Eastern District of Virginia

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An illegal immigrant from Honduras pled guilty today to aggravated identity theft and reentering the United States following a previous removal. Carlos Alexis Chavez-Paz was sentenced to two years and one day in prison and remains subject to the previous order of removal.

According to court documents, Chavez-Paz has illegally entered or reentered the United States four times and has been deported on three previous occasions.

On Jan. 10, 2025, at a DMV customer service center in Stafford County, Carlos Alexis Chavez-Paz presented an authentic Kentucky driver’s license bearing a picture that appeared to be Chavez-Paz, but with the name of another person. Chavez-Paz also presented a counterfeit Puerto Rican birth certificate, a counterfeit Social Security card, and mail in the in the identity theft victim’s name. The Social Security card contained the victim’s Social Security number. He presented the documents in support of an application for a Virginia driver’s license in the victim’s name in an effort to evade detection by immigration authorities.

Theophani K. Stamos, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Eric Weindorf, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C., made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Eitzen is prosecuting the case.

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

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:26-CR-100.

RICHMOND, Va. – An illegal alien from El Salvador pled guilty today to illegally reentering the United States after multiple previous removals.

According to court documents, on Oct. 6, 2015, Salvadoran national Luis Antonio Tejada-Santamaria was arrested for illegally entering the United States. Following his conviction, Tejada-Santamaria was deported on Jan. 13, 2016. On April 1, 2016, Tejada-Santamaria was arrested for illegally reentry, and on May 18, 2016, was again removed from the United States.

On Nov. 2, 2024, Tejada-Santamaria was arrested in Chesterfield County for assault on law enforcement and obstruction, and he was convicted of the latter in the Chesterfield County court.

Tejada-Santamaria is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 24. He faces a maximum penalty of two years in prison and remains subject to the previous order of removal. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Theophani K. Stamos, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Eric Weindorf, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C., made the announcement after Chief U.S. District Judge M. Hannah Lauck accepted the plea.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick Joseph McGorman and Angela Mastandrea are prosecuting the case.

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

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:25-cr-42.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Belarusian national was sentenced today to 16 years in prison for conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.

According to court documents, Maksim Silnikau, 40, was the creator and administrator of the Ransom Cartel ransomware strain, created in 2021. Silnikau had been a member of Russian-speaking cybercrime forums since at least 2005 and was a member of the notorious cybercrime website Direct Connection from 2011 to 2016, when the site was shuttered after the arrest of its administrator.

Beginning in May 2021, Silnikau developed a ransomware operation and began recruiting participants from cybercrime forums. On various occasions, Silnikau distributed information and tools to Ransom Cartel participants, including information about compromised computers, such as stolen credentials, and tools such as those designed to encrypt or “lock” compromised computers. Silnikau also maintained a hidden website where he and his co-conspirators could monitor and control ransomware attacks; communicate with each other; communicate with victims, including sending and negotiating payment demands; and manage distribution of funds between co-conspirators.

From 2021 to 2023, Silnikau’s Ransom Cartel conspirators executed ransomware attacks on at least 18 companies around the world, including companies based in California, New York, Nebraska, and countries other than the United States. The hackers stole data and demanded monetary payments in exchange for the key to unlock the stolen data, or in exchange for a promise not to publish the victim’s data. Ransom Cartel’s growth was disrupted by the arrest of Silnikau in July 2023.

Silnikau was extradited from Poland to face prosecution in the Eastern District of Virginia and the District of New Jersey.

Theophani K. Stamos, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Acting Special Agent in Charge Andrew Forrest, US Secret Service Criminal Investigative Division; Chris Ormerod, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Kansas City Field Office; and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albany Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Rossie D. Alston Jr. 

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided substantial assistance in the extradition of Silnikau and the collection of evidence. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey and the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property section also provided assistance.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Keim and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Zoe Bedell prosecuted the case. 

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:23-cr-108.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Nottoway County man was sentenced today to 15 years and eight months in prison for distribution of cocaine and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

According to court documents, in January 2025, members of the Amelia/Powhatan/Nottoway/Blackstone Drug & Gang Task Force conducted two controlled purchases of cocaine from Lionel Leo Hardy, 39, at his residence in Blackstone. On each occasion, Hardy weighed, packaged, and distributed cocaine.

On Jan. 28, 2025, task force officers searched Hardy’s residence. Inside the residence, officers encountered Hardy, Hardy’s girlfriend, and their two small children. Investigators recovered a handgun, a shotgun, loaded magazines, ammunition, $13,723, a money-counting machine, and individually wrapped plastic baggies of cocaine inside an infant formula can.

From vehicles parked on the property, investigators recovered two additional handguns, a shopping bag filled with smaller plastic bags containing cocaine and methamphetamine, and a vacuumed-sealed bag containing methamphetamine.

As a previously convicted felon, Hardy cannot legally possess firearms or ammunition.

Theophani K. Stamos, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Anthony A. Spotswood, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John C. Blanchard prosecuted the case.

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

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:25-cr-169.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A sergeant with the Stafford County Sheriff’s Office was arrested July 30 on charges of receiving child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

According to court documents, since at least 2023, Justin Thomas Lee Forman, 37, of Fredericksburg, allegedly used a Telegram account to solicit, purchase, and receive CSAM from another Telegram account. Forman allegedly received links and files containing CSAM, including videos and images depicting the sexual abuse of children and infants.

After receiving a tip in June, the FBI searched Forman’s residence on July 30 and seized approximately 16 electronic devices. Forman was arrested on July 30 and made an initial appearance in U.S. District Court on July 31. At a preliminary and detention hearing today, Forman entered a plea of not guilty.

If convicted, Forman faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Theophani K. Stamos, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Ian Kaufmann, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office made the announcement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Mercer is prosecuting the case.

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

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:26-mj-299.

A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Hampton man was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for attempted coercion and enticement of a child and receipt of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and an additional year for violating the terms of his supervised release.

According to court documents, on Oct. 22, 2018, Christopher Charles Collins, 40, was convicted in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Virginia of attempted transfer of obscene material to a person under 16 years of age and possession of CSAM. He was sentenced to six years and six months in prison and a five-year term of supervised release. Collins was released from prison on Nov. 24, 2023.

On October 28, 2025, using the moniker “SinningPastor,” Collins engaged online with an undercover officer who was posing as a 14-year-old girl on the social media platform Chatiw. After moving their communications to Discord, Collins sexually propositioned the undercover officer and arranged to pick her up from a home in Newport News and take her to his residence. Law enforcement arrested Collins when he arrived at the home.

At the time of his arrest, Collins possessed two cellphones. A search of the phones revealed that Collins possessed CSAM, of which he was attributed with over a thousand images.

Theophani K. Stamos, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Eric Weindorf, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth W. Hanes. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Washington D.C. Field Office and Newport News Police Department assisted in the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa R. McKeel prosecuted the case.

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

For more information about HSI’s efforts to protect children from sexual predators, visit Know2Protect.gov.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:26-cr-19.

RICHMOND, Va. – A South Carolina man was sentenced today to a year and one month in prison for conspiracy to commit mail fraud.

According to court documents, between March 2022 and April 2025, Cody Cavallaro, 31, of Charleston, conspired to steal merchandise from online retailers, submit fraudulent return requests, receive refunds, and then sell the stolen merchandise on third-party online platforms.

Cavallaro placed hundreds of orders for merchandise with online retailers. To circumvent retailers’ loss-prevention systems, Cavallaro used hundreds of false names, email addresses, and telephone numbers as well as different versions of his delivery address. For example, Cavallaro added “13th Floor” to his delivery address, which was a two-story single-family home.

After receiving the merchandise, Cavallaro and his co-conspirators submitted fraudulent return requests, prompting the retailers to provide digital copies of shipping labels that Cavallaro and his co-conspirators digitally manipulated to alter the printed delivery address. The conspirators applied the manipulated shipping labels to empty envelopes and placed them in the mail. Generally, once an envelope’s barcode was scanned, carriers’ automated systems treated the package as deliverable to the retailer’s return facility, resulting in a refund to Cavallaro without the retailer receiving a return package.

Cavallaro would then sell the merchandise on third-party online marketplaces, such as Amazon.com and Mercari.com. Cavallaro took steps to obfuscate his resale activity. For example, in late 2023, a loss prevention investigator for Amazon contacted Cavallaro to request business records indicating Cavallaro’s source for obtaining merchandise. Cavallaro provided the investigator with a fabricated invoice from another retailer for a total of $74,998.50.

In September 2022, Amazon uncovered a portion of Cavallaro’s return fraud scheme and issued “charge backs” on Cavallaro’s American Express credit card totaling $117,447.62. Cavallaro then submitted a fraud report to American Express falsely claiming that Amazon’s charge backs were fraudulent. American Express credited Cavallaro’s account with the full $117,447.62, leaving American Express as the victim of Cavallaro’s fraudulent conduct.

In total, Cavallaro caused an actual loss to seven different retailers of $768,127. Cavallaro further attempted, but ultimately failed, to order and fraudulently return merchandise worth an additional $586,577.62.

Theophani K. Stamos, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; James Kingsley, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service’s Richmond Field Office; and Damon E. Wood, Inspector in Charge of the Washington Division, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge David J. Novak.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Day prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:25-cr-145.

RICHMOND, Va. – Two Richmond men were sentenced to over 20 years in prison for their roles in a large-scale drug trafficking conspiracy.

According to court documents, from the fall of 2024 through June 2025, law enforcement conducted five controlled purchases of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin from Roddell Chappell, 40, and seven controlled purchases of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine from Vagas Davis, 38.

Investigators searched the residences of Chappell and Davis on June 24, 2025. From Chappell’s residence, investigators recovered multi-kilogram quantities of fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine as well as 15 firearms, large capacity drum magazines, ammunition, drug packaging materials, scales, presses, and $49,939. From Davis’ residence, investigators recovered 459.6 grams of marijuana, a money counter, and three cellphones. When Davis was arrested the same day, he possessed a loaded handgun, four additional cellphones, and $950.

Chappell pled guilty on Sept. 11, 2025, to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin, and possession of firearms by a convicted felon. On May 18, Chappell was sentenced to 20 years and 10 months in prison.

Davis pled guilty on Sept. 16, 2025, to distribution and aiding and abetting in the distribution of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Davis, who held a leadership role in the drug trafficking organization, was sentenced yesterday to 24 years and four months in prison.

Theophani K. Stamos, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Christopher C. Goumenis, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Washington Division, made the announcement. The Virginia State Police, Chesterfield County Police Department, and Richmond Police Department assisted with the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Mastandrea prosecuted the case.

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

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:25-cr-98.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Glen Allen man was sentenced today to 19 years and seven months in prison for distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

According to court documents, in response to a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, on Feb. 14, 2024, pursuant to a search warrant, law enforcement obtained the cellphone of Phillip Michael Taft, 40, at his probation office. During a review of the phone, investigators identified photos and videos depicting CSAM. Investigators also searched Taft’s synchronous account in which they identified approximately 20 videos depicting CSAM.

The FBI reviewed text messages on Taft’s phone and identified an exchange from Feb. 12 to 14, 2024, in which Taft discussed various sexual and pornographic topics and exchanged several images and videos, including at least one depicting the sexual abuse of children.

Taft has several previous criminal convictions, most recently on May 6, 2025, of eight felony counts for the sexual abuse of animals and eight felony counts for permitting sexual contact with an animal to be conducted on premises under his ownership or control. Taft’s federal sentence will be served consecutively to his state sentence.

Theophani K. Stamos, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Ian Kaufmann, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Janet Jin Ah Lee and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Carla Jordan-Detamore prosecuted the case.

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

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:24-cr-79.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A South Riding man was sentenced today to 12 years in prison for coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity.

According to court documents, on June 28, 2023, Michael David Seeds, 28, began communicating online with a 14-year-old victim via Discord, an Internet-based text, voice, and video messaging chat forum. Seeds purchased and gifted a new Discord subscription to the victim and created a username for her that included the word “victim.”

From July through August 2023, Seeds directed the victim to record images and videos of herself that were sexual in nature. During video chats, Seeds would instruct the victim on how to pose, remove her clothing, and what sexual actions to perform during the live stream. 

Theophani K. Stamos, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Jeffrey L. Tyler, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office's Criminal Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Vanessa K. Strobbe prosecuted 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.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:26-CR-55.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Sierra Nevada Company, LLC (SNC), headquartered in Sparks, Nevada, agreed to pay $7.75 million to settle False Claims Act allegations arising from its employment of a government official who, while employed by both SNC and the government, participated personally and substantially in three government contracts awarded to SNC.    

From July 2019 to June 2020, SNC retained Michael Henry, a Department of War employee with the Joint Staff/J6, as a consultant.  As a Joint Staff/J6 employee, Henry was involved in the award of three different government contracts to SNC: (1) a subcontract awarded by the Army in 2019, (2) an indefinite quantity/indefinite delivery contract awarded by the General Services Administration in 2020, and (3) task orders under an indefinite quantity/indefinite delivery contract awarded by the Special Operations Command in 2018.

After beginning his employment with SNC, Henry continued to serve as a Joint Staff/J6 employee.  In that capacity, Henry continued participating personally and substantially in the contracts by evaluating and obtaining approvals for SNC’s products.  While serving as an SNC consultant, Henry also participated personally and substantially in the contracts on SNC’s behalf by recommending SNC’s products for purchase. 

The settlement announced today resolves allegations that SNC submitted or caused the submission of false claims, false statements, and false certifications in connection with the contracts.  The United States alleged that SNC’s employment of Henry and Henry’s participation in the contracts on SNC’s behalf constituted an organizational conflict of interest under the Federal Acquisition Regulation.  The United States further alleged SNC knowingly made, or knowingly caused to be made, material false statements, material false certifications, and material omissions concerning the nonexistence of an organizational conflict of interest that induced the award of the contracts. 

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, the Department of Defense Office of Inspector General Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division’s Fraud Field Office, and the General Services Administration’s Office of Inspector General.

This matter was investigated by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tanya Kapoor. 

In 2025, Henry pled guilty to a one-count criminal indictment charging him with acts affecting a personal financial interest. 

The civil claims settled are allegations only; there has been no determination of civil liability.

NORFOLK, Va. – Terrance Edward Brown, 44, of Hampton Roads, was sentenced today to 18 years and 8 months in prison for conspiracy to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute cocaine, fentanyl, para-fluorofentanyl, and heroin and conspiracy to launder money.

According to court documents, in 2013, Brown was sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute cocaine. Beginning in 2022 while Brown was incarcerated, he, along with Sylvia Naupendai Bryant and Felisa Alexander, procured cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and para-fluorofentanyl from out-of-state sources and had it shipped in wholesale quantities to Virginia. At Brown’s direction, Bryant and Alexander supplied those narcotics to, among others, Donte Antrell Cartwright, Rudy Malik Collick, Brandon Rashad Hargrow, Marlow Rodrico Malone, Marquis Ryan Scott, Sherrod Demaine Benns, Brehon Kanell Davis, Terry Damaine Burke, and David Liequan Hairston for further distribution.

From June 2022 to Dec. 13, 2023, Brown and his co-conspirators sent at least $1,147,768 in drug proceeds via electronic money transfers, bank deposits, and bulk cash shipments to both U.S. citizens and foreign nationals.

• Bryant was sentenced on June 9 to two years and six months in prison.

• Cartwright was sentenced on May 26 to seven years and eight months in prison.

• Collick was sentenced on Jan. 22 to 14 years in prison.

• Hargrow was sentenced on Jan. 22 to seven years and six months in prison.

• Malone was sentenced on May 13 to 11 years and eight months in prison.

• Scott was sentenced on May 7 to six years in prison.

• Benns was sentenced on Jan. 13 to five years and 10 months in prison.

• Burke was sentenced on May 14 to two years and six months in prison.

• Hairston was sentenced on July 21 to six years and three months in prison.

Davis is currently awaiting sentencing.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C.; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Washington Field Division; the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS); the Federal Bureau of Prisons National Gang Unit; Coast Guard Investigative Service (CGIS); and the Norfolk Police Department investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Darryl J. Mitchell prosecuted the case.

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Washington, D.C., comprises agents and officers from the FBI; HSI; ATF; Drug Enforcement Administration; Diplomatic Security Service; USMS; CGIS; Naval Criminal Investigative Service; Transportation Security Administration Federal Air Marshals Service; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Enforcement and Removal Operations; and Washington Baltimore HIDTA, with the prosecution being led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:25-cr-53.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Norfolk man pled guilty today to attempted witness tampering.

According to court documents, on May 3, 2025, Christopher Martin Herr, 33, called his then-ex-girlfriend, identified as Jane Doe, dozens of times and left multiple voicemails in which he threatened to kill Jane Doe, murder her boyfriend, and assault her father. On Sept. 29, 2025, Herr drove to Jane Doe’s apartment in Virginia Beach and threw her trash can at her car. Between Sept. 27 and Oct. 28, 2025, Herr sent messages to Jane Doe in which he threatened to murder her boyfriend, her family, and an FBI agent.

On Oct. 26, 2025, Herr again drove to Jane Doe’s apartment and attempted to open her locked door. Jane Doe reported Herr’s behavior to Virginia Beach Police. 

On Dec. 19, 2025, Herr contacted a relative who was an officer with the Norfolk Police Department and requested that the relative arrange for Jane Doe’s arrest for a DUI. Herr told the relative exactly where Jane Doe lived, described the make and model of her vehicle, and described her license plate. The relative declined Herr’s request. On Jan. 9, Herr contacted another relative who works in law enforcement and again requested that Jane Doe be arrested.

Herr is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 19 and faces up to 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Theophani K. Stamos, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Dominique Evans, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. Magistrate Judge Lawrence R. Leonard accepted the plea.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nikolas Nelson and Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Gantt are prosecuting the case.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:26-cr-17.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Hampton man was sentenced today to five years and eight months in prison for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

According to court documents, on Sept. 4, 2025, Damion Chesson, 29, was seated in the front passenger seat of a vehicle during a traffic stop. Chesson told law enforcement that he did not have identification and provided a false name and a social security number with an insufficient number of digits. Officers observed a bag between Chesson’s legs.

A K9 unit alerted to narcotics inside the vehicle. During a search of the vehicle, investigators located the bag, which contained a loaded handgun, a digital scale, and narcotics packaging material. When officers searched Chesson, they recovered $1,135.03 from his left front pocket and 25.54 grams of cocaine from his right front pocket.

On January 2, Chesson was arrested after being federally indicted for the Sept. 4, 2025, offense. At the time of his arrest, Chesson was in possession of, among other things, a loaded handgun and 15.76 grams of cocaine.

Theophani K. Stamos, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Anthony A. Spotswood, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Elizabeth W. Hanes. The Virginia State Police and Hampton Police Division assisted in the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter G. Osyf prosecuted the case.

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

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:25-cr-79.

This release was edited on July 23, 2026, to correct the term of imprisonment.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Richmond man was sentenced today to three years and 10 months in prison for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and mail theft.

According to court documents, from at least July through August 2025, Quavon William Smith, 40, used an arrow key to break into several blue collection boxes in Richmond and Henrico. Arrow keys are used by United States Postal Service (USPS) mail carriers to access authorized mail receptacles. Smith was not employed by USPS and was not authorized to possess or use an arrow key. During many of the break-ins, after taking mail out of the collection box, Smith would put a different packet of mail back into the box.

On Aug. 29, 2025, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) received an access alert and notified Henrico County Police (HCPD). USPIS and HCPD proceeded to the Lakeside Post Office where Smith had used the arrow key to access a collection box and moved mail from the box to his vehicle. 

Smith was in possession of stolen mail, including several high-value checks, as well as two loaded handguns. In 2009, Smith was convicted in the Chesterfield County Circuit Court of distribution of cocaine. As a convicted felon, Smith cannot legally possess firearms or ammunition.

USPIS investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Podlesni prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:25-cr-167.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Arlington man was sentenced today to nine years in prison for receipt of child sexual abuse material.

According to court documents, Patrick Wanamaker, 35, viewed, downloaded, and possessed images and videos depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct. On Oct. 1, 2025, federal authorities searched Wanamaker’s residence and recovered nine electronic devices, eight of which belonged to Wanamaker. On Wanamaker’s cellphone and laptop, investigators identified 81 CSAM images, which he had downloaded between December 2015 and October 2023.

A forensic analysis also revealed that Wanamaker had emailed himself Mega links containing CSAM. The Mega links exclusively contained CSAM images and videos, including depictions of the sexual abuse of infants and toddlers. In total, the links included 279 images and 777 videos. Wanamaker accessed these links at various times between January 2022 and October 2023.

The FBI Washington Field Office's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith Clement and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandra Minghella prosecuted the case.

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

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:26-cr-53.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Richmond man was sentenced today to a year and three months in prison for possession with the intent to distribute cocaine.

According to court documents, on July 10, 2025, Richmond Police observed several individuals loitering around a vacant unit in the Southwood Apartment Complex in Richmond, including Atio Terrain Walton, 23. The officers, who were familiar with Walton, searched him and found a knotted baggie containing over five grams of cocaine base hidden in Walton's underwear. They also located a handgun on a chair in the apartment and recognized it as the same firearm Walton possessed in an image he had posted on Instagram.

On June 10, 2025, one month before this offense, Walton was convicted of possession of seven grams of cocaine and a concealed firearm with an extended magazine while in the Southwood Apartment Complex. Walton was on supervised release for the prior conviction at the time he committed the latest offense. As a previously convicted felon, Walton cannot legally possess firearms or ammunition.

The FBI’s Richmond Field Office and the Richmond Police Department investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katherine E. Groover and Stephen E. Anthony prosecuted the case.

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

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:25-cr-155.

NORFOLK, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Poquoson man today on charges of mail fraud, conspiracy to commit mail fraud, money laundering, unlawful monetary transactions, and obtaining information under false pretenses.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Barry Glenn Augustinsky, 55, owned various telecommunications companies that facilitated voice over internet protocol (VoIP) telephone calls.  From 2018 through at least 2023, Augustinsky and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of One Ten Communications, a call center in Karachi, Pakistan, engaged in a conspiracy in which representatives of OneTen used Augustinsky’s VoIP services to make millions of voice calls to people in the United States. 

During those calls, representatives of OneTen made false and fraudulent representations, including telling victims that their credit card debt would be reduced or eliminated if they sent payments to companies controlled by Augustinsky. Callers also represented that they were agents of various legitimate debt relief companies even though OneTen had no affiliation with those companies.

Relying on these false representations, victims from across the United States sent hundreds of personal checks to post office boxes in Portsmouth and Poquoson, which Augustinsky collected and deposited. He kept 30 percent of the proceeds from each check received for himself, took an additional cut from the funds as payment for OneTen’s use of his VoIP service, and from time to time sent funds back to OneTen in Pakistan via wire transfer. 

Augustinsky knew that OneTen representatives were making false representations, that calls made by OneTen were spoofing caller identification information, and that many of the people receiving calls and sending checks were elderly. Augustinsky also made false statements to a credit report company—claiming that he needed credit reports for “construction loan funding”—so that he could provide access to his overseas co-conspirator, who wanted access to the records to further the scheme and ultimately obtained over three hundred credit reports without authorization.

Augustinsky faces up to 20 years in prison when sentenced on November 5, 2026. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service Washington Division, the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, and the IRS Criminal Investigation Washington, D.C., Field Office investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony C. Mozzi and Kristen S. Taylor are prosecuting the case.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:25-cr-97.

A district court judge today convicted a local tax preparer and Franconia museum guide of receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) over multiple years.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, in December of 2022, law enforcement began an undercover investigation into a user who was requesting CSAM files on the peer-to-peer file sharing network, Freenet. Further investigation revealed that the user was Nathaniel Carey Lee, 39, of Springfield. In June of 2024, agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) executed a search warrant and seized multiple devices which were later found to contain a large volume of images and videos depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. In an interview with law enforcement, Lee admitted to possessing approximately 4 million images of CSAM and/or child erotica. 

Following a bench trial,  Lee was convicted on two counts of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 6, 2027. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Trial Attorney Nadia Prinz of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith Clement for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.

The HSI Washington, DC Field Office investigated the case. 

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

NORFOLK, Va. – Kenya Mcchell Chapman, 32, of Smithfield, pled guilty today to dealing in firearms without a license in connection with the March 12 shooting at Old Dominion University (ODU), and with three counts of making false statements during purchases of firearms.

On March 12, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, 36, committed a terrorist shooting at ODU in Norfolk during an Army Reserve Officers’ Training Corp (ROTC) class, killing one victim and wounding two more. 

According to court documents, a review of Jalloh’s cellphone revealed that one of the phone numbers most frequently contacted in the week prior to the shooting was Chapman’s, with the most recent call occurring minutes before the shooting. Law enforcement searched Chapman’s residence on March 13 and located ammunition consistent with ammunition used in the firearm recovered from the ODU shooting. The serial number of the firearm was partially altered or obliterated. Chapman stole the firearm from a vehicle in Newport News a year before the ODU shooting and sold it to Jalloh the night before the shooting.

Jalloh was convicted in the Eastern District of Virginia in 2016 of attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization. As a previously convicted felon, Jalloh could not legally purchase or possess firearms or ammunition.

In addition, according to court documents, in 2021, Chapman purchased three firearms that were recovered from crime scenes shortly afterward. Two were recovered from the scene of a homicide and another was recovered from a public intoxication arrest.

Chapman is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 18 and faces up to 35 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division and the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rebecca Gantt and Luke Bresnahan are prosecuting the case.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:26-cr-34.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Sterling man was sentenced today to five years in prison for receipt of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

According to court documents, in June of 2024, John Joseph Chanel, 37, uploaded two videos depicting CSAM to an Internet-based cloud storage platform and requested and received images and videos depicting CSAM via an Internet-based peer-to-peer platform. Forensic analysis of Chanel’s devices and social media accounts revealed that in June 2024, a user on the KiK social media platform asked the Chanel if he had child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to trade. Chanel confirmed he did and provided a link to his Dropbox account, which contained numerous images and videos of CSAM. The other user reciprocated. Chanel asked for more, and the other user provided more. A similar exchange occurred on the same messaging platform three days later. 

On Sept. 25, 2024, law enforcement searched Chanel’s residence in Sterling and seized Chanel’s cellphone and computer. Investigators identified dozens of CSAM files on his devices, as well as in his social media and cloud storage accounts. The files included graphic depictions of the sexual abuse of children.

Chanel pled guilty on March 13.

The FBI Washington Field Office investigated this case. Former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lyndi McVey and Assistant U.S. Attorney Vanessa Strobbe prosecuted the case.

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

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:26-cr-44.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Petersburg man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

According to court documents, on Nov. 19, 2024, law enforcement conducted a controlled purchase of 102.81 grams of 95% pure methamphetamine from Rayquan Tyrell Coleman, 30. On Dec. 13, 2024, law enforcement searched two residences associated with Coleman in Chester and Colonial Heights, along with two vehicles. In the vehicle and residence in Chester, investigators located a rifle, two safes, vehicle registrations, money count sheets, $69,107, two cellphones, methamphetamine, marijuana, and packaging materials. From the vehicle at the Colonial Heights residence, investigators recovered a handgun, methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana, ecstasy tablets, $4,349, packaging materials, and a digital scale with residue. The total weights of the substances recovered were 839.51 grams of methamphetamine, 85.89 grams of cocaine, 310.86 grams of methamphetamine tablets, and 967.16 grams of marijuana.

Coleman pled guilty on Jan. 15.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Gilliland prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:25-cr-137.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Annandale man was sentenced today to five years and four months in prison for possession with intent to distribute N-isopropyl butylone (boot) and possession of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.

According to court documents, on May 2, 2024, pursuant to a warrant, law enforcement searched the residence of Tyrice Stanton, 37. From Stanton’s bedroom, investigators recovered 36 individually packaged bags of boot, a Schedule 1 controlled substance, in addition to another larger package of boot, for a total of 41.63 grams. Investigators also recovered a privately-made firearm with an extended magazine and a laser light, another handgun, ammunition, four ammunition magazines, and brass knuckles.

On May 22, 2024, after Stanton was charged with armed drug trafficking and had been released, he was photographed in possession of a rifle. On June 26, 2024, while executing a search warrant, investigators found Stanton in possession of another handgun.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division and the Fairfax County Police Department investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald L. Walutes Jr. prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:24-cr-234.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Arlington man was sentenced today to 18 years and 10 months in prison for coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity and destruction or removal of property to prevent search or seizure.

According to court documents, from at least May 2023 through May 2025, Stephen Chadwick Howell, 25, engaged in sexually explicit conversations with at least three minor victims. Howell at times misrepresented his age, sent sexually explicit images of himself, and requested and received sexually explicit images. Howell met at least one minor victim with whom he engaged in sex and produced sexually explicit images and videos of the victim, which he later distributed to her. Howell sent money to a 16-year-old victim who sent sexually explicit images of herself that were later found on Howell’s cellphone.

Between January 2023 and January 2024, Howell communicated online with an individual in Brooklyn, New York, about their shared interest in CSAM. Howell distributed sexually explicit images of minors to the individual and requested advice on grooming minors such as what age to represent himself to victims online. Howell asked the individual’s assistance rebuilding his CSAM collection after having deleted it.

On May 7, 2025, the FBI executed a search warrant at Howell’s residence. When investigators arrived, however, Howell did not comply with orders to exit the residence. Instead, he retrieved two knives from the kitchen and barricaded himself in his bedroom, leading to a nine-hour standoff. During the standoff, Howell urinated on his laptop in an attempt to prevent the FBI from accessing its contents. Investigators were able to partially repair the laptop and recover sexually explicit images of minors.

The FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force investigated this case. The FBI’s New York Field Office provided substantial assistance in the investigation of this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura D. Withers and Lauren Halper prosecuted the case.

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

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:25-cr-235.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Woodbridge man pled guilty today to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

According to court documents, on Feb. 18, 2026, Fairfax County Police (FCPD) responding to a 911 call regarding a domestic dispute at an apartment in Herndon arrived to find Khari Wheeler, 27, who acknowledged that he had been knocking on the door of the apartment. When officers attempted to conduct a pat down, Wheeler attempted to flee, at which point a loaded handgun he had been carrying fell from his person. Wheeler was apprehended after a brief pursuit.

As a previously convicted felon, Wheeler cannot legally possess firearms or ammunition.

Wheeler is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 22 and faces up to 15 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division investigated this case with assistance from FCPD.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amber N. Rieff and April N. Russo are prosecuting the case.

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

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:26-cr-101.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Virginia Beach woman pled guilty today to threatening a federal official.

According to court documents, from May 21, 2025, to May 23, 2025, Jeannie Harris Blassingham, 69, in a series of voicemail messages made threats to an elected official and the official’s staff. In the profanity-laced statements, Blassingham threatened physical violence and stated that the official could “expect to be confronted by people who think” the official “needs to die right now.”

Blassingham is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 15 and faces up to six years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The U.S. Capitol Police investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Clayton D. LaForge is prosecuting the case.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:26-cr-60.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Virginia Beach man was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.

According to court documents, from at least Oct. 28, 2022, to Jan. 27, 2023, Ryan Dale Anderson, 40, was part of a drug-trafficking conspiracy operating in Hampton Roads, Florida, and California.

On Oct. 28 and Nov. 2 of 2022, undercover law enforcement conducted controlled purchases of a total of 1,004 purported Percocet pills containing fentanyl and para-fluorofentanyl that were supplied by Anderson.

During a third controlled transaction on Dec. 6, 2022, Anderson sold 101 fentanyl pills to an undercover detective in Virginia Beach. On Jan. 27, 2023, Anderson contacted the undercover detective and agreed to meet to sell 1,000 fentanyl pills. Anderson arrived at the meeting location and was subsequently taken into custody. Law enforcement seized 1,020 fentanyl pills from the vehicle in which Anderson arrived.

Investigators searched Anderson’s Virginia Beach residence and his storage unit in Chesapeake. They recovered, among other things, a total of 1,684 fentanyl pills, 12 LSD tabs, 10 Adderall pills, three Xanax pills, 10.8 pounds of marijuana, $12,992.50, digital scales, and packaging material.

Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) Washington, D.C., and the Virginia Beach Police Department investigated this case with assistance from, the Virginia State Police, Naval Criminal Investigative Services, and the McIntosh County Sheriff Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Amanda L. Cheney prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:25-cr-61.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An illegal alien from Mexico was sentenced yesterday to two years and nine months in prison for aggravated identity theft and making false statements in a passport application.

According to court documents, Jose Maria Hernandez Bautista, 43, previously was deported from the United States in 2007 and twice in 2011. Following his most recent removal, Hernandez Bautista unlawfully re-entered the United States and by March 2013 began using the identity of a U.S. citizen. Hernandez Bautista used the victim’s identity to obtain driver licenses in Alabama in 2013 and North Carolina in 2015. In 2013 and again in 2015 Hernandez Bautista used the victim’s identity to obtain replacement Social Security cards. On April 14, 2016, Hernandez Bautista used the victim’s personal identifying information along with a photo of himself to apply for and obtain a United States passport.

In 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2024, Hernandez Bautista used the victim’s identity to apply for and receive Virginia identification cards or driver’s licenses. In an application dated May 16, 2016, Hernandez Bautista registered to vote in the victim’s name. Hernandez Bautista then used that fraudulent voter registration to vote in the 2016 and 2020 federal elections.

In 2019, Hernandez Bautista took out a line of credit in the victim’s name to purchase a vehicle. Between 2016 and 2021, he received at least seven traffic tickets in Virginia and Maryland, all under the victim’s name.

Homeland Security Investigations - Washington, D.C., and the Social Security Administration - Office of Inspector General investigated this case.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Bolzman prosecuted the case.

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

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:26-cr-27.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Maryland man was sentenced to a year and 10 months in prison for mail theft and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

According to court documents, on Jan. 22, 2023, Jose Arnulfo Reyes, 27, of Oxon Hill, and another individual drove Reyes’ girlfriend’s car to the Fairfax Station Post Office, where they robbed a blue U.S. Postal Box. Law enforcement witnessed the theft and attempted to stop the vehicle, but Reyes fled at a high rate of speed before eventually crashing into a chain link fence. Reyes and his co-conspirator fled on foot.

Law enforcement recovered numerous items from the car, including a loaded handgun and U.S. Postal Service arrow key, a master key used to access a variety of mail repositories, including blue collection boxes, outdoor parcel lockers, and apartment mailbox panels in a given area. They also recovered more than thirty pieces of stolen U.S. Postal Service first-class mail, five stolen soft mail packages, and an iPhone belonging to Reyes and connected to his iCloud account that was using a GPS application to provide directions to the Fairfax Station Postal Office.

As a previously convicted felon, Reyes cannot legally possess firearms or ammunition.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service investigated this case.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Cole Enmon prosecuted the case.

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

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:24-cr-99.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Norfolk narcotics dealer and his supplier have been sentenced to prison for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.

According to court documents, William Deshaun Martin, 48, was a source of supply for Jaquan Deshaune Johnson, 29. During March and April of 2025, law enforcement investigators conducted a series of controlled purchases of cocaine base, powder cocaine, and hydrocodone pills at a hair salon and Johnson’s apartment, both in Norfolk. During one of the transactions, Johnson travelled to Martin’s residence to pick up the narcotics. During another transaction, Martin travelled to Johnson’s apartment to deliver the narcotics.

On April 28, 2025, investigators searched Martin’s residence and recovered a firearm, a 10-round magazine, various ammunition, marijuana, $1,666, and a digital scale. Investigators also recovered 21.73 grams of cocaine hydrochloride and 15.63 grams of cocaine base.

Johnson was sentenced yesterday to three years and four months in prison. Martin was sentenced on June 4 to six years in prison.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Washington Division, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division, and the Norfolk Police Department investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy Pham prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:25-cr-142.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging a former Newport News Police (NNPD) officer with deprivation of rights under color of law for allegedly raping a woman while he was on duty.

According to the indictment, on March 14, Raheem Massiah Askew and another officer, along with Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) from the Newport News Fire Department (NNFD), responded to a report of a woman lying on the ground in a shopping center parking lot in Newport News. Askew asked the victim if she could stand, and then caught the victim by the arm to keep her from falling forward onto the ground as she attempted to stand up. The officers determined the victim’s identity, that she had been drinking alcohol, and that she was staying at a hotel in Newport News. Askew asked the victim if he could take her to her hotel and she agreed. The other officer explained to the victim that Askew would take her back to the hotel to meet her friends.

Before entering his NNPD patrol vehicle, Askew allegedly deactivated his body worn camera, in violation of NNPD policy. After arriving at the hotel, Askew entered the victim’s room for approximately 17 minutes during which he allegedly engaged in sex with the victim without her consent.

Later that evening, a citizen reported that the victim approached them in a state of undress to request help. Another citizen reported the victim’s condition and stated that police had dropped her off earlier. Officers returned to the scene and found the victim disoriented in the parking lot. The victim collapsed and began vomiting, and she was transported by ambulance to Riverside Regional Medical Center by ambulance for treatment.

If convicted, Askew faces up to life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Homeland Security Investigations Norfolk investigated this case with assistance from the Special Victims Unit of the NNPD Major Crimes Division.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alyson Yates and Eric Hurt are prosecuting the case.

Anyone with information relating to this matter is encouraged to contact the Newport News Police Department at 757-928-4233.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:26-cr-53.

An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.

Attachments:

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Woodbridge woman was sentenced today to seven years in prison for distribution of fentanyl.

According to court documents, on Aug. 31, 2021, Qiana Shanal Murry, 28, received a text message requesting 10 fentanyl pills. Murry arranged a price and a time to meet, then traveled and distributed the pills to the buyer. In the early morning hours of Sept. 1, 2021, a family member found the buyer unconscious in a bathroom. The family member called 911 and attempted CPR, but the victim was later pronounced dead on scene.

Investigators found blue powder consistent with crushed fentanyl pills near the body. They also located 15 green Xanax pills in the victim’s bedroom and another Xanax pill at the edge of the victim’s closet. Lab testing confirmed the 15 Xanax pills contained clonazolam and the other Xanax pill contained diazepam, both of which are types of benzodiazepine. On Oct. 21, 2021, the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Medical Examiner determined that that the victim’s cause of death was mixed drug intoxication, specifically due to fentanyl and clonazolam. The amount of fentanyl in the victim’s system was approximately three times the amount typically considered fatal. 

Murry, along with Eric Stokes, typically sold fentanyl pills out of an establishment in Dumfries. Stokes, of Woodbridge, was sentenced on April 9, 2024, to 10 years in prison for distributing fentanyl that resulted in the death of another victim.

The FBI Washington Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Prince William County Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher M. Carter prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:26-cr-11.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Stafford woman pled guilty today to wire fraud for using her position to embezzle funds from a company where she was employed as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO).

According to court documents, Cindy Zurawski Babbitt, 57, was the CFO of an audio visual and information technology company in Lorton. As the CFO, Babbitt had access and control of the company’s bank accounts, including a business checking account. From December 2018 through December 2022, Babbitt used fraudulent checks, payroll, and wire transfers to embezzle $1,561,841.30 from the company.

Babbit issued at least 44 checks totaling $82,117 that were drawn on the company’s checking account, made payable to her and her husband, signed by Babbitt as the authorized representative of the company, and deposited by Babbitt into her own bank account. Babbitt fraudulently initiated and approved 49 reimbursements totaling $142,401 through payroll to herself. Babbitt fraudulently caused at least 428 wire transfers totaling $1,337,323.30 from the company’s business checking account to her personal bank account. None of these transactions were made for any legitimate business expenses. Babbitt used the fraud proceeds for purchases at retail stores such as Tiffany & Co., Saks Fifth Avenue, Versace, Burberry, Balmain, Cartier, and Louis Vuitton.

Babbitt is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 10 and faces up to 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The U.S. Secret Service’s Washington Field Office investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Madison Mumma is prosecuting the case.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:26-cr-39.

RICHMOND, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Petersburg man today on charges of sex trafficking children; transporting a minor for prostitution; production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM); distribution of CSAM; sex trafficking by fraud or coercion; and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Marcus Keon Ruffin, 36, recruited women and girls, including minors, to work as commercial sex workers. Ruffin contacted his sex trafficking victims online or through other victims, offering them weekly income and, at times, an upfront payment, though evidence showed that he paid negligible amounts compared to what he promised victims. Ruffin paid for transportation, including by train or Lyft, for multiple minor victims to travel to the Richmond area to work in prostitution. Ruffin demanded that the victims provide him with nude or sexually explicit images and videos that he then distributed online to advertise them as sex workers.

During a traffic stop on November 30, 2024, Chesterfield police arrested Ruffin on a state firearms charge. During the arrest, officers located a handgun in Ruffin’s jacket. As a previously convicted felon, Ruffin cannot legally possess firearms or ammunition.

Ruffin faces up to life in prison when sentenced on Dec. 16. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. 

The FBI’s Richmond Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the FBI’s Boston Field Office, Amtrak Police Department, Virginia State Police, Harrisonburg Police Department, Henrico Police Division, Roanoke Police Department, Chesterfield Police Department, and Ewing (New Jersey) Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ellen H. Theisen and Brian R. Hood are prosecuting the case.

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

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:25-cr-62.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A dual Lebanese-Syrian national was sentenced today to 30 years in prison for narco-terrorism conspiracy and 20 years in prison for conspiracy to provide material support to a designated foreign terrorist organization, to be served concurrently.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Antoine Kassis, 59, is a Lebanon-based drug trafficker who used his high-level access to the Syrian government under the Assad regime to traffic cocaine and weapons. Kassis laundered the proceeds of his drug trafficking through the organization of a Colombian co-conspirator. Even after the fall of the Assad regime, Kassis had access to weapons previously provided to the Assad regime by foreign governments, including Russia and Iran.

Since April 2024, Kassis and co-conspirators, who were based in Colombia and Mexico, agreed to supply military-grade weapons diverted from the Assad regime in Syria to the National Liberation Army (ELN), in exchange for hundreds of kilograms of cocaine. The ELN is a terrorist group based in Colombia dedicated to the violent overthrow of the democratically elected Government of Colombia. The U.S. Secretary of State designated the ELN as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Organization.

Kassis stated that he was a cousin of former Syrian President Beshar Al-Assad, and that he was working directly with General Maher Al-Assad, the brother of the former Syrian President, and other top military officials in Syria on the deal. Kassis reportedly paid the government $10,000 per kilogram of cocaine imported through the Port of Latakia. Other evidence at trial supported that the Assad regime raised revenue through charging a checkpoint tax on illicit substances passing through its territory, as well as through the manufacture and distribution of Captagon, a Schedule I controlled substance.

Kassis traveled from Lebanon to Kenya to meet a weapons inspector from the ELN, then signed a contract to import a shipping container full of fruit from Colombia to the Port of Latakia, Syria, intending that the container would contain 500 kilograms of cocaine. Kassis intended to oversee the distribution of the cocaine in the Middle East while his co-conspirators would launder the proceeds on his behalf. Evidence at trial demonstrated that his co-conspirators moved nearly $100,000,000 in less than 18 months, and did so for organizations such as the Sinaloa Cartel, Hamas, and others.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit investigated the case with assistance from Bogota Country Office; Cartagena Resident Office; Accra Country Office; Rabat Country Office; Nairobi Country Office; Amman Country Office; Istanbul Country Office; Panama City Country Office; Mexico City Country Office; and Madrid Country Office.

The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs worked with Kenyan authorities to secure the arrest and May 2025 extradition from Kenya of Kassis. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Colombia’s Cuerpo Técnico de Investigación, Ghana’s Narcotics Control Commission and Ghana Police Service, Morocco’s General Directorate for National Security, and Kenya’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations also provided significant assistance.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anthony T. Aminoff and Kristin S. Starr prosecuted the case.

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

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:25-cr-51.

A Honduras-based Chinese national extradited from Guatemala pled guilty today to conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, conspiring to launder money derived from drug trafficking, and to providing material support to a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, specifically the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG). 

According to court documents, Wenshen Xu, 52, used a transportation network and contacts in Latin America to smuggle multi-kilogram loads of cocaine into the United States. Xu’s transportation network included access to airstrips, airports, armored cars, couriers, and associates. On July 17, 2025, Xu and others agreed to arrange and facilitate the transportation of a multi-kilogram load of cocaine out of Cali, Colombia, on behalf of an individual who claimed to represent the CJNG. Xu and his co-conspirators imported over 450 kilograms of cocaine into the United States. Xu and his co-conspirators also coordinated the laundering of over $22 million dollars from the sale of cocaine and fentanyl by drug trafficking organizations. This money laundering network used a variety of concealment methods, including cryptocurrency money transfers, trade-based money laundering, and encrypted communications platforms. 

Xu was arrested in Guatemala City, Guatemala, on July 17, 2025, at the request of the United States and was extradited to the United States on Jan. 30. 

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 15 and faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The DEA’s Special Operations Division, Bilateral Investigations Unit is investigating the case, with assistance from DEA’s Office of Special Intelligence, Document and Media Exploitation Unit; DEA’s offices in Guatemala and Colombia; the Colombian National Police; and the Guatemalan National Police. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala provided significant assistance in securing the defendant’s arrest and extradition from Guatemala.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edgardo J. Rodriguez and Christopher M. Carter for the Eastern District of Viriginia and Trial Attorney Chelsea R. Rooney of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section are prosecuting the case.

This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Washington, D.C., comprises agents and officers from the DEA; FBI; Homeland Security Investigations; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; Diplomatic Security Service; U.S. Marshals Service; U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service; Naval Criminal Investigative Service; Transportation Security Administration Federal Air Marshals Service; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Enforcement and Removal Operations; and Washington Baltimore HIDTA, with the prosecution being led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

MNF’s mission is to take the profit out of crime, eliminate drug cartels, and protect the U.S. financial system. MNF pursues criminal prosecutions and criminal and civil asset recovery actions involving: financial facilitators who launder profits for criminals; financial institutions and their officers and employees whose actions threaten the U.S. financial system and financial institutions; international money launderers who support transnational organized crime; and the top command and control of international drug trafficking organizations.

MNF’s Money Laundering and Forfeiture Unit investigates and prosecutes sophisticated money laundering schemes involving financial facilitators, gatekeepers, and other individuals and entities laundering criminal proceeds, and litigates complex civil forfeiture cases to recover assets on behalf of victims.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:25-cr-231.

A Honduras-based Chinese national extradited from Guatemala pleaded guilty today to conspiring to import cocaine into the United States, conspiring to launder money derived from drug trafficking, and to providing material support to a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, specifically the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG). 

According to court documents, Wenshen Xu, 52, used a transportation network and contacts in Latin America to smuggle multi-kilogram loads of cocaine into the United States. Xu’s transportation network included access to airstrips, airports, armored cars, couriers, and associates. On July 17, 2025, Xu and others agreed to arrange and facilitate the transportation of a multi-kilogram load of cocaine out of Cali, Colombia, on behalf of an individual who claimed to represent the CJNG. Xu and his co-conspirators imported over 450 kilograms of cocaine into the United States. Xu and his co-conspirators also coordinated the laundering of over $22 million dollars from the sale of cocaine and fentanyl by drug trafficking organizations. This money laundering network used a variety of concealment methods, including cryptocurrency money transfers, trade-based money laundering, and encrypted communications platforms. 

Xu was arrested in Guatemala City, Guatemala, on July 17, 2025, at the request of the United States and was extradited to the United States on Jan. 30. 

He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 15 and faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Cindy Marx of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Special Operations Division made the announcement.

The DEA’s Special Operations Division, Bilateral Investigations Unit is investigating the case, with assistance from DEA’s Office of Special Intelligence, Document and Media Exploitation Unit; DEA’s offices in Guatemala and Colombia; the Colombian National Police; and the Guatemalan National Police. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Department of State, and the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala provided significant assistance in securing the defendant’s arrest and extradition from Guatemala.

Trial Attorney Chelsea R. Rooney of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section (MNF) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edgardo J. Rodriguez and Christopher M. Carter for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.

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

MNF’s mission is to take the profit out of crime, eliminate drug cartels, and protect the U.S. financial system. MNF pursues criminal prosecutions and criminal and civil asset recovery actions involving: financial facilitators who launder profits for criminals; financial institutions and their officers and employees whose actions threaten the U.S. financial system and financial institutions; international money launderers who support transnational organized crime; and the top command and control of international drug trafficking organizations.

MNF’s Money Laundering and Forfeiture Unit investigates and prosecutes sophisticated money laundering schemes involving financial facilitators, gatekeepers, and other individuals and entities laundering criminal proceeds, and litigates complex civil forfeiture cases to recover assets on behalf of victims.

The Department of Justice announced today the seizure of nearly 400 sites that were engaged in the unauthorized streaming of matches in the FIFA World Cup Finals in violation of U.S. copyright law. 

“We have seized hundreds of domains, used to illegally stream World Cup matches for profit, to disrupt the international networks that profit from the global popularity of the World Cup,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This operation illustrates the Department’s respect for intellectual property rights and the responsibility of the United States as a host nation to protect the FIFA World Cup from criminals. The Criminal Division will continue to disrupt and, where appropriate, seek to prosecute these sites and the subjects responsible for this criminal activity.”

“The unauthorized broadcast of World Cup matches violates intellectual property rights and fuels criminal organizations,” said Director Ivan J. Arvelo of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center. “Through Operation Offsides and strong partnerships with law enforcement and the private sector, we identified and seized hundreds of domains, disrupting those who steal and distribute copyrighted content. Our ongoing efforts ensure that the excitement of the World Cup reaches fans through legitimate, secure channels.”

“When you open your network to illegal streaming sites, you’re taking a significant risk,” said Special Agent in Charge Eric Weindorf of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington Field Office. “These streamers not only violate copyright laws but also expose viewers to potential threats — including malware attacks and unsecure connections that can compromise personal and financial data. These website takedowns are a critical part of HSI’s strategy to uphold intellectual property laws, ensuring fans have a safe and authentic experience supporting their teams during the World Cup.”

According to an affidavit in support of a seizure warrant which was filed today in the Eastern District of Virginia, the seized domains were used to illegally offer users copyright-protected content in the form of real-time streams of 2026 World Cup matches as they are being played and first broadcast. In support of the application for seizure authority, HSI special agents confirmed that the seized domains were actively broadcasting World Cup matches without authorization. The seized domains were identified with assistance of FIFA, with further supporting information provided by beIN Media Group, NBC Universal, Motion Picture Association’s Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and Warner Brothers. FIFA is the international governing body of association football (soccer) and holds the exclusive rights to sanction and stage the FIFA World Cup 2026, which is being hosted in multiple cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico. 

Law enforcement actions targeting the illegal broadcast of FIFA World Cup matches was coordinated with international partners through the International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (ICHIP) Network of U.S. prosecutors. ICHIP-trained officials took part in actions across multiple countries and involved the following:

• Servers and domains linked to illegal streaming of World Cup games were targeted in Peru and Bulgaria, two known centers of online piracy activity. Additional ICHIP-supported disruptions took place in Croatia, Romania, Poland and Colombia. 

U.S. authorities provided leads to assist in identifying domains associated with illegal streaming of the World Cup. 

The U.S. action is part of Operation Offsides, led by the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, targeting digital piracy domains associated with the World Cup. This operation is being conducted in coordination with HSI Washington, D.C., HSI Attaché offices, as well as private sector and law enforcement partners globally. This initiative focuses on disrupting illegal World Cup streaming and protecting intellectual property rights by identifying and seizing websites facilitating unauthorized broadcasts. Senior Counsel Brian Mund, Assistant Deputy Chief Adrienne Rose, and Acting Deputy Chief Christopher Merriam of the of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Mercer for the Eastern District of Virgina are assisting. The Justice Department’s ICHIP prosecutors based in Sao Paul, Brazil and Bucharest, Romania, and the ICHIP for Internet-Based Fraud and Public Health in Washington, D.C. also provided crucial support to this operation.

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

The Justice Department is providing intellectual property and cybercrime technical assistance to foreign law enforcement, prosecutorial, and judicial partners in other countries through the ICHIP program. The Criminal Division’s ICHIP Program is jointly administered by the Criminal Division’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) and the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section through partnership between the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Stafford man was sentenced today to 25 years in prison following his conviction for sexual abuse, aggravated sexual abuse, abusive sexual contact, and making false statements.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, in July 2022, Michael A. Dillard, 63, who at that time was Deputy Director of Facilities for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence and a retired U.S. Army Colonel, attended an intelligence conference at a U.S. government facility in Williamsburg in July 2022. On July 27, 2022, Dillard sexually abused a victim who worked for him after he instructed her to follow him to his hotel room and assaulted her while impeding her from leaving his room. After she was able to leave, she reported Dillard’s abuse to a work colleague. Base police encountered another victim in Dillard’s hotel room early the next morning during a welfare check after colleagues reported that she did not appear at the conference. The victim was taken to the base clinic for care.

In 2023, the victims each filed EEOC complaints based upon Dillard’s actions. Dillard denied the complaints against him and provided a written statement in which he falsely stated that he had no sexual contact at all with the victims and that there was no physical activity of a sexual nature.

The FBI’s Norfolk Field Office investigated this case. 

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric M. Hurt prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:24-cr-47.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal jury convicted a dual U.S.-Jordanian citizen today on charges of possession of an unregistered firearm and improper storage of explosive materials.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, on March 18, 2025, deputies with the Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) served a writ of eviction against Amer Taisir Zghailat Qaralleh, 42, at a residence in Springfield. Deputies observed several firearms in plain view. Deputies secured four firearms, including a sawed-off shotgun. When asked if there were any additional weapons inside the residence, Qarallah indicated there was another firearm in a backpack in the living room. Deputies located the backpack and found the firearm as well as four explosive devices.

The shotgun Qaralleh possessed was not registered in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record as required by law.

Zghailat Qaralleh is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 6. He faces up to 10 years in prison for possession of an unregistered firearm and up to a year in prison for improper storage of explosive materials. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division investigated this case with assistance from FCSO.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas A. Durham and Robert Strange are prosecuting the case.

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

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:26-cr-2.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Mexican national illegally residing in the United States was sentenced to 30 years in prison and lifetime supervised release for production of child sexual abuse material. He was also required to register as a sex offender.

According to court documents, on several occasions in February and March 2025, Samuel Flores de Dios, 36, brought the victim, who was under 13 years old, to a bedroom he rented in an apartment in Fredericksburg on several occasions. On at least four occasions, Flores de Dios sexually abused the victim and recorded the abuse on cellphones positioned around his bedroom. One of the cellphones belonging to Flores de Dios also contained videos of a second adult male abusing the victim.

Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C., investigated this case with assistance from the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas A. Garnett of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Angelica Carrasco of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division prosecuted the case.

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

For more information about HSI’s efforts to protect children from sexual predators, visit Know2Protect.gov.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:25-cr-158.

Samuel Flores de Dios, 36, an illegal alien from Mexico, was sentenced today to 30 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) after he placed a camera in his bedroom and recorded himself sexually abusing a victim who was under 13-years old. He was also required to register as a sex offender.

According to court documents, on several occasions between February 2025 and March 2025, Flores de Dios brought the minor victim to his residence in Fredericksburg, Virginia, where he sexually abused her. On at least four different occasions, Flores de Dios recorded the sexual acts using cellular telephones positioned around his bedroom. One of the cellular telephones belonging to Flores de Dios also contained videos of a second adult male abusing the victim.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and Special Agent in Charge Eric J. Weindorf of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington D.C. Field Office made the announcement.

This case was investigated by HSI with substantial assistance from the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Angelica Carrasco of the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Garnett for the Eastern District of Virginia. 

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

For more information about HSI’s efforts to protect children from sexual predators, visit Know2Protect.gov.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A former U.S. Army soldier stationed at Joint Base Langley-Eustis was sentenced today to 18 years in prison for coercion and enticement of a child.

According to court documents, Isaac James Guinsler, 25, used Snapchat and Apple accounts to share child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and communicate with minor victims. On Guinsler’s electronic devices, investigators identified 297 CSAM images and three CSAM videos as well as voluminous sexually explicit messages exchanged with individuals who self-identified to Guinsler as minors. Investigators identified and interviewed two minor victims, aged 13 and 16. Guinsler coerced the victims to engage in sexual activity, exchanged sexually explicit images with them, and obtained CSAM from them.

Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division, Washington Field Office, investigated this case with assistance from the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office

Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter G. Osyf prosecuted the case.

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

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:26-cr-7.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Fairfax man was sentenced today to a year and five months in prison for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

According to court documents, on June 11, 2025, Basim Dauwd Jami, aka David Jackson, 64, possessed a handgun when law enforcement approached him to serve an outstanding warrant for an alleged probation violation. Jami attempted to flee on foot, but officers arrested him in a nearby parking garage.

In 1986, Jami broke into a home and sexually assaulted a 14-year-old victim. In 2005, he was convicted for driving under the influence. In 2007, Jami was found in possession of a concealed weapon, which officers discovered when they stopped Jami during a rape investigation. As a convicted felon, Jami cannot legally possess firearms or ammunition.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division and the City of Fairfax Police Department investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith Clement prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:26-cr-17.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Today, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced charges against three defendants in connection with alleged schemes to defraud Medicare and Medicaid. The charges filed in federal court are part of the Department of Justice’s 2026 National Health Care Fraud Takedown. 

The charges announced today are part of a strategically coordinated, nationwide law enforcement action that resulted in charges against 455 defendants, including 90 doctors and other licensed medical professionals, for their alleged participation in health care fraud and opioid abuse schemes involving over $6.5 billion in false claims and significant patient harm, including death. Today’s Takedown represents a new era in federal, state, and international cooperation to combat health care fraud: cases in 56 federal districts and 45 U.S. states and territories, with 50 state Medicaid Fraud Control Units participating, the most in Department history. In addition, unprecedented international cooperation over the two-week Takedown resulted in the apprehension and return to the United States of the following health care fraudsters: one defendant in Kyrenia in connection with an over $3.7 billion scheme; two defendants in Estonia in connection with a previously charged $10.6 billion scheme; and, in the Philippines, one of FBI’s Most Wanted Fraudsters in connection with a previously-charged $1.2 billion telemedicine fraud scheme. The Takedown involves the cutting-edge use of data analytics to target the worst actors; the seizure of over $182 million in cash, luxury vehicles, jewelry, and other assets; and full-spectrum accountability for all criminal actors from doctor’s offices to corporate boardrooms.   

Today’s coordinated enforcement action involves a whole-of-government approach, including: 

• Actions by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to suspend 1,079 providers and revoke billing privileges for 1,403 providers.

• 48 Civil Monetary Payment settlements amounting to over $73 million, over 1,400 provider exclusions, and 25 actions by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) under the Civil Monetary Penalties Law seeking more than $10 billion in payments to the Medicare Trust Fund from payments that CMS caught and suspended before the funds were paid to the fraudulent providers.

• Civil charges against 13 defendants for $14.8 million in health care fraud schemes, as well as civil settlements with 31 defendants totaling $23 million.

• 928 administrative cases by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seeking the revocation of authority to handle and/or prescribe controlled substances since Oct. 1, 2025.

The following individuals were charged in the Eastern District of Virginia: 

Jair Barbour, 37, of Henrico, was charged by information with making false statements relating to health care matters in connection with fraudulently billing Medicaid for mental health services totaling $345,670.93. As alleged in the criminal information, Barbour, a qualified mental health provider, submitted hundreds of falsified progress notes describing mental health sessions that never occurred, dramatically overstated the number of hours she worked, and documented services that were impossible due to overlapping or conflicting times. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Day.

Mikia Noble, 37, of North Chesterfield, was charged by information with conspiracy to commit health care fraud in connection with a crisis mental health services fraud scheme on Virginia Medicaid. As alleged in the information, Noble, the Chief Operating Officer of Advancing Communities Everywhere, conspired with others to target low-income, often homeless, Medicaid recipients by purporting to provide those recipients with mental health services that the recipients did not receive and often did not need. Noble and others submitted approximately $49.6 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicaid, of which approximately $38.6 million was paid. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert S. Day of the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorneys Zachary H. Ray and Lauren Randell of the National Rapid Response Strike Force.

Abdul Rehman Sirhandi, 57, of Aldie, was charged by information with conspiring to make false statements in health care fraud matters in connection with a durable medical equipment (DME) fraud scheme. As alleged in the information, Sirhandi acted as the straw owner of a DME company, Pulse Medical Supply, and conspired with others in Texas and Pakistan to submit approximately $780,627 in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare, of which approximately $313,233 was paid. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Russell L. Carlberg of the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Zachary H. Ray of the National Rapid Response Strike Force.

The cases are being prosecuted by the Health Care Fraud Unit’s National Rapid Response, Florida, Gulf Coast, Los Angeles, Midwest, New England, Northeast, Texas, and West Coast Strike Forces; U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Middle District of Alabama, District of Arizona, Central District of California, Southern District of California, District of Colorado, District of Connecticut, District of Delaware, Middle District of Florida, Northern District of Florida, Southern District of Florida, Northern District of Georgia, District of Hawaii, District of Idaho, Northern District of Illinois, Northern District of Iowa, Southern District of Iowa, Western District of Kentucky, Eastern District of Louisiana, Middle District of Louisiana, District of Massachusetts, Eastern District of Michigan, Southern District of Mississippi, District of Montana, District of Nebraska, District of New Hampshire, District of New Jersey, District of New Mexico, Eastern District of New York, Northern District of New York, Southern District of New York, Eastern District of North Carolina, Middle District of North Carolina, Western District of North Carolina, Northern District of Ohio, Northern District of Oklahoma, Western District of Oklahoma, District of Oregon, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Middle District of Pennsylvania, Western District of Pennsylvania, District of Puerto Rico, District of Rhode Island, District of South Carolina, District of South Dakota, Middle District of Tennessee, Western District of Tennessee, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas, Western District of Texas, District of Vermont, Eastern District of Virginia, Western District of Virginia, Northern District of West Virginia, Southern District of West Virginia, Eastern District of Wisconsin, and Western District of Wisconsin; and State Attorneys General Offices, through their MFCUs, in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virgin Islands, Washington, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. In addition, the MFCUs for Alabama, North Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, and Virigina participated in the investigation of federal cases announced today.

Descriptions of each case involved in today’s enforcement action are available on the Department’s website here.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (Fraud Division). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

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

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Newport News man was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

According to court documents, in February 2024, Kemp Jermaine Nelson, 33, engaged in sex with a 15-year-old runaway, recorded his abuse of the victim, and then posted the resultant CSAM on social media. On Sept. 17, 2025, FBI agents searched Nelson’s residence. Nelson claimed to investigators that he was a “content creator” and “porn star.”

The FBI’s Norfolk Field Office investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter G. Osyf prosecuted the case.

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

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:25-CR-68.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Alexandria man was sentenced today to four years in prison for possessing a machinegun.

According to court documents, on April 17, 2025, Jamarion Dawon Jackson, 23, was driving on the right shoulder of Interstate 95 at more than 100 miles per hour past heavy traffic in Fairfax County when he passed a Virginia State Trooper. The Trooper activated his emergency equipment and pursued Jackson, who subsequently crashed into a parked vehicle on the right shoulder and then struck two additional vehicles on the roadway. Jackson then fled on foot and unsuccessfully attempted to enter two vehicles. Jackson then tried to jump through the open passenger side window of a third vehicle, but the driver accelerated and Jackson was injured and apprehended.

During an inventory search of Jackson’s vehicle, a Trooper recovered a loaded handgun with a 31-round magazine and equipped with a machinegun conversion device, rendering the firearm capable of fully automatic firing.

In 2022, Jackson shot a victim at the Potomac Mills Mall and fled. Jackson pled guilty to unlawful discharge of a firearm within an occupied building, felony destruction of property, and carrying a concealed weapon and was sentenced to time served and an 11-year suspended sentence. As a previously convicted felon, Jackson cannot legally possess firearms or ammunition.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas J. Patterson and Reed Sawyers prosecuted the case.

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:26-cr-22.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Carlos Moctezuma Sandoval Romero, 26, was sentenced today to 11 years and three months in prison for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. Sandoval Romero is the final defendant to be sentenced in a conspiracy investigated by the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) Washington, D.C.

According to court documents, beginning at least in November 2022, the conspirators obtained thousands of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and distributed the pills in Virginia and elsewhere. Sandoval Romero sent the pills from California through the mail to co-conspirators in Virginia and Maryland. Co-conspirators Jonathan Ordoñez, 20, and Amir Jose Villalta, 24, paid Sandoval Romero, and Ordoñez collected money from co-conspirators.

Some of the conspirators possessed firearms in relation to their drug trafficking, and some of the conspirators were arrested while in possession of both firearms and fentanyl pills. Two of the conspirators, Haydee Giselle Barrera Serrano, 23, and Olivia Jade Bush, 24, straw purchased firearms for Ordoñez.

• Ordoñez pled guilty on Oct. 18, 2024, to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and using a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. On Feb. 20, 2025, he was sentenced to 16 years and three months in prison.

• Villalta pled guilty on Oct. 30, 2024, to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. On Feb. 27, 2025, he was sentenced to 11 years and eight months in prison.

• Jose Eduardo Funes, 22, pled guilty on March 25, 2025, to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and using a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. On July 10, 2025, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

• Younis Fakhrudin Abdulkadir, 20, pled guilty on March 19, 2025, to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. On Aug. 21, 2025, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

• Raul Ernesto Bermudez, 21, pled guilty on June 18, 2025, to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. On Oct. 2, 2025, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

• Steven Giovanny Santos-Bonilla, 21, pled guilty on Sept. 3, 2025, to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and using a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. On Dec. 18, 2025, he was sentenced to 16 years and three months in prison.

• Erik Venancio Turcios Benavides, 24, pled guilty on Oct. 28, 2025, to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and using a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. On Feb. 19, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

• Barrera Serrano pled guilty on Oct. 21, 2025, to making false statements to a firearms licensee. On May 18, she was sentenced to one weekend in prison and three years of probation.

• Bush pled guilty on Nov. 18, 2025, to making false statements to a firearms licensee. On March 27, she was sentenced to three years of probation.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division, FBI Washington Field Office, and U.S. Postal Inspection Service Washington Division investigated this case with assistance from the Fairfax County Police Department, Arlington County Police Department, and Torrance (California) Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Catherine Rosenberg, James L. Trump, and Annie Zanobini prosecuted the case.

This case is part of the HSTF initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Washington, D.C., comprises agents and officers from the FBI; Homeland Security Investigations; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; Drug Enforcement Administration; Diplomatic Security Service; U.S. Marshals Service; U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service; Naval Criminal Investigative Service; Transportation Security Administration Federal Air Marshals Service; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Enforcement and Removal Operations; and Washington Baltimore HIDTA, with the prosecution being led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal judge convicted an illegal alien from El Salvador on charges of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity, attempted sexual exploitation of a child, and illegally reentering the United States after removal subsequent to a felony conviction.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, pursuant to an order of removal, Mario Alexander Bonilla Canales, 50, previously was removed from the United States on at least three occasions.

In June of 2025, Bonilla Canales used Facebook to contact a person he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, but who was actually an undercover law enforcement agent. Over three days, and directly after the undercover agent from the Fairfax County Police Department’s Child Exploitation Unit told him that she was 14, Bonilla Canales aggressively requested that she send him sexually explicit images and asked her to meet for sex. He eventually traveled to a park in Fairfax County to meet her for sex. When police attempted to stop him, he fled the scene, damaging two police vehicles and ignoring lights and sirens.

Bonilla Canales faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison when sentenced on Sept. 23. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Homeland Security Investigations, Washington, D.C., investigated this case with significant assistance from the Virginia State Police.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob Mercer and Colt Rainwater are prosecuting the case with assistance from Special Assistant United States Attorneys Lyndi McVey and Richard Krupczak.

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

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

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:26-cr-4.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Portsmouth man was sentenced today to 14 years in prison for unlawful possession of a machinegun, robbery of property, and brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence.

According to court documents, on July 11, 2024, a masked individual approached a U.S. Postal Service (USPS) mail carrier on his route in Virginia Beach, brandished a handgun, and demanded the victim’s arrow key. An arrow key is a master key used to access a variety of mail repositories, including blue collection boxes, outdoor parcel lockers, and apartment mailbox panels in a given area. The masked individual fled to a car in which Cameron Hunter Brown, 29, was waiting, and Brown and the masked individual fled in the vehicle.

Law enforcement identified the vehicle and located it on July 17, 2024. While the vehicle was stationary in an ATM drive-thru lane, officers attempted a traffic stop and instructed Brown to turn off the vehicle. Instead, Brown reversed out of the drive-thru lane, struck the credit-union building, sped through an unoccupied ATM lane, and fled with police in pursuit. 

During the pursuit, brown tossed a handgun from the driver-side window onto a sidewalk. The handgun, which was later recovered, was equipped with a machinegun conversion device (MCD), rendering it capable of fully automatic fire. The handgun had been reported stolen from Chesapeake.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division and Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C., investigated this case with assistance from the Hampton Police Division.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Devon E.A. Heath prosecuted the case.

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

Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 4:24-cr-55 and 2:25-cr-16.