Eastern District of Virginia

NORFOLK, Va. – Sherise Williams, 40, of Palmetto, Florida, was sentenced today to three years and five months in prison for mail fraud. She is the final defendant to be sentenced for a multi-million-dollar fraudulent coupon scheme.

According to court documents, from at least April 2017 through May 2020, Lori Ann Talens, of Virginia Beach, used a computer to design, create, and produce a wide variety of counterfeit coupons in her Virginia Beach home, and used social media and apps to find groups of coupon enthusiasts and sell them the counterfeit coupons. These counterfeit coupons were often created with inflated values to receive items for free or at a greatly reduced price. Lori Ann Talens’ husband, Pacifico Talens Jr., 43, assisted in and profited from the operation.

Lori Ann and Pacifico Talens pleaded guilty to mail fraud, and Lori Ann also pleaded guilty to wire fraud and health care fraud for a separate scheme. Pacifico was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison. Lori Ann was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Williams and others purchased the counterfeit coupons from Lori Ann Talens in bulk quantities. For example, Williams purchased counterfeit coupons from Lori Ann Talens on 274 occasions for a total of $19,821.34. For every dollar paid to Lori Ann Talens, her customers received an estimated $50 in counterfeit coupons, at which ratio Williams caused an estimated total loss of $991,067 to retailers and manufacturers.

An analysis determined that the scheme caused a total loss of approximately $31,817,997 to retailers and manufacturers.

Amber Lynn Teague, aka Amber Johnson, 32, of Louisville, Kentucky, pled guilty on June 18, 2025, to mail fraud. On Dec. 16, 2025, Teague was sentenced to six months in prison.

Jennifer Irene Snyder, 38, of Lavon, Texas, pled guilty on July 11, 2025, to mail fraud. On Dec. 15, 2025, Snyder was sentenced to a year and three months in prison.

Melissa Kay Apodaca, 41, of Thornton, Colorado, pled guilty on June 30, 2025, to mail fraud. On Dec. 16, 2025, Apodaca was sentenced to a year and six months in prison.

Cindi Suzette Swindle, 56, of Jacksonville, Florida, pled guilty on Aug. 11, 2025, to mail fraud. On Dec. 11, 2025, Swindle was sentenced to a year in prison.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and FBI’s Norfolk Field Office investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph L. Kosky 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 Nos. 2:24-cr-137 and 2:21-cr-39.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Newport News man was sentenced today to four years in prison for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and unlawful entrance upon a naval installation.

According to court documents, during a traffic stop on Dec. 16, 2024, Newport News Police found Malik Rashun Hughes, 27, in possession of a stolen handgun loaded with a large-capacity magazine containing sixteen rounds of ammunition. As a previously convicted felon, Hughes cannot legally possess firearms or ammunition.

On July 19, 2025, Hughes stole a vehicle in Virginia Beach. He crashed into another vehicle near Naval Station Norfolk. As he fled the scene of the collision, Hughes illegally entered the installation, ignoring directions from a sentry at the entry control point. When police attempted to stop the vehicle, Hughes attempted to flee on foot but was apprehended in possession of an air soft gun and a half-consumed bottle of tequila.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division investigated this case with assistance from the Newport News Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mack Coleman 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-55.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Mexican national was sentenced today to 14 years in prison for his role in a conspiracy to import approximately 1,900 kilograms of cocaine into the United States.

According to court documents, Jesus Rauda-Avila was a member of a Mexico-based drug trafficking organization (DTO) led by Marisela Flores-Torruco that was responsible for importing multi-hundred-kilogram quantities of cocaine into the United States. 

The DTO, which had operations in New York, Texas, and elsewhere in the United States, sourced its cocaine from Colombia and provided logistical and financial support to coordinate the narcotics’ passage through Central America and Mexico and into the United States. During the investigation, law enforcement made several cocaine seizures, including approximately 971 kilograms of cocaine on April 21, 2017, and 500 kilograms of cocaine on May 10, 2017, nearly all of which was attributable to the DTO.

From 2016 to October 2017, in coordination with Flores-Torruco’s DTO, Rauda-Avila arranged and directed the transportation of funds, drivers, and vehicles from northern Mexico to southern Mexico to purchase and pick up cocaine, which was subsequently transported into the United States for distribution.  Rauda-Avila conducted at least ten such narcotics purchases in partnership with Flores-Torruco’s DTO, each involving between 100 and 400 kilograms of cocaine.

Rauda-Avila pled guilty to conspiring to import cocaine to the United States. Two of Rauda-Avila’s and Flores-Torruco’ co-conspirators, Qiyun Chen, and Jose Francisco Mendoza-Gomez, have been convicted in the Eastern District of Virginia for their roles within the DTO, as have several individuals involved with the related Chinese money laundering network. Flores-Torruco pled guilty to possession, manufacture, or distribution of a controlled substance and was sentenced to 16 years and eight months in prison. Chen pled guilty to money laundering conspiracy and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Mendoza-Gomez pled guilty to conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)’s Special Operations Division, Bilateral Investigations Unit, investigated the case, with assistance from DEA’s offices in Cartagena (Colombia), Bogota (Colombia), Panama City, Mexico City, and Guatemala City. U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service provided substantial assistance in the investigation. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs (OIA) provided significant assistance in securing the defendant’s arrest and extradition from Mexico.

Assistant United States Attorneys Christopher M. Carter and Edgardo J. Rodriguez for the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Chelsea R. Rooney of the Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section of the Criminal Division 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; Homeland Security Investigations; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; DEA; 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.

The Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section's (MNF) 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. 1:17-cr-147.

A Mexican national was sentenced today to 14 years in prison for his role in a conspiracy to import approximately 1,900 kilograms of cocaine into the United States.

According to court documents, Jesus Rauda-Avila, 46, was a member of a Mexico-based drug trafficking organization (DTO) led by Marisela Flores-Torruco that was responsible for importing multi-hundred-kilogram quantities of cocaine into the United States. 

“Jesus Rauda-Avila conspired with a drug trafficking organization to import almost 2,000 kilograms of cocaine into the United States,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This level of Mexican DTO importation is the root of the injection of drugs and violence into our communities. Because of people like this defendant, countless Americans lives are ruined, and their families are left picking up the pieces. The Criminal Division will pursue drug traffickers at this level and remove them from our law-abiding society.”

“This case highlights DEA’s global reach and commitment to justice for those who threaten the safety and security of the United States,” said Special Agent in Charge Cindy Marx of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Special Operations Division. “The case against Rauda-Avila exposes the scope of international drug conspiracies, and today's sentence reflects what's possible when DEA, as part of HSTF, works hand-in-hand with our federal and international partners to dismantle the criminal organizations that threaten Americans."

The DTO, which had operations in New York, Texas, and elsewhere in the United States, sourced its cocaine from Colombia and provided logistical and financial support to coordinate the narcotics’ passage through Central America and Mexico and into the United States. During the investigation, law enforcement made several cocaine seizures, including approximately 971 kilograms of cocaine on April 21, 2017, and 500 kilograms of cocaine on May 10, 2017, nearly all of which was attributable to the DTO.

From 2016 to October 2017, in coordination with Flores-Torruco’s DTO, the defendant arranged and directed the transportation of funds, drivers, and vehicles from northern Mexico to southern Mexico to purchase and pick up cocaine, which was subsequently transported into the United States for distribution. The defendant conducted at least ten such narcotics purchases in partnership with Flores-Torruco’s DTO, each involving between 100 and 400 kilograms of cocaine.

Rauda-Avila pleaded guilty to conspiring to import cocaine to the United States. Three of the defendant’s co-conspirators — Marisela Flores-Torruco, Qiyun Chen, and Jose Francisco Mendoza-Gomez — have been convicted in the Eastern District of Virginia for their roles within the DTO, as have several individuals involved with the related Chinese money laundering network. Flores-Torruco pleaded guilty to possession, manufacture, or distribution of a controlled substance and was sentenced to 16 years and 8 months in prison. Chen pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy and was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Mendoza-Gomez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The DEA’s Special Operations Division, Bilateral Investigations Unit, investigated the case, with assistance from DEA’s offices in Cartagena (Colombia), Bogota (Colombia), Panama City, Mexico City, and Guatemala City. U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Diplomatic Security Service provided substantial assistance in the investigation. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs (OIA) provided significant assistance in securing the defendant’s arrest and extradition from Mexico.

Trial Attorney Chelsea R. Rooney of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Edgardo J. Rodriguez and Christopher M. Carter for the Eastern District of Viriginia 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; Homeland Security Investigations; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; DEA; 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 Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section (MNF) and 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.

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. 
 

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Philadelphia man was sentenced yesterday to 11 years in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.

According to court documents, during four controlled purchases from July 2025 through November 2025, Darrell Lameer Carter, 35, distributed approximately 1,504 grams of pure methamphetamine. On Dec. 3, 2025, investigators arrested Carter and searched his vehicle and two residences.

From Carter’s vehicle, investigators recovered three cellphones, a dropper vial of suspected Gamma Butyrolactone (GBL), 26 pills containing methamphetamine, and a drug ledger which contained customer names and prices. From one of Carter’s residences, in which he resided with his young child and the child’s mother, investigators recovered approximately 2,770 grams of pure methamphetamine, 619 pills containing approximately 13 grams of methamphetamine, two scales, a semi-automatic handgun, a magazine loaded with 6 rounds of ammunition, $17,450.25, an additional cellphone, and a laptop computer.

A review of Carter’s various devices revealed communications indicating that Carter purchased up to 20 pounds of methamphetamine per month for resale, as well as other controlled substances. Carter has a prior conviction for distribution of MDMA.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Washington Division investigated this case with assistance from the Arlington County Police Department, George Mason University Police Department, and Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office. Assistance was provided by the Washington/Baltimore High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) task force. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren E. Hahn 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-49.

NORFOLK, Va. – Bailey Dwayne Burnett, 26, was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for coercion and enticement of a minor.

According to court documents, in January 2023, Burnett, who was an active-duty U.S. Navy sailor stationed in Norfolk, began communicating with fellow sailor Zhane Tavern Elamin. Burnett exchanged multiple image and video files of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) with Elamin and discussed methods to engage minors.

On Aug. 20, 2025, the Naval Criminal Investigative Service seized Burnett’s cellphone. During a forensic examination, investigators identified 69 images of CSAM and numerous platforms and accounts, including two for file sharing service Mega NZ. Burnett’s Mega accounts contained 3,692 images and videos of CSAM, including the sexual abuse of infants and toddlers.

Investigators also identified communications between Burnett and a 14-year-old victim from Italy who moved to the United States. Using Facetime, imessage, and Discord, Burnett coerced the victim to engage in sexually explicit conduct. Bailey sent the victim sexually explicit photos and videos of himself and received sexually explicit photos and videos of the victim.

Burnett was separated from the Navy in December 2025 as a result of his conduct.

Elamin pled guilty on June 12, 2024, to the attempted coercion and enticement of a minor. On Oct. 21, 2024, Elamin was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service investigated this 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 Nos. 2:25-cr-110 (Burnett) and 24-cr-33 (Elamin).

A Newport News man was sentenced today to two years in prison followed by nine months of electronically monitored home confinement for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

According to court documents, on Feb. 8, 2023, Carl Henry Coleman III, 34, was driving recklessly in excess of 70 mph in a posted 45 mph zone and weaving in and out of traffic when Newport News Police (NNPD) observed him and performed a traffic stop. Because neither Coleman nor his passenger was licensed to drive, officers initiated the process to tow the vehicle and conducted an inventory search. In a backpack on the floorboard behind the driver seat was a loaded handgun, along with Coleman’s social security card and bank card.

Among other crimes, Coleman was prosecuted federally at age 21 for making false statements to law enforcement about the location of a discarded murder weapon that had been used in a gang-related double homicide. In 2016, he was convicted for threatening to kill and physically assault a victim. As a previously convicted felon, Coleman cannot legally possess firearms or ammunition.

The FBI’s Norfolk Field Office investigated this case with assistance from NNPD.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mack Coleman 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-43.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Guatemalan national was sentenced yesterday to five years in prison for possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

According to court documents, from Aug. 27, 2025, to Sept. 17, 2025, law enforcement conducted three controlled transactions during which Mitre Vega Gonzalez, 47, sold cocaine. On Sept. 18, 2025, investigators searched Vega Gonzalez’s residence and recovered a handgun, a loaded magazine, $5,410, and at least 510 grams of cocaine.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division investigated this case with assistance from Prince William County Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith Clement and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan Harvey 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-43.

NORFOLK, Va. – A federal judge found a previously convicted sex offender guilty today on charges of production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), coercion and enticement of a minor, receipt of CSAM, and possession of CSAM.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Brian James Backues, 46, sent sexually explicit chats to entice an 11-year-old girl to produce a video of sexually explicit conduct and to commit sexual acts between February and March of 2025. Backues was previously convicted of child sex crimes in the City of Norfolk in 2020.

Backues faces a mandatory minimum of 35 years and up to life in prison when sentenced on Oct. 16. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI’s Norfolk Field Office investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew J. Heck and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nikolas Nelson 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. 2:25-cr-136.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Norfolk man was sentenced today to 30 years in prison for possession with intent to distribute cocaine, possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon.

According to court documents, in January 2025, law enforcement conducted several controlled purchases of cocaine from Maurice Owen Johnson, 38. At that time, Johnson was on federal supervised release for his prior felony convictions in the Eastern District of Virginia for possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime.

In February 2025, Norfolk Police searched three Norfolk residences associated with Johnson, and recovered 11 firearms, ammunition and magazines, 87.8 grams of cocaine, 17.9 grams of cocaine base, 236.4 grams of marijuana, $313, a digital scale, and materials for the packaging and distribution of controlled substances. Police also found Johnson in possession of $4,236.

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

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division investigated this case jointly with the Norfolk Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney E. Rebecca Gantt 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. 2:25-cr-73.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Mineral man was sentenced today to four years and three months in prison for an unemployment insurance (UI) benefit fraud conspiracy he ran while on state supervision for other crimes. This case is part of the Trump Administration’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government expanded and extended UI benefits for impacted workers. The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) and the Maryland Department of Labor (MD DOL) administer UI compensation in their respective states.

According to court documents, from June 2020 to October 2021, Dashawn Hunter, 29, schemed to defraud the expanded unemployment eligibility by using the personal identifying information of prison inmates and others to file fraudulent claims for UI benefits, falsely attesting that the beneficiaries were ready, willing, and able to work and that they had lost their jobs due to COVID-19. Hunter frequently would file multiple applications for a single individual to multiple different state workforce agencies. Hunter also submitted weekly recertifications of unemployment status for these fraudulent claims to continue receiving UI benefits.

Relying on the false information submitted by Hunter, various state workforce agencies, including VEC and MD DOL, approved several fraudulent UI applications. Hunter received a total of $221,118 to which he was not entitled.

Hunter is currently incarcerated until approximately 2033 for a state conviction for armed robbery and other crimes. Today’s federal sentence will be served consecutive to his state sentence.

The Court also ordered that Hunter shall forfeit and pay restitution for the full amount of $221,118.

The U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General investigated this case.

Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Carla Jordan-Detamore and Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Joseph McGorman prosecuted the case.

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.

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-143.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Italian national pled guilty yesterday to disregarding a signal from a law enforcement officer to stop and driving under the influence of alcohol.

According to court records, on May 22, 2025, at approximately 3:38 a.m., Monia Spadaro, 28, drove into the restricted CIA Headquarters installation via the outbound traffic lane. When a CIA Police officer attempted to pull her over in a marked CIA Police vehicle with activated emergency lights, Spadaro failed to stop her vehicle and continued toward the main security gate. Spadaro made several reckless maneuvers, including changing lanes from outbound to inbound and back. An additional marked CIA Police vehicle stationed at the security gate also activated emergency lights and pursued.

Spadaro disregarded all attempts to stop her and increased her speed toward the main security gate, including driving towards a CIA Police officer standing on foot, who fired shots to protect himself and to prevent Spadaro from running the gate.

Spadaro’s blood alcohol content was over double the legal limit. Spadaro was convicted in Virginia in 2021 for driving while under the influence of alcohol and in 2022 for reckless driving, and in Washington, D.C., in 2023 for driving while under the influence of alcohol.

Spadaro faces up to five years in prison when sentenced on Aug. 13. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

CIA Police and the FBI Washington Field Office investigated this case.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron Etchart and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen Robeson 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. 1:25-cr-173.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – An illegal alien from the Bahamas was sentenced today to 27 years in prison for sexually exploiting a child.

According to court documents, on July 15, 2025, Newport News Police officers responded to a report of suspected child sexual abuse. As they arrived at the home, they found Rian Wayne Johnson, 38, with the 11-year-old victim. An investigation revealed that from at least May 30, 2025, to July 15, 2025, Johnson sexually exploited the child, for whom he was a primary caregiver. Johnson recorded himself engaging in sexual acts with the victim and kept the recordings on his cellphone.

Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C., investigated this case with assistance from the Newport News Police Department.

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. 4:25-cr-59.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An illegal alien from Bolivia was sentenced today to a year and three months in prison for illegally reentering the United States after removal subsequent to an aggravated felony conviction.

According to court documents, in February 2018, Favian Sejas Castellon, aka Alejandro Fernandez Paz, 34, was arrested for possession with intent to distribute cocaine. While that charge was pending, Sejas Castellon was arrested for and found guilty of assault and battery of a family member. In July 2018, he was convicted of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. On July 11, 2022, pursuant to a final order of removal, Sejas Castellon was removed from the United States.

In 2024, Sejas Castellon unlawfully reentered the United States. On June 28, 2025, he was arrested for a DWI in Fairfax County. On Feb. 12, a federal grand jury indicted Sejas Castellon for illegal reentry after removal subsequent to a conviction for an aggravated felony, to which he pled guilty on March 10. Sejas Castellon remains subject to the previous order of removal.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigated this case.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jose M. Ortiz 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-26.

NORFOLK, Va. – Two sisters were sentenced to prison yesterday following their conviction at trial for false statements made in connection with mental health services billed to Medicaid. 

According to court documents, Chenelle Wright, 45, of Moyock, North Carolina, owned and operated Community Counseling Resources (CCR), which had locations in Chesapeake and Portsmouth. Wright’s sister, Chaniece Winfield, 40, also of Mayock, was CCR’s clinical director. CCR was authorized to provide after-school mental health services to Medicaid recipients, including therapeutic day treatment (TDT), a type of individualized intervention for children and adolescents with mental, emotional, or behavioral illnesses with symptoms that cause significant functional impairments.

Most of the children in the afterschool TDT program were not dismissed from their schools until well after 2:00pm, with some remaining until as late as 3:55pm, and many did not arrive at CCR’s facilities until about 4:30pm. Wright and Winfield instructed and directed CCR employees to falsely claim in progress notes that children were receiving therapeutic services from 2:00pm to 7:00pm and provided progress note “templates” to CCR employees in which the start and end times of 2:00pm and 7:00pm were prefilled.

Wright was sentenced to three years and five months in prison. Winfield was sentenced to two years in prison.

The FBI’s Norfolk Field Office and the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony C. Mozzi and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nikolas Nelson 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. 2:24-cr-35.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Norfolk woman was sentenced today to a year and six months in prison for wire fraud relating to her embezzlement of over $123,000.

According to court documents, Katherine Louise Henderson, 55, was employed as the treasurer for a manufacturer of brake products in Norfolk and had access to the company’s financial records and accounts, including the ability to approve payroll. To cover losses incurred through online gambling and to support her shopping habit, Henderson embezzled funds from the company by issuing herself unauthorized payroll funds above her salary. She also created a payroll account for her husband despite the fact he never worked for the company and was unaware that Henderson had created a payroll account for him.

Henderson intercepted vendor payments and diverted them to her personal accounts, then changed the company’s records to make it appear the payments had been successfully deposited into company accounts. Henderson’s fraud was discovered in August 2023 while she was on vacation. During her absence, a company employee requested payment from a vendor. The vendor provided proof that the payment had already been made and an investigation revealed that the payment had been diverted to Henderson’s account. 

In total, Henderson embezzled $123,104.42 from her employer.

The FBI’s Norfolk Field Office investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph L. Kosky 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. 2:26-cr-14.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Two illegal aliens from Mexico have been sentenced to prison for distribution of methamphetamine and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in a counterfeit Adderall conspiracy investigated by the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) Washington, D.C., and HSTF Dallas.

According to court documents, Venancio Martinez Antero, 35, and Cesar Adan Rojo-Ortiz, 35, participated in a conspiracy that began at least as early as April 2019 and used darknet marketplaces to advertise and distribute counterfeit pills containing methamphetamine. Once orders were placed, co-conspirators sent customer names, shipping addresses, and drugs to redistributors such as Martinez Antero and Rojo-Ortiz who manufactured and packaged drugs for shipment and distribution nationwide.

Law enforcement seized over five kilograms of counterfeit Adderall pills (approximately 13,692 pills) associated with the conspiracy. Between September 2019 and July 2025, law enforcement made 47 controlled purchases from the conspirators’ darknet vendor accounts and accounts on encrypted messaging applications for up to 3,000 counterfeit Adderall pills at a time.

Law enforcement searched a garage that was controlled by Martinez Antero and Rojo-Ortiz and seized, among other items, $2,900, a blender, 2.8 kilograms of methamphetamine, an additional 12.5 kilograms of binding material, and an industrial pill press fitted with attachments to manufacture counterfeit Adderall pills.

Martinez Antero was sentenced on May 21 to 11 years and three months in prison. Rojo-Ortiz was sentenced today to seven years and six months in prison.

The FBI Washington Field Office investigated this case with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Heather D. Call and Lauren E. Hahn 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 is comprised of agents and officers from the FBI; HSI; ATF; DEA; the Diplomatic Security Service; USMS; the United States Coast Guard Investigative Service; the Naval Criminal Investigative Service; the Transportation Security Administration Federal Air Marshals Service; CBP; Enforcement and Removal Operations; and Washington Baltimore HIDTA. Prosecution is being led by the Office of the United States Attorney 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 Nos. 1:25-CR-331 (Rojo-Ortiz) and 1:25-CR-312 (Martinez Antero).

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Thomas Weir Pauken II, 50, an American citizen who lived and worked in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), pled guilty today to acting as an agent of a foreign government within the United States.

According to court documents, from at least 2019 until February 2026, Pauken worked at the direction and control of people he knew worked for the PRC, including a person he met in 2017 identified as “Cathy.” Cathy provided Pauken with taskings, including meeting with potential intelligence assets, providing them with devices such as a laptop and cellphone to communicate with Cathy, providing taskings for the assets on what information was required, and providing Cathy with reports from the assets.

Pauken received at least $100,000 for his work with Cathy. Cathy also paid for Pauken to travel several times between 2019 through 2025 from China to meet with individuals in the United States who could provide Pauken, and ultimately Cathy and the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS), with information.

Pauken worked for two other people in China whom he met in 2017 and knew as “Richard” and “William.” They told Pauken that reports he wrote for them went to Japan, but Pauken believed they worked for the PRC government.

Pauken also sold reports to a group of Chinese individuals from Wuhan who sought information about technology and the U.S. Department of Justice. The Wuhan clients wanted Pauken to find an expert to help them engage in cyber espionage.

Pauken is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 1 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI Philadelphia Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Gavin R. Tisdale the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Elis Ross of the Counterintelligence & Export Control Section of the National Security Division 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. 1:26-cr-103.

Thomas Weir Pauken II, 50, an American citizen who lived and worked in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), pleaded guilty today to acting as an agent of a foreign government within the United States.

“In effect, Pauken admitted to being part of a conspiracy to obtain sensitive information from the U.S. government for the PRC,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “His actions are a betrayal of this Nation and pose an unacceptable risk to our national security. NSD remains committed to safeguarding information essential to our national security, including through appropriate prosecution.”

“By his own admission, not only did Thomas Pauken attempt to infiltrate U.S. political circles at the direction of China’s Ministry of State Security, but he gathered intelligence on his American targets and reported it back to his Chinese intelligence handlers,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence and Espionage Division. “This case illustrates the lengths to which the Chinese Communist Party will go to undermine our democratic institutions and degrade our political freedoms, but it also demonstrates the FBI’s resolve to defend the homeland from threats to our national security. Let this plea serve as a clear warning: If you attempt to help a foreign adversary as an unregistered agent in the U.S., the FBI will find you and bring you to justice.”

According to court documents, from at least 2019 until February 2026, Pauken worked at the direction and control of people he knew worked for the PRC, including a person he met in 2017 identified as “Cathy.” Cathy provided Pauken with taskings, including meeting with potential intelligence assets, providing them with devices such as a laptop and cellphone to communicate with Cathy, providing taskings for the assets on what information was required, and providing Cathy with reports from the assets.

Pauken received at least $100,000 for his work with Cathy. Cathy also paid for Pauken to travel several times between 2019 through 2025 from China to meet with individuals in the United States who could provide Pauken, and ultimately Cathy and the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS), with information.

Pauken worked for two other people in China whom he met in 2017 and knew as “Richard” and “William.” They told Pauken that reports he wrote for them went to Japan, but Pauken believed they worked for the PRC government.

Pauken also sold reports to a group of Chinese individuals from Wuhan who sought information about technology and the U.S. Department of Justice. The Wuhan clients wanted Pauken to find an expert to help them engage in cyber espionage.

Pauken is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 1 and faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI Philadelphia Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

Trial Attorney Eli Ross of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gavin R. Tisdale for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.

Note: The Assistant Attorney General's quote has been updated from the previous version

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A McLean man was sentenced today to a year and three months in prison for transmitting threats in interstate commerce.

According to court documents, on Dec. 23, 2025, Scott Allen Bolger, 33, used Google Voice, which allows users to send text messages to others while obfuscating their phone numbers, to send a threatening message to a public official. In his message, Bolger threatened to put a bullet in the official’s head. Prior to sending the threat, Bogler researched the official’s personal phone number and made contact with him prior to sending the text message.

When federal investigators arrived at Bolger’s residence to investigate the threat, they identified themselves as federal law enforcement officers, and Bolger falsely identified himself as Brian Black. Bolger told them he did not know anyone by the name of Scott Bolger.

During his plea, Bolger also admitted to sending threatening and harassing messages to a second victim (Victim-2) who is not a public official. From at least October 2022, Bolger created multiple fictious accounts on X and Proton Mail to harass Victim-2, and researched Victim-2 on the internet through at least November 2025. Bolger sent Victim-2 private indecent images of Victim-2, and on at least one occasion, made a public facing profile with indecent images of Victim-2.

The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force Washington Field Office investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob Mercer and Russell L. Carlberg 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-8.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Richmond man pled guilty today to possession with intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl.

According to court documents, on Sept. 11, 2025, law enforcement searched two residences associated with Drequan Keymontay Peoples, 34. As investigators approached one of the residences, Peoples fled in a vehicle. Virginia State Police Troopers followed and ultimately apprehended Peoples. Peoples possessed a backpack that contained $42,290, 23 oxycodone pills, 20 Alprazolam pills, and two cellphones.

During the searches of the residences, investigators recovered approximately 958 grams of suspected cocaine, 252 grams of suspected heroin/fentanyl, marijuana, 340 grams of suspected liquid THC, 102 grams of suspected mushrooms, $2,429, nine firearms, and ammunition.

Peoples is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 29. He faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 40 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Virginia State Police 1T Tri-County Drug Task Force investigated this case with assistance from the Henrico County Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys John C. Blanchard and Katherine E. Groover 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. 3:26-cr-27 .

NORFOLK, Va. – A Texas man pled guilty yesterday to sending threatening interstate communications.

According to court documents, a Norfolk-based collection agency sent a message to Taylor Bullard, 35, of Houston, regarding a debt he owed.  Bullard sent a signed response threatening to show up at one of the company’s locations with a machete and gasoline to “do things that are unforgivable” and “make your executive team question their life choices.”

Bullard is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 2 and faces up to five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI’s Norfolk Field Office 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. 2:25-CR-5.

NORFOLK, Va. – A U.S. Navy sailor stationed in Norfolk was sentenced today to five years in prison for receiving child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

According to court documents, on May 15, 2023, Sergio Octavio Garcia, 30, used PayPal to purchase CSAM from an international user for $80. On April 21, 2024, on board the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, agents with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) interviewed Garcia and seized his electronic devices. A digital forensics expert found 2,716 images and 3,109 videos of CSAM on Garcias devices, including the abuse of infants and toddlers.

The NCIS Norfolk Field Office investigated this case.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nikolas Nelson 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. 2:25-cr-131.

This release was edited on June 1, 2026, to correct a misspelling.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Two Romanian nationals were sentenced on May 27 to three years and three months in prison for conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft.

According to court documents, from at least Nov. 29, 2024, to Nov. 19, 2025, Adrian Vasile Marin, 36, Sorin Postolache, 37, and their co-conspirators used “skimmer” devices to capture the credit and debit card information and personal identification numbers from unsuspecting victims at point-of-sale terminals and automated teller machines (ATMs). The conspirators then used the stolen credit and debit card information to create counterfeit cards to fraudulently withdraw funds from the victims’ bank accounts.

Marin and Postolache used fake passports and identity cards to rent mailboxes to receive equipment, often from overseas, to construct skimmers. Their home and storage unit were used to store numerous partially assembled and fully assembled skimmers, skimmer components, pinhole cameras, parts and facias of ATMs to which skimmers and pinhole cameras could be attached, parts of point-of-sale terminals, and stickers of store logos. Those locations also contained $100,377 in cash, 2,881 stolen card numbers or access devices, and numerous computers, cell phones, SD cards, and thumb drives capable of storing credit card, debit card, and PIN information.

The U.S. Secret Service’s Criminal Investigative Division and the FBI Washington Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the New York City Police Department.

Former Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katlin O'Brien and Zachary Ray 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 Nos. 1:26-cr-32 (Marin) and 1:26-cr-33 (Postolache).

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Four Massachusetts men have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a conspiracy to manufacture counterfeit pills and distribute them across the United States.

According to court documents, from at least May 2022 to June 2025, Daniel John Blaney, 28; Kenneth Emmanuel Lora, 27; David Robert Kable Jr., 27; and Javier Alexander Bermudez, 31, all from Lynn, Massachusetts, engaged in a massive conspiracy to manufacture and distribute counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl, N-pyrrolidino etonitazene (Pyro), methamphetamine, and Bromazolam. The conspirators transported the pills in kilogram quantities from the Northeast to a redistributor in New York and then distributed them primarily via darknet marketplaces and the U.S. Postal Service to customers nationwide.

Blaney was sentenced today to 18 years and 4 months in prison. Kable was sentenced on April 29 to 12 years in prison. Bermudez was sentenced March 18 to 12 years in prison. Lora was sentenced on Dec. 17, 2025, to 15 years in prison. The defendants previously pled guilty: Blaney on Jan. 7; Kable on Dec. 2, 2025; Bermudez on Dec. 9, 2025; and Lora on Aug. 27, 2025.

The conspirators used industrial pill presses to manufacture counterfeit Oxycodone, Adderall, and Xanax pills. Instead of the pharmaceuticals’ normal content, however, the conspirators’ pills contained differing substances depending on the batch. For example, the conspiracy’s counterfeit oxycodone pills contained a number of substances, including fentanyl and Pyro. Counterfeit Adderall pills typically contained methamphetamine, while counterfeit Xanax pills typically contained Bromazolam, a synthetic benzodiazepine.

The conspirators typically received payment from customers in the form of cryptocurrency. Estimates of the conspiracy’s reach show that the conspiracy was responsible for at least 9,000 sales of pills containing methamphetamine, fentanyl, and/or Pyro.

Pyro is in the Nitazene class of synthetic opioids commonly sourced from China and mixed into other drugs. The most common Nitazenes are approximately five times the strength of fentanyl. The Pyro in this case is approximately 20-40 times stronger than fentanyl. Over a dozen fatal overdoses were related to the conspiracy’s pills.

On June 4, 2025, Lora was arrested in New York. During a search of his drug premise, investigators recovered over 39 kilograms of controlled substances.

On June 17, 2025, law enforcement searched a storage unit maintained by Bermudez and Blaney and recovered five industrial pill presses, pill press attachments used to imprint counterfeit pharmaceutical brandings onto pills, over 33 grams of crystal methamphetamine, 41 kilograms of binding material, and manufacturing paraphernalia.

On July 12, 2025, Blaney fled through Canada and ultimately to Thailand in an attempt to avoid prosecution. In advance of his flight, he fraudulently obtained a rush U.S. Passport. Blaney was expelled from Thailand and taken into federal custody on August 25, 2025.

The case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office, U.S. Postal Inspection Service New York Division, New York City Police Department, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and Homeland Security Investigations. Significant investigative assistance was provided by the FBI Boston Field Office, DEA New England Division, and the Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Heather D. Call and Christopher M. Carter prosecuted the case.

The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in Blaney’s return to the United States.

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 Manassas is comprised of agents and officers from the FBI; Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); DEA; the Diplomatic Security Service; USMS; the United States Coast Guard Investigative Service; the Naval Criminal Investigative Service; the Transportation Security Administration Federal Air Marshals Service; CBP; Enforcement and Removal Operations; and Washington Baltimore HIDTA. Prosecution is being led by the Office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

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 Nos. 1:25-CR-221 (Blaney), 1:25-CR-227 (Lora), 1:25-CR-317 (Kable), and 1:25-CR-322 (Bermudez).

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An indictment returned in the Eastern District of Virginia was unsealed yesterday charging Ruhuan Zhen and Hongce Wu, both Chinese nationals, with conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with transnational criminal organizations, including the Sinaloa Cartel and the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generación. 

According to court documents, beginning in at least November 2016 and continuing to April 2025, Zhen, Wu, and their co-conspirators are alleged to have used a variety of secretive and clandestine methods, including mirror transfers, foreign bank accounts , encrypted communications applications, a serial-number verification system, and trade-based money laundering, to launder substantial volumes of narcotics proceeds and funds represented to be narcotics proceeds on behalf of transnational criminal organizations. The conspiracy is alleged to span the course of years with co-conspirators operating across the United States, Mexico, Latin America, China, and elsewhere, and involve drug proceeds stemming from the importation and sale of illicit narcotics, including cocaine and fentanyl.

Zhen and Wu were indicted on April 24, 2025, by a federal grand jury empaneled in Alexandria, Virginia, and remain at large.

If convicted of the offense, Zhen and Wu each face a maximum penalty of 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 DEA’s Special Operations Division, Bilateral Investigations Unit investigated the case, with assistance from DEA’s Office of Special Intelligence, Document and Media Exploitation Unit, and DEA’s offices in Memphis Resident Office (RO), Lexington RO, Chicago Field Division (FD), New York FD, Washington FD, Charleston RO, Atlanta FD, Charlotte District Office, Bogota Country Office (CO), and Dubai CO.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Edgardo J. Rodriguez for the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Chelsea R. Rooney of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section (MNF) are prosecuting the case. MNF Trial Attorney Caylee E. Campbell provided substantial assistance throughout the investigation. 

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.

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.

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

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Honduran national was sentenced on May 20 to three years and four months in prison for illegally reentering the United States after previously being removed from the country twice.

According to court documents, in 1997, Franklin Geovany Alvarez-Villanueva, 54, was convicted of assault and possession of a controlled substance in Fairfax County. In 2000, Alvarez-Villanueva was convicted of grand larceny and distribution of controlled substances in Fairfax County. Alvarez-Villanueva was removed from the United States on Oct. 18, 2002.

Alvarez-Villanueva illegally reentered the United States and in 2013 was convicted for possession with intent to manufacture or sell cocaine. In 2015, Alvarez-Villanueva was convicted of unlawful reentry after removal subsequent to the conviction of an aggravated felony. He was removed from the United States again on June 30, 2017.

Alvarez-Villanueva again illegally reentered the United States and, in 2025, was convicted of possession of cocaine in Fairfax County. On Feb. 18, Alvarez-Villanueva pled guilty in the Eastern District of Virginia to illegally reentering the United States. He remains subject to the previous order of removal.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement Washington, D.C., investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob A. Mercer 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-3.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia announced Detective John Bamford of the Arlington County Police Department (ACPD) as the district’s 2026 Hometown Hero Award recipient.

The Hometown Hero Award is sponsored by the Department of Justice in honor of the United States of America’s 250th year of celebrating its independence. The Hometown Hero award recognizes one of our law enforcement partners who best embodies the spirit upon which our Nation was founded and reflects a steadfast commitment to the enduring ideals of liberty, service, and civic responsibility.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office recognizes Detective Bamford for his numerous contributions to the community not only as a detective for Arlington County but also as an FBI Task Force Officer with the Washington Field Office. Detective Bamford’s efforts have resulted in the identification and rescue of hundreds of child and adult victims.

Detective Bamford’s efforts recently led to the identification and takedown of a notorious cybercriminal forum in South Africa and the arrest of its administrators. Prior to its shutdown, this forum sold hundreds of thousands of illicit images to customers in the United States and elsewhere. South African authorities, working with Detective Bamford, recovered over 37 terabytes comprising approximately 10 million images of sexually explicit material depicting minors from electronic devices during a search warrant. Detective Bamford was instrumental in the identification and successful prosecution for numerous egregious child exploitation offenses of a user whose collections were some of the worst of those featured on the forum.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia proudly recognizes Detective Bamford for all his hard work and efforts. Detective Bamford is the consummate law enforcement partner. As the above example demonstrates, his work reflects what can be achieved when federal and state law enforcement agencies work hand in hand. Without Detective Bamford’s steadfast dedication to the protection and safety of the people of the Eastern District of Virginia, many victims would not see justice.

Detective Bamford has been a police officer with ACPD since 2008. He currently investigates cyber crime as a member of the FBI’s Washington Field Office Cyber Task Force, while also teaching ACPD legal courses. He is a current member of ACPD’s Emergency Response Team’s Tactical Operations Center. Prior to his current role, Detective Bamford served as a detective in ACPD’s Economic Crimes Unit, a Field Training Officer, a Crime Scene Agent, and a member of ACPD’s Civil Disturbance Unit.

Detective Bamford received his Bachelor’s Degree from Siena College in 2006 and his Juris Doctor in 2010 from George Mason University Law School, now the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University.

NORFOLK, Va. – Grace Elizabeth Paradis, 43, was sentenced today to 28 years and four months in prison for conspiring to produce child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

According to court documents, Paradis abused two minor children, ages five and nine, which she recorded, and then provided the resultant CSAM to her former boyfriend, Cory Richard Hambley, 43, of Water View.

In November 2022, Hambley, who was married, contacted Paradis and repeatedly encouraged her to provide CSAM. Hambley provided Paradis with a camera to be hidden and used to surreptitiously record images of the children, including Paradis sexually abusing them. Paradis leveraged Hambley’s desire for CSAM to negotiate for Hambley, who was married at the time, to commit to marrying her and assisting her with a rent payment. Paradis prepared a “contract” outlining the grooming and sexual abuse she and Hambley would inflict on future children.

Hambley was sentenced on March 11 to 35 years in prison for conspiring to produce CSAM and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity.

The Homeland Security Investigations Norfolk office investigated this case with assistance from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), Virginia Beach Police Department, and Middlesex Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca Gantt and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Marek 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. Attorney’s 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. 2:25-cr-44.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Chesapeake man was sentenced yesterday to seven years and six months in prison for possession with intent to distribute cocaine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

According to court documents, from Oct. 17, 2023, to Nov. 14, 2023, Deionte Deard Bratton, 44, sold cocaine, fentanyl, and four firearms in a series of four controlled purchases conducted by law enforcement. During the Nov. 14 transaction, Bratton received fentanyl from Kenyon Thomas, 43, of Norfolk, which Bratton then sold.

Following the Nov. 14 transaction, in December 2023 and November 2024 law enforcement conducted four controlled purchases of a total of over 56 grams of fentanyl and the purchase of one firearm from Thomas. On Jan. 13, Thomas pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. On April 15, Thomas was sentenced to eight years and seven months in prison.

Bratton and Thomas have previous felony convictions and cannot legally possess firearms or ammunition.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division investigated this case with assistance from the Norfolk Police Department.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Nikolas Nelson and Assistant U.S. Attorney Darryl J. Mitchell 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. 2:25-cr-132.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A dual U.S.-Nigerian citizen residing in both Irvington, New Jersey, and the Federal Republic of Nigeria, was sentenced today to six years and six months in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to court documents, Eseosa Brigut Omoruyi, 36, was the sole owner and operator of Peller Goods, LLC, a business he created in July 2019 in New Jersey. From at least March 2020 through November 2024, Omoruyi participated in a money laundering scheme to receive funds from another conspirator through Peller Goods’ bank accounts in exchange for a percentage of each transaction. Omoruyi recruited Wilvert Telfo, 31, of Bayonne, New Jersey, to join the conspiracy and launder funds through his business, Royal Skoob Productions, LLC.

Over the course of the conspiracy, Omoruyi was involved in laundering approximately $3,442,230. Telfo was involved in laundering approximately $1,042,361. Among the money laundered by Omoruyi and Telfo were funds from a fraudulently obtained $174,400 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) from the U.S. Treasury Department to MediPro Corporation in Newport News. On July 3, 2020, the owner and operator of MediPro Corporation wired $70,000 of the EIDL funds to Royal Skoob Productions. At Omoruyi’s direction, on July 6, 2020, Telfo transferred $25,421.45 of the funds via cashier's check to another company, and on July 8, 2020, withdrew $25,905, which he further transferred.

Telfo pled guilty on March 23, 2023, to conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was sentenced on Aug. 9, 2023, to two years and six months in prison.

The FBI’s Norfolk Field Office and the IRS Criminal Investigation Washington D.C. Field Office investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mack Coleman 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. 4:25-cr-66.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Norfolk man was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for attempting to access and view child sexual abuse material (CSAM) while on supervised release for a previous conviction.

According to court documents, on Jan. 22, 2010, Jesse Lee Wise, 42, was sentenced to 17 years and six months in prison followed by a life term of supervised release following a conviction for attempted enticement of a minor. Wise was released from prison on April 18, 2025, and began his term of supervised release, which included the condition that Wise was only permitted to have access to a flip phone and was not permitted access to any computers, smartphones, or other internet-capable devices.

On August 13, 2025, officers of the U.S. Probation Office (USPO) found Wise in possession of two unauthorized smartphones that Wise had used to attempt to access websites involved with CSAM. A forensic analysis of the devices conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) confirmed that Wise entered CSAM related search terms with the intent to view CSAM videos and images.

HSI Washington, D.C., investigated this case with assistance from USPO.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph L. Kosky 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. 2:25-cr-143.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Teresita Tiongson, 81, of Springfield, and Chung K. Shih, 39, of Sterling, pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for their roles in submitting fraudulent loan applications through pandemic relief programs. This case is part of the Trump Administration’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, on March 27, 2020, Congress passed and the President signed into law the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Among other relief measures, the law authorized the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program. PPP was intended to provide loans backed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) to certain businesses, nonprofit organizations, and others to help them remain afloat during the pandemic. The EIDL program was intended to enable small businesses to meet financial obligations and operating expenses during the pandemic.

According to court documents, prior to April 2020, Tiongson owned and operated a home health services company called Alpha Health Resource, LLC (AHR). In March 2020, AHR closed for reasons unrelated to the pandemic.

On May 4, 2020, Shih prepared and electronically submitted a PPP loan application for $57,143 on behalf of AHR, with the knowledge, consent, and assistance of Tiongson. The application falsely stated that AHR had 25 employees and an average monthly payroll of over $22,000. On May 7, 2020, $57,143 of PPP loan funds were deposited into an AHR bank account. On April 27, 2021, Shih prepared and submitted and Tiongson signed a second PPP loan application for $75,616 on behalf of AHR, falsely stating that AHR had seven employees and an average monthly payroll of $40,000. On May 3, 2021, $75,616 of PPP loan funds were deposited into an AHR bank account.

On Sept. 28, 2020, Shih prepared and submitted and Tiongson signed an EIDL application for $150,000 on behalf of AHR, falsely stating that AHR was an operating business. On Oct. 2, 2020, the SBA deposited $149,900 of EIDL funds into an AHR bank account. On July 13, 2021, Shih prepared and submitted and Tiongson signed an EIDL increase application for $350,000 on behalf of AHR. On July 19, 2021, the SBA deposited $350,000 of EIDL funds into an AHR bank account.

Shih prepared and submitted each application with Tiongson’s knowledge, consent, and assistance. After the funds from each loan were received, Tiongson and Shih engaged in numerous financial transactions to split the funds between them and used the funds for personal expenses. In total, Shih and Tiongson fraudulently received $632,659 in pandemic assistance loans to which they were not entitled.

Shih is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 3 and faces up to 20 years in prison. Tiongson is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 27 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 FBI Washington Field Office investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan Harvey is prosecuting the case.

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.

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. 1:26-cr-87 and 1:26-cr-96.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Chesapeake man was sentenced today to 17 years in prison for travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual activity.

According to court documents, through an online dating site, Dylan Joseph Knauer, 32, met a minor victim who resided in the Philippines, and began chatting, video calling, and “sexting” with the minor. Knauer traveled to the Philippines in April and May of 2025 and had sex with the victim, who was 14 years old.

On Oct. 22, 2025, Knauer asked the victim to make a sexually explicit video of herself. On Oct. 23, 2025, law enforcement learned that Knauer was scheduled to travel from Norfolk to Denver to Japan with a final destination of the Philippines. After boarding his flight from Denver to Japan, Knauer was removed from the aircraft.

The FBI’s Norfolk Field Office investigated this case with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Air Marshals Service, Customs and Border Protection, and the Denver Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen S. Taylor 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. 2:26-cr-1.

RICHMOND, Va. – A Texas woman was sentenced today to four years in prison for stealing more than $1.5 million from the Commonwealth of Virginia Campaign (CVC), the officially sanctioned non-profit charity fundraising program for Virginia’s more than 120,000 state government employees. This case is part of the Trump Administration’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.

According to court documents, from 2017 through 2023, the Virginia Department of Human Resources Management employed Linda Natelle Brown, 43, of Houston, to administer the CVC.  The CVC promised that Virginia state government employees could safely and easily donate to their preferred causes throughout the year via credit card payments, mailed checks, and by payroll remittances deducted directly from employee paychecks. Brown was supposed to steward these funds and make corresponding payments to charities designated by donors. 

Between January 2019 and August 2023, Brown embezzled more than $1.5 million of the over $5.3 million donated by state government employees. Instead of paying the charities designated by donors, Brown stole this money for personal spending.

For example, Brown paid $10,400 in fraud proceeds for a plastic surgery procedure. Brown also used stolen charity funds to pay for a “fish pedicure” spa in Las Vegas. She fraudulently used charity funds for multiple flight tickets to destinations around the country, stays at luxury hotels, a luxury apartment in Houston, designer clothing and shoes, beauty and cosmetic products, and food and alcohol.

Brown also concealed her embezzlement from the CVC by attempting to replenish the funds she had stolen with a $494,469 U.S. Small Business Administration-backed business loan, which Brown obtained by making false statements to the lender.

The Court entered a money judgment forfeiture order of $1,581,161.

The IRS Criminal Investigation Washington D.C. Field Office, U.S. Postal Inspection Service Washington Division, and Office of the Inspector General of Virginia investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Avi Panth prosecuted the case.  Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Kashan K. Pathan assisted the prosecution.

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.

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-141.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Newport News woman was sentenced today to seven years and four months in prison for conspiracy to commit mail fraud and aggravated identity theft involving the filing of unemployment insurance (UI) claims in the names of prison inmates and others.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government expanded and extended UI benefits for impacted workers. The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) administers unemployment compensation in Virginia.

According to court documents, from May 2020 to October 2021, Lakeia Simone Grant, aka Lakeia Shepperd, Lakeia Williams, Lakeia Miles, or Chris Lover, 40, schemed to defraud the expanded unemployment eligibility by using the personal identifying information or prison inmates and others to file fraudulent claims for UI benefits, falsely attesting that the beneficiaries were ready, willing, and able to work and that they lost their jobs due to COVID-19.

Grant filed fraudulent claims with VEC for inmates and coordinated to obtain, transfer, and expend proceeds. Grant conspired with inmate recruiters to obtain the personally identifying information of inmates to file such claims. She also filed fraudulent UI claims for non-inmates either by using stolen personally identifying information or in exchange for a percentage of money obtained by the applicants.

Grant and her co-conspirators filed approximately 38 successful UI claims in the names and information of inmates, resulting in payments totaling approximately $546,576 in benefits. VEC was able to recover some of the funds, resulting in an actual loss to VEC of approximately $480,392.76. Grant and her co-conspirators also applied for at least four successful UI claims for non-inmates resulting in an additional fraud loss of approximately $107,670.

Grant is a five-time convicted felon. In November 2005, Grant was convicted of obstruction of justice and petit larceny in Newport News Circuit Court after she was caught shoplifting, attempted to hit the loss prevention officer, and threatened to burn down the business and blow it up. In July 2008, Grant was convicted of unlawful wounding for attacking a victim at a night club. Grant was convicted in April 2010 and again in October 2014 in Chesterfield Circuit Court for conspiring to obtain money by false pretense and obtaining money by false pretense. In April 2019, she was convicted for conspiring to commit financial card fraud in Wake County District Court in Raleigh, North Carolina. In December 2019, she was convicted for failing to return a rental car from Enterprise.

The FBI’s Norfolk Field Office; U.S. Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; and Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Mack Coleman prosecuted the case.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The core mission of the Fraud Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars. Department of Justice efforts to combat fraud support 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.

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-80.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal jury convicted Sohaib Akhter, 34, of Alexandria, today on charges of conspiracy to commit computer fraud, password trafficking, and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Sohaib Akhter, and his twin brother and co-defendant, Muneeb Akhter, worked for a Washington, D.C., company that provided software products and services to more than 45 federal government agencies and hosted data for some federal government clients on servers in Ashburn. On Feb. 1, 2025, Muneeb Akhter asked Sohaib Akhter for the plaintext password of an individual who submitted a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) Public Portal, which was maintained by the Akhters’ employer. Sohaib Akhter conducted a database query on the EEOC database and then provided the password to Muneeb Akhter. That password was subsequently used to access that individual’s email account without authorization.

When the company discovered Sohaib Akhter’s felony conviction, it terminated both brothers’ employment during an online remote meeting on Feb. 18, 2025. Immediately after being fired during this meeting, the brothers sought to harm their employer and its U.S. government customers by accessing computers without authorization, write-protecting databases, deleting databases, and destroying evidence of their unlawful activities. The compromised information included case management and Freedom of Information Act response processing software. Over the course of several hours, approximately 96 databases storing U.S. government information hosted by the company were deleted.

A search of Sohaib’s cellphone revealed that he had obtained firearms as early as January 2025 and, following the execution of a search warrant on March 12, 2025, took steps to sell them. On March 18, 2025, Sohaib drove to a firearm company in Farnham, Virginia, with his domestic partner, who completed paperwork for a transaction to sell the company seven firearms. As a convicted felon, Sohaib could not legally possess firearms.

On June 6, 2015, Muneeb and Sohaib pled guilty in the Eastern District of Virginia to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to access a protected computer without authorization, and conspiracy to access a government computer without authorization. Muneeb also pled guilty to accessing a protected computer without authorization, making a false statement, and obstructing justice. On Oct. 2, 2015, Muneeb was sentenced to three years and three months in prison; Sohaib was sentenced to two years in prison.

Sohaib Akhter is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 9 and faces a maximum penalty of 21 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FDIC-OIG, DHS-OIG, and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case. Valuable assistance was provided by: the Department of Agriculture OIG; Department of Education OIG; Environmental Protection Agency OIG; Equal Employment Opportunity Commission OIG; Federal Reserve Board OIG; Department of Health and Human Services OIG; DHS Office of the Chief Security Officer; Department of Housing and Urban Development OIG; Department of the Interior OIG; International Development Finance Corporation OIG; Department of Justice OIG; Department of Labor OIG; Nuclear Regulatory Commission OIG; Small Business Administration OIG; Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration; Department of Veterans Affairs OIG; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; United States Capitol Police; Fairfax County, Virginia Police Department; and the Alexandria, Virginia Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Vanessa Strobbe for the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorneys George Brown and Stefanie Schwartz of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) are prosecuting the case.

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 cyber and IP criminals, and court orders for the return of over $350 million in victim funds.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of 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. 1:25-cr-307.

A federal jury convicted Sohaib Akhter, 34, of Alexandria, Virgina, today on charges of conspiracy to commit computer fraud, password trafficking, and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

“Sohaib Akhter harmed Americans who trusted their government with personal information and sensitive requests,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “His conviction shows that getting fired from a job is not an invitation to retaliate.”

“The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General’s (FDIC-OIG) Electronic Crimes Unit is proud to stand alongside our law enforcement partners in holding Sohaib Akhter accountable for conduct that compromised sensitive government information and targeted the integrity of federal systems,” said Inspector General Jennifer L. Fain of FDIC-OIG. “As proven at trial, Akhter participated in the unauthorized access of protected computer systems, the theft of credentials, and the destruction of government data affecting numerous federal agencies. The deliberate deletion of databases containing sensitive government information and the subsequent attempts to conceal that criminal activity demonstrated a blatant disregard for the security and integrity of federal information systems. Today’s conviction reflects the FDIC OIG’s continued commitment to aggressively investigating cyber-enabled threats, protecting government networks and data, and pursuing those who seek to exploit positions of trust for personal gain.”

“This was a calculated abuse of trust and access. Attempting to profit from stolen sensitive information shows a complete disregard for the law, and this verdict shows that those who abuse access to government information will be held accountable,” said Joseph V. Cuffari Ph.D. of the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (DHS- OIG). “We are grateful to our law enforcement partners and the agencies that worked alongside us throughout this investigation to ensure those responsible were brought to justice.”

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Sohaib Akhter, and his twin brother and co-defendant, Muneeb Akhter, worked for a Washington, D.C., company that provided software products and services to more than 45 federal government agencies and hosted data for some federal government clients on servers in Ashburn. On Feb. 1, 2025, Muneeb Akhter asked Sohaib Akhter for the plaintext password of an individual who submitted a complaint to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Public Portal, which was maintained by the Akhters’ employer. Sohaib Akhter conducted a database query on the EEOC database and then provided the password to Muneeb Akhter. That password was subsequently used to access that individual’s email account without authorization.

When the company discovered Sohaib Akhter’s felony conviction, it terminated both brothers’ employment during an online remote meeting on Feb. 18, 2025. Immediately after being fired during this meeting, the brothers sought to harm their employer and its U.S. government customers by accessing computers without authorization, write-protecting databases, deleting databases, and destroying evidence of their unlawful activities. The compromised information included case management and Freedom of Information Act response processing software. Over the course of several hours, the brothers deleted approximately 96 databases storing U.S. government information hosted by the company.

A search of Sohaib’s cellphone revealed that he had obtained firearms as early as January 2025 and, following the execution of a search warrant on March 12, 2025, took steps to sell them. On March 18, 2025, Sohaib drove to a firearm company in Farnham, Virginia, with his domestic partner, who completed paperwork for a transaction to sell the company seven firearms. As a convicted felon, Sohaib could not legally possess firearms.

On June 6, 2015, Muneeb and Sohaib pled guilty in the Eastern District of Virginia to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to access a protected computer without authorization, and conspiracy to access a government computer without authorization. Muneeb also pled guilty to accessing a protected computer without authorization, making a false statement, and obstructing justice. On Oct. 2, 2015, Muneeb was sentenced to three years and three months in prison; Sohaib was sentenced to two years in prison.

Sohaib Akhter is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 9 and faces a maximum penalty of 21 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FDIC-OIG, DHS-OIG, and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case. Valuable assistance was provided by: the Department of Agriculture OIG; Department of Education OIG; Environmental Protection Agency OIG; Equal Employment Opportunity Commission OIG; Federal Reserve Board OIG; Department of Health and Human Services OIG; DHS Office of the Chief Security Officer; Department of Housing and Urban Development OIG; Department of the Interior OIG; International Development Finance Corporation OIG; Department of Justice OIG; Department of Labor OIG; Nuclear Regulatory Commission OIG; Small Business Administration OIG; Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration; Department of Veterans Affairs OIG; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; United States Capitol Police; Fairfax County, Virginia Police Department; and the Alexandria, Virginia Sheriff’s Office.

Trial Attorneys George Brown and Stefanie Schwartz of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Vanessa Strobbe for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.

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 cyber and IP criminals, and court orders for the return of over $350 million in victim funds. 

RICHMOND, Va. – A Salvadoran national was sentenced to five years in prison for possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

According to court documents, from Feb. 6, 2025, to April 29, 2025, law enforcement conducted three controlled purchases of a total of over 167 grams of cocaine from José Mauricio Rivas-Portillo, 33. On July 17, 2025, as Rivas-Portillo was returning from Burlington, North Carolina, to his residence in Spotsylvania, a Virginia State Trooper stopped Rivas-Portillo in Spotsylvania County for a traffic violation. After a drug detection canine alerted to the presence of narcotics in Rivas-Portillo’s vehicle, a search of the vehicle resulted in the recovery of a bag containing cocaine on the driver side floorboard and one kilogram of cocaine on the passenger side floorboard. Rivas-Portillo was in possession of $1,936 in drug proceeds.

The Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Olivia L. Norman 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-150.

This release was revised on May 7, 2026, to correct the case number.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The owner and operator of an Alexandria-based precious metals investment firm was sentenced today to four years and two months in prison for wire fraud and violating the Travel Act.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, beginning in November 2021, Warith Deen Muhammad, 39, of McLean, falsely told more than a dozen investors that if they invested with him and his business, Niagara Gold and Silver LLC, he would use their money to buy, trade, and sell precious metals. Muhammad guaranteed profits of five to ten percent and told investors that they would receive their principal plus interest back, typically within 30 days.

To mask the fraud, Muhammad used new investors funds to pay prior investors, leading investors to believe that their investment had been “successful,” inducing them to invest more money and to recruit others to invest. In total, from November 2021 through June 2023, Muhammad used fraudulent representations to induce more than 12 investors to send him over $1.5 million.

In addition to spending investor money to pay prior investors, Muhammad also used investor funds to finance his lavish lifestyle. He leased high-end sports cars, including a Ferrari FF, Bentley, and Dodge Challenger Demon. He paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to rent luxury properties, and he spent tens of thousands of dollars at retailers, including Neiman Marcus, Tiffany’s, and Chanel, among others.

The FBI Washington Field Office investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Morgan 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. 1:25-cr-284.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Dontavious Rashid Whitaker, 28, of Alexandria, and D’Moni Anthony Moten, 27, of Woodbridge, were sentenced today to 20 years and over 16 years in prison respectively for their roles in a conspiracy to traffic counterfeit pressed pills containing carfentanil, fentanyl, and heroin.

According to court documents, from at least December 2021 to November 2025, Whitaker and Moten participated in a conspiracy to distribute counterfeit pressed pills containing opioids including heroin, fentanyl, and carfentanil - a synthetic opioid 100 times more powerful than fentanyl.

On Feb. 19, 2025, in Alexandria, the United States Marshals Service (USMS) attempted to stop a Range Rover operated by Whitaker and a Jaguar operated by Moten. Whitaker and Moten attempted to flee and ultimately fled on foot from their vehicles.  The Range Rover contained a loaded handgun with a round in the chamber and 13 rounds in an attached magazine, over 1,800 pills containing 203 grams of fentanyl, various prescription pills, multiple pounds of suspected marijuana, cocaine, a digital scale, and two cellphones. The Jaguar contained a loaded handgun with a round in the chamber and 10 rounds in an attached magazine, a large quantity of suspected marijuana, 32 grams of cocaine, and pills containing 109 grams of fentanyl. During a search of a residence associated with Whitaker, Moten, and other conspirators, investigators seized a handgun with a round in the chamber and 17 rounds in the attached magazine, another handgun with a round in the chamber and 33 rounds in the attached magazine, bulk marijuana, various prescription pills, over 1,000 fentanyl pills containing 120 grams of fentanyl, $182,568, and a money counter.

Subsequently, law enforcement conducted multiple controlled purchases from Whitaker and Moten, two of which involved the sale of pills totaling 1,058 grams of a mixture containing heroin.  On Nov. 12, 2025, law enforcement searched multiple locations and vehicles associated with Whitaker, Moten, and other coconspirators. Whitaker was located in one residence with a loaded handgun, approximately $50,000 in cash, and over $70,000 in high-end jewelry in his bedroom. Another loaded handgun was located in another bedroom in the same residence. A search of a vehicle associated with Whitaker and Moten resulted in the seizure of nearly 10,000 counterfeit pressed pills containing 721 grams of carfentanil, 116 grams of fentanyl, and 108 grams of heroin.  The search of a second residence identified as a narcotics stash location associated with the conspiracy resulted in the seizure of scattered fentanyl pills and a Draco AK-47 style pistol with a round in the chamber and the magazine next to the firearm.  A second vehicle associated with Whitaker was searched and found to contain 1,000 counterfeit pressed pills containing approximately 108 grams of fentanyl.

On Feb. 6, Whitaker pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute carfentanil, fentanyl, and heroin; possession with intent to distribute and attempted possession with intent to distribute carfentanil; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. Whitaker was sentenced today to 20 years in prison.

On Feb. 6, Moten pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute carfentanil, fentanyl, and heroin; possession with intent to distribute and attempted possession with intent to distribute carfentanil; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. Moten was sentenced today to 16 years and eight months in prison.

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 Manassas is comprised of agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations; FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA); the Diplomatic Security Service; USMS; the United States Coast Guard Investigative Service; the Naval Criminal Investigative Service; the Transportation Security Administration Federal Air Marshals Service; Customs and Border Protection; Enforcement and Removal Operations; and Washington Baltimore HIDTA. Prosecution is being led by the Office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The DEA and ATF investigated this case with assistance from USMS, the IRS Criminal Investigation Washington Field Office, Virginia State Police, Alexandria Police Department, Arlington Police Department, Prince George County Police Department, and Prince William County Police Department.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Hahn 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 Nos. 1:26-cr-19 (Moten) and 1:26-cr-20 (Whitaker).

NORFOLK, Va. – A Portsmouth man was sentenced yesterday to three years and five months in prison for making false statements during the purchase of firearms.

According to court documents, between June 8, 2023, and Feb. 26, 2025, Isaiah Sincere Wilson, 24, straw-purchased several firearms for, among others, his drug dealer. Three of the firearms were used in acts of violence that spanned multiple states. Several of the firearms remain unaccounted for. Wilson made these purchases from licensed dealers while knowingly making false statements to conceal that the firearms would be purchased for another person.

Wilson and his drug dealer discussed Wilson signing up for a course to obtain a concealed-handgun permit, which would allow Wilson to carry a concealed firearm and purchase more than one handgun per month. They also discussed reducing the price of Wilson's marijuana purchases in exchange for straw-purchasing a firearm.

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

Assistant U.S. Attorney Clayton D. LaForge, former Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Marek, and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Marc W. West 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. 2:25-cr-87.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) prosecuted 15 defendants during the month of April under 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.

EDVA brought two new Project Safe Childhood cases during April while achieving eight convictions and five substantial sentences, including a life sentence.

Indictments

On April 7, a federal grand jury indicted Bryan Brooke, 63, of Bates City, Missouri, on a charge of distribution of CSAM. Case No. 3: 26-cr-40

On April 8, a grand jury indicted Nicolas Antonio Lainez, 19, of Hawaii, on counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child, sexual exploitation of a child, and transportation of CSAM. Lainez was charged by criminal complaint on March 12 with production of CSAM and transportation of CSAM. Lainez was living with a family on Fort Eustis when he allegedly recorded himself sexually exploiting a six-year-old victim. Case No. 4: 26-CR-28

Pleas

Malachi Morgan Thomas, 24, of Woodbridge, pled guilty on April 2 to sexually exploiting more than 40 minor girls on Snapchat. Thomas coerced the victims, between the ages of 12 and 17, to engage in sexually explicit conduct and directed them to create and send him CSAM. Thomas flew to another state and travelled to a victim’s home where he engaged in sex with her. On Oct. 1, 2020, Fairfax County Police arrested Thomas on charges of rape and sodomy of two minors in Fairfax County. Thomas is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 24 and faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and up to 40 years in prison. Case No. 1:25-cr-327

On April 21, Tucker Lee Martin pled guilty to attempted sexual exploitation of children. In 2021, Martin used his Tumblr account to upload a photo of himself engaged in a sexual act while seated next to a three-year-old toddler. Martin also used Snapchat to send graphic photos of himself and solicit CSAM from adults and minors, including asking a child to engage in bestiality. Investigators identified 195 files of suspected CSAM on Martin’s cellphone and 172 files on his Kik account. Martin is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 17 and faces a mandatory minimum of imprisonment of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison. Case No. 2:26-cr-32

On April 22, William Thomas Alley, 41, of Hampton, pled guilty to receiving CSAM. Alley used the Kik and Telegram apps to chat with other users about CSAM, and Alley solicited CSAM online. On four of Alley’s electronic devices, investigators identified 398 images of CSAM, including images of toddlers, bestiality, and bondage, and 58 video files of CSAM. Alley is scheduled to be sentenced on July 21 and faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison. Case No. 4:26-cr-14

On April 22, Christopher Charles Collins, 40, of Newport News, pled guilty to attempted coercion and enticement of a child and receipt of CSAM. On Oct. 28, 2025, while on probation, Collins communicated over the Chatiw app and Dischord platform with a person he believed was a 14-year-old girl, but who was actually an undercover law enforcement officer. Collins arranged to meet the purported for sex. Law enforcement arrested Collins when he arrived at the prearranged location. Investigators identified numerous CSAM images on Collins’ cellphone. Collins is scheduled to be sentenced on July 30 and faces a mandatory minimum of 25 years and up to life in prison. Case No. 4:26-cr-19

On April 23, Randon Alexander Sprinkle, 31, of Richmond, pled guilty to distribution of CSAM. On May 22, 2025, Sprinkle used the Jack’d online dating app to contact a person he believed to be the father of a nine-year-old child, but who was actually an undercover law enforcement officer. Sprinkle asked to move the conversation to Telegram and sent the officer a CSAM image. Investigators later identified numerous CSAM images on Sprinkle’s electronic devices. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 26 and Sprinkle faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison. Case No. 3:26-cr-2

On April 30, William Dana Holcomb, 70, of Hampton, pled guilty to distribution of CSAM. From April 4-7, 2025, Holcomb engaged in chats in which he offered to pay for “Early Young Teen girl or 10 and Under hopefully.” Among numerous other requests Holcomb made in chats, in one he asked to have sex with a seven-year-old. Investigators identified CSAM on Holcomb’s cellphone, and he admitted that he had distributed CSAM. Holcomb is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 10 and faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison. Case No. 4:25-cr-80

On April 30, David Brent Timberlake, 65, of Henrico, pled guilty to receiving CSAM. Between April 3, 2021, and Aug. 6, 2022, Timberlake requested CSAM files through a peer-to-peer network. For example, on Aug. 6, 2022, Timberlake requested and received a video depicting a victim between 4 and 6 years old being sexually abused by two adult males. That file and numerous other CSAM files were found on Timberlake’s electronic devices. Timberlake is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 26 and faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 20 years in prison. Case No. 3:26-cr-26

Trial

On April 23, a federal jury convicted registered sex offender Richard Scott Tyson of sexually exploiting two minors. Tyson, 57, of Gum Spring, was convicted in 2002 of rape involving a child, for which he received a 99-year prison sentence with 86 years suspended. Between 2021 and 2023, Tyson enticed the minors with gifts and trips to hotels, resorts, and amusement parks. During these activities and trips, as well as at Tyson’s home, Tyson engaged in sexual relations with one of the victims and took pictures of both minor victims while they were nude or mostly undressed and posed in sexualized positions in exchange for money. Tyson faces a mandatory minimum of 35 years and up to life in prison when sentenced on July 29. Case No. 3:24-cr-34

Sentencing

Yahmir Deshawn Kawante Hamlet, 25, of Hampton, was sentenced on April 14 to 20 years in prison for coercing minors to produce CSAM. On Dec. 6, 2023, FBI investigators searched Hamlet’s residence and seized devices containing 425 image files and 122 video files of CSAM, including infants and toddlers, masochism, and bestiality. The devices also included sexually explicit conversations between Hamlet and two minors, whom Hamlet paid for sexually explicit images and videos. Case No. 4:25-cr-36

On April 16, Jorge Antonio Escobar, 50, a Colombian national residing in Virginia, was sentenced to eight years in prison for receipt of CSAM. Escobar downloaded and saved images and videos of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including depictions of prepubescent minors. Case No. 1:25-cr-283

On April 22, Michael Logan Bourne, 55, of Chantilly, was sentenced to 27 years in prison following his conviction for sexually exploiting minors he targeted online. From February 2022 to April 2023, Bourne used an anonymous Google account to sexually exploit at least six girls to whom he referred as his “slaves,” and persuaded them to “serve” and “please” him by engaging in sexually explicit conduct on live webcams. Bourne received child sexual abuse material from two of his victims. Case No. 1:25-cr-218

On April 23, Dominic Nathaniel Torres, 23, a U.S. Navy sailor stationed in Norfolk, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sex and the coercion of seven other minor victims. Torres strategically targeted middle and high school age girls through social media, then bypassed the security protocols of age restricted social media communities by presenting himself as a minor and using younger photos. Torres requested and received sexually explicit images and videos from minor victims and sent the minors sexually graphic photos and videos of himself. In 2024, Torres travelled to a minor victim’s neighborhood, picked her up near her home, and engaged in sex with her on two separate occasions. Case No. 2:25-cr-10

On April 28, Anthony George Ruggiero, 42, of Gloucester, was sentenced to life in prison following his conviction for sexually abusing a foreign exchange student and receiving child sexual abuse material. In 2021 and 2022, Ruggiero sexually abused and exploited the student while his family hosted her in their home. Ruggiero continued to engage in sexually explicit messages with the student after she returned to her home country, including requesting sexually explicit photos and offering her sexually explicit photos. A federal jury convicted Ruggiero on Nov. 20, 2025. Case No. 4:24-cr-39

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

Indictments are merely accusations. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A Dumfries man was sentenced yesterday to three years in prison for possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon.

According to court documents, on July 21, 2025, Jonathan Daniel Smith discharged a handgun while he was engaged in a fight with another individual at a gas station in Woodbridge. On July 24, 2025, Prince William County Police officers recognized Smith from footage of the incident and apprehended him after a pursuit. During the chase, Smith attempted to hide his handgun, which was loaded with 15 rounds of ammunition in an extended magazine, under a parked car. Witnesses directed law enforcement to the handgun's location. A comparative analysis confirmed that a shell casing recovered from the shooting had been fired from Smith’s handgun.

In 2023, Smith was convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm. As a convicted felon, Smith cannot lawfully possess firearms or ammunition.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division investigated this case with assistance from the Prince William County Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald L. Walutes Jr. 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-324.

RICHMOND, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Richmond man yesterday on charges of armed robbery and brandishing a firearm during a violent crime.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, on Feb. 12, 2025, Monte Decarlos Winston, 56, committed an armed robbery of a Valero gas station in Henrico County. On Feb. 18, 2025, Winston committed a second armed robbery at The Beauty Zone, a beauty supply company, in Chesterfield County.

In 2003, Winston was convicted of the same crimes, as well as possession of cocaine, and was sentenced to 13 years and five months in prison. In 2016 and twice in 2018, Winston was found guilty of violating the terms of his supervised release.

Winston faces a mandatory minimum 50 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison when sentenced on July 30. 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 Henrico Police Department and the Chesterfield Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephen W. Miller and Janet Jin Ah Lee 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-117.

RICHMOND, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Honduran national today on charges of possession of a firearm by an illegal alien.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, in 2016, law enforcement encountered Joel L. Ayala-Rivera, 22, near Hidalgo, Texas, after he unlawfully crossed the border as an unaccompanied juvenile. He was placed in removal proceedings and was released from custody to the care of his mother. In or about February of 2023, Ayala-Rivera was again encountered and taken into custody by Border Patrol in Texas. In May of 2023, an immigration judge adjudged him to be an alien present in the United States without being admitted or paroled. The judge released Ayala-Rivera from immigration detention on a cash bond.

On April 15, 2024, at an apartment in Richmond, the FBI conducted a controlled purchase in which Ayala-Rivera sold a handgun. As an illegal alien, Ayala-Rivera cannot lawfully possess firearms.

Ayala-Rivera faces up to 15 years in prison when sentenced on Aug. 25, and he remains subject to the prior order of removal. 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 Richmond Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Angela Mastandrea and Patrick J. McGorman 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. 3:26-cr-14.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal jury today convicted Afghan national Mohammad Sharifullah, a member of the terrorist organization the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham-Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), of participating in a nine-year conspiracy to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, on Aug. 26, 2021, American and other Coalition military forces were conducting a non-combatant evacuation operation at the Abbey Gate of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul, Afghanistan. Thousands of civilians were at Abbey Gate for evacuation.

On Aug. 26, 2021, ISIS-K leadership tasked Sharifullah with surveilling a road to the Hamid Karzai International Airport to ensure it was clear of Taliban checkpoints. At about 2:00 pm, Sharifullah travelled his assigned route and communicated to ISIS-K leadership that the route was clear.  At approximately 5:36 p.m., ISIS-K operative Abdul Rahman al-Logari, whom Sharifullah knew previously from their time together in an Afghan prison, detonated a body-worn suicide bomb at Abbey Gate, killing 13 U.S. military service members and approximately 160 civilians.

Additionally, on June 20, 2016, a suicide bomber acting for ISIS-K detonated a bomb targeting Nepali security guards protecting the Canadian embassy in Kabul. Prior to the attack, Sharifullah conducted surveillance to prepare the suicide bomber and later transported the suicide bomber toward the attack site.

Additionally, on March 22, 2024, a group of ISIS-K gunmen attacked Crocus City Hall near Moscow. On behalf of ISIS-K, Sharifullah shared instructions on how to use AK-style rifles and other weapons with attackers. The ISIS-K attackers used AK-style rifles to kill civilians in the attack.

In all, Sharifullah participated in over a dozen additional ISIS-K attacks from 2016 through his eventual apprehension in 2025. Throughout these attacks, Sharifullah was involved in various aspects of ISIS-K operations, including providing surveillance for attacks, transporting suicide bombers, transporting and cleaning armaments, communicating messages among ISIS-K personnel, and video recording explosions for ISIS-K propaganda purposes.

Sharifullah 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 FBI Washington Field Office investigated this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys John T. Gibbs, Avi Panth, and Reed Sawyers for the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Ryan D. White for the Department of Justice’s National Security Division 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. 1:25-cr-143.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Gloucester man was sentenced today to life in prison following his conviction for coercion and enticement of a child and receipt of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Anthony George Ruggiero, 42, and his family hosted a foreign exchange student who arrived at their home in Gloucester in 2021. After returning to her home country in 2022, the student disclosed to medical professionals that she had been sexually abused and exploited by Ruggiero in 2021 through 2022.

Ruggiero also engaged in sexually explicit messages with the student through social media accounts that indicated that Ruggiero was sexually abusing the student while she was 15 and 16 years old. The sexually graphic conversations continued after she returned to her home country. Ruggiero asked her for sexually explicit photos, offered her sexually explicit photos, and engaged in sexually explicit conversations both reminiscent of past sexual encounters and fantasies of future encounters.

Ruggiero was also found guilty of receiving five videos of CSAM of an identified victim in Texas.

The FBI’s Norfolk Field Office investigated this case

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Devon E.A. Heath and 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. Attorney’s 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. 4:24-cr-39.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Chesapeake woman pled guilty on April 24 to obtaining controlled substances by fraud.

According to court documents, from January 2023 to March 2024, Michelle Kollmar, 56, was a Registered Nurse working at a healthcare facility. Among Kollmar’s responsibilities was treating patients suffering from, among other afflictions, sickle-cell anemia or who were in cancer comfort care. These patients had patient-controlled analgesia pumps to dispense medication when they were in pain.

Kollmar used patients' personal identifying information to access Omnicells, which are automated prescription drug dispensing machines, and diverted vials of hydromorphone. She would later replace the vials in the Omnicell with syringes, including with doses that were about to expire. Kollmar also accessed the Omnicell when she was off work and should not have been in the hospital.

Multiple videos showed Kollmar diverting and replacing hydromorphone vials in Omnicells. Lab analysis revealed that some of the replacement syringes did not contain any hydromorphone and were found to be mostly water, while one was suspected of being diluted Dilaudid.

During the investigation Kollmar tested positive for hydromorphone, though it was not prescribed to her, and admitted that she used the hydromorphone she had taken.

Kollmar is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 27 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 Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Washington Division, and the Virginia State Police investigated this case.

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

A copy of this press release is located on the website of 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-103.

NORFOLK, Va. – A Texas man was sentenced yesterday to 10 years in prison for coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sex, and the coercion of seven other minor victims.

According to court documents, Dominic Nathanial Torres, 23, a U.S. Navy sailor stationed in Norfolk, used multiple social media platforms to communicate with minors in a sexually explicit manner. Torres strategically targeted middle and high school age girls through social media, and then bypassed the security protocols of age restricted social media communities by presenting himself as a minor and using younger photos. Torres requested and received sexually explicit images and videos from minor victims and sent the minors sexually graphic photos and videos of himself.

During the Summer of 2024, Torres contacted a minor female via a social media platform. Torres knew the victim was 16 years old and portrayed himself as a minor. After communicating with the minor through multiple mediums including text messages, Torres convinced the minor to meet in person. He travelled to the minor’s neighborhood, picked her up near her home, and engaged in sex with her on two separate occasions. Torres attempted to video his sexual encounter with the minor.

The Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) investigated this 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. Attorney’s 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.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of 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-10.