max Montoya, sentenced to 42 months for possession with intent to distribute fentanyl

•             Trey Matthew Parrish, sentenced to 96 months for distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl

•             Glen Donnell Nall, Jr., sentenced to 135 months for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine

•             Anthony Ray Morales, sentenced to 78 months for felon in possession of a firearm

•             Ronny Paul Spruiell, sentenced to 210 months for distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine

•             Kevontae Jalil Hawthorne, sentenced to 48 months for felon in possession of a firearm

•             Daniel Anthony Moreno, sentenced to 30 months for felon in possession of a firearm

•             Ethan Tyler Nieto, sentenced to 32 months for felon in possession of a firearm

•             Martin Rosalez III, aka Wedo,  sentenced to 41 months for felon in possession of a firearm

•             Roberto Salinas, Jr., sentenced to 27 months for felon in possession of a firearm

•             Tevin Terelle Carrington,  sentenced to 63 months for felon in possession of a firearm

A number of the defendants were tied to Lubbock’s Project Safe Neighborhood zone, a high-crime hotspot where federal, state, and local law enforcement leaders collaborate to reduce violence and increase community safety. Many had extensive criminal histories, including child sexual assault, aggravated assault, burglary, fraud, manufacture and delivery of controlled substances, and unlawful carrying of firearms.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives’ Dallas Field Division – Lubbock Resident Agency, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Division – Lubbock Resident Agency, the United States Marshal Service, the Caprock HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) Task Force, the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Lubbock Police Department, the Lubbock County Sherriff’s Office, and the Texas Anti-Gang Task Force conducted the investigation and arrest operation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Long is prosecuted the case along with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeff Haag, Ann Howey, Callie Woolam, Matt McLeod, and Ryan Redd.

The case is an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) case.  The OCDETF program was established in 1982 in order to attack and reduce the supply of illegal drugs entering the United States and to diminish violence and other criminal activity associated with the drug trade.  The OCDETF program leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level drug traffickers and drug trafficking networks using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information can be found at

A financial advisor who conned at least ten clients out of more than $1.2 million was sentenced today to five years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Dusty Sternadel, 43, pleaded guilty in January to wire fraud. She was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Reed C. O’Connor.

According to plea papers, Ms. Sternadel, a financial adviser at a large multi-national financial services firm, tricked clients into sending her money and checks, which she deposited into her own accounts.

On Sept. 18, 2019, for example, Ms. Sternadel transferred almost $27,000 from a client’s brokerage account into their personal checking account. She then falsely told the client-victim that the firm had accidentally transferred someone else’s money into the checking account, and instructed the victim to write out a check for that amount. The victim complied, and Ms. Sternadel deposited the funds into her own business bank account and used it for personal expenses.

Over the course of the scheme, which lasted from 2019 to 2022, Ms. Sternadel stole at least $1.2 million from ten victims:

• Victim 1: $286,021.63 (refunded to the victim by the firm)
• Victim 2: $18,122 (refunded to the victim by the firm)
• Victim 3: $ 101,240.50 (refunded to the victim by the firm)
• Victim 4: $21,064 ($9,334 of which was refunded by the firm)
• Victim 5: $43,099.21 (refunded to the victim by the firm)
• Victim 6: $51,600 (refunded to the victim by the firm)
• Victim 7: $204,442.82 (refunded to the victim by the firm)
• Victim 8: $40,000
• Victim 9:  $288,979.89 (refunded to the victim by the firm)
• Victim 10: $175,201.25 (refunded to the victim by the firm)

At sentencing, prosecutors said most of the victims were elderly, and some of them were even suffering from cognitive decline.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Division conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Weybrecht prosecuted the case; Assistant U.S. Attorney John de la Garza handled the forfeiture. 

Twelve drug traffickers tied to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel have been sentenced to between four and a half and 40 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Francisco Javier Rodriguez Arreola, a top source of supply charged in the case, was sentenced Tuesday to 40 years in federal prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Mr. Rodriguez Arreola, a 45-year-old Mexican citizen born in Michoacan, was arrested in 2021 in Del Rio, Texas while illegally reentering the United States from Mexico after having been previously deported.  

In plea papers, the defendant admitted that he helped coordinate the shipment of a load of 199.97 kilograms of liquid methamphetamine – with a street value of up to $9.9 million – from Mexico to Dallas concealed inside the diesel tank of a red semi-truck.

During the course of the investigation, court-authorized wiretaps caught Mr. Rodriguez Arreola, who went by the street names “Taquito” and “Viejo” (“Old”), communicating with codefendants in code about the movement and sale of controlled substances.

Courtroom testimony revealed that Mr. Rodriguez Arreola had previously served time in federal prison and that he was deported to Mexico in April of 2020.  Less than a month after being deported, he was back in the drug trade when, in May of 2020, he and a codefendant discussed how the COVID-19 pandemic was slowing down the movement and sale of controlled substances.  The defendant stated the pandemic was causing the price of methamphetamine to increase and he was heard saying he hoped the price of a kilogram of methamphetamine would go up, as it had once sold for $14,000.

At Tuesday’s sentencing hearing, prosecutors introduced evidence that showed that Mr. Rodriguez Arreola coordinated multiple deliveries of methamphetamine from Mexico into the United States on behalf of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), one of Mexico’s most violent and powerful drug cartels. During the hearing, Mr. Rodriguez Arreola was identified as a person who had access to the higher echelons of the CJNG because he associated with individuals who reported directly to the cartel’s leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, a.k.a. El Mencho.

Agent testimony revealed that the defendant served the CJNG as a broker of methamphetamine and that he had significant ties to Plaza Bosses who had access to cartel leadership.  Mr. Rodriguez-Arreola’s role included finding drivers and people who could transport and distribute methamphetamine, planning routes, confirming delivery, loss prevention, and finding locations to receive, store, and transfer methamphetamine shipments.  

Tuesday’s sentencing hearing further revealed the defendant had access to counterintelligence information provided by the CJNG because, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Rodriguez Arreola told a codefendant that they needed drivers that were United States residents to transport methamphetamine [loads], because no drivers with visas could make it through [the border crossings with their loads of methamphetamine].   

Other defendants sentenced include:

• Ricardo Hernandez Zarate, sentenced to 480 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and 240 months in prison for money laundering (concurrent sentences)

• Pedro Hernandez Zarate, sentenced to 360 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance

• Uriel Marin Gaona, sentenced to 120 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance

• Benito Diaz Hernandez, sentenced to 210 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance

• Marcos Garcia Reyes, sentenced to 87 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled

• Heleodoro Rosales Ramirez, sentenced to 168 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance

• Rafael Diaz, sentenced to 60 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance

• Jose Alberto Plascencia Torres, sentenced to 292 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance

• Elmer Gardea Tello, sentenced to 55 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled (cocaine)

• Walter Daniel Chapa Marty, sentenced to 121 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance

• Salvador Antonio Martinez, sentenced to 151 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance

Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement seized approximately 650 kilograms of methamphetamine drugs, 17 guns, $220,922 in U.S. currency, and $12,200 in real and personal property.

The investigation was led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, with special assistance provided by the Texas Department of Public Safety, the Gainesville Police Department, Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, the Dallas Police Department, the Fort Worth Police Department, the Williamson County, Texas Sheriff’s Department, the Hawkins County Sheriff’s Department in Tennessee, the FBI’s Knoxville Field Office (Tennessee Resident Agency Office), and the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Strike Force 1. Assistant U.S. Attorney George Leal prosecuted the case.

The case is an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) case.  The OCDETF program was established in 1982 in order to attack and reduce the supply of illegal drugs entering the United States and to diminish violence and other criminal activity associated with the drug trade.  The OCDETF program leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level drug traffickers and drug trafficking networks using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/ocdetf.

Consolidated Nuclear Security LLC (CNS) has agreed to pay the United States $18.4 million to settle allegations that, between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2020, CNS knowingly submitted false claims to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) for time not worked at NNSA’s Pantex Site near Amarillo, Texas. The NNSA’s Pantex Site is the nation's primary facility for the assembly, disassembly and retrofitting of nuclear weapons. CNS, a Delaware company with its principal place of business in Tennessee, held a contract to manage and operate the site.

“We will not tolerate the misuse of public funds by those who do business with the United States,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Today’s settlement demonstrates that the Justice Department will ensure that government contractors fulfill their commitments particularly with respect to highly sensitive work on matters of national security.”        

The settlement announced today resolves admissions by CNS that certain production technicians at the Pantex Plant recorded hours on their timesheets that they did not work. The United States paid CNS for that time under the CNS contract. CNS received credit in the settlement under the department’s guidelines for taking disclosure, cooperation and remediation into account in False Claims Act cases.

“Taxpayers should never be on the hook for the cost of work that was not performed,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton for the Northern District of Texas. “Government contractors who misrepresent hours will be held accountable.”

The settlement was the result of a coordinated effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch and Department of Energy, Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ken Coffin and Brian Stoltz for the Northern District of Texas and Senior Trial Counsel Don Williamson of the Justice Department's Civil Division handled the matter.

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

Three Fort Worth men pleaded guilty to robbing a U.S. letter carrier, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Cedrick Eugene Mims, Danny Yogi Oriszul Powell, and Cameron Kemond Gist, pleaded guilty to robbery of property of the United States. Mr. Powell entered his plea on March 6, Mr. Mims entered his plea on March 13, and Ms. Gist entered his plea on April 17.

According to plea papers, the three men robbed a letter carrier, identified in court documents as C.S., in Fort Worth on Oct. 24, 2023.

Mr. Mimms admitted he pointed a 39mm pistol at the carrier and demanded “the key” – a reference to the carrier’s “Arrow Key,” a master key used by the U.S. Postal Service to gather mail deposited in blue collection boxes that is prized by mail thieves.

The men admitted that they also purloined a postal scanner and the keys to the letter carrier’s official vehicle. Mr. Powell drove the getaway car and Mr. Gist provided the firearms, plea papers indicate.

Mr. Mims and Mr. Gist now face up to  25 years in federal prison due to the dangerous weapon enhancement; Mr. Powell faces up to 10 years. 

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Fort Worth  Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Montes is prosecuting the case.

This case is the result of Project Safe Delivery (PSD), a joint U.S. Postal Service and U.S. Postal Inspection Service initiative aimed at countering postal crime and safeguarding postal employees. Announced in May 2023, in direct response to a rise in threats and attacks on letter carriers and mail theft incidents, PSD seeks to protect Postal employees and the mailstream, prevent incidents through education and awareness, and enforce the laws that protect our nation’s mail stream.  Since the launch of PSD, postal inspectors, working with law enforcement partners, have arrested more than 213 individuals for postal-related robberies. In the first six months of the fiscal year, the number of arrests for postal-related robberies rose 72% versus the same period the previous year, while the number of postal-related robberies dropped 21%. Meanwhile, the number of mail theft complaints received during that period decreased 35%, suggesting the PSD approach is achieving the intended result.

A man who claimed to be a concert promoter for artists like Beyonce, Nicki Minaj, and others has been charged with fraud, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton. 

Carlos Desean Goodspeed, 43, who operated under the assumed business name, “Straight Like That Entertainment,” was indicted on April 16 on three counts of wire fraud. He was arrested without incident at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport on Wednesday, and made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Renée H. Toliver on Thursday.

According to the indictment, Mr. Goodspeed allegedly told investors he was a concert promoter working in partnership with a multinational event marketing company.  He allegedly solicited hefty investments and guaranteed returns as high as 50% in a short period of time.

For example, in July 2018, he allegedly solicited $400,000 from one victim, promising to pay him back $650,000 ($250,000 in profit) within four months.  He claimed the money would be used to promote touring shows for artists Nicki Minaj and Future.

The same day the would-be investor wired Straight Like That Entertainment the money, Mr. Goodspeed allegedly withdrew $200,000 to pay a court-appointed receiver in connection with an SEC lawsuit; wired $20,000 to another duped investor; and withdrew $100,000 in cash and cashier's checks. He paid back only a fraction of the investor’s $400,000 investment.

In January 2022, Mr. Goodspeed allegedly solicited $50,000 from another investor, telling the investor the funds would be used to purchase concert tickets and suites for an upcoming Tyler, the Creator show.

Despite the show taking place as planned, Mr. Goodspeed did not return the principal or pay out the return as promised, allegedly making excuse after excuse.  He eventually told the investor he would be paid in full after two additional concerts, including a second concert by Tyler, the Creator and another by Ludacris.  The investor wired an additional $130,000 to Straight Like That Entertainment, which Mr. Goodspeed allegedly used for personal expenses, including rental payments at an upscale apartment complex, a purchase at a high-end retail store, and airline fees and hotels; and to make lulling payments to other duped investors.

In total, as a result of Mr. Goodspeed’s alleged fraud, investors collectively suffered a loss of over one million dollars.

An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Mr. Goodspeed is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

If convicted, he faces up to 60 years in prison (20 years per count).

The Federal Bureau of Investigation's Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Renee Hunter prosecuted the case.

A Rowlett woman who helped her fiancé orchestrate the brutal murder of his ex-girlfriend was convicted at trial, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Holly Ann Elkins was indicted in June 2023. On Wednesday, after seven days of trial and an hour and a half of deliberation, a jury convicted her of conspiracy to stalk, stalking using a dangerous weapon resulting in death, and brandishing a firearm in relation to a crime of violence.

Her former fiancé, Andrew Beard, previously pleaded guilty to stalking using a dangerous weapon resulting in death and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence and was sentenced to 43 years in federal prison.

“Holly Elkins and Andrew Beard constructed a campaign of terror aimed at Alyssa Ann Burkett, the mother of Mr. Beard’s young daughter.   After months of harassment and stalking, this campaign ended in the incredibly violent murder of Alyssa at the hands of Mr. Beard with Ms. Elkins’s full participation and knowledge in the planning and ensuing attempted cover-up.  This U.S. Attorney’s Office, and the Department of Justice as a whole, are committed to bringing those guilty of such heinous domestic violence to justice.  I pray that today’s verdict brings the victim’s family the peace they need to move forward. I know they will never allow Alyssa’s daughter to forget just how much her mother loved her,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton.

According to evidence presented at trial, Ms. Elkins helped plot the Oct. 2, 2020 murder of 24-year-old Alyssa Ann Burkett, Mr. Beard’s ex-girlfriend, with whom he shared a young daughter.

The government argued that Ms. Elkins – who apparently dreamt of a life with Mr. Beard and a mother/ child relationship with his daughter – repeatedly attempted to call into question Ms. Burkett’s fitness as a parent. When that failed, Ms. Elkins goaded Mr. Beard into taking Ms. Burkett’s life, labeling the victim a “c**t” and a “dumb b**ch” and a “garbage s**t mom.” 

The perpetrators’ relationship began in early April 2020. Later that month, Ms. Elkins spent her first weekend with Mr. Beard and his daughter. By May, the couple were shopping for engagement rings. In June, however, Ms. Elkins grew frustrated at Mr. Beard’s continuing association with Ms. Burkett, writing, “your BM [baby mamma] owns you,” “you continue to put BM first,” “you choose to be idk for lack of a better term submissive to her,” and “I don’t have want or need any bullshit from anyone.”

Ms. Elkins began a campaign to harass Ms. Burkett in summer 2020, shortly after Ms. Elkins moved into Mr. Beard’s home.

In June, Ms. Elkins and Mr. Beard conspired to place a GPS tracker on Ms. Burkett’s vehicle.  A  month later, Ms. Elkins placed a call to 911 under the name fake “Amber,” falsely claiming that Ms. Burkett’s car was driving erratically on the interstate.  In August 2020, Ms. Elkins falsely reported to police that Ms. Burkett’s mother had attacked her, creating scratches on her own chest to support the lie. Five days later, Ms. Elkins and Mr. Beard paid a private investigator to dig up dirt on Ms. Burkett and her new boyfriend. (The investigator, who testified at trial, found nothing incriminating.) In September, Ms. Elkins helped Mr. Beard plant drugs and a gun in Ms. Burkett’s vehicle; Mr. Beard then placed a call to police under a fake name claiming Ms. Burkett was selling drugs to black men out of her car.

Then, on Sept. 10, just three weeks before the murder, Ms. Elkins accompanied Mr. Beard to a sporting goods store, where he purchased a black rainsuit in cash.  On Sept. 14, two and a half weeks before the murder, Ms. Elkins purchased dark makeup from a drug store.  On Sept. 19, she accompanied Mr. Beard to a big box store, where they purchased .410 shotgun shells and a Camillus knife.

One week prior to the murder, Ms. Elkins texted Mr. Beard and said “I hope you handle it.” She requested that he be “ride or die” for her and said if he was not, she is not sure the relationship can continue. Shortly after that text exchange, Google records reflect that Andrew Beard began conducting searches for how to remove gunpowder from his hands.

On Oct. 2, 2020, Mr. Beard, dressed in a black rainsuit and disguised as a Black man, shot Ms. Burkett in the head with a shotgun while she sat behind the wheel of her car in her work parking lot. As she staggered out of the car, Mr. Beard grabbed her and stabbed and slashed her 44 times.  Her coworkers testified at trial that they found Ms. Burkett covered in blood and gasping for air in front of her office front door. She died as her coworkers tried to render aid to her.

During the murder, Ms. Elkins stayed at Beard’s home in Rockwall with Ms. Burkett’s daughter. In an attempt to create an alibi, she later claimed Mr. Beard had been home with her during the crime.

At the trial, Ms. Burkett’s new boyfriend testified that he believed Ms. Elkins was the “puppet master” behind the murder.

Ms. Elkins now faces up to life in federal prison.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office, the Carrollton Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives’ Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gary Tromblay, Rick Calvert, and Ryan Niedermair are prosecuting the case. U.S. District Judge Jane Boyle presided over trial.

A Dallas anesthesiologist was convicted today for injecting dangerous drugs into patient IV bags, leading to one death and numerous cardiac emergencies, the Justice Department announced.

Raynaldo Riviera Ortiz Jr., 60, was charged by criminal complaint in September 2023 and indicted the following month on charges related to tampering with IV bags used at a local surgical center. After eight days of trial and seven hours of deliberation, a jury convicted him of four counts of tampering with consumer products resulting in serious bodily injury, one count of tampering with a consumer product and five counts of intentional adulteration of a drug.

“The facts brought out at trial in this case are particularly disturbing,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department will work with its law enforcement partners to hold accountable anyone who puts patients’ lives at risk by tampering with critical medical products.”

“Dr. Ortiz cloaked himself in the white coat of a healer, but instead of curing pain, he inflicted it,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton for the Northern District of Texas. “He assembled ticking time bombs, then sat in wait as those medical time bombs went off one by one, toxic cocktails flowing into the veins of patients who were often at their most vulnerable, lying unconscious on the operating table. We saw the patients testify. Their pain, their fear and their trauma was palpable in that courtroom.”

“Patients expect that their doctors will use only safe and effective medical products during their surgeries. When illicit tampering occurs, serious harm and even death can result,” said Special Agent in Charge Charles L. Grinstead of the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OIC). “Working with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to monitor, investigate and bring to justice those who would risk patients’ health and safety.”

According to evidence presented at trial, between May and August 2022, numerous patients at Surgicare North Dallas suffered cardiac emergencies during routine medical procedures performed by various doctors. About one month after the unexplained emergencies began, an anesthesiologist who had worked at the facility earlier that day died while treating herself for dehydration using an IV bag. In August 2022, doctors at the surgical care center began to suspect tainted IV bags had caused the repeated crises after an 18-year-old patient had to be rushed to the intensive care unit in critical condition during a routine sinus surgery.

A local lab analyzed fluid from the bag used during the teenager’s surgery and found bupivacaine (a nerve-blocking agent), epinephrine (a stimulant) and lidocaine (an anesthetic) — a drug cocktail that could have caused the boy’s symptoms, which included very high blood pressure, cardiac dysfunction and pulmonary edema. The lab also observed a puncture in the bag.

Ortiz surreptitiously injected IV bags of saline with epinephrine, bupivacaine and other drugs, placed them into a warming bin at the facility, and waited for them to be used in colleagues’ surgeries, knowing their patients would experience dangerous complications. Surveillance video introduced into evidence showed Ortiz repeatedly retrieving IV bags from the warming bin and replacing them shortly thereafter, not long before the bags were carried into operating rooms where patients experienced complications. Video also showed Ortiz mixing vials of medication and watching as victims were wheeled out by emergency responders.

Evidence presented at trial showed that Ortiz was facing disciplinary action at the time for an alleged medical mistake made in his one of his own surgeries, and that he potentially faced losing his medical license.

At trial, doctors testified about the confusion they felt when their patients’ blood pressures suddenly skyrocketed. Reviewing medical records, they all noted the emergencies occurred shortly after new IV bags had been hung. Patients recalled waking up unexpectedly intubated in intensive care units they had been transported to via emergency medical transportation services, in pain and in fear for their lives.

A sentencing date has not yet been set. Ortiz faces a maximum penalty of 190 years in prison. The court will set his sentencing hearing at a later date.

FDA-OCI Special Agents Chad Medaris and Daniel Allgeyer investigated the case.

Assistant Director Patrick Runkle and Trial Attorney Rachel Baron of the Civil Division's Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney John de la Garza for the Northern District of Texas prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gail Hayworth for the Northern District of Texas provided appellate support. Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey presided over trial.

For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch. For more information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas, visit www.justice.gov/usao-ndtx

A Dallas anesthesiologist was convicted today for injecting dangerous drugs into patient IV bags, leading to one death and numerous cardiac emergencies, the Justice Department announced.

Raynaldo Riviera Ortiz Jr., 60, was charged by criminal complaint in September 2023 and indicted the following month on charges related to tampering with IV bags used at a local surgical center. After eight days of trial and seven hours of deliberation, a jury convicted him of four counts of tampering with consumer products resulting in serious bodily injury, one count of tampering with a consumer product and five counts of intentional adulteration of a drug.

“The facts brought out at trial in this case are particularly disturbing,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The department will work with its law enforcement partners to hold accountable anyone who puts patients’ lives at risk by tampering with critical medical products.”

“Dr. Ortiz cloaked himself in the white coat of a healer, but instead of curing pain, he inflicted it,” U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas said in a video statement. “He assembled ticking time bombs, then sat in wait as those medical time bombs went off one by one, toxic cocktails flowing into the veins of patients who were often at their most vulnerable, lying unconscious on the operating table. We saw the patients testify. Their pain, their fear and their trauma was palpable in that courtroom.”

“Patients expect that their doctors will use only safe and effective medical products during their surgeries. When illicit tampering occurs, serious harm and even death can result,” said Special Agent in Charge Charles L. Grinstead of the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OIC). “Working with our law enforcement partners, we will continue to monitor, investigate and bring to justice those who would risk patients’ health and safety.”

According to evidence presented at trial, between May and August 2022, numerous patients at Surgicare North Dallas suffered cardiac emergencies during routine medical procedures performed by various doctors. About one month after the unexplained emergencies began, an anesthesiologist who had worked at the facility earlier that day died while treating herself for dehydration using an IV bag. In August 2022, doctors at the surgical care center began to suspect tainted IV bags had caused the repeated crises after an 18-year-old patient had to be rushed to the intensive care unit in critical condition during a routine sinus surgery.

A local lab analyzed fluid from the bag used during the teenager’s surgery and found bupivacaine (a nerve-blocking agent), epinephrine (a stimulant) and lidocaine (an anesthetic) — a drug cocktail that could have caused the boy’s symptoms, which included very high blood pressure, cardiac dysfunction and pulmonary edema. The lab also observed a puncture in the bag.

Ortiz surreptitiously injected IV bags of saline with epinephrine, bupivacaine and other drugs, placed them into a warming bin at the facility, and waited for them to be used in colleagues’ surgeries, knowing their patients would experience dangerous complications. Surveillance video introduced into evidence showed Ortiz repeatedly retrieving IV bags from the warming bin and replacing them shortly thereafter, not long before the bags were carried into operating rooms where patients experienced complications. Video also showed Ortiz mixing vials of medication and watching as victims were wheeled out by emergency responders.

Evidence presented at trial showed that Ortiz was facing disciplinary action at the time for an alleged medical mistake made in his one of his own surgeries, and that he potentially faced losing his medical license.

At trial, doctors testified about the confusion they felt when their patients’ blood pressures suddenly skyrocketed. Reviewing medical records, they all noted the emergencies occurred shortly after new IV bags had been hung. Patients recalled waking up unexpectedly intubated in intensive care units they had been transported to via emergency medical transportation services, in pain and in fear for their lives.

A sentencing date has not yet been set. Ortiz faces a maximum penalty of 190 years in prison. The court will set his sentencing hearing at a later date.

FDA-OCI Special Agents Chad Medaris and Daniel Allgeyer investigated the case.

Assistant Director Patrick Runkle and Trial Attorney Rachel Baron of the Civil Division's Consumer Protection Branch and Assistant U.S. Attorney John de la Garza for the Northern District of Texas prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gail Hayworth for the Northern District of Texas provided appellate support. Chief U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey presided over trial.

An Irving man was sentenced yesterday to seven years in prison for his role in a $7 million COVID-19 testing fraud, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Terrance Barnard, 40, was indicted in December 2022 and pleaded guilty in September 2023 to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and aggravated identity theft. He was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr, who ordered him to pay more than $7 million in restitution.

“These defendants took advantage of unsuspecting patients – and a global pandemic – to steal millions of dollars from insurers using private patient information,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton. “This sort of crime breaches patients’ trust and raises the cost of healthcare for all – at a time when access to medical care feels precarious to many.”

“Terrance Barnard and his co-conspirators submitted false claims to multiple healthcare plans, including Employee Retirement Income Security Act covered plans, for COVID-19 testing services using the stolen personal identifiable information of numerous individuals. Today’s sentencing affirms the U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General’s commitment to working with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employee Benefits Security Administration to protect the integrity of employee benefit plans,” said Casey Howard, Special Agent-in-Charge, Central Region, U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General.

According to plea papers, Mr. Barnard admitted that he and his coconspirators accessed private patient information – including names, dates of birth, and insurance subscriber numbers – through various clinics where Barnard worked as a contract lab technician.  Mr. Barnard admitted that on some occasions, he took photographs of patient information and stored the images on “burner” phones, and on other occasions, he and a coconspirator accessed the clinics’ confidential electronic medical records to obtain large amounts of patient information at once.

They then used the patient information to submit claims to insurance providers – including Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, United Healthcare, Aetna, Humana, and Molina Health Care – for COVID-19 testing that was never performed. (The patients had not requested COVID-19 testing, nor were they aware their information was being used to submit claims.)

Mr. Barnard admitted that the “labs” at which the coconspirators claimed the testing occurred, including TC Diagnostics, ME Diagnostics, and PHR Diagnostics, were, in fact, shell entities that never operated as labs.  Collectively, these three entities submitted approximately $30 million in claims and were paid more than $7 million in reimbursements for fake testing.

Under the terms of his plea agreement, Mr. Barnard agreed to forfeit almost $2.5 million from bank accounts tied to him or his family, several real properties, five vehicles, and five luxury watches.

Also charged in the scheme were Connie Jo Clampitt, William Paul Gray, and Don Hogg, all of whom submitted guilty pleas. Mr. Gray was sentenced to 54 months in prison for conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud; Ms. Clampitt and Mr. Hogg await sentencing on April 10 and May 1, respectively.

The Dallas Regional Office of the United States Department of Labor – Employee Benefits Security Administration,  the Central Region of the Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, the Texas Department of Insurance Fraud Unit's Fort Worth Field Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Renee Hunter is prosecuting the case.

A Dallas man was sentenced today to 37 years in prison, with credit for time served in state custody, following his guilty plea to hate crime charges arising out of a fatal shooting at a car repair shop.

On Sept. 14, 2023, Anthony Paz Torres, 39, pleaded guilty to five federal hate crime counts for killing one individual and attempting to kill four others during a mass shooting at Omar’s Wheels and Tires in Dallas on Dec. 24, 2015. Torres also pleaded guilty to one count of using a firearm to commit the murder.

“As this sentence makes clear, hate crimes fueled by Islamophobia, or by bias of any kind, will be met with the full force of the Justice Department,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “No person in this country should have to live in fear because of who they are, what they look like, or how they pray.”

“The defendant attempted to commit a mass shooting and intentionally targeted victims at a Muslim-owned business,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “This case is an abhorrent example of how deadly Islamophobia can be in our own country and the severe consequences that wait for anyone who commits acts of hateful violence. The FBI places civil rights investigations as one of our highest priorities because everyone deserves to practice their religion without fear.”

“No person in the United States should fear that they will be the target of violence because of their religion,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The sentence handed down today ensures that Torres will be held accountable for the hate-fueled, Islamophobic violence he inflicted on the victims in this case. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute such hate crimes.”

“North Texans come from a variety of religious traditions and backgrounds, and no one should have to live in fear because of the way they worship,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton for the Northern District of Texas. “This case demonstrates the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s dedication to protecting members of our north Texas community from acts of violence fueled by hatred toward any religious group. Let the message be clear: if you commit such acts, we will seek to prosecute you and send you to prison for as long as possible.”

According to court documents, Torres admitted that a few days prior to the shooting, he went to Omar’s Wheels and Tires, made anti-Muslim comments, and pledged that he would come back. When he returned to the business on Dec. 24, 2015, Torres asked customers if they were Muslim. After being escorted back to his vehicle by Omar’s Wheels and Tires employees, Torres discharged his firearm in the direction of multiple employees and customers. Torres admitted that he killed one person and attempted to kill four other people at Omar’s Wheels and Tires because he believed that they were Muslim. 

The FBI Dallas Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the Dallas Police Department and Dallas Criminal District Attorney’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Dana for the Northern District of Texas and Rebekah J. Bailey, formerly a Trial Attorney with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, prosecuted the case, with the help of Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Gilstrap for the Northern District of Texas.

For more information and resources about the Department’s work to combat hate crimes visit www.justice.gov/hatecrimes.

A Dallas man was sentenced today to 37 years in prison, with credit for time served in state custody, following his guilty plea to hate crime charges arising out of a fatal shooting at a car repair shop.

On Sept. 14, 2023, Anthony Paz Torres, 39, pleaded guilty to five federal hate crime counts for killing one individual and attempting to kill four others during a mass shooting at Omar’s Wheels and Tires in Dallas on Dec. 24, 2015. Torres also pleaded guilty to one count of using a firearm to commit the murder.

“As this sentence makes clear, hate crimes fueled by Islamophobia, or by bias of any kind, will be met with the full force of the Justice Department,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “No person in this country should have to live in fear because of who they are, what they look like, or how they pray.”

“The defendant attempted to commit a mass shooting and intentionally targeted victims at a Muslim-owned business,” said FBI Director Christopher Wray. “This case is an abhorrent example of how deadly Islamophobia can be in our own country and the severe consequences that wait for anyone who commits acts of hateful violence. The FBI places civil rights investigations as one of our highest priorities because everyone deserves to practice their religion without fear.”

“No person in the United States should fear that they will be the target of violence because of their religion,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The sentence handed down today ensures that Torres will be held accountable for the hate-fueled, Islamophobic violence he inflicted on the victims in this case. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute such hate crimes.”

“North Texans come from a variety of religious traditions and backgrounds, and no one should have to live in fear because of the way they worship,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton for the Northern District of Texas. “This case demonstrates the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s dedication to protecting members of our north Texas community from acts of violence fueled by hatred toward any religious group. Let the message be clear: if you commit such acts, we will seek to prosecute you and send you to prison for as long as possible.”

According to court documents, Torres admitted that a few days prior to the shooting, he went to Omar’s Wheels and Tires, made anti-Muslim comments, and pledged that he would come back. When he returned to the business on Dec. 24, 2015, Torres asked customers if they were Muslim. After being escorted back to his vehicle by Omar’s Wheels and Tires employees, Torres discharged his firearm in the direction of multiple employees and customers. Torres admitted that he killed one person and attempted to kill four other people at Omar’s Wheels and Tires because he believed that they were Muslim. 

The FBI Dallas Field Office investigated the case, with assistance from the Dallas Police Department and Dallas Criminal District Attorney’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Dana for the Northern District of Texas and Rebekah J. Bailey, formerly a Trial Attorney with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, prosecuted the case, with the help of Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Gilstrap for the Northern District of Texas.

For more information and resources about the Department’s work to combat hate crimes visit www.justice.gov/hatecrimes.

A Fort Worth man pleaded guilty Wednesday to concealing a stolen U.S. Postal Service “Arrow Key,” announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Willis Bender, 18, was charged via criminal complaint in October 2023 and pleaded guilty Wednesday to receipt or concealment of stolen property of the United States.

In plea papers, Mr. Bender admitted he received and concealed a stolen “Arrow Key,” a master key used by the U.S. Postal Service to gather mail deposited in blue collection boxes.

The key – prized by mail thieves  – had been stolen from a letter carrier in Everman, Texas on Sept. 20, 2023. The carrier reported that she was robbed at gunpoint by a black man who demanded she hand over her “mailbox key.”  

In interviews with law enforcement, Mr. Bender gave various accounts of his involvement in the robbery. At first, he claimed he knew nothing about the incident; then he claimed that a man named showed up at his front door, threatened his family, and forced Mr. Bender to accompany him to the robbery. In a subsequent interview, Mr. Bender claimed a man threatened him with a gun and forced him to sit in the back seat of his car during the robbery. In yet another interview, he said a man committed the robbery while he and another individual waited outside in the vehicle.

In his final interview with law enforcement, Mr. Bender claimed that when police arrived in the area, he looked outside and saw the stolen arrow key sitting outside his door. Not wanting to get in trouble for robbery, he took the key and hid it behind the air duct grill in his bedroom alongside his gun, he claimed.

Mr. Bender now faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Everman Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Levi Thomas is prosecuting the case.

A bank robber who attempted to kidnap a Comerica employee was sentenced Thursday to more than 13 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Staci West League, 52, was charged via criminal complaint in May 2022 and indicted later that month. In September 2023, she pleaded guilty to bank robbery, brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence, and felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced Thursday to 165 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr.

In plea papers, Ms. League admitted to robbing a Comerica Bank in Irving, Texas, on April 29, 2022 while brandishing a 9mm handgun.

According to court documents, Ms. League entered the bank at 4:02 p.m., approached a teller, and asked to speak to a manager. When the manager approached her window, Ms. League announced she was committing a robbery and demanded cash. Both the manager and the teller went to the vault to retrieve the money, which they placed into a blue courier bag. When the manager presented the bag to the defendant, she drew a handgun out of her hoodie and attempted to verify an amount. The manager returned to the vault, put more money into the bag, and gave it to Ms. League.

Ms. League then pointed her handgun at another bank employee and ordered him to walk out the front door and to her pickup truck. Remarking that she needed a hostage, she ordered him into the truck. As the defendant got into the driver’s side door, the employee was able to flee to a nearby fast food restaurant. Ms. League fled the scene. Ms. League immediately fled the scene and drove to the Irving Fire Department, where she told firefighters that she “did something very bad” as they waited for Irving police to arrive.

Law enforcement recovered the cash and the gun used in the robbery shortly after they arrested Ms. League.

The 2022 robbery was Ms. League’s second bank robbery; she was convicted of robbing the same Comerica Bank in 2019. (That conviction was the underlying offense for the felon-in-possession charge. )

According to court documents, Ms. League entered the bank around 4:54 p.m. on June 14, 2019 with something concealed under a blanket, then announced, “I want large bills.” A teller spotted a rifle peeking out from under the blanket, she went to the vault to retrieve cash, which she placed in a plastic bag and gave to Ms. League. The defendant said, “thank you” and walked out the front door.

She then drove directly to the police department to turn herself in. She pleaded guilty to bank robbery and was sentenced to 40 months in prison for that crime.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office and the Irving Police Department conducted both investigations. U.S. Attorneys Robert Withers, Jordan Ganz (fmr), and Shane Read (fmr) prosecuted the cases.