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Newest first across public DOJ and U.S. Attorney press releases.
3 June 2026
Matrix, HealthFair, and HealthFair founder agree to pay $56.5 million to resolve False Claims Act allegationsRead the Press Release
SHERMAN, Texas – Community Care Health Network LLC, doing business as Matrix Medical Network (Matrix), DPN USA, doing business as HealthFair (HealthFair), and Shahriah “James” Ekbatani have agreed to pay a total of $56.5 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by causing the submission of false or invalid diagnosis codes to the Medicare Advantage program. Matrix will pay $36.5 million to resolve claims in a qui tam action filed in the Southern District of New York. HealthFair, which was acquired by Matrix, will pay $5 million and Ekbatani will pay $15 million to resolve claims in a qui tam action filed in the Eastern District of Texas.
“When healthcare companies report risk-adjusting diagnoses that are invalid, they siphon money from the Medicare Advantage program,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department remains vigilant in pursuing MAOs, downstream entities, and responsible individuals who do not play by the rules.”
“Patients should be able to trust that their medical providers are making, documenting, and sending diagnosis information to insurers based on accurate assessment, testing, and what is best for the patient,” said U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs of the Eastern District of Texas. “It is a breach of trust when providers look to make more money by making their patients appear sicker than they are. Submitting unsubstantiated diagnoses increases costs to the Medicare Advantage program. This case emphasizes our District’s commitment to justice by pursuing anyone who attempts to steal through misrepresentations.”
“The allegations in these matters describe conduct that puts profit ahead of patients and undermines the integrity of the Medicare Advantage program,” said Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Scott J. Lampert of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG will not tolerate efforts to divert taxpayer funded health care dollars for personal or corporate gain. We will continue to pursue every available enforcement avenue with our law enforcement partners to ensure that anyone who endangers federal program integrity is met with swift and robust accountability.”
The Medicare Advantage (MA) program, also known as Medicare Part C, allows Medicare beneficiaries to opt out of traditional Medicare and enroll in health plans that are administered by private insurance companies known as Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs). The MAOs contract with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide traditional Medicare coverage to beneficiaries enrolled in their plans in exchange for capitated payments. CMS adjusts these capitated payments based on the health status of each beneficiary as determined through diagnoses submitted by the MAOs. In general, CMS pays more for sicker beneficiaries likely to incur higher healthcare expenses and less for healthier beneficiaries. Diagnosis codes submitted to CMS must be supported by the beneficiaries’ medical records and be accurate, complete, and truthful, based on the best knowledge, information, and belief of the MAO making the submission.
Matrix, headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, is a health services company that contracts with MAOs to provide in-home assessments to MA plan beneficiaries. HealthFair, a company founded and managed by Ekbatani, operated mobile health care buses staffed by nurse practitioners and medical technicians and fitted with certain medical equipment. It contracted with MAOs in several states to provide health assessments to MA plan beneficiaries on HealthFair buses. Matrix acquired HealthFair in 2018 and shut down its operations by 2020.
The United States alleges that during the period from 2014 to 2019, Matrix knowingly caused MAOs to submit false and invalid diagnoses of the following chronic medical conditions to CMS for risk adjustment purposes: proliferative diabetic retinopathy, drug-induced polyneuropathy, rheumatoid polyneuropathy, atrial fibrillation, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and simple chronic bronchitis (the “Invalid Diagnoses”). Matrix reported the Invalid Diagnoses to MAOs based on its in-home assessments even though: (a) there was not sufficient information to support the diagnoses; (b) the diagnoses did not conform with the guidelines for coding and reporting diagnoses as required by CMS; and (c) the conditions were frequently not diagnosed by any other healthcare provider who saw the beneficiary during the year in which the home visit occurred or in the preceding two years or subsequent two years. As a result of the reporting of these Invalid Diagnoses, the MAOs obtained inflated risk adjustment payments from CMS to which they were not entitled.
As to HealthFair and Ekbatani, the United States contends that HealthFair knowingly reported certain diagnoses to MAOs that were unsupported, unsubstantiated, and/or invalid. Specifically, from 2015 to 2017, HealthFair providers (1) made certain diagnoses (including but not limited to HIV/AIDS, metastatic cancer, and Myasthenia Gravis) without documentation establishing or confirming the existence of the condition; (2) made certain diagnoses (including but not limited to morbid obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, coagulation defect, drug dependence, major depressive disorder, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) solely based on patient attestation, claims history, past medical history, or medication; (3) diagnosed congestive heart failure and heart arrhythmia despite contradiction by electrocardiogram and echocardiogram results; and (4) diagnosed thrombophilia solely based on separate diagnoses of atrial fibrillation. HealthFair, which acted at the direction of Ekbatani, submitted the diagnoses to its MAO customers, and the MAOs often submitted the diagnoses to CMS for risk-adjusted payments.
The settlement with Matrix resolves claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the FCA by Nancy Cahill, a former employee of Matrix, in United States ex rel. Cahill v. Matrix, No. 19-CV-11153 (S.D.N.Y.). The settlements with HealthFair and Ekbatani resolve claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the FCA by Robert Oristaglio, Jr., D.O., who was the chief medical officer of HealthFair, in United States ex rel. Oristaglio v. Community Care Health Network, Inc., d/b/a Matrix Medical Network et al., No. 4:22-CV-00133-SDJ (E.D. Tex.). Under the FCA, private parties are permitted to sue on behalf of the government for false claims for government funds and to receive a share of the recovery. The settlements in these cases provide for Cahill to receive $7.3 million and Oristaglio to receive $3.6 million.
This year the Administration launched the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the National Fraud Enforcement Division to enhance the Administration’s war on fraud, waste, and abuse in federal programs. When unscrupulous actors exploit these programs for their own financial gain, they defraud the government, harm the people these programs are designed to aid and protect, and undermine American businesses that play by the rules. The Civil Division’s FCA enforcement plays a critical role in combatting such fraudulent schemes, recovering billions of dollars for the American taxpayers, and holding wrongdoers accountable. FCA matters will continue to be on the forefront of the battle against fraud, and the Civil Division’s FCA work will support and advance the mission of the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the National Fraud Enforcement Division.
The resolutions obtained in this matter were the result of coordinated efforts between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Eastern District of Texas and Southern District of New York, with assistance from HHS-OIG.
The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrate the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the FCA. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at www.oig.hhs.gov/fraud/report-fraud/ or 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
The matters were handled by Trial Attorney Samson Asiyanbi of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rachael Doud and Ilan Stein of the Southern District of New York, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin McClendon of the Eastern District of Texas.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Note: The settlement agreement with Matrix Medical Network can be read here, the settlement with HealthFair can be read here, and the settlement with Shahriah Ekbatani can be read here.
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Matrix, HealthFair, and HealthFair Founder Agree to Pay $56.5M to Resolve False Claims Act AllegationsRead the Press Release
Community Care Health Network LLC, doing business as Matrix Medical Network (Matrix), DPN USA, doing business as HealthFair (HealthFair), and Shahriah “James” Ekbatani have agreed to pay a total of $56.5 million to resolve allegations that they violated the False Claims Act (FCA) by causing the submission of false or invalid diagnosis codes to the Medicare Advantage program. Matrix will pay $36.5 million to resolve claims in a qui tam action filed in the Southern District of New York. HealthFair, which was acquired by Matrix, will pay $5 million and Ekbatani will pay $15 million to resolve claims in a qui tam action filed in the Eastern District of Texas.
“When healthcare companies report risk-adjusting diagnoses that are invalid, they siphon money from the Medicare Advantage program,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Justice Department remains vigilant in pursuing MAOs, downstream entities, and responsible individuals who do not play by the rules.”
“Patients should be able to trust that their medical providers are making, documenting, and sending diagnosis information to insurers based on accurate assessment, testing, and what is best for the patient,” said U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs of the Eastern District of Texas. “It is a breach of trust when providers look to make more money by making their patients appear sicker than they are. Submitting unsubstantiated diagnoses increases costs to the Medicare Advantage program. This case emphasizes our District’s commitment to justice by pursuing anyone who attempts to steal through misrepresentations.”
“For years, Matrix generated false and invalid diagnoses for patients enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans that were later reported to the Government,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York. “Matrix advertised its ability to identify new diagnosis codes that would boost Medicare Advantage insurers’ payments, and it delivered on that promise by reporting lucrative diagnoses that frequently fell well short of meeting recognized clinical criteria. Matrix did so to generate business for itself, at the expense of the public fisc. New Yorkers hate fraud that drains public funds. Why? Because New Yorkers are smart and they know fraud involving taxpayer-funded programs costs all New Yorkers. This Office is proud to join with the rest of the Department, including the National Fraud Enforcement Division, to hold perpetrators of fraud accountable in Medicare and other contexts.”
“The allegations in these matters describe conduct that puts profit ahead of patients and undermines the integrity of the Medicare Advantage program,” said Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Scott J. Lampert of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG will not tolerate efforts to divert taxpayer funded health care dollars for personal or corporate gain. We will continue to pursue every available enforcement avenue with our law enforcement partners to ensure that anyone who endangers federal program integrity is met with swift and robust accountability.”
The Medicare Advantage (MA) program, also known as Medicare Part C, allows Medicare beneficiaries to opt out of traditional Medicare and enroll in health plans that are administered by private insurance companies known as Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAOs). The MAOs contract with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide traditional Medicare coverage to beneficiaries enrolled in their plans in exchange for capitated payments. CMS adjusts these capitated payments based on the health status of each beneficiary as determined through diagnoses submitted by the MAOs. In general, CMS pays more for sicker beneficiaries likely to incur higher healthcare expenses and less for healthier beneficiaries. Diagnosis codes submitted to CMS must be supported by the beneficiaries’ medical records and be accurate, complete, and truthful, based on the best knowledge, information, and belief of the MAO making the submission.
Matrix, headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, is a health services company that contracts with MAOs to provide in-home assessments to MA plan beneficiaries. HealthFair, a company founded and managed by Ekbatani, operated mobile health care buses staffed by nurse practitioners and medical technicians and fitted with certain medical equipment. It contracted with MAOs in several states to provide health assessments to MA plan beneficiaries on HealthFair buses. Matrix acquired HealthFair in 2018 and shut down its operations by 2020.
The United States alleges that during the period from 2014 to 2019, Matrix knowingly caused MAOs to submit false and invalid diagnoses of the following chronic medical conditions to CMS for risk adjustment purposes: proliferative diabetic retinopathy, drug-induced polyneuropathy, rheumatoid polyneuropathy, atrial fibrillation, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and simple chronic bronchitis (the “Invalid Diagnoses”). Matrix reported the Invalid Diagnoses to MAOs based on its in-home assessments even though: (a) there was not sufficient information to support the diagnoses; (b) the diagnoses did not conform with the guidelines for coding and reporting diagnoses as required by CMS; and (c) the conditions were frequently not diagnosed by any other healthcare provider who saw the beneficiary during the year in which the home visit occurred or in the preceding two years or subsequent two years. As a result of the reporting of these Invalid Diagnoses, the MAOs obtained inflated risk adjustment payments from CMS to which they were not entitled.
As to HealthFair and Ekbatani, the United States contends that HealthFair knowingly reported certain diagnoses to MAOs that were unsupported, unsubstantiated, and/or invalid. Specifically, from 2015 to 2017, HealthFair providers (1) made certain diagnoses (including but not limited to HIV/AIDS, metastatic cancer, and Myasthenia Gravis) without documentation establishing or confirming the existence of the condition; (2) made certain diagnoses (including but not limited to morbid obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, coagulation defect, drug dependence, major depressive disorder, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) solely based on patient attestation, claims history, past medical history, or medication; (3) diagnosed congestive heart failure and heart arrhythmia despite contradiction by electrocardiogram and echocardiogram results; and (4) diagnosed thrombophilia solely based on separate diagnoses of atrial fibrillation. HealthFair, which acted at the direction of Ekbatani, submitted the diagnoses to its MAO customers, and the MAOs often submitted the diagnoses to CMS for risk-adjusted payments.
The settlement with Matrix resolves claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the FCA by Nancy Cahill, a former employee of Matrix, in United States ex rel. Cahill v. Matrix, No. 19-CV-11153 (S.D.N.Y.). The settlements with HealthFair and Ekbatani resolve claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the FCA by Robert Oristaglio, Jr., D.O., who was the chief medical officer of HealthFair, in United States ex rel. Oristaglio v. Community Care Health Network, Inc., d/b/a Matrix Medical Network et al., No. 4:22-CV-00133-SDJ (E.D. Tex.). Under the FCA, private parties are permitted to sue on behalf of the government for false claims for government funds and to receive a share of the recovery. The settlements in these cases provide for Cahill to receive $7.3 million and Oristaglio to receive $3.6 million.
This year the Administration launched the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the National Fraud Enforcement Division to enhance the Administration’s war on fraud, waste, and abuse in federal programs. When unscrupulous actors exploit these programs for their own financial gain, they defraud the government, harm the people these programs are designed to aid and protect, and undermine American businesses that play by the rules. The Civil Division’s FCA enforcement plays a critical role in combatting such fraudulent schemes, recovering billions of dollars for the American taxpayers, and holding wrongdoers accountable. FCA matters will continue to be on the forefront of the battle against fraud, and the Civil Division’s FCA work will support and advance the mission of the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud and the National Fraud Enforcement Division.
The resolutions obtained in this matter were the result of coordinated efforts between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Southern District of New York and Eastern District of Texas, with assistance from HHS-OIG.
The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrate the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the FCA. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at www.oig.hhs.gov/fraud/report-fraud/ or 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
The matters were handled by Trial Attorney Samson Asiyanbi of the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rachael Doud and Ilan Stein of the Southern District of New York, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin McClendon of the Eastern District of Texas.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
Note: The settlement agreement with Matrix Medical Network can be read here, the settlement with HealthFair can be read here, and the settlement with Shahriah Ekbatani can be read here.
Marylander Pleads Guilty in D.C. to Coercion and Enticement of a MinorRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Daniel Cruz Ramirez, 28, a Maryland resident, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in connection with the sustained sexual abuse of a D.C. resident starting when she was thirteen, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Cruz Ramirez pleaded guilty before Judge Trevor N. McFadden to one count of Coercion and Enticement of a Child. Judge McFadden scheduled sentencing for Nov. 12, 2026.
According to court documents, Cruz Ramirez met the victim at church services when she was twelve years old. Cruz Ramirez began texting the victim and told her that he liked her on her first day of school in the eighth grade. There were various messages exchanged between the defendant and the victim spanning April 2024 through December 2025 – including chats on WhatsApp, Instagram, and text message. The chats discussed Cruz Ramirez engaging in sexual acts with the victim and steps to avoid detection, including sneaking into the victim’s house and deleting certain messages and images.
Cruz Ramirez sexually abused the victim multiple times between 2024 and 2025, including vaginally penetrating her. On Nov. 17, 2025, Cruz Ramirez recorded a series of videos, including a 26-minute video depicting vaginal and oral penetration of the victim.
This case was investigated by FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force and the Metropolitan Police Department’s Youth Division. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Kelley.
This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices, 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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Maryland Woman Pleads Guilty to $1.1M Tax Refund Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
A Maryland woman pleaded guilty yesterday to attempting to steal more than $1.1 million in government funds by filing false tax returns with the IRS.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between December 2019 and March 2020, Kendra Scarborough, of Oxon Hill, Maryland, filed three false tax returns in the names of purported trusts that she controlled. In total, these tax returns sought more than $1.1 million in refunds that the trusts were not entitled to receive. Scarborough’s scheme resulted in the IRS issuing a refund of $412,000 to one of the purported trusts. Scarborough used these funds to pay for, among other things, the mortgage on her personal residence.
Scarborough pleaded guilty to one count of theft of government funds. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 9 and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. She also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Melissa Siskind of the Criminal Division’s Tax Section 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.
Maryland Member of Major D.C. Fentanyl and Cocaine Trafficking Conspiracy Sentenced to 87 MonthsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON - Michael Owens, 38, of St. Charles, Maryland, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 87 months in prison in connection with his role in a multi-year conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine in the District of Columbia, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
“Owens was an active participant in a drug trafficking network that moved massive quantities of fentanyl and cocaine into the District. He personally admitted the narcotics amounted to more than a kilogram of fentanyl and two kilograms of cocaine,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “When he learned his customers ‘loved’ what he was selling, he sought an even more potent supply. That kind of indifference fuels fatal overdoses. Owens’ sentence reflects the gravity of his choices and serves as a warning: anyone who helps drive the opioid crisis in our community will be held accountable, no matter their role.”
Owens pleaded guilty on Dec. 8, 2025, before Judge Trevor N. McFadden to conspiracy to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. In addition to the 87-month prison term, Judge McFadden ordered Owens to serve five years of supervised release and to pay a forfeiture money judgment of $30,000.
According to court papers, from at least August 2022 through about November 2023, Owens conspired with co-conspirator Ronnie Rogers and others to distribute fentanyl and cocaine in the District. Owens served as a redistributor in the conspiracy, acquiring bulk quantities of fentanyl and cocaine from Rogers and reselling them in smaller quantities to other distributors and buyers.
Rogers supplied Owens with fentanyl in two-gram bundles, each divided into 10 individual packages. Owens repaid Rogers after making sales. Wiretap interceptions recorded the two discussing drug debts, supply quantities, and contingency plans in the event either was raided by law enforcement.
In one intercepted communication from March 2023, Owens told Rogers that his customers loved what he was selling and asked for stronger, more potent fentanyl. In another, Owens confirmed he was nearly finished distributing a supply of both fentanyl and cocaine and was ready to be resupplied.
As part of his plea agreement, Owens admitted responsibility for between 400 grams and 1.2 kilograms of fentanyl and between 500 grams and two kilograms of cocaine.
Rogers, 71, of the District, was sentenced to 236 months in prison. Co-defendant Wayne Glymph, 49, of Port Tobacco, Maryland, was sentenced to 162 months. Co-defendant Samuel Braxton, 57, of Temple Hills, Maryland, who led the organization while incarcerated at FCI Fort Dix, was sentenced to 162 months.
The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration Washington Division Office, the FBI Washington Field Office, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Alexandria Police Department, the Montgomery County Police Department and the Metropolitan Police Department.
The matter was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys George Eliopoulos and Matthew W. Kinskey.
This operation was supported in part by the Maryland Criminal Intelligence Network (MCIN). The Governor’s Office of Crime Prevention and Policy (GOCPP) supplies grant funding and strategic assistance to MCIN member sites. These resources enable the identification, disruption, and dismantling of criminal organizations through enhanced inter-agency collaboration and data sharing, contributing to a safer Maryland for all.
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Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Tax Fraud Crimes in Connection with Unemployment Insurance Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – A Maryland man pled guilty in federal court to false-claims, identity theft, and wire-fraud crimes in connection with a tax fraud and unemployment insurance (UI) fraud conspiracy.
Daiwor “Mark Brown” Woah-Tee, 53, of Belcamp, is charged with conspiracy to submit false, fictitious, and fraudulent claims to the Internal Revenue Service and wire fraud conspiracy stemming from a scheme to fraudulently obtain UI benefits during the COVID-19 Pandemic. This prosecution is part of the Trump Administration’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the plea agreement with Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Washington D.C. Field Office; Inspector General Anthony P. D’Esposito, U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General (DOL-OIG); and Joseph V. Cuffari Ph.D., Inspector General, Department of Homeland Security (DHS-OIG).
According to the plea agreement, beginning in January 2018, and continuing until December 2024, Woah-Tee and his conspirators knowingly and willfully conspired to defraud the United States and the Department of the Treasury. The co-conspirators filed fraudulent Form 1040s seeking tax refunds from the IRS through fictitious claims based on fraudulent material representations. Additionally, the co-conspirators identified and recruited individuals willing to become customers of their tax-return business and obtained tax documentation and personal identifiable information from individuals seeking tax-return preparation assistance.
Woah-Tee used the information obtained from individuals to prepare tax filings with the IRS. Then he and the co-conspirators filed or caused the filing of false tax returns, which contained fabricated information regarding the taxpayer’s dependents, income, education expenses, and eligibility for the Earned Income Tax Credit.
The co-conspirators caused the IRS to deposit funds into bank accounts that they controlled and then caused the IRS to deliver treasury checks to addresses they controlled. As a result, the co-conspirators obtained tax refunds they were not entitled to in connection with submitting tax returns in which they illegally sought at least $3.5 million in refunds.
During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Woah-Tee and his co-conspirators submitted UI applications to the Maryland Department of Labor on behalf of victims, often without the victim’s knowledge, falsely stating that the applicant was entitled to UI benefits. As a result, Woah-Tee and others caused the Maryland Department of Labor to deposit UI benefits into financial accounts that they controlled, allowing them to withdraw the funds using debit cards for their own personal use. The co-conspirators obtained more than $550,000 UI benefits.
As part of the plea, Woah-Tee agreed to restitution to the Internal Revenue Service of $3.5 million and restitution to the Maryland Department of Labor of $550,000. He also agreed to a forfeiture of approximately $4 million.
Woah-Tee is facing a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison for conspiracy to submit false, fictitious, and fraudulent claims to the Internal Revenue Service; 20 years for wire fraud conspiracy; and two years for aggravated identity theft.
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.
For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit justice.gov/coronavirus. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the IRS-CI, DOL-OIG, and DHS-OIG for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared W. Murphy and Matthew P. Phelps who are prosecuting this federal case.
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Marijuana Trafficking Conspiracy Nets D.C. Man 24 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Ricardo Anton Koonce, 35, of the District of Columbia, was sentenced today to 24 months in prison in connection with a bicoastal marijuana distribution conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
"Koonce and his co-conspirators ran a systematic drug trafficking operation, making repeated cross‑country trips to stock a D.C. stash house and selling marijuana on the streets while armed with firearms,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “We will not allow armed traffickers to endanger our neighborhoods, and anyone who treats this city as their drug marketplace will be held accountable.”
Koonce, aka “King Phew,” pleaded guilty on March 3 before U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich to conspiracy to distribute marijuana. In addition to the 24-month prison term, Judge Friedrich ordered Koonce to serve three years of supervised release. Federal prosecutors had requested a 26-month prison term.
According to court papers, from at least October 2023 through May 2024, Koonce and his co-conspirators traveled multiple times between the Baltimore-Washington area and Los Angeles to buy marijuana for distribution on the East Coast.
In February 2024, agents stopped Koonce and his co-conspirators at BWI Airport when they returned from one of their trips to L.A. Agents seized about 54.5 pounds of marijuana, packaged in vacuum-sealed plastic bags, that had been hidden in suitcases carried by one of Koonce's co-conspirators.
Koonce and his co-conspirators stored and sold their marijuana out of an apartment in the 1900 block of C Street SE. Agents observed Koonce and his co-conspirators conducting hand-to-hand transactions consistent with drug sales outside the building on a daily basis.
On Oct. 30, 2024, law enforcement executed search warrants at the C Street SE apartment and at Koonce's home on the 700 block of 2nd Street NE. At the apartment, agents recovered marijuana, other narcotics, and several firearms. At Koonce's residence, agents recovered two Glock pistols, magazines and ammunition, about $53,569 in cash, and a quantity of marijuana. Koonce admitted that he possessed the firearms in connection with his role in the marijuana trafficking conspiracy.
The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration - Washington Division, and the FBI's Washington Field Office.
The matter was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nihar Mohanty and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Isabelle Sun.
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Making America Safe Again: DOJ to Award $300 Million to Model Cities Dedicated to Restoring Law and OrderRead the Press Release
The Justice Department today announced the Model Cities Initiative (MCI), a whole-of-city approach directing nearly $300 million in federal funding to transform public safety in America’s cities. Through this initiative, two to four cities will be selected to receive awards supporting the implementation of comprehensive and innovative strategies to reduce crime, restore law and order, and enhance public safety. Proposals from qualifying cities are due September 1.
“This administration is leveraging every authority to ensure the safety of all Americans,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “The Model Cities Initiative will supercharge our law enforcement partners and restore the rule of law to America’s neighborhoods, towns, and cities. Our message is clear: We will help those who help us Make America Safe Again.”
Investments will be made in a variety of areas addressing public safety, behavioral health, and related staffing, equipment, and services with the goal of leveraging federal resources to build capacity, strengthen accountability, and deliver measurable reductions in crime that can serve as a model of innovation for replication nationwide. Eligible applicants include local government entities serving a population of at least 100,000.
The MCI initiative will support a range of allowable activities, including:
- Hiring and retention of sworn and non-sworn personnel directly engaged in or supporting violent crime reduction efforts.
- Purchase or lease of equipment, tools, or technology that reduce crime and restore law and order including but not limited to real-time crime centers; forensic and DNA tools; body-worn cameras; license plate readers; artificial intelligence systems; small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and counter-UAS; ballistic identification systems; and information technology upgrades.
- Training and professional development that support intelligence-led policing, violent crime investigations, crisis response, correctional practices that strengthen reentry outcomes, and coordination with state and federal law enforcement partners.
- Facility Costs including lease, rental, or renovation expenses for space directly used in program operations, such as service delivery sites, training facilities, real-time crime centers, or intelligence analysis centers.
- Mental health and substance use services that directly support prevention, crisis response, screening and early intervention, treatment, case management, and related services addressing issues linked to public safety outcomes, including services provided in correctional facilities and in the community.
- Reentry, transitional support, and recidivism reduction programs and services designed to reduce repeat offending, support transitions from custody, and promote successful reintegration into communities, including operational costs for county jails and state prisons that support reentry preparation.
- Victim services for American victims of crime, including, emergency assistance, case management, shelter and temporary housing, medical and dental care, advocacy, transportation, childcare, legal services, and employment assistance.
- Youth crime prevention and intervention services that address risk factors for juvenile delinquency and violence, including gang intervention and suppression programs.
Cities will apply through a whole-of-city approach. That means that city leaders, including the mayor, sheriff, county prosecutor, and others will work together to submit one application that proposes a persuasive vision of how this money can be awarded strategically throughout their city to improve law enforcement engagement, victim services, detention and reentry services, and preventive programs.
Additional information about the award is available at www.justice.gov/grants. The planned competition is a multi-phase process. DOJ anticipates making initial award decisions in late 2026. To apply for this award, please submit application materials to MCIapplications@usdoj.gov.
For any questions related to the MCI Call for Applications, you can send your inquiry to MCIquestions@usdoj.gov.
Making America Safe Again: DOJ to Award $300 Million to Model Cities Dedicated to Restoring Law and OrderRead the Press Release
The Model Cities Initiative will demonstrate the effectiveness of the Make America Safe Again Mission by taking a whole-of-city approach to reduce crime and restore law and order.
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department today announced the Model Cities Initiative (MCI), a whole-of-city approach directing nearly $300 million in federal funding to transform public safety in America’s cities. Through this initiative, two to four cities will be selected to receive awards supporting the implementation of comprehensive and innovative strategies to reduce crime, restore law and order, and enhance public safety. Proposals from qualifying cities are due September 1.
“This administration is leveraging every authority to ensure the safety of all Americans,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “The Model Cities Initiative will supercharge our law enforcement partners and restore the rule of law to America’s neighborhoods, towns, and cities. Our message is clear: We will help those who help us Make America Safe Again.”
Investments will be made in a variety of areas addressing public safety, behavioral health, and related staffing, equipment, and services with the goal of leveraging federal resources to build capacity, strengthen accountability, and deliver measurable reductions in crime that can serve as a model of innovation for replication nationwide. Eligible applicants include local government entities serving a population of at least 100,000.
The MCI initiative will support a range of allowable activities, including:
- Hiring and retention of sworn and non-sworn personnel directly engaged in or supporting violent crime reduction efforts.
- Purchase or lease of equipment, tools, or technology that reduce crime and restore law and order including but not limited to real-time crime centers; forensic and DNA tools; body-worn cameras; license plate readers; artificial intelligence systems; small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and counter-UAS; ballistic identification systems; and information technology upgrades.
- Training and professional development that support intelligence-led policing, violent crime investigations, crisis response, correctional practices that strengthen reentry outcomes, and coordination with state and federal law enforcement partners.
- Facility Costs including lease, rental, or renovation expenses for space directly used in program operations, such as service delivery sites, training facilities, real-time crime centers, or intelligence analysis centers.
- Mental health and substance use services that directly support prevention, crisis response, screening and early intervention, treatment, case management, and related services addressing issues linked to public safety outcomes, including services provided in correctional facilities and in the community.
- Reentry, transitional support, and recidivism reduction programs and services designed to reduce repeat offending, support transitions from custody, and promote successful reintegration into communities, including operational costs for county jails and state prisons that support reentry preparation.
- Victim services for American victims of crime, including, emergency assistance, case management, shelter and temporary housing, medical and dental care, advocacy, transportation, childcare, legal services, and employment assistance.
- Youth crime prevention and intervention services that address risk factors for juvenile delinquency and violence, including gang intervention and suppression programs.
Cities will apply through a whole-of-city approach. That means that city leaders, including the mayor, sheriff, county prosecutor, and others will work together to submit one application that proposes a persuasive vision of how this money can be awarded strategically throughout their city to improve law enforcement engagement, victim services, detention and reentry services, and preventive programs.
Additional information about the award is available at www.justice.gov/grants. The planned competition is a multi-phase process. DOJ anticipates making initial award decisions in late 2026. To apply for this award, please submit application materials to MCIapplications@usdoj.gov.
For any questions related to the MCI Call for Applications, you can send your inquiry to MCIquestions@usdoj.gov.
Making America Safe Again: DOJ to Award $300 Million to Model Cities Dedicated to Restoring Law and OrderRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department today announced the Model Cities Initiative (MCI), a whole-of-city approach directing nearly $300 million in federal funding to transform public safety in America’s cities. Through this initiative, two to four cities will be selected to receive awards supporting the implementation of comprehensive and innovative strategies to reduce crime, restore law and order, and enhance public safety. Proposals from qualifying cities are due September 1.
“This administration is leveraging every authority to ensure the safety of all Americans,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “The Model Cities Initiative will supercharge our law enforcement partners and restore the rule of law to America’s neighborhoods, towns, and cities. Our message is clear: We will help those who help us Make America Safe Again.”
“The Model Cities Initiative presents an exceptional opportunity to enhance and modernize public safety infrastructures and reduce rates of violent crime,” said U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine. “Law enforcement in Arizona has a long history of working together to protect our communities. I encourage cities in Arizona to apply for the grant funding, and I look forward to our continued cooperation.”
Investments will be made in a variety of areas addressing public safety, behavioral health, and related staffing, equipment, and services with the goal of leveraging federal resources to build capacity, strengthen accountability, and deliver measurable reductions in crime that can serve as a model of innovation for replication nationwide. Eligible applicants include local government entities serving a population of at least 100,000.
The MCI initiative will support a range of allowable activities, including:
- Hiring and retention of sworn and non-sworn personnel directly engaged in or supporting violent crime reduction efforts.
- Purchase or lease of equipment, tools, or technology that reduce crime and restore law and order including but not limited to real-time crime centers; forensic and DNA tools; body-worn cameras; license plate readers; artificial intelligence systems; small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and counter-UAS; ballistic identification systems; and information technology upgrades.
- Training and professional development that support intelligence-led policing, violent crime investigations, crisis response, correctional practices that strengthen reentry outcomes, and coordination with state and federal law enforcement partners.
- Facility Costs including lease, rental, or renovation expenses for space directly used in program operations, such as service delivery sites, training facilities, real-time crime centers, or intelligence analysis centers.
- Mental health and substance use services that directly support prevention, crisis response, screening and early intervention, treatment, case management, and related services addressing issues linked to public safety outcomes, including services provided in correctional facilities and in the community.
- Reentry, transitional support, and recidivism reduction programs and services designed to reduce repeat offending, support transitions from custody, and promote successful reintegration into communities, including operational costs for county jails and state prisons that support reentry preparation.
- Victim services for American victims of crime, including, emergency assistance, case management, shelter and temporary housing, medical and dental care, advocacy, transportation, childcare, legal services, and employment assistance.
- Youth crime prevention and intervention services that address risk factors for juvenile delinquency and violence, including gang intervention and suppression programs.
Cities will apply through a whole-of-city approach. That means that city leaders, including the mayor, sheriff, county prosecutor, and others will work together to submit one application that proposes a persuasive vision of how this money can be awarded strategically throughout their city to improve law enforcement engagement, victim services, detention and reentry services, and preventive programs.
Additional information about the award is available at www.justice.gov/grants. The planned competition is a multi-phase process. DOJ anticipates making initial award decisions in late 2026. To apply for this award, please submit application materials to MCIapplications@usdoj.gov.
For any questions related to the MCI Call for Applications, you can send your inquiry to MCIquestions@usdoj.gov.
If you have questions about the grants, please call the Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs at 202-514-2007.
RELEASE NUMBER: 2026-090_Model Cities Initiative Grants
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For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/
Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on Twitter @USAO_AZ for the latest news.
Making America Safe Again: DOJ to Award $300 Million to Model Cities Dedicated to Restoring Law and OrderRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Justice Department today announced the Model Cities Initiative (MCI), a whole-of-city approach directing nearly $300 million in federal funding to transform public safety in America’s cities. Through this initiative, two to four cities will be selected to receive awards supporting the implementation of comprehensive and innovative strategies to reduce crime, restore law and order, and enhance public safety. Proposals from qualifying cities are due September 1.
“This administration is leveraging every authority to ensure the safety of all Americans,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “The Model Cities Initiative will supercharge our law enforcement partners and restore the rule of law to America’s neighborhoods, towns, and cities. Our message is clear: We will help those who help us Make America Safe Again.”
“With the safety and well-being of citizens as our highest priority, we recognize the Model Cities Initiative as a valuable opportunity to advance meaningful and lasting public safety efforts at the local level,” said U.S. Attorney R. Matthew Price of the Western District of Missouri. “We are encouraged by the support this program will provide and look forward to seeing leaders leverage these resources to reduce crime and strengthen public safety.”
Investments will be made in a variety of areas addressing public safety, behavioral health, and related staffing, equipment, and services with the goal of leveraging federal resources to build capacity, strengthen accountability, and deliver measurable reductions in crime that can serve as a model of innovation for replication nationwide. Eligible applicants include local government entities serving a population of at least 100,000.
The MCI initiative will support a range of allowable activities, including:
- Hiring and retention of sworn and non-sworn personnel directly engaged in or supporting violent crime reduction efforts.
- Purchase or lease of equipment, tools, or technology that reduce crime and restore law and order including but not limited to real-time crime centers; forensic and DNA tools; body-worn cameras; license plate readers; artificial intelligence systems; small, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and counter-UAS; ballistic identification systems; and information technology upgrades.
- Training and professional development that support intelligence-led policing, violent crime investigations, crisis response, correctional practices that strengthen reentry outcomes, and coordination with state and federal law enforcement partners.
- Facility Costs including lease, rental, or renovation expenses for space directly used in program operations, such as service delivery sites, training facilities, real-time crime centers, or intelligence analysis centers.
- Mental health and substance use services that directly support prevention, crisis response, screening and early intervention, treatment, case management, and related services addressing issues linked to public safety outcomes, including services provided in correctional facilities and in the community.
- Reentry, transitional support, and recidivism reduction programs and services designed to reduce repeat offending, support transitions from custody, and promote successful reintegration into communities, including operational costs for county jails and state prisons that support reentry preparation.
- Victim services for American victims of crime, including, emergency assistance, case management, shelter and temporary housing, medical and dental care, advocacy, transportation, childcare, legal services, and employment assistance.
- Youth crime prevention and intervention services that address risk factors for juvenile delinquency and violence, including gang intervention and suppression programs.
Cities will apply through a whole-of-city approach. That means that city leaders, including the mayor, sheriff, county prosecutor, and others will work together to submit one application that proposes a persuasive vision of how this money can be awarded strategically throughout their city to improve law enforcement engagement, victim services, detention and reentry services, and preventive programs.
Additional information about the award is available at www.justice.gov/grants. The planned competition is a multi-phase process. DOJ anticipates making initial award decisions in late 2026. To apply for this award, please submit application materials to MCIapplications@usdoj.gov.
For any questions related to the MCI Call for Applications, you can send your inquiry to MCIquestions@usdoj.gov.
Making America Safe Again: DOJ to Award $300 Million to Model Cities Dedicated to Restoring Law and OrderRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department today announced the Model Cities Initiative (MCI), a whole-of-city approach directing nearly $300 million in federal funding to transform public safety in America’s cities. Through this initiative, two to four cities will be selected to receive awards supporting the implementation of comprehensive and innovative strategies to reduce crime, restore law and order, and enhance public safety. Proposals from qualifying cities are due September 1.
“This administration is leveraging every authority to ensure the safety of all Americans,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “The Model Cities Initiative will supercharge our law enforcement partners and restore the rule of law to America’s neighborhoods, towns, and cities. Our message is clear: We will help those who help us Make America Safe Again.”
Investments will be made in a variety of areas addressing public safety, behavioral health, and related staffing, equipment, and services with the goal of leveraging federal resources to build capacity, strengthen accountability, and deliver measurable reductions in crime that can serve as a model of innovation for replication nationwide. Eligible applicants include local government entities serving a population of at least 100,000.
The MCI initiative will support a range of allowable activities, including:
- Hiring and retention of sworn and non-sworn personnel directly engaged in or supporting violent crime reduction efforts.
- Purchase or lease of equipment, tools, or technology that reduce crime and restore law and order including but not limited to real-time crime centers; forensic and DNA tools; body-worn cameras; license plate readers; artificial intelligence systems; small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and counter-UAS; ballistic identification systems; and information technology upgrades.
- Training and professional development that support intelligence-led policing, violent crime investigations, crisis response, correctional practices that strengthen reentry outcomes, and coordination with state and federal law enforcement partners.
- Facility Costs including lease, rental, or renovation expenses for space directly used in program operations, such as service delivery sites, training facilities, real-time crime centers, or intelligence analysis centers.
- Mental health and substance use services that directly support prevention, crisis response, screening and early intervention, treatment, case management, and related services addressing issues linked to public safety outcomes, including services provided in correctional facilities and in the community.
- Reentry, transitional support, and recidivism reduction programs and services designed to reduce repeat offending, support transitions from custody, and promote successful reintegration into communities, including operational costs for county jails and state prisons that support reentry preparation.
- Victim services for American victims of crime, including, emergency assistance, case management, shelter and temporary housing, medical and dental care, advocacy, transportation, childcare, legal services, and employment assistance.
- Youth crime prevention and intervention services that address risk factors for juvenile delinquency and violence, including gang intervention and suppression programs.
Cities will apply through a whole-of-city approach. That means that city leaders, including the mayor, sheriff, county prosecutor, and others will work together to submit one application that proposes a persuasive vision of how this money can be awarded strategically throughout their city to improve law enforcement engagement, victim services, detention and reentry services, and preventive programs.
Additional information about the award is available at www.justice.gov/grants. The planned competition is a multi-phase process. DOJ anticipates making initial award decisions in late 2026. To apply for this award, please submit application materials to MCIapplications@usdoj.gov.
For any questions related to the MCI Call for Applications, you can send your inquiry to MCIquestions@usdoj.gov.
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OAG
26-587
If you have questions, please use the contacts in the message or call the Office of Public Affairs at 202-514-2007.
Making America Safe Again: DOJ to Award $300 Million to Model Cities Dedicated to Restoring Law and OrderRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department today announced the Model Cities Initiative (MCI), a whole-of-city approach directing nearly $300 million in federal funding to transform public safety in America’s cities. Through this initiative, two to four cities will be selected to receive awards supporting the implementation of comprehensive and innovative strategies to reduce crime, restore law and order, and enhance public safety. Proposals from qualifying cities are due September 1.
“This administration is leveraging every authority to ensure the safety of all Americans,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “The Model Cities Initiative will supercharge our law enforcement partners and restore the rule of law to America’s neighborhoods, towns, and cities. Our message is clear: We will help those who help us Make America Safe Again.”
Investments will be made in a variety of areas addressing public safety, behavioral health, and related staffing, equipment, and services with the goal of leveraging federal resources to build capacity, strengthen accountability, and deliver measurable reductions in crime that can serve as a model of innovation for replication nationwide. Eligible applicants include local government entities serving a population of at least 100,000.
The MCI initiative will support a range of allowable activities, including:
- Hiring and retention of sworn and non-sworn personnel directly engaged in or supporting violent crime reduction efforts.
- Purchase or lease of equipment, tools, or technology that reduce crime and restore law and order including but not limited to real-time crime centers; forensic and DNA tools; body-worn cameras; license plate readers; artificial intelligence systems; small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and counter-UAS; ballistic identification systems; and information technology upgrades.
- Training and professional development that support intelligence-led policing, violent crime investigations, crisis response, correctional practices that strengthen reentry outcomes, and coordination with state and federal law enforcement partners.
- Facility Costs including lease, rental, or renovation expenses for space directly used in program operations, such as service delivery sites, training facilities, real-time crime centers, or intelligence analysis centers.
- Mental health and substance use services that directly support prevention, crisis response, screening and early intervention, treatment, case management, and related services addressing issues linked to public safety outcomes, including services provided in correctional facilities and in the community.
- Reentry, transitional support, and recidivism reduction programs and services designed to reduce repeat offending, support transitions from custody, and promote successful reintegration into communities, including operational costs for county jails and state prisons that support reentry preparation.
- Victim services for American victims of crime, including, emergency assistance, case management, shelter and temporary housing, medical and dental care, advocacy, transportation, childcare, legal services, and employment assistance.
- Youth crime prevention and intervention services that address risk factors for juvenile delinquency and violence, including gang intervention and suppression programs.
Cities will apply through a whole-of-city approach. That means that city leaders, including the mayor, sheriff, county prosecutor, and others will work together to submit one application that proposes a persuasive vision of how this money can be awarded strategically throughout their city to improve law enforcement engagement, victim services, detention and reentry services, and preventive programs.
Additional information about the award is available at www.justice.gov/grants. The planned competition is a multi-phase process. DOJ anticipates making initial award decisions in late 2026. To apply for this award, please submit application materials to MCIapplications@usdoj.gov.
For any questions related to the MCI Call for Applications, you can send your inquiry to MCIquestions@usdoj.gov.
Luzerne County Resident Indicted on Federal Charges of Sexually Exploiting a MinorRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of violating federal child sexual exploitation laws, United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
The three-count Indictment named Christopher Jones, 27, as the sole defendant.
According to the Indictment, on May 1, 2026, Jones did knowingly, intentionally, and unlawfully coerce and entice a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity. Additionally, on May 3, 2026, and May 4, 2026, Jones produced and attempted to produce material that depicted the sexual exploitation of a minor.
The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not less than 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Assistant United States Attorney Nicole A. Stockey is prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment.
An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.Lawton Man in Illegal Possession of 11 Firearms while Subject to a Protective Order is Sentenced to Serve 57 Months in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
OKLAHOMA CITY – JUSTIN DAVID GILLILAND, 46, of Lawton, has been sentenced to serve 57 months in federal prison for unlawful possession of firearms while subject to a protective order, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester.
According to public records, on October 18, 2024, deputies with the Grady County Sheriff’s Office responded to a residence following a disturbance call. The victim reported that she had received multiple unwanted phone calls from Gilliland throughout the day. Fearing for her safety, she and her children left the residence. When they later returned home, they found Gilliland’s vehicle parked in the driveway.
Responding deputies eventually arrested Gilliland at the residence after officers recovered a firearm, a loaded magazine, and a bottle of liquor from his vehicle. At the time, Gilliland was subject to a protective order that prohibited him from possessing firearms under federal law. Law enforcement later executed a search warrant at Gilliland’s residence and recovered ten additional firearms that Gilliland had falsely denied possessing.
On July 16, 2025, a federal grand jury indicted Gilliland for being a prohibited person in possession of firearms. On November 4, 2025, Gilliland pleaded guilty and admitted that he knowingly possessed firearms while subject to a protective order.
At a sentencing hearing yesterday, U.S. District Judge Patrick R. Wyrick sentenced Gilliland to serve 57 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. In announcing the sentence, Judge Wyrick noted the seriousness of the offense, the need to protect the public, and to promote respect for the law as reasons for the sentence imposed.
This case is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Grady County Sheriff’s Office, and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mary E. Walters and Daniel Gridley prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America (OTBA), a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. This case is also part of “Operation 922,” the Western District of Oklahoma’s implementation of OTBA, which prioritizes prosecution of federal crimes connected to domestic violence.
Reference is made to public filings for additional information.
Laurel County Man Sentenced for Transporting a Minor to Engage in Criminal Sexual ActivityRead the Press Release
LONDON, Ky. – A London, Ky., man, Austin Hawk, 26, was sentenced on Wednesday to 165 months by U.S. District Judge Claria Horn Boom for transportation of a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity.
According to his plea agreement, from September 25, 2022, through October 25, 2022, Hawk transported a minor across state lines with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Hawk left Laurel County with a minor victim and took them on a monthlong cross country road trip, which spanned across 11 states with the pair sleeping inside Hawk’s car in parking lots. Hawk admitted that during the trip he engaged in sexual conduct with the minor.
Under federal law, Hawk must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence. Upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for 10 years.
Jason Parman, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Olivia Olson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville Field Office, jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Blankenship is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
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Kansas woman sentenced to prison for stealing deceased relative’s identity to fraudulently receive federal and state benefitsRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Kansas woman was sentenced to 15 months in prison for fraudulently receiving approximately $450,000 by simultaneously collecting federal and state government benefits in her own name and through identity theft.
According to court documents, Tamera Ruth Powers, 68, of Tonganoxie pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.
Tamera Ruth Powers stole the identity of her relative, Minda Sue Rakestraw, who died in 1977. Powers used Rakestraw's identity to obtain a Kansas identification card and to marry a man by the last name Landis. Powers then began using the name Minda Sue Landis. Powers defrauded the U.S. government and the State of Kansas by receiving benefits under separate identities. Powers maintained accounts at two different banks to receive payments under her name and the alias Minda Sue Landis.
In April 2005, Powers applied for Social Security Administration (SSA) Disability benefits under the name of Minda Sue Landis. In August 2012, Powers applied for SSA disability benefits in her actual name, falsely stating on the application she had not previously applied for SSA benefits.
In August 2013, Powers applied for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits using her real name. In the SSI application, she lied about her marital status and failed to disclose previously using another name and social security number.
Also in August 2013, Powers applied for assistance from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through the State of Kansas. She didn’t report she was married or her spouse’s income on the application while led to her receiving more than to which she was entitled.
In December 2013, she began receiving Medicaid benefits through the State of Kansas. She did not disclose her marriage, true household income, or that she had used other names which would have made her ineligible for any Medicaid benefits.
In June 2023, Powers applied for Retirement Insurance Benefits through SSA. In the application she falsely stated that she was not married, and she failed to disclose that she had used other names.
Based upon Powers’ scheme, which is estimated to have gone on for 10 years, the United States suffered loss in the amount of $137,839 and the State of Kansas suffered losses in the amount of $315,257.
“Public benefits provide a safety net to those who need and legally qualify for the assistance. Defrauding the system by misappropriating taxpayer money is a violation of public trust, and it’s only a matter of time until we find the perpetrators and hold them accountable,” said U.S Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser. “To reduce the risk of identity theft following the passing of a loved one, we encourage all next of kin or estate executors to report the death to the Social Security Administration and all major credit reporting agencies.”
As part of the sentence, a federal judge ordered Powers to pay approximately $452,097 in restitution.
“This sentencing sends a strong message that schemes to defraud the Medicaid, SNAP, LIEAP, and Social Security Disability programs will not be tolerated,” stated Steven D. Anderson, Kansas Inspector General. “The Office of Inspector General will continue to work cooperatively with our law enforcement partners to aid in the identification and prosecution of individuals engaged in these types of crimes.”
The Social Security Administration – Office of Inspector General, Office of the Kansas Inspector General, Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF), and Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR) investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Oakley prosecuted the case.
National Fraud Enforcement Division
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.
###Kansas City, Missouri Man Charged with Unlawfully Possessing Unregistered Destructive DevicesRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo. man was charged in federal court for possession of unregistered destructive devices, in violation of U.S. law.
Lake Ethan Roberts, 26, of Kansas City, Mo., was charged in a one-count criminal complaint. Roberts had his initial appearance this morning/afternoon.
Court documents, allege that Roberts was a member of a group called the “Red Legs.” The Red Legs has been active since at least November 2023. Red Legs members frequently communicated with each other using a private chat group. In their chat, Red Legs members discussed plans to commit acts of violence directed towards government entities and property, particularly the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), the National Guard, and other opposing political groups.
Some of Roberts’ communications to the group included the following messages:
“We need to plan decisive action against ice and dhs.”
“What are the chances we could get away with using drones to drop incendiary’s [sic] to demolish key infrastructure.”
“I like the idea of using drones carrying cocktails to demolish key structures.
“After we build our ranks and adequately arm ourselves, we can look into escalation.”
“If ice moves to kc, thoughts on an armed response.”
As part of their preparations for armed conflict with the federal government, Red Legs members also periodically trained by shooting firearms at a local firearm range.
According to the complaint, on May 14, 2026, Roberts and another Red Legs member met with an undercover law enforcement officer in Richmond, Mo. Roberts had brought with him two devices that were wrapped in duct tape and had an apparent fuse. Roberts referred to the devices as “alcohol shooters filled with black powder surrounded with steel BBs.” Roberts brought the devices to test how they worked. Roberts detonated both devices in a rock quarry area. The FBI Laboratory Explosives Unit provided an opinion that the two devices constituted improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
According to an explosive expert’s opinion, IEDs, also called homemade bombs, generally consist of an explosive main charge, method of initiation, and sometimes a container and/or enhancements. These devices were described as small liquor bottles containing the low explosive black powder with a cannon fuse used as the method of initiation. Properly assembled, the described IEDs would be capable of causing property damage, injury, and/or death. Investigators conducted an inquiry of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives National Firearms Act Branch and determined that Roberts had not registered any destructive devices as required by the National Firearms Act of 1934.
The allegations contained in the complaint are accusations, not evidence of guilt, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. If convicted of unlawfully possessing an unregistered destructive device, Roberts would be subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison. In the federal judicial system, there is not the possibility of parole. These maximum statutory sentences are prescribed by Congress and they are provided here for informational purposes. Any sentence would be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Justice Department announces grants for improvements to Kansas forensic laboratoriesRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, KAN. – The U.S. Department of Justice through the Department’s Office of Justice Programs -Bureau of Justice Assistance announced awarding the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) a $500,000 federal grant and the State of Kansas a $211,367 federal grant to improve forensic science capabilities.
“Law enforcement depends heavily on forensic evidence in criminal investigations as the results can provide evidence of a suspect’s guilt or innocence. To protect Constitutional rights to due process and a speedy trial, prosecutors need access to forensic test results in a timely manner,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser. “These grants are a demonstration of the federal government’s commitment to expanding the capabilities of state and local laboratories by helping them gain access to modern forensic technology and equipment.”
The KBI Forensic Laboratory in Topeka, Kansas, provides accredited forensic toxicology testing for 104 of the 105 Kansas counties. The laboratory supports KBI investigations as well as coroners and law enforcement across the state. According to the KBI, novel psychoactive substances (NPS) and opioids are becoming increasingly common in Kansas. KBI toxicology testing provides results for NPS and opioids on behalf of law enforcement investigating impaired driving, deaths, sexual assault, and violent crime. KBI plans to use the federal grant to purchase two liquid chromatograph tandem mass spectrometers (LC/MSMS) to improve the quality and timeliness of toxicology testing. The instrumentation provides increased sensitivity and specificity in testing for NPS and opioids, which is expected to lead to a shorter turnaround time for final results.
"This critical federal investment allows the KBI to upgrade laboratory technology with advanced instrumentation, directly improving the speed and precision of our toxicology testing," said KBI Director Tony Mattivi. "By enhancing our ability to detect dangerous opioids and novel psychoactive substances, we are strengthening support for local law enforcement and public health partners. Ultimately, this funding translates into quicker answers for investigators, safer highways, and a more robust response to the overdose crisis in Kansas."The $211,367 grant to the State of Kansas is to fund improvements at KBI regional laboratories as well as at Johnson County Crime Lab and Sedgwick County Regional Forensic Science Center. The laboratories will receive upgraded equipment and workstations, and forensic tool software maintenance and support. The goal is to reduce turn-around time for completing casework, improve workflow efficiency, and reduce the backlog of cases with pending forensic analysis.
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Justice Department Launches Title VI Investigation into DEI Programs at Arizona State UniversityRead the Press Release
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced today that it launched an investigation into diversity, equity, and inclusion practices at Arizona State University (ASU). Recent viral videos indicating ASU denied equal treatment to students based on race, color, or national origin — while attempting to hide its discriminatory practices from federal scrutiny — prompted the investigation.
“No student should be denied access to opportunities or resources because of race, color, or national origin,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The United States is committed to keeping universities free of unlawful discrimination — especially when they try to hide illegal conduct to avoid oversight and compliance.”
Federal law requires colleges and universities that receive federal funding to open their doors to students on an equal basis, regardless of race, color, or national origin. ASU is one of the nation’s largest universities and is a major recipient of federal funds. The Division’s investigation will examine whether ASU subjects its students to illegal discrimination through its DEI policies in admissions, recruitment, scholarships, tutoring, and the provision of educational support.
The Civil Rights Division has not reached any conclusions about the subject matter of the investigation.
Jersey City Man Sentenced to Prison for Conspiring to Transport Stolen GoodsRead the Press Release
CAMDEN, N.J. – A Jersey City man was sentenced on June 1, 2026 to 48 months’ imprisonment for engaging in a conspiracy to burglarize logistics warehouses and transport the goods stolen from those warehouses and an additional 8 months’ imprisonment for violating his supervised release, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Derek Spivey, 38, of Jersey City, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Edward S. Kiel to an information charging him with conspiring to transport stolen goods. Spivey also previously pleaded guilty to violating the conditions of his supervised release from a prior conviction for possessing a firearm as a felon.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Spivey conspired with Jamil Bethea, Jamal Reid, Rasheed Sharpe, and others to burglarize trailers at logistics warehouses in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, transport the goods stolen from those warehouses, and sell the stolen goods to others. As part of the conspiracy, burglars stole $50,000 of Department of Defense laptops from a Pennsylvania warehouse in January 2025; $200,000 of high-end perfume from a Pennsylvania warehouse in March 2025; and $20,000 of liquor from a New Jersey warehouse in March 2025. Spivey and his co-conspirators then transported stolen goods into and through New Jersey for the purpose of selling them.
Bethea, Reid, and Sharpe previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the conspiracy. Judge Kiel previously sentenced Sharpe to 41 months’ imprisonment for his role in the conspiracy. Bethea and Reid are scheduled to be sentenced later this year.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Atlantic City Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark, with the investigation leading to the sentencing. He also thanked the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Philadelphia Field Division with its assistance in the investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Bender of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Camden.
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Defense counsel: Thomas Young, Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender.
Japanese National Sentenced to 12 Months in Prison for Conspiring to Export Firearm Components and Tactical Accessories to JapanRead the Press Release
HONOLULU – United States Attorney Ken Sorenson announced that Shota Yamamoto, 29, of Tokyo, Japan, was sentenced yesterday in federal court by United States District Court Judge Micah W.J. Smith to 12 months and one day in prison for conspiring to violate the Export Control Reform Act by exporting firearm components and tactical accessories to Japan. Yamamoto pled guilty on January 22, 2026. Yamamoto is expected to be deported to Japan upon the completion of his sentence.
According to court records, from approximately March 2024 through July 2025, Yamamoto conspired with another person to export firearm components and tactical accessories from the United States to Japan without the required licenses. Yamamoto intended to use those items to retrofit airsoft equipment for sale to airsoft enthusiasts in Japan seeking highly realistic equipment. Airsoft is a recreational activity in which participants use replica firearms to engage in simulated combat scenarios using non-metallic pellets.
Yamamoto used an address in Hawaii to receive shipments from U.S. firearms components and accessories dealers, and then arranged for their export to Japan, either by carrying them in checked luggage or by shipping them through a commercial shipping company. Yamamoto admitted that he exported or attempted to export over 900 firearms components and accessories, including AR-15 lower receiver parts kits, upper receivers, magazines, and similar components, each of which required a license to export that Yamamoto did not have.
“The unlawful export of firearm components endangers the public and presents a significant national security threat,” said U.S. Attorney Ken Sorenson.
“Yamamoto’s sentence and expected deportation should serve as a stern warning that this conduct will not be tolerated. The protection of our country is paramount, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office, together with our law enforcement partners, will devote significant resources to investigating and prosecuting these cases.”
“The sentencing sends a clear message: Homeland Security Investigations will not tolerate the illegal export of firearm components that threaten public safety and national security. HSI remains committed to working with our partners to investigate and disrupt these criminal networks, and to hold those responsible accountable for their actions,” said Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Lucy Cabral-DeArmas.
Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Department of Commerce – Bureau of Industry and Security investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael F. Albanese prosecuted the case.
Indictments, Convictions through Guilty Pleas, and Sentencings in Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) Prosecutions (May 26 through May 29, 2026)Read the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico, W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney, in conjunction with our partner agencies in the Homeland Security Task Force (“HSTF”) announce the following investigative and prosecutorial results for the week of May 26 through May 29, 2026. The HSTF is a permanent, interagency law enforcement task force created by executive order to combat transnational criminal organizations—including cartels, trafficking networks, and foreign terrorist organizations.
Indictments:
- On May 28, 2026, a federal grand jury returned a nine-count indictment charging three Dominican nationals with conspiracy and attempt to import cocaine into the United States from the Dominican Republic. According to court documents, on May 15, 2026, defendants José Manuel Clase-Montilla, Daniel Luis Cuevas, and Pedro Emmanuel Carrión-Sánchez knowingly and intentionally conspired to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine. Specifically, HSTF seized approximately 178 kilograms of cocaine that the defendants were smuggling in a vessel. Defendant Carrión-Sánchez is facing one count of failure to heave because, while being the person in charge of the vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, he knowingly and unlawfully failed to obey an order by an authorized Federal Law enforcement officer to heave that vessel. In addition, the three defendants are each facing an immigration charge of improper entry by alien. Assistant United States Attorney (AUSA) Luis A. Valentín is in charge of the prosecution of the case. A copy of the indictment is attached to this press release.
- 26-217_adc_indictment_redacted.pdf
Convictions through Guilty Pleas:
- On May 27, 2026, Paola Romero-Marín pleaded guilty to possessing with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine in Criminal Case No. 25-277 (RAM). According to court documents, the defendant attempted to transport kilograms of cocaine through the Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport. The defendant was arrested on June 13, 2025. AUSA Ryan R. McCabe is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
- On May 27, 2026, Paul Herrera-Rivera, Jazhiel Ocasio-Herrera, Jean Fernández-Garay and Yander Santos-Ramos pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. Paul Herrera-Rivera, Jazhiel Ocasio-Herrera and Yander Santos-Ramos also pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm in furtherance of that drug trafficking in Criminal Case No. 24-453 (MAJ). According to the indictment, the defendants were charged with participating in a violent drug trafficking organization that operated out of several public housing projects in the Carolina and San Juan areas, including the Sabana Abajo Public Housing Project. Defendants were arrested on December 11, 2024. The court set defendants’ sentencing date for August 26, 2026. AUSA Laura Diaz and Joseph Russell are in charge of the prosecution of the case.
- On May 28, 2026, José David Serrano-Santiago pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances (Count One) and possessing a firearm in furtherance of the drug trafficking conspiracy (Count Seven) in Criminal Case No. 25-392 (SCC). According to the indictment, the defendant was charged with conspiring to distribute controlled substances in public housing projects and other areas in and around Cayey, Puerto Rico, and with using firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking. Defendant was arrested on September 26, 2026.AUSAs R. Vance Eaton and Andrés Orr are in charge of the prosecution of the case.
- On May 29, 2026, Christopher J. Fontanez-Vega pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances (Count One) and possessing a firearm in furtherance of the drug trafficking conspiracy (Count Seven) in Criminal Case No. 25-392 (SCC). According to the indictment, the defendant was charged with conspiring to distribute controlled substances in public housing projects and other areas in and around Cayey, Puerto Rico, and with using firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking. Defendant was arrested on September 25, 2026. AUSAs R. Vance Eaton and Andrés Orr are in charge of the prosecution of the case.
- On May 29, 2026, Melvin Germán-Muñoz pleaded guilty to violations of 18 U.S.C. § 2199 and 8 U.S.C. § 1325(a) in Criminal Case No. 26-160. According to the indictment, the defendant was charged with stowing away on a vessel and improper entry by an alien. Defendant was arrested on April 17, 2026. The court set defendant’s sentencing for June 29, 2026. U.S. Coast Guard SAUSA Cody A. McKinney is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
Sentencings:
- On May 26, 2026, Yomvier Torres-Ruiz was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Raúl M. Arias-Marxuach to 121 months’ imprisonment, to be served concurrently with the state-level sentence in Cr. Nos. ISCR-2022-00597; ISCR-2022-00598; ISCR-2022-00599; ISCR-2022-00600 and ISCR-2022-00601. The Court imposed a term of supervised release of five years. The defendant was sentenced for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. According to court documents, defendant was charged on March 22, 2023, in Criminal Case No. 23-114 (RAM), and pleaded guilty on February 25, 2026. AUSA Corinne Cordero-Romo is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
- On May 26, 2026, Luis J. Alvarado-De La Cruz was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Gina Méndez-Miró to five years’ imprisonment for conspiring to distribute between 3.5 kilograms and 5 kilograms cocaine. According to court documents, defendant was charged on May 22, 2024, in Criminal Case No. 24-188 (GMM), and pleaded guilty on February 24, 2026. AUSAs R. Vance Eaton and Andrés Orr are in charge of the prosecution of the case.
- On May 26, 2026, Luis Marino Medina-Martínez was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge María Antongiorgi-Jordán to 87 months of imprisonment for drug trafficking. According to court documents, defendant was charged on May 4, 2023, in Criminal Case No. 23-178 (MAJ), and pleaded guilty on February 11, 2026. AUSA Antonio Pérez is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
- On May 27, 2026, Jeorge Jhonney Lara was re-sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge María Antongiorgi-Jordán to 96 months of imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release for conspiring to possess and possessing with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine aboard a vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. According to court documents, defendant was charged on April 4, 2023, in Criminal Case No. 23-139 (MAJ), and pleaded guilty on October 31, 2023. AUSA Antonio J. López-Rivera is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
- On May 27, 2026, Antonio López-Olivencia was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Aida Delgado Colón to 33 months of imprisonment and 8 years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. According to court documents, defendant was charged on April 9, 2025, in Criminal Case No. 25-184 (ADC) and pleaded guilty on January 26, 2026. AUSA Laura Díaz González and Andres Orr are in charge of the prosecution of the case.
- Ezequiel Soto Bonilla was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Aida Delgado Colón to 60 months of imprisonment and 8 years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. According to court documents, defendant was charged on April 9, 2025, in Criminal Case No. 25-184 (ADC) and pleaded guilty on February 12, 2025. AUSA Laura Díaz González and Andres Orr are in charge of the prosecution of the case.
- On May 28, 2026, Juan Ortiz-Mendoza was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Aida Delgado Colon to 144 months of imprisonment and 8 years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. According to court documents, the defendant was charged on April 9, 2025, in Criminal Case No. 25-184 (ADC) and pleaded guilty January 30, 2026. AUSA Laura Díaz González and Andres Orr are in charge of the prosecution of the case.
- On May 28, 2026, Jonathan Rodríguez-Acosta was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Aida Delgado Colón to 120 months of imprisonment and 6 years of supervised release for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. According to court documents, the defendant was charged on April 9, 2025, in Criminal Case No. 25-184 (ADC) and pleaded guilty on January 30, 2026. AUSA Laura Díaz González and Andres Orr are in charge of the prosecution of the case.
- On May 28, 2026, Argelis Marcano-Zerpa was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Silvia Carreño-Coll to 30 months of imprisonment for conspiring to import more than five kilograms of cocaine into the United States, jettisoning property subject to forfeiture, and related charges. According to court documents, defendant was charged on March 6, 2025, in Criminal Case No. 25-114 (SCC), and pleaded guilty to the charges on February 19, 2026. AUSA Lani Lear is in charge of the prosecution of the case.
- On May 29, 2026, Wanda Vargas-Álvarez was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Gina Méndez-Miró to 12 months and 1 day of imprisonment followed by supervised release term of 6 years for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute 200 to 300 grams of cocaine. According to court documents, defendant was charged on May 22, 2024, in Criminal Case No. 24-188 (GMM), and pleaded guilty on October 21, 2025. AUSAs R. Vance Eaton and Andrés Orr are in charge of the prosecution of the case.
These prosecutions are 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 San Juan comprises agents and officers from the following federal partners: FBI, ICE-HSI, CBP (OFO, AMO and Border Patrol), the U.S. Marshals Service for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, DEA, ATF, IRS, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Department of State, and the U.S. Secret Service, the Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin Islands HIDTA, TSA, FAA, and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Districts of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The HSTF also has the following state and local law enforcement partners as participating agencies: the Puerto Rico Police Department; the San Juan, Carolina, Guaynabo, Barceloneta, and Ponce Municipal Police Departments, the Puerto Rico National Guard – Counter Drug Program; the Puerto Rico Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; the Puerto Rico Internal Revenue Service (Hacienda); the Puerto Rico Port Authority; and the Virgin Islands Police Department.
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Illegal alien admits to role in failed human smuggling attempt resulting in deathRead the Press Release
LAREDO, Texas – A 39-year-old Mexican national has pleaded guilty to harboring 32 illegal aliens in a stash house under dangerous conditions that resulted in one death, announced Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck.
Cruz Alberto de la Garza admitted he conspired with others to harbor illegal aliens at a stash house in Laredo and assisted in transporting them.
The investigation began Oct. 15, 2025, after two illegal aliens had been dropped off at an emergency room. One was pronounced deceased upon arrival. The medical examiner’s report identified one cause of death as environment exposure with heat effects.
Later that day, law enforcement encountered a tractor-trailer at a Border Patrol checkpoint in Cotulla and discovered 30 illegal aliens crammed into the trailer’s sleeper compartment.
The investigation revealed all had been housed in a white trailer on a ranch-style property used as a stash house. The trailer had extreme heat with little to no air conditioning, limited food and water and inadequate ventilation. There was no access to a toilet, and the aliens were forced to use a bucket. No one was permitted to leave.
De la Garza had instructed the aliens to get into the tractor trailer and initially drove them before parking and exiting the vehicle.
Sentencing is set for Sept. 1, before U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo. At that time, de la Garza faces up to life in prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tae W. Chon is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Illegal Aliens Sentenced for Distribution of Kilogram Quantities of Fentanyl and Heroin in Myrtle BeachRead the Press Release
FLORENCE, S.C. – Federico Parra Lopez, 32, and Marcos Flores Aquino, 25, have been ordered to serve lengthy sentences in federal prison after being convicted of conspiring to distribute fentanyl and heroin in the Myrtle Beach area. These sentencings follow those of their co-defendants, Miguel Angulo Perez, 22, and Omar Sanchez Aquino, 33, who were previously sentenced in this case. All four men are from Mexico and were in the United States illegally.
Evidence presented at the sentencing hearings showed that the men were part of a drug trafficking organization that originated in Mexico and operated in Myrtle Beach during 2023 and 2024. After being sent to South Carolina from Mexico, Parra Lopez served as a manager of the operation here and was responsible for maintaining an apartment in Myrtle Beach were kilogram quantities of fentanyl and heroin were received for further distribution. Parra Lopez was also held accountable for possessing a firearm that was used to protect the drugs at the apartment. Flores Aquino, Angulo Perez, and Sanchez Aquino served as drivers who were responsible for repackaging and delivering the drugs at Parra Lopez’s direction and collecting drug proceeds to be sent back to Mexico. The entire operation was shut down after a joint federal, state, and local investigation resulted in a federal indictment in October 2024.
Parra Lopez was sentenced to 130 months in federal prison, which includes a five-year sentence for possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Flores Aquino and Angulo Perez were both sentenced to 46 months imprisonment, and Sanchez Aquino was sentenced to 37 months. Each of the men will be deported upon completion of their prison sentences. There is no parole in the federal system.
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 (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, in partnership with the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, the Myrtle Beach Police Department, the Horry County Sheriff’s Office, and the Horry County Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Everett McMillian is prosecuting the case.
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Illegal Alien, unlawfully present in U.S., sentenced to six years in prison for trafficking cocaine and fentanyl for an organization that targeted homeless encampments and Seattle’s Chinatown-International DistrictRead the Press Release
Seattle – A 37-year-old Mexican national, a former resident of Issaquah, Washington, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to six years in prison for his role in an armed drug trafficking ring that sought drug customers in Seattle’s homeless encampments and International District, announced First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. Giovanni Antonio Garduno Garcia was arrested in May 2025 following a law enforcement investigation of trafficking narcotics to vulnerable people living unhoused near Seattle’s Chinatown-International District. On March 9, 2026, Garduno Garcia pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. At the sentencing hearing today, U.S. District Judge Tana Lin said, “You were dealing drugs so dangerous that they have resulted in thousands and thousands of deaths across this country… And you were solely motivated by personal profit and greed.”
“This defendant trafficked drugs simply for the money,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd. “He lived in the Seattle suburbs with high end cars, drugs, and $93,000 in cash stashed in his residence. He enjoyed the high life while spreading misery in the form of
fentanyl and cocaine to those gripped with addiction. And he did so armed with firearms and body armor. The community will be safer after he serves his sentence and is returned to his home country of Mexico.”
“This man tormented our Chinatown-International District neighborhood and the broader Seattle community. He targeted some of our city’s most vulnerable residents, which is reprehensible,” said Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes. “I am incredibly proud of our officers, and federal partners, for their tireless work on this case and bringing this criminal to justice.”
According to records filed in the case, fourteen people were arrested in late May 2025, on two separate indictments charging them with trafficking cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine from California into the Western District of Washington. The fourteen arrested in late May 2025 followed the arrest of five others in January 2025 for firearm and drug trafficking activities connected to Seattle’s Chinatown-International District neighborhood and nearby encampments.
On May 29, 2025, law enforcement executed 16 search warrants in Federal Way, Vancouver, Everett, Pacific, Tukwila, Kent, Issaquah, Seattle, Woodlake, California and Beaverton, Oregon. Investigators seized more than seven kilograms of cocaine, 18 kilograms of methamphetamine, more than 57,000 fentanyl pills, and 17 firearms. They also seized more than $353,000 in cash.
In Garduno Garcia’s residence they seized cocaine, fentanyl-laced pills, and fentanyl powder. Along with the controlled substances, investigators found two semiautomatic firearms, additional magazines and ammunition, body armor, and over $93,000 in cash drug proceeds. Investigators also seized two vehicles, a Mercedes Benz and a Dodge Durango that were proceeds of Garduno Garcia’s drug trafficking activities. All the seized items have been forfeited to the government.
The scope of this drug trafficking scheme involving all the defendants was huge. In March 2025 alone, law enforcement seized 100 pounds of methamphetamine, 111 kilos of cocaine, 19 kilos of fentanyl powder, 250,000 fentanyl pills, and four kilos of heroin. The street value of the narcotics was nearly $3 million.
In asking for a six-year prison sentence prosecutors noted the damage drug trafficking does to our community with increased violence and the loss of loved ones to addiction. “Garduno Garcia actively participated in flooding the community with these deadly and addictive substances. Garduno Garcia was intercepted communicating with multiple co-defendants for large quantities of cocaine and was
found to possess various substances, including fentanyl, in his residence for redistribution. And unlike those who are distributing to the community to support their own addiction, Garduno Garcia distributed solely for financial gain. Garduno Garcia admitted that he became involved in drug trafficking for “quick money,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Conzatti wrote in the sentencing memo to the court.
“Mr. Garduno Garcia chose a lavish lifestyle over a law-abiding one, distributing kilogram quantities of cocaine and fentanyl, destroying lives for a profit as evidenced by the luxury vehicles and huge amounts of money at his residence,” said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office. “Tragically, our communities and some of their most vulnerable members pay the price of drug trafficking in the form of addictions, overdoses, and violence. The FBI and our partners will continue to combat drug trafficking and violent crime in Seattle and across the state of Washington.”
“Fentanyl traffickers prey on the most vulnerable members of our communities, valuing profit over human life,” said Robert A. Saccone, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle Field Division. “Mr. Garduno Garcia distributed deadly fentanyl and other dangerous drugs in Seattle’s Chinatown International District. DEA and our law enforcement partners remain relentless in our pursuit of those who profit from peddling poison. Every fentanyl seizure, every trafficking network dismantled, and every conviction brings us one step closer to a Fentanyl Free America.”
This investigation 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. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Seattle comprises agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), The United States Marshals Service (USMS), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), the United States Secret Service (USSS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington.
The investigation was led by the FBI, Seattle Police Department and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with significant assistance from the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program (HIDTA), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Washington National Guard Counterdrug Program. Investigators also worked with the Oregon State Police, Centralia Police Department, and Clark County, Washington Sheriff’s Office.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Casey Conzatti and Brian Wynne.
Illegal Alien Charged with Failing to Update His Sex Offender Registration, Unlawfully Reentering the U.S. After DeportationRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Gilberto Martinez Geronimo, 52, a Mexican national who has been illegally residing in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, was charged by indictment with failure to register as a sex offender and illegally reentering the U.S. after deportation.
The defendant has been detained in federal custody since May 19, following his arrest on a criminal complaint and warrant.
The indictment alleges that, from approximately May 2021 until last month’s arrest, Martinez Geronimo, a convicted sex offender, knowingly failed to update a registration, as required by the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (“SORNA”).
The indictment further alleges that, despite having previously been deported and removed from the United States, the defendant knowingly and unlawfully reentered the country without applying for or receiving the U.S. government’s permission.
As detailed in court filings, in July 2000, Martinez Geronimo was charged by the Somerset County (N.J.) Prosecutor’s Office with Aggravated Sexual Assault, Endangering the Welfare of a Child, and Diseased Person Committing an Act of Sexual Penetration. He was convicted of those charges in New Jersey Superior Court in February 2001 and sentenced to 10 years in prison. In January of 2007, Martinez Geronimo was released from state custody into the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) and deported back to Mexico the same month.
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s 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 projectsafechildhood.gov.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Marshals Service and ICE and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Branwen McNabb O’Donnell.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
Hometown Hero, Gayle Scott, Recognized for Dedication to Victim JusticeRead the Press Release
SIOUX FALLS – United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that the District of South Dakota has recognized Federal Bureau of Investigation Victim Specialist Gayle Scott as a “Hometown Hero” for her career serving crime victims in South Dakota. Ms. Scott has served with the FBI for 24 years. Prior to her federal service, she worked with crime victims in a similar role with the Minnehaha County State’s Attorney Office. Ms. Scott brings unique qualities to this work, day in and day out. She exudes warmth and compassion, provides comfort and support, and respectfully encourages participation in the criminal justice process. Throughout her years of service,
Ms. Scott has worked with crime victims in hundreds of cases, helping them through difficult investigations and trials. Ms. Scott’s work has directly resulted in victims finding the courage necessary to bring justice to dangerous perpetrators, thereby making our communities safer for all.
Ms. Scott was honored during an award presentation held Monday at the United States Attorney’s Office in Sioux Falls.
“Gayle Scott is most deserving of this high honor for her tireless work with victims of crime over many years,” said U.S. Attorney Ron Parsons. “With compassion and dignity, she has stood with countless victims and their families, listened to them, lifted them up, and helped them find their voice in order to bring justice to those who have harmed them. It is a true honor to recognize, thank, and celebrate Gayle for her outstanding service to the people of the District of South Dakota. She is truly our Hometown Hero.”
“Victim Specialist Scott has dedicated herself, personally and professionally, to the victims of federal crime for the past 24 years,” said FBI Minneapolis Field Office Special Agent in Charge Christopher D. Dotson. “Her exceptionally dedicated and always humble service to crime victims and witnesses in South Dakota is almost always done behind-the-scenes, but her work is an integral part of the FBI’s mission: to protect the public and ensure justice for all. I thank Gayle and all of the FBI’s dedicated Victim Specialists for the work they do every day to serve victims and survivors.”This award was presented as part of the Department of Justice’s Freedom 250 initiative, a nationwide effort in which United States Attorneys’ Offices across the country recognize individuals whose service, courage, leadership, and commitment have made a meaningful impact in their communities in advance of America’s 250th Anniversary.
The award presentation was attended by members of the United States Attorney’s Office, District of South Dakota, members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Ms. Scott’s family.
Hometown Hero AwardRead the Press Release
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Arkansas recognizes Barling Police Department Officer Cody Douglas as a “Hometown Hero” for his courageous actions on April 6, 2025.
Officer Douglas was honored during an award presentation held Wednesday June 3, 2026, at the United States Attorney’s Office in Fort Smith.
On April 6, 2025, at approximately 11:20 PM, the Barling Police Department received a 911 call reporting that a vehicle had accidentally entered the Arkansas River in Barling and was rapidly taking on water. Officer Cody Douglas was the first to arrive on scene at Springhill Park. Upon assessing the situation, he observed the driver struggling to remain afloat in swift and hazardous currents near the boat ramp. Fully aware of the significant personal risk involved, Officer Douglas immediately shed his duty gear and entered the river without hesitation to render aid. Officer Douglas’s swift response, sound judgment, and selfless courage directly contributed to saving a life in perilous conditions. His actions exemplify the highest standards of law enforcement professionalism and heroism. His actions undoubtedly saved this individual from severe injury and or death.
“Officer Douglas demonstrated extraordinary courage, professionalism, and commitment to public safety during an incredibly dangerous and uncertain situation,” said United States Attorney Kevin P. Holmes. “His actions reflect the very best of law enforcement service and exemplify the spirit of community protection recognized through the Hometown Hero program.”
The recognition was presented as part of the Department of Justice’s Freedom 250 initiative, a nationwide effort in which United States Attorneys’ Offices across the country recognizes individuals whose service, courage, leadership, and commitment have made a meaningful impact in their communities in advance of America’s 250th anniversary.
The award presentation was attended by members of the Barling Police Department, Barling City Officials, Officer Douglas’s family, and representatives of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Arkansas.
Green Bay Man Indicted for Sexually Exploiting Numerous ChildrenRead the Press Release
Brad D. Schimel, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on June 2, 2026, a federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment charging William G. Waterstradt (age 22) with offenses involving the sexual exploitation of children.
According to the publicly filed criminal complaint that preceded yesterday’s indictment, Waterstradt created a fake Snapchat account to facilitate the exploitation of numerous underage girls. Detectives recovered communications between Waterstradt and dozens of girls, some as young as 12 years old, in which he falsely claimed to be 16 or 17 years old. The investigation began after a 12-year-old student saw sexually explicit images on a friend’s phone during recess, prompting a report to school officials.
Detectives subsequently identified multiple underage victims. Many reported that they had exchanged sexually explicit images with Waterstradt. Three victims stated that they met Waterstradt in person and engaged in sexual intercourse and/or sexual contact, which he sometimes recorded on his phone. Detectives also determined that Waterstradt shared some of these recordings with unknown individuals online.
Waterstradt is charged with production of child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in prison. He is also charged with two counts of child enticement, each carrying a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison.
This case was investigated by the Langlade County Sheriff’s Office, the Sheboygan Police Department, the Green Bay Police Department, the Brown County Sheriff’s Office, and the Paris (Illinois) Police Department, with assistance from the Forest County Sheriff’s Office, the Franklin Police Department, the Germantown Police Department, the Grafton Police Department, the Marquette University Police Department, the Wisconsin Department of Justice – Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Langlade County District Attorney’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Alex Duros.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative led by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to 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.projectsafechildhood.gov.
An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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Public Affairs Officer Steve Caballero
(414) 297-1700
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Four Tren De Aragua Members Who Illegally Entered the U.S. Plead Guilty to Murdering Two U.S. Citizens on NYC StreetRead the Press Release
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, Acting Attorney General for the United States, Todd Blanche, United States Secretary of Homeland Security, Markwayne Mullin, Director of Joint Task Force Vulcan (“JTFV”), Jacob Warren, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), Jessica S. Tisch, and Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), Pete Gizas, announced today that four members of the designated foreign terrorist organization Tren de Aragua (“TdA”), KEIBER JAEN MARTINEZ, a/k/a “Keybe,” SAMUEL GONZALEZ CASTRO, a/k/a “Klei,” a/k/a “Kley,” EFERSON MORILLO-GOMEZ, a/k/a “Jefferson,” a/k/a “Efe Trebol,” and KEINEYER IBARRA-MUJICA, a/k/a “Keiner,” each pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote to two counts of murder through the use of a firearm and one count of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence in connection with their participation in the May 24, 2024, murders of Claretha LaQuesha Daniels and Justin Lawless and the non-fatal shooting of a third victim (“Victim-3”), all of whom were unarmed American citizens and residents of New York City. A fifth codefendant and member of TdA, JARWIN VALERO-CALDERON, a/k/a “La Fama,” pled guilty last week to one count of racketeering conspiracy and one count of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence in connection with his participation in, among other crimes, a September 30, 2024, gunpoint carjacking in New York City. Three additional codefendants previously pled guilty to other offenses and have been sentenced, and all eight in-custody defendants charged in the TdA prosecution before Judge Cote have now been convicted.
“As they have now admitted, these four members of Tren de Aragua entered the United States illegally and then brutally murdered Claretha LaQuesha Daniels and Justin Lawless on May 24, 2024, in the middle of a residential street in the Bronx, which resulted in another victim being shot and injured,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “This recent Memorial Day Sunday marked a tragic date: two years to the day that Ms. Daniels and Mr. Lawless lost their lives. We extend our deep condolences to the family members of these victims and hope that today’s guilty pleas bring some comfort to them. We are committed to investigating and charging all members of TdA and other international gangs who flout our immigration laws and flood our streets with guns, drugs, sex trafficking, and violence. Today, we delivered two things every New York family wants: these four gun-toting, murderous criminals off our streets; and a message to international gangs—‘stay out of the United States.’”
“Thanks to the hard work of our law enforcement partners and prosecutors, these four Tren de Aragua gang members will now face justice for their part in the ruthless and senseless murders of two Americans and the attempted murder of a third person in the Bronx two years ago,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “As a former AUSA who prosecuted violent crimes and gangs in the Bronx, this case hits home for me. Tren de Aragua is a terrorist organization with no place and no future in the United States, and this Department of Justice will not stop until we have rooted out, dismantled, and destroyed them.”
“I’m thankful that the victims and their families finally get the justice they deserve,” said DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “Tren de Aragua is one of the most vicious gangs on planet earth. They rape, maim, and murder for sport. Under President Trump’s leadership, we are targeting and removing gang members from our communities and ensuring those that committed crimes in our country face justice.”
“Although TdA started as a prison gang in Venezuela, it became a transnational criminal organization and foreign terrorist organization that gained a foothold in many cities in the United States, including New York City,” said JTFV Director Jacob Warren. “As they have now admitted, these four TdA members killed two unarmed American citizens in the Bronx during a brutal shooting on a public street, and they will finally be held accountable for their crimes. This case is directly in line with JTFV’s mission: a collaborative, whole-of-government, and nationwide effort to totally eliminate TdA. To date, we have charged over 260 members and associates of TdA as part of these efforts. We are grateful for the ongoing partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, and our law enforcement partners who worked tirelessly to investigate this case.”
“The NYPD will not allow violent gangs to terrorize our streets and threaten our communities,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. “These defendants, members of Tren de Aragua, viciously took two lives and shot a third victim, but thanks to our multi-agency investigation, they are now being held accountable. I thank the NYPD investigators and our federal law enforcement partners for their tireless efforts in this case. Together, we will continue to take down gangs, remove guns from our streets, and keep our neighborhoods safe.”
“These defendants carried out acts of cruelty and calculated violence that resulted in the cold-blooded murders of Claretha Daniels and Justin Lawless and left a third victim grievously wounded, shattering families and communities in ways that can never be fully repaired,” said HSI Acting Special Agent in Charge Pete Gizas. “Their conduct is emblematic of the Tren de Aragua’s ruthless model of transnational gang activity, spanning the Bronx, Queens, and well beyond our borders—where extortion, human smuggling, sex trafficking, narcotics distribution, and gun violence are deployed to entrench their criminal enterprise and spread fear. HSI New York, through the Homeland Security Task Force, will not yield an inch of authority or control to criminal street gangs that threaten the safety of our communities.”
According to the allegations contained in the Superseding Information and other public filings in this case:
TdA is a criminal organization that operated throughout New York City, including the boroughs of the Bronx and Queens, as well as internationally in Venezuela, Peru, and elsewhere. The purposes of TdA included:
- Preserving and protecting the power and territory of TdA and its members and associates through acts involving murder, assault, robbery, other acts of violence, and threats of violence, including acts of violence and threats of violence directed at former members and associates of TdA who associated with a splinter organization known as Anti-Tren.
- Enriching the members and associates of TdA through, among other things:
- The unlawful smuggling of individuals, including young women from Venezuela, into Colombia, Peru and the U.S.;
- The sex trafficking of young women (whom members and associates of TdA often refer to as “multadas”) who had been unlawfully smuggled into Peru and the U.S.;
- The trafficking of controlled substances, including a mixed substance called “tusi” that contains ketamine;
- And armed robberies, including carjackings.
- Keeping victims and potential victims in fear of TdA and its members and associates through threats and acts of violence.
- Promoting and enhancing TdA and the reputation and activities of its members and associates.
- Providing assistance to members and associates of TdA who committed crimes for and on behalf of TdA, such as lodging and interstate transportation for members and associates of TdA to flee prosecution.
- Protecting TdA and its members and associates from detection and prosecution by law enforcement authorities through acts of intimidation, threats, and violence against potential witnesses to crimes committed by members of TdA.
- Members and associates of TdA transported young women, again often referred to by members and associates of TdA as “multadas,” from Venezuela into Peru and the U.S. in exchange for debts that the young women would pay back to TdA by engaging in commercial sex work. Members of TdA enforced compliance among these young women by, among other things:
- Threatening to kill the young women and their families,
- Assaulting the young women,
- Shooting or killing the young women,
- And tracking down and kidnapping the young women who tried to flee.
Members of TdA also committed and conspired, attempted, and threatened to commit, acts of violence, including acts involving murder and assault, to protect and expand TdA’s criminal operations; resolve disputes within TdA; to retaliate against rival organizations, including Anti-Tren; and to maintain control over sex trafficking victims. TdA members and associates also trafficked controlled substances, committed robberies, and obtained, possessed, trafficked, and used firearms and ammunition.
On May 24, 2024, TdA members JAEN MARTINEZ, GONZALEZ CASTRO, MORILLO-GOMEZ, and IBARRA-MUJICA agreed to kill Claretha LaQuesha Daniels and Justin Lawless and to shoot Victim-3 in the vicinity of 2290 Davidson Avenue in the Bronx, New York. JAEN MARTINEZ, GONZALEZ CASTRO, MORILLO-GOMEZ, and IBARRA-MUJICA then aided and abetted, caused, and otherwise facilitated the shooting of Daniels, Lawless, and Victim-3, which resulted in the deaths of Daniels and Lawless, and multiple non-fatal gunshot wounds to Victim-3. Claretha LaQuesha Daniels was 44 years old, and Justin Lawless was 36 years old.
* * *
A chart containing the names, charges, and maximum penalties for the defendants is set forth below.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), including the Field Offices in New York, Seattle, Denver, Chicago, and Hawaii, and the NYPD. He also thanked the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office, the Arapahoe County District Attorney’s Office in Colorado; the Aurora Police Department in Aurora, Colorado; Joint Task Force Vulcan; the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force of the U.S. Marshals Service (“USMS”); the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Gang Unit and New York Human Intelligence Division; U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s New York Enforcement and Removal Operations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”); and the New York City Crime Analysis Center at the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.
This case is part of Joint Task Force Vulcan (“JTFV”), which was created in 2019 to eradicate MS-13 and now expanded at the direction of the Attorney General to target Tren de Aragua. JTFV is comprised of U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, including the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York; Eastern and Western Districts of North Carolina; Western District of Virginia; Southern District of Florida; Eastern District of Texas; Western District of Oklahoma; Northern District of Indiana; District of Nevada; and District of Arizona; as well as the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, and the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and Criminal Division. Additionally, the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), HSI, ATF, USMS, and the Bureau of Prisons are essential law enforcement partners with JTFV.
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 toward 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 New York comprises agents and officers from HSI, FBI, DEA, ATF, and the IRS with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Violent Organizations and Crime Unit and Joint Task Force Vulcan. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jun Xiang, Kathryn Wheelock, Timothy Ly, Andrew K. Chan, and Jared Hoffman are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialists Ananya Sankar and Sandy Alcantara.
COUNT
CHARGE
DEFENDANTS
MAX. PENALTIES
One
(S3 Information)
Murder through the use of a firearm
18 U.S.C. §§ 924(j), and 2
KEIBER JAEN MARTINEZ,
a/k/a “Keybe,”
SAMUEL GONZALEZ CASTRO,
a/k/a “Klei,”
a/k/a “Kley,”
EFERSON MORILLO-GOMEZ,
a/k/a “Jefferson,”
a/k/a “Efe Trebol,”
KEINEYER IBARRA-MUJICA,
a/k/a “Keiner”
Life in prisonTwo
(S3 Information)
Murder through the use of a firearm
18 U.S.C. §§ 924(j), and 2
KEIBER JAEN MARTINEZ,
a/k/a “Keybe,”
SAMUEL GONZALEZ CASTRO,
a/k/a “Klei,”
a/k/a “Kley,”
EFERSON MORILLO-GOMEZ,
a/k/a “Jefferson,”
a/k/a “Efe Trebol,”
KEINEYER IBARRA-MUJICA,
a/k/a “Keiner”
Life in prisonThree
(S3 Information)
Firearm use, carrying, and possession
18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(1)(A)(i), and 2
KEIBER JAEN MARTINEZ,
a/k/a “Keybe,”
SAMUEL GONZALEZ CASTRO,
a/k/a “Klei,”
a/k/a “Kley,”
EFERSON MORILLO-GOMEZ,
a/k/a “Jefferson,”
a/k/a “Efe Trebol,”
KEINEYER IBARRA-MUJICA,
a/k/a “Keiner”
Life in prison
Mandatory consecutive sentence of 5 years in prison
One
(S2 Indictment)
Racketeering conspiracy
18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)
JARWIN VALERO-CALDERON,
a/k/a “La Fama”
20 years in prisonSix
(S2 Indictment)
Firearm use, carrying, and possession
18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(1)(A)(i), and 2
JARWIN VALERO-CALDERON,
a/k/a “La Fama”
Life in prison
Mandatory consecutive sentence of 5 years in prison
Four Illegal Alien Tren de Aragua Members Plead Guilty to Double Murder in 2024Read the Press Release
Four members of the designated foreign terrorist organization Tren de Aragua (TdA), Keiber Jaen Martinez, also known as “Keybe,” Samuel Gonzalez Castro, also known as “Klei” and “Kley,” Eferson Morillo-Gomez, also known as “Jefferson,” and “Efe Trebol,” and Keineyer Ibarra-Mujica, also known as “Keiner” each pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote for the Southern District of New York to two counts of murder through the use of a firearm and one count of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, in connection with their participation in the May 24, 2024, murders of Claretha LaQuesha Daniels and Justin Lawless and the non-fatal shooting of a third victim (“Victim-3”), all of whom were unarmed American citizens and residents of New York City.
A fifth codefendant and member of TdA, Jarwin Valero-Calderon, also known “La Fama,” pleaded guilty last week to one count of racketeering conspiracy and one count of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, in connection with his participation in, among other crimes, a September 30, 2024, gunpoint carjacking in New York City. Three additional codefendants previously pleaded guilty to other offenses and have been sentenced. All eight in-custody defendants charged in the TdA prosecution before Judge Cote have now been convicted.
“Thanks to the hard work of our law enforcement partners and prosecutors, these four Tren de Aragua gang members will now face justice for their part in the ruthless and senseless murders of two Americans and the attempted murder of a third person in the Bronx two years ago,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “As a former Assistant U.S. Attorney who prosecuted violent crimes and gangs in the Bronx, this case hits home for me. Tren de Aragua is a terrorist organization with no place and no future in the United States, and this Department of Justice will not stop until we have rooted out, dismantled and destroyed them.”
“I’m thankful that the victims and their families finally get the justice they deserve,” said U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “Tren de Aragua is one of the most vicious gangs on planet earth. They rape, maim, and murder for sport. Under President Trump’s leadership, we are targeting and removing gang members from our communities and ensuring those that committed crimes in our country face justice.”
“As they have now admitted, these four members of Tren de Aragua entered the United States illegally and then brutally murdered Claretha LaQuesha Daniels and Justin Lawless on May 24, 2024, in the middle of a residential street in the Bronx, which resulted in another victim being shot and injured,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York. “This recent Memorial Day Sunday marked a tragic date: two years to the day that Ms. Daniels and Mr. Lawless lost their lives. We extend our deep condolences to the family members of these victims and hope that today’s guilty pleas bring some measure of comfort to them. We are committed to investigating and charging all members of TdA who illegally entered this country and then flooded the streets of New York City with guns, drugs, sex trafficking, and violence. That is what New Yorkers want and deserve, and we will do everything we can to deliver it for them.”
“Although TdA started as a prison gang in Venezuela, it became a transnational criminal organization and foreign terrorist organization that gained a foothold in many cities in the United States, including New York City,” said Director Jacob Warren of Joint Task Force Vulcan. “As they have now admitted, these four TdA members killed two unarmed American citizens in the Bronx during a brutal shooting on a public street, and they will finally be held accountable for their crimes. This case is directly in line with JTFV’s mission: a collaborative, whole-of-government, and nationwide effort to totally eliminate TdA. To date, we have charged over 260 members and associates of TdA as part of these efforts. We are grateful for the ongoing partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, and our law enforcement partners who worked tirelessly to investigate this case.”
“The NYPD will not allow violent gangs to terrorize our streets and threaten our communities,” said New York City Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. “These defendants, members of Tren de Aragua, viciously took two lives and shot a third victim, but thanks to our multi-agency investigation, they are now being held accountable. I thank the NYPD investigators and our federal law enforcement partners for their tireless efforts in this case. Together, we will continue to take down gangs, remove guns from our streets, and keep our neighborhoods safe.”
According to the allegations contained in the superseding information and other public filings in this case: TdA is a criminal organization that operated throughout New York City, including the boroughs of the Bronx and Queens, as well as internationally in Venezuela, Peru, and elsewhere. The purposes of TdA included:
- Preserving and protecting the power and territory of TdA and its members and associates through acts involving murder, assault, robbery, other acts of violence, and threats of violence, including acts of violence and threats of violence directed at former members and associates of TdA who associated with a splinter organization known as Anti-Tren.
- Enriching the members and associates of TdA through, among other things:
- The unlawful smuggling of individuals, including young women from Venezuela, into Colombia, Peru and the United States;
- The sex trafficking of young women (whom members and associates of TdA often refer to as “multadas”) who had been unlawfully smuggled into Peru and the United States;
- The trafficking of controlled substances, including a mixed substance called “tusi” that contains ketamine; and
- Armed robberies, including carjackings.
- Keeping victims and potential victims in fear of TdA and its members and associates through threats and acts of violence.
- Promoting and enhancing TdA and the reputation and activities of its members and associates.
- Providing assistance to members and associates of TdA who committed crimes for and on behalf of TdA, such as lodging and interstate transportation for members and associates of TdA to flee prosecution.
- Protecting TdA and its members and associates from detection and prosecution by law enforcement authorities through acts of intimidation, threats, and violence against potential witnesses to crimes committed by members of TdA.
Members and associates of TdA transported young women, again often referred to by members and associates of TdA as “multadas,” from Venezuela into Peru and the United States in exchange for debts that the young women would pay back to TdA by engaging in commercial sex work. Members of TdA enforced compliance among these young women by, among other things:
- Shooting or killing young women,
- Threatening to kill the young women and their families,
- Assaulting the young women, and
- Tracking down and kidnapping the young women who tried to flee.
Members of TdA also committed and conspired, attempted, and threatened to commit, acts of violence, including acts involving murder and assault, to protect and expand TdA’s criminal operations; resolve disputes within TdA; to retaliate against rival organizations, including Anti-Tren; and to maintain control over sex trafficking victims. TdA members and associates also trafficked controlled substances, committed robberies, and obtained, possessed, trafficked, and used firearms and ammunition.
On May 24, 2024, TdA members Jaen Martinez, Gonzalez Castro, Morillo-Gomez, and Ibarra-Mujica, agreed to kill Claretha LaQuesha Daniels and Justin Lawless and to shoot Victim-3 in the vicinity of 2290 Davidson Avenue in the Bronx, New York. Jaen Martinez, Gonzalez Castro, Morillo-Gomez, and Ibarra-Mujica then aided and abetted, caused, and otherwise facilitated the shooting of Daniels, Lawless, and Victim-3, which resulted in the deaths of Daniels and Lawless, and multiple non-fatal gunshot wounds to Victim-3. Claretha LaQuesha Daniels was 44 years old, and Justin Lawless was 36 years old.
A chart containing the names, charges, and maximum penalties for the defendants appears below.
The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), including the Field Offices in New York, Seattle, Denver, Chicago, and Hawaii, and the NYPD. He also thanked the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office, the Arapahoe County District Attorney’s Office in Colorado; the Aurora Police Department in Aurora, Colorado; Joint Task Force Vulcan; the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS); the U.S. Border Patrol’s National Gang Unit and New York Human Intelligence Division; ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations New York Field Office; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); the New York City Crime Analysis Center at the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.
This case is part of Joint Task Force Vulcan, which was created in 2019 to eradicate MS-13 and now expanded at the direction of the Attorney General to target Tren de Aragua. JTFV is comprised of U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, including the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York; Eastern and Western Districts of North Carolina; Western District of Virginia; Southern District of Florida; Eastern District of Texas; Western District of Oklahoma; Northern District of Indiana, District of Nevada, and District of Arizona; as well as the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, and the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and Criminal Division. Additionally, the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), HSI, ATF, USMS, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons are essential law enforcement partners with JTFV.
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 U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF New York comprises agents and officers from HSI, FBI, DEA, ATF, and IRS Criminal Investigation with the prosecution being led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jun Xiang, Kathryn Wheelock, Timothy Ly, Andrew K. Chan, and Jared Hoffman of the Southern District of New York’s Violent Organizations and Crime Unit and Joint Task Force Vulcan are prosecuting the case.
COUNTCHARGEDEFENDANTSMAX. PENALTIESOne
(S3 Information)
Murder through the use of a firearmJaen Martinez
Gonzalez Castro
Morillo-Gomez
Ibarra-Mujica
Life in prisonTwo
(S3 Information)
Murder through the use of a firearmJaen Martinez
Gonzalez Castro
Morillo-Gomez
Ibarra-Mujica
Life in prisonThree
(S3 Information)
Firearm use, carrying, and possessionJaen Martinez
Gonzalez Castro
Morillo-Gomez
Ibarra-Mujica
Life in prison
Mandatory consecutive sentence of 5 years in prison
One
(S2 Indictment)
Racketeering conspiracyValero-Calderon 20 years in prisonSix
(S2 Indictment)
Firearm use, carrying, and possessionValero-CalderonLife in prison
Mandatory consecutive sentence of 5 years in prison
Former USAID Employee Pleads Guilty to CARES Act FraudRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – A former U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) employee pled guilty in federal court, today, to charges stemming from a Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act scheme that enabled him to illegally obtain more than $176,000.
Simeon Bakare, 55, of Waldorf, Maryland, pled guilty to wire-fraud charges in connection with the scheme. Bakare previously worked on information technology matters for USAID. This prosecution is part of the Trump Administration’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the guilty plea with Acting Special Agent in Charge Eduardo Santos, USAID Office of Inspector General (USAID OIG). USAID OIG is a statutorily independent law enforcement agency that has continued jurisdiction to investigate criminal activity affecting ongoing U.S. foreign assistance programs.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act — a federal law enacted in March 2020 — provided emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It gives financial assistance including forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and other expenses. Established by the CARES Act, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) — administered through the Small Business Administration (SBA) — along with the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), helped businesses meet their financial obligations.
According to the guilty plea, beginning in April 2020, and continuing until November 2021, Bakare knowingly and willfully engaged in a scheme to defraud the SBA. Bakare admitted he submitted, or caused the submission of, multiple fraudulent PPP and EIDL applications. Additionally, through this scheme, Bakare caused the deposits of EIDL and PPP benefits into bank accounts he controlled.
In furthering the fraud scheme, Bakare used fabricated documents in support of his fraudulent PPP and EIDL applications. Bakare submitted at least five false loan applications to obtain EIDL and PPP benefits, along with loan forgiveness, including fraudulent IRS Schedule C Forms and false attestations regarding the existence of sole proprietorships.
None of the businesses Bakare listed on the applications had significant employees, office space, revenues, costs of goods sold, or business operations. Bakare admitted he used the PPP and EIDL proceeds for improper personal purposes, such as car and housing payments, along with grocery costs.
Bakare faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for wire fraud. Sentencing is set for Thursday, September 3, at 9:30 a.m.
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.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended USAID OIG for its work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared M. Beim and Joseph L. Wenner who are prosecuting the case.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, please visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/report-fraud.
# # #
Former Newark Deputy Mayor and Director of the Newark Department of Economic and Housing Development Sentenced to Prison for Scheming to Obtain BribesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – Carmelo Garcia, 51, a former City of Newark official who served as Deputy Mayor and Director of the Newark Department Economic and Housing Development (DEHD) and served as Executive Vice President and Chief Real Estate Officer of the Newark Community Economic Development Corporation (NCEDC), was sentenced on June 3, 2026 to 12 months and one day in prison, to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release for participating in a corrupt scheme to obtain bribes and kickbacks from two Newark business owners, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced. These bribes were intended to influence and award Garcia for assisting the business owners with the acquisition and redevelopment of various Newark-owned properties.
Garcia previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo to three counts of an Information charging him with conspiracy to defraud the City of Newark and the NCEDC of Garcia’s honest services, honest services wire fraud, and receiving bribes in connection with the business of a federally funded local government and organization.
According to documents filed in these cases and statements made in court:
From at least 2017 through April 2019, while serving as a high-level Newark official, and prior to that, as an executive officer of the NCEDC (now known as Invest Newark), Garcia sought and received significant monetary payments and other benefits from Frank Valvano, Jr., Irwin Sablosky, and others in exchange for Garcia’s use of his official positions and influence within the City of Newark and the NCEDC to advance real estate development matters of interest to Valvano and Sablosky. These matters included obtaining preliminary designation letters for Valvano and Sablosky and securing Newark-approved redevelopment agreements (RDAs) that allowed them to purchase and acquire various Newark-owned properties for redevelopment, and to ensure that Garcia did not use his influence and authority to act against their interests. In addition to cash, Garcia also received jewelry, including multiple high-end watches and chains, from Valvano and Sablosky’s pawnbroker and jewelry business.
Phone records and text messages obtained by law enforcement show extensive communication between Garcia, Valvano, Sablosky, and others throughout this period of time, including text messages in which Garcia arranged to personally collect cash provided by Valvano and Sablosky. In one instance, in June 2018, Garcia, then the City’s Acting Deputy Mayor and Director of the City’s DEHD, received an envelope containing $25,000 in cash, supplied by Valvano through an intermediary, in the restroom of a New Jersey restaurant.
Garcia originally was charged by indictment in October 2021 with Valvano, 57, of Florham Park, New Jersey, and Sablosky, 66, of Springfield, New Jersey. Both Valvano and Sablosky pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and bribery, and both have been sentenced.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the FBI’s Newark Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy; special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan, and special agents of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Shawn A. Rice, with the investigation leading to today’s conviction.
The government is represented by Elaine K. Lou, Chief of the Criminal Division, Assistant U.S. Attorney Francesca Liquori of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Special Prosecutions Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney and Matthew Specht of the Criminal Division.
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Defense counsel:
Garcia: Robert G. Stahl, Esq., Laura K. Gasiorowski, Westfield, New Jersey.
Former New York City Police Department Detective Sentenced to 48 Months in Prison for Paycheck Protection Program Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, John Bolden was sentenced by United States District Judge Diane Gujarati to 48 months in prison for wire fraud conspiracy in connection with a scheme to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). At the time of his criminal conduct, Bolden was a detective with the New York City Police Department (NYPD). In addition to the prison term, Judge Gujarati ordered Bolden to pay restitution in the amount of $303,138 and forfeiture in the amount of $112,002. The defendant previously pleaded guilty on February 18, 2026.
Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and James C. Barnacle, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI) announced the sentence.
“Despite being a police officer sworn to uphold the law, the defendant organized a scheme that enabled dozens of individuals, including clients, family members and NYPD co-workers, to obtain millions in federal funds using fictitious tax records,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “Bolden brazenly took advantage of a COVID relief program created to help struggling businesses survive an unprecedented national crisis. The sentence imposed today reflects the seriousness of that misconduct and our Office’s commitment to prosecute fraud related to the pandemic.”
Mr. Nocella expressed his appreciation to the Suffolk County Police Department; the Small Business Administration’s Office of the Inspector General; the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Office of the Inspector General; the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General; and the NYPD’s Internal Affairs Bureau for their assistance on the case.
“John Bolden betrayed his oath to protect the community he served by secretly helping his co-defendants, family, and friends in stealing millions of dollars in PPP funds,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Barnacle. “While an overwhelming majority of NYPD employees strictly adhere to values of integrity and honor, there are those who exploit the system for personal enrichment. The FBI, NYPD, and our federal partner agencies continue working together to hold those accountable who exploit federally funded relief programs.”
Then-detective Bolden owned partnership interests in a franchise for a tax-preparation business. Between May 2020 and October 2022, Bolden engaged in a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration by working with his clients to fraudulently obtain PPP funds. Bolden obtained PPP funds for himself, his co-defendants and more than 65 individuals by helping submit online loan applications containing false and fraudulent information. One of those loan applications belonged to co-defendant Anthony Carreira, also a former NYPD detective, who knowingly submitted false documentation to obtain PPP funds. Co-defendant Christian McKenzie, who is Bolden’s cousin, also fraudulently obtained a PPP loan and steered other applicants to Bolden in exchange for fraudulent PPP proceeds. As part of the scheme, Bolden prepared fictitious Internal Revenue Service Form Schedule C documentation, which accompanied the loan applications and contained false information about his, his co-defendants’ and his clients’ places of employment, gross income and net income. Bolden sought to steal nearly $3 million from the PPP, and succeeded in stealing at least several hundred thousand dollars.
For their roles in the scheme, Carreira was sentenced on March 6, 2026 to time served, and McKenzie is scheduled to be sentenced on July 14, 2026.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Public Integrity Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Andrew D. Grubin and Eric Silverberg are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Johnson Peow.
The Defendants:
JOHN BOLDEN
Age: 47
Valley Stream, Long IslandANTHONY CARREIRA
Age: 43
Staten Island, New YorkCHRISTIAN MCKENZIE
Age: 48
Wheatley Heights, Long IslandE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-CR-361 (DG)
Former Hillsborough Township School District Business Administrator and Co-Worker Indicted in Kickback SchemeRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A federal grand jury returned an Indictment on Friday charging the former Business Administrator of the Hillsborough Township School District (“HTSD”) in connection with an overtime fraud and kickback scheme, United States Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
According to the Indictment, Aiman Mahmoud, 56, who served as the Business Administrator for the HTSD from 2008 through the end of 2021, accepted tens of thousands of dollars in cash kickbacks in connection with a multi-million dollar project that aimed to upgrade existing school facilities as well as to construct a new school building that had been greenlighted by a 2019 referendum. To oversee aspects of the project including safety monitoring, Mahmoud arranged for Kenneth Gratto, 54, to be appointed as the site supervisor/owner’s representative to assist two companies involved in carrying out the construction project.
The Indictment also alleges that shortly after Gratto was hired, Gratto agreed to provide substantial cash kickbacks to Mahmoud in exchange for Mahmoud’s agreement to approve Gratto’s time sheets which substantially exaggerated the number of overtime hours that Gratto had worked on behalf of the HTSD. After receiving his paychecks from the companies involved – who were in turn reimbursed by the HTSD for those amounts – Gratto would deposit the checks, withdraw cash in the amount of the intended kickback, and deliver that cash in envelopes at locations of Mahmoud’s choosing, typically, within Mahmoud’s unlocked school vehicle. Mahmoud is alleged to have taken at least approximately $70,000 in kickbacks from Gratto.
The six-count Indictment charges Mahmoud and Gratto with conspiring to embezzle, steal, and obtain by fraud funds belonging to and under the care, custody and control of the HTSD, contrary to Title 18, United States Code, Section 666(a)(1)(A), in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371. The maximum term of imprisonment for this offense is five years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. Each defendant is also charged individually with embezzling, stealing and obtaining by fraud those same funds belonging to and under the care custody and control of the HTSD, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 666(a)(1)(A). Those charges carry a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum fine of $250,000. In addition, the two defendants are charged with conspiring to commit extortion under color of official right, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951(a). Both Mahmoud and Gratto are individually charged with extortion under color of official right, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951(a) and 2. These latter three charges all carry a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years and a maximum fine of $250,000.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark; the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas; and the Somerset County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor John P. McDonald, with the investigation leading to the charges.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mark J. McCarren of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Special Prosecutions Division.
The charges and allegations contained in the Indictments are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Defense counsel:
Stephen G. McCarthy, Esq., New York, NY (for defendant Mahmoud).
Timothy Donahue, AFPD, Newark (for defendant Gratto).
mahmoudetal.indictment.pdfFormer D.C. Housing Authority Employee Pleads Guilty to $15 Million Mortgage Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Richard Cunningham, 55, a former D.C. Housing Authority employee turned real estate developer residing in the District of Columbia, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in connection with a scheme to defraud private mortgage lenders of more than $15 million, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
“Richard Cunningham didn’t just defraud lenders, he fabricated federal voucher documents, forged signatures, and invented a veterans housing program that never existed, all to line his own pockets,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “Exploiting the name and sacrifice of American veterans to commit fraud is particularly offensive, and my office will pursue those abuses with the full weight of federal law.”
Cunningham pleaded guilty today before Judge Trevor N. McFadden to charges of false statements to a mortgage lending business. Cunningham faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Sentencing was scheduled for Dec. 4, 2026.
According to court documents, beginning in or about August 2020 and continuing through May 2024, Cunningham engaged in a scheme to defraud private mortgage lenders by submitting false statements and fraudulent documents in support of loan applications for multifamily properties he owned or controlled in the District of Columbia.
In the first phase of the scheme, Cunningham applied for six secondary renovation loans from a Virginia-based private mortgage company, which required him to have sufficient equity in his properties as collateral. Knowing his equity was insufficient to qualify, Cunningham submitted falsified mortgage statements for the primary loans on those properties, significantly understating the balances owed to make his equity appear greater than it was. Relying on those falsified documents, the lender funded all six loans, totaling about $7.4 million.
In the second phase, Cunningham sought renovation financing from an Oregon-based private mortgage company for two additional District properties. To make those properties appear to generate reliable income, Cunningham fabricated lease documents purporting to be from a "Veterans Assistance Payments" program run by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. There is no such program. In reality, Cunningham had taken genuine Housing Assistance Program lease documents from HUD's Housing Choice Voucher program and altered them, changing "HAP" to "VAP" throughout, then filled them in with forged entries and signatures to make it appear veterans were already living at the properties under a federal voucher program. He also submitted fabricated rent rolls falsely showing all tenants held vouchers from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The lender funded one of the two loans, in the amount of $4.7 million. The other application was rejected.
In total, Cunningham sought about $14.9 million from the two lenders and received about $12.1 million based on his false statements.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI Washington Field Office and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG).
The matter was prosecuted by HUD-OIG Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Samantha R. Miller for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
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.
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Florida woman convicted for conspiracy to commit mail fraudRead the Press Release
SAVANNAH, Georgia: A Florida woman was convicted for her role in a multi-state scheme to fraudulently obtain unemployment insurance benefits.
Cheryl Galloway, 67, of Yulee, Florida, was convicted of Conspiracy to Commit Mail Fraud in U.S. District Court, said Margaret E. “Meg” Heap, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.
Galloway now faces up to 20 years of imprisonment, a $250,000 fine and up to three years of supervised release when Judge Dudley H. Bowen convenes sentencing proceedings at a later date.
There is no parole in the federal system.
“Using the postal system to advance a fraudulent scheme in order to enrich yourself will result in the harshest of consequences,” said U.S. Attorney Heap. “This case, and many others like it, demonstrate that federal investigators and prosecutors will identify these criminals and hold them accountable.”
As described in court documents and testimony, over a two-year period, Galloway, along with her co-conspirators, electronically submitted fraudulent applications with agencies in at least 40 states. The fraud scheme employed by Galloway and her co-conspirators involved filing for pandemic unemployment benefits around the country, stating they were impacted in those states, and lying about various material aspects of the applications. As a result, the conspirators received approximately $480,000 to which they were not entitled, and they attempted to obtain even more money through fraudulent and deceptive means. Some of the benefits were in the form of a debit card sent to Galloway through the U.S. Mail.
"After a five-day jury trial, Cheryl Galloway was found guilty for her role in a scheme that stole taxpayer-funded benefits. Galloway and her co-conspirators filed fraudulent claims with workforce agencies across the country, falsely claiming employment and pandemic-related unemployment to obtain benefits they never deserved,” said Anthony P. D'Esposito, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Labor. “This conviction is a stark reminder that my office will continue to aggressively investigate, prosecute, and pursue anyone who steals from American taxpayers."
In March 2020, Congress authorized additional funding and expanded eligibility for state-administered unemployment insurance programs as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. In an effort to maintain the integrity of those benefits, the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Labor (OIG-DOL) investigates individuals attempting to fraudulently access unemployment insurance funds.
Anyone with information about attempted unemployment insurance benefits fraud can contact OIG-DOL at www.oig.dol.gov/hotline.htm.
The case was investigated by the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Labor and prosecuted for the United States by Southern District of Georgia Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelsey L. Scanlon and J. Bishop Ravenel.
First of 4 Defendants Sentenced to 32 Years in Federal Prison for Role in San Antonio Armed RobberiesRead the Press Release
SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio man was sentenced in federal court today to 386 months in prison for his role in an armed robbery, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons.
According to court documents, beginning on or about Dec. 15, 2020, Brian Gonzales, 31, exchanged text messages with co-defendant London Morgan using coded language to coordinate several armed robberies in the San Antonio area. On Dec. 17, 2020, Morgan traveled from Dallas to the San Antonio area and robbed a store clerk at gunpoint with Gonzales’s cousin, Kevin Gonzales. The next morning, Morgan dropped off Kevin Gonzales and another individual at a San Antonio gas station, where they committed a second armed robbery. They followed that with a third armed robbery at a pawn shop later that morning.
Beginning on Dec. 27, 2020, Morgan corresponded with Gonzales and another conspirator, Christopher Harrell, to plan several additional armed robberies in the area. Morgan, Harrell, and Kevin Gonzales then committed armed robberies on three pawn shops on Dec. 28 and 29, 2020.
Morgan and Harrell were named in a 13-count indictment in August 2022. Brian and Kevin Gonzales were both named in a 13-count superseding indictment on Oct. 4, 2023. Brian Gonzales pleaded guilty on Sept. 11, 2025, to one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and four counts of aiding and abetting brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. U.S. District Judge Jason Pulliam sentenced Gonzales to 50 months for count one—to run concurrent to his current state imprisonment—and 84 months for each of the other four counts.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the San Antonio Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Yuen prosecuted the case.
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Fired Middle School Teacher Arrested on Charges of Receiving and Possessing Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
TULSA, Okla. – A teacher who lives in Tulsa and worked at the Tulsa Honor Academy and Dove Science Academy was arrested today and charged with Receipt of Child Pornography and Possession of or Access with Intent to View Child Pornography.
In February 2026, the Tulsa Police Department received a report regarding allegations of a lewd or indecent proposal by Zachary Christian Speegle, 32, towards a student at the Tulsa Honor Academy. Court documents show that Speegle was employed as a teacher at the Tulsa Honor Academy. Allegedly, Speegle befriended a new student at school and pressured the minor child to provide their phone number and requested nude photographs, but the minor child declined.
The Tulsa Police Department served a residential search warrant at Speegle’s home and collected several electronic devices. Court documents show that during the initial review of Speegle’s devices, officers found more than 8,000 files with recognizable child sexual abuse material, also known as child pornography. The images include prepubescent children, toddlers, and infants being sexually abused. Additionally, officers found more than 6,000 files of child erotica and age-difficult sexual abuse material.
Court documents show that prosecutors are requesting that Speegle be held because he is a danger to others in the community. Although there are no minor children living with Speegle, one image provided to the court shows that during the search of Speegle’s home, officers found children’s panties belonging to four and six-year-olds that Speegle stole from a friend's home.
A second screenshot provided to the court shows a text message conversation between Speegle and a minor child. Speegle told the child, “I would literally rob 10 banks and kill 100 people to get [MV] back.”
A 2012 report to Congress about child pornography offenses defines child erotica as legal images or stories that are about children and of a sexual nature. Images may be overtly sexual and show children in inappropriate clothing or positions, or use of the image or video in an inappropriate manner. For example, some child pedophiles use catalog images of children in bathing suit advertisements for child erotica purposes.
State court dockets show that Speegle was charged in state court and arrested in March 2026 for lewd molestation/indecent proposal to a child and aggravated possession of child sexual abuse material. Speegle was allowed to post bond.
Speegle will be held until his detention hearing, which is set for a later date.
The Tulsa Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations are investigating the case with assistance from Tulsa Public Schools. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Augustus Forster and Stephanie Ihler are prosecuting the case.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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 CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, local, and tribal resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.
Essex County Convicted Felon Admits to Armed Carjacking with an Assault Rifle, Along with Firearms and Narcotics OffensesRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County, New Jersey, man on June 2, 2026 admitted using an assault rifle during an armed carjacking, as well as possessing two firearms and controlled substances with the intent to distribute, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Quadir Whitehead, 32, of Newark, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court to six counts of an indictment charging him with one count of carjacking, one count of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, two counts of conspiracy, one count of possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon and one count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On August 6, 2020, Whitehead and two accomplices committed a gunpoint carjacking in Irvington, New Jersey. During the carjacking, Whitehead ordered one of the two victims to get out of a car while pointing an assault rifle at that victim. Then, Whitehead got into the car and drove away. On September 5, 2020, law enforcement officers arrested Whitehead when they saw him selling drugs in Newark. After the arrest, law enforcement found narcotics, an assault rifle, and a revolver, which Whitehead admitted were the same firearms used in the Irvington carjacking.
The conspiracy to commit carjacking offense carries a maximum potential penalty of 5 years in prison. The carjacking offense carries a maximum potential penalty of 15 years in prison. The conspiracy to use and carry a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence offense carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison. The using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence offense carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 7 years and a maximum potential penalty of life in prison. The possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon offense carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison. The narcotics offense carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison. The conspiracy, carjacking and firearm offenses each carry a fine of up to $250,000 and the narcotics offense carries a fine of up to $1 million. Sentencing is scheduled for October 14, 2026.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents and members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark; members of the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda and Chief of Police Sharonda Morris; and members of the Irvington Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Tracy Bowers, with the investigation leading to the charges and guilty plea.
The investigation was conducted as part of the Newark Violent Crime Initiative (VCI). The Newark VCI was formed in August 2017 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, and the City of Newark’s Department of Public Safety for the sole purpose of combatting violent crime in and around Newark. As part of this partnership, federal, state, county, and city agencies collaborate and pool resources to prosecute violent offenders who endanger the safety of the community. The VCI is composed of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the ATF, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New Jersey Division, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Marshals, the Newark Department of Public Safety, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, New Jersey State Parole, Union County Jail, New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center, New Jersey Department of Corrections, the East Orange Police Department, and the Irvington Police Department.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Levin, Chief of the Cybercrime Unit in Newark, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Vincent D. Romano of the National Security Unit in Newark.
The charges and allegations contained in the indictment against Elijah Lott are still pending, are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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Defense counsel: Stephen Turano, Esq.
whiteheadetal.indictment.pdfDistrict Felon Pleads Guilty to Shooting at a Vehicle in March 2025, Possessing Firearm in November 2025Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Abdul Fields, 30, a previously convicted felon residing in the District of Columbia, pleaded guilty today in connection with firing a gun at a vehicle in Northwest during the early morning hours of March 24, 2025, and to possessing a loaded firearm on the evening of Nov. 19, 2025, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Fields pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon to assault with a dangerous weapon, to possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and to unlawful possession of ammunition by a felon. Judge Leon scheduled sentencing for Aug. 5, 2026.
According to court documents, on March 24, 2025, at about 12:19 a.m., Fields was walking southbound on North Capitol Street NE while crossing New York Avenue NE when he pulled out a firearm and fired a shot at a vehicle making a right turn onto New York Avenue NE. Fields then walked away from the scene and into the Tyler House Apartments on the 1200 block of North Capitol Street NE.
ShotSpotter detected the event and an MPD officer was dispatched to investigate the gunfire. The officer found a bullet casing in the street where Fields fired. In September 2025, United States Marshals executed a search warrant where Fields was staying and recovered a privately manufactured firearm, known as a “ghost gun.” Ballistics testing linked the firearm to the casing recovered from the shooting.
On Nov. 19, 2025, police arrested Fields pursuant to a warrant issued by Superior Court for the District of Columbia. Officers recovered a loaded ghost gun from Fields’ waistband.
Fields faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison on the charge of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. A federal judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
This case was prosecuted under the Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful initiative.
Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful is a law enforcement initiative in support of President Trump's Executive Order to crack down on gun violence, prioritize federal firearms violations, pursue tougher penalties, and seek detention for federal firearms violators.
This case was investigated by detectives with the Metropolitan Police Department and agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Washington Division.
The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Travis Wolf.
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Delaware County Man Sentenced for Social Security Fraud ChargeRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Brian Gill, age 60, of Andes, New York, was sentenced Friday to 5 years’ probation and restitution in the amount of $117,015.40 for a charge of social security fraud.
First Assistant United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Amy Connelly, Special Agent in Charge, Boston/New York Field Division, Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General (SSA-OIG), made the announcement.
As part of his guilty plea, Gill admitted that between January 2021 and November 2023, while Gill was actively collecting social security disability benefits, Gill was also managing and personally engaging in physical labor for a tree services company he owned and operated. Gill also admitted he concealed from the Social Security Administration (SSA) the fact that he was working and falsely stated on a SSA form that he had not been working.
First Assistant United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III stated: “Social Security Disability fraud is a serious offense that robs taxpayers of funds needed to assist those who are truly unable to work. Thanks to the diligent efforts of our law enforcement partners, people who try to game the system, like this defendant, are identified and held accountable.”
“Individuals who deliberately conceal work activity while receiving Social Security disability benefits undermine programs intended to support those with legitimate needs,” said Special Agent-in-Charge Amy Connelly, SSA OIG, Boston/New York Field Division. “We remain committed to investigating allegations of fraud and working with our law enforcement partners to ensure those who exploit these programs are held accountable.”
Chief United States District Judge Brenda K. Sannes also imposed conditions of supervision that included regular reporting to a probation officer; at least monthly restitution payments to the SSA; reporting to probation officials regarding income and earnings; and prohibitions against drug use and firearms possession.
The case was investigated by the Social Security Administration Office of the Inspector General, with assistance from the Offices of the New York State Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ben Gillis and Adrian LaRochelle prosecuted the case.
Cuban Man Pleads Guilty to Labor TraffickingRead the Press Release
SAN ANTONIO – An illegal alien from Cuba pleaded guilty in federal court today to labor trafficking after he helped smuggle three Cuban women into the U.S. and forced them to work in strip clubs across the country, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas.
According to court documents, Yoirlan Tome-Rojas, 46, helped bring three adult females from Cuba to the U.S. by paying for their flights, drivers, hotels, and the coyotes who smuggled them across the U.S.-Mexico border. Tome-Rojas charged the women a travel debt up to $50,000 each and forced them to work in strip clubs seven days a week. Throughout the months the women were in his custody, he transported them to Indiana, Detroit, Michigan, and San Antonio for them to work in various clubs.
Tome-Rojas required the women to provide him with all of their earnings and prohibited them from leaving or ending their work until their respective travel debts were paid off. He continually added the cost of food, clothes, shelter, transportation, and more to the women’s travel debts.
Two of the women were with Tome-Rojas for approximately three months and, according to Tome-Rojas only paid approximately $1,000 toward their debt. Throughout their victimization, the women feared for their own safety and for the safety of their families in Cuba.
Tome-Rojas pleaded guilty to three counts of labor trafficking. Each count holds a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison and up to a $250,000 fine. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
ICE Homeland Security Investigations and the San Antonio Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alicia McNab and Karina O’Daniel 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 (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
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Covington Man Sentenced for Sending Child Sexual Abuse Material via InternetRead the Press Release
COVINGTON, Ky. – A Covington man, Nicholas Esteban Starry, 31, was sentenced on Tuesday to 168 months by Chief U.S. District Judge David Bunning for transportation of child pornography.
In May 2024, law enforcement received two CyberTipline reports from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that originated from X and Google identifying accounts linked to Starry that had posted and uploaded child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Further investigation confirmed Starry’s use of the accounts, and a search warrant for Starry’s Google account revealed seven files, six of which were child sexual abuse material. Following a search of his residence, Starry was arrested and interviewed and admitted viewing child pornography using the same accounts referenced in the CyberTip; a forensic analysis of his phone revealed additional evidence of child sexual abuse material.
Jason Parman, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Olivia Olson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville Field Office, jointly announced the sentence.
The investigation was conducted by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elaine Leonhard prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s 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.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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Collins, Missouri Man Sentenced for Child PornographyRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Collins, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for producing and receiving child pornography.
Matthew Maggard, 30, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to 20 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Maggard to serve a 15-year term of supervised release following his incarceration.
Maggard pleaded guilty on Feb. 4, 2026, to producing images of a minor for the purpose of manufacturing child pornography. Maggard also pleaded guilty to receiving images of child pornography over the internet. According to court documents, Maggard was identified through an investigation that originated in Minnesota. During a search warrant executed at Maggard’s home in Collins, Mo., investigators with the Missouri State Highway Patrol located and seized the defendant’s electronic devices. A forensic analysis of the devices located child pornography images, also known as child sexual abuse material (CSAM), the defendant had received over the internet. The forensic examination also located images of a minor victim the defendant had taken using his cell phone on two separate occasions; March 9, 2024, and June 8, 2024.
Maggard will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison and will be subject to federal and state sex offender registration requirements, which may apply throughout his life.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Teresa Moore. It was investigated by the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
Project Safe Childhood
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 the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Calhoun County Man Indicted for Sexual ExploitationRead the Press Release
Additional Potential Victims or Witnesses Are Encouraged to Come Forward
GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN – U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Timothy VerHey today announced that Gerald Lee Preston, 69, of Homer, Michigan, was indicted on criminal charges related to alleged sexual exploitation of minors.
According to court documents, Preston is charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of children, specifically that, in 2011, he used, persuaded, induced and enticed two separate minor victims to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of that conduct. If convicted, Preston faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison. The statutory maximum sentence a court can impose for each count of sexual exploitation is 30 years in prison.
U.S. Attorney VerHey said, “Every one of the prosecutors in my office is dedicated to getting justice for the children who are being sexually exploited. Simply put--we won’t stop until it stops. I applaud the work that the HSI agents have done on this case and we look forward to seeing this case through to a successful conclusion.”
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is leading the ongoing investigation of Gerald Preston. HSI requests and encourages anyone that has relevant information about or may be a victim of Preston’s alleged crimes to call the HSI Tipline at (866) DHS-2-ICE, that is (866) 347-2423, or email investigators and victim assistance personnel at HSI-Preston-Investigation@ice.dhs.gov. The Grand Rapids office of HSI is investigating this case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Constance Turnbull is prosecuting it.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.
The charges in an indictment are merely accusations, and a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
CEO of Iran Tech Company Arrested on Federal Charge of Supplying U.S. Equipment to Iran’s Nuclear and Military EstablishmentRead the Press Release
A dual U.S.-Iranian national and CEO of an Iran-based technology company was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint charging him with violating U.S. sanctions against Iran by acquiring sophisticated U.S.-origin networking, security, and encryption equipment for Iranian customers — including the Iranian regime’s nuclear and military establishments.
“As alleged, Ghomi enriched himself by supplying U.S. technology to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and other sanctioned entities responsible for the Iran’s nuclear program,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “The National Security Division will hold accountable those who violate our laws to further Iran’s nuclear ambitions.”
“Ghomi is accused of aiding our declared enemies by selling U.S.-origin computer networking parts to Iran and earning millions of dollars in violation of U.S. sanction laws,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “Our nation’s laws prohibiting doing business with one of the world’s largest state sponsors of terrorism must be enforced and obeyed. We will hold him accountable by seeking an appropriate prison sentence and by seizing his assets, including his $35 million Newport Beach mansion.”
“Today’s arrest reflects our commitment to disrupt the illegal flow of American technology to foreign nations, especially our adversaries,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Darren Lian of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Los Angeles Field Office. “As alleged, Mr. Ghomi spent years exploiting United States financial systems and procurement channels to move controlled equipment to Iran while hiding his activities behind front companies and falsified documentation. We will continue to work with our partners to safeguard national security by utilizing our financial investigative expertise.”
Jamshid Ghomi, 63, of Newport Coast, California, is charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
Ghomi is expected to make his initial appearance this afternoon in U.S. District Court in Santa Ana, California.
The IEEPA and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR) impose controls and restrictions on transactions involving Iran based on the threats posed by Iran to the national security of the United States, including its pursuit of nuclear weapons and sponsorship of terrorism. The IEEPA and ITSR prohibit the export, re-export, sale, or supply, directly or indirectly, from the United States or by a United States person, wherever located, of any goods, technology, or services to Iran or the Government of Iran without first obtaining authorization from OFAC.
According to the affidavit filed with the complaint, Ghomi is the founder, owner, and CEO of Faraz Pardaz Rayaneh Co. Ltd. (FPR), a Tehran-based computer networking company. For more than a decade, Ghomi has used FPR to procure U.S.-origin networking equipment for customers in Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions. Ghomi or FPR never obtained a license from the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) authorizing those transactions.
Ghomi identified, negotiated, purchased, and arranged the shipment of large quantities of controlled U.S. technology for his own company. From 2011 to 2015, he used his own eBay and PayPal accounts to make more than 400 purchases of computer-networking equipment, directing the goods to intermediaries in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In 2023, Ghomi personally negotiated the purchase of U.S.-origin networking equipment directly from suppliers in Minnesota and Nebraska, routing it through a UAE front company and on to FPR in Iran.
None of these items could be lawfully exported to Iran without a license from OFAC.
From 2014 to 2018, Ghomi arranged the smuggling of more than 250 metric tons (275.6 U.S. tons) of networking equipment into Iran, using freight forwarders and intermediaries in Dubai to disguise that Iran was the true destination.
Ghomi knew this conduct was illegal and took deliberate steps to conceal it. He directed his UAE co-conspirators to keep his name off shipping paperwork, to omit invoices from shipments bound for Iran, and on at least two occasions to hide U.S.-origin computer equipment inside larger shipments. He used front companies in the UAE to obscure his role, and he personally received warnings on invoices and software licenses that exporting these goods to Iran was prohibited. Ghomi and his co-conspirators referred to Iran as “Motherland” in their internal correspondence concerning the equipment’s procurement.
FPR’s annual sales exceeded $10 million and ran to hundreds of Iranian companies and government entities, many of which were subject to U.S. sanctions. A relatively small but significant portion of that business went to the most sensitive end-users in Iran: the Iranian regime’s nuclear and military establishment.
From 2017 to 2023, FPR supplied U.S.-origin computer networking equipment to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) — the Iranian government agency responsible for Iran’s nuclear program, including its centrifuge and uranium-enrichment programs. The U.S. State Department sanctioned AEOI in 2020 for playing a leading role in Iran's nonperformance of its nuclear commitments, including exceeding the limits on its uranium stockpile and enrichment levels.
According to the affidavit, AEOI required FPR to register as an approved vendor, which it did in 2021 and 2022. From 2014 to 2022, FPR supplied U.S.-origin networking, security, and encryption equipment to Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics — the Iranian ministry responsible for research, development, and manufacturing across Iran’s defense enterprise — and to affiliated military and defense-electronics entities. FPR’s 2017 contract with Iran Computer Industries, signed by Ghomi, expressly identified the buyer as the “Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics — Iran Computer Industries.”
Ghomi laundered the proceeds of his illegal business into the United States, depositing FPR’s Iranian sales revenue into its operating account at a sanctioned Iranian bank and then sweeping those funds to himself. Within days, he received corresponding wires into his U.S. accounts from a rotating set of unrelated trading companies and exchange houses in the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, Turkey, and the UAE. Those wires bore false descriptions such as “Buying Goods” and “For Consulting Fees.”
From 2011 to 2024, Ghomi moved more than $15 million from Iran into his U.S. bank accounts and into a construction escrow account held on his behalf. He falsely reported those funds to the IRS as a foreign inheritance. Ghomi’s federal tax returns reported almost no income, his highest reported income in any year being $20,684. Ghomi claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit, a federal tax break for low- to moderate-income working individuals and families, in seven different tax years. Over the same period, Ghomi reported more than $1.7 million in home-mortgage interest and $1.25 million in state and local real-estate taxes on his federal income tax returns.
Ghomi funded the construction of his Orange County, California, mansion with the proceeds of his sanctions-evasion scheme. Ghomi purchased a vacant lot in Newport Coast in March 2010 for $4,490,000 and paid approximately $10,490,371 to construct the residence from 2010 to 2013. From May 2011 to August 2015, foreign-source wires totaling more than $7 million flowed into the escrow account funding the home’s construction. These wires came from many of the same trading companies as the transfers from FPR’s operating account, were handled by the same FPR employees, and bore the same false descriptions.
A complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If convicted, Ghomi would face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
IRS-CI, in coordination with the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney David C. Lachman for the Central District of California is prosecuting the case, with valuable assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
A complaint merely contains allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
CEO of Iran Tech Company Arrested on Federal Charge of Supplying U.S. Equipment to Iran’s Nuclear and Military EstablishmentRead the Press Release
SANTA ANA, California – A dual U.S.-Iranian national and CEO of an Iran-based technology company was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint charging him with violating U.S. sanctions against Iran by acquiring sophisticated U.S.-origin networking, security, and encryption equipment for Iranian customers — including the Iranian regime’s nuclear and military establishment.
Jamshid Ghomi, 63, of Newport Coast, is charged with conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
Ghomi is expected to make his initial appearance this afternoon in United States District Court in Santa Ana.
“Ghomi is accused of aiding our declared enemies by selling U.S.-origin computer networking parts to Iran and earning millions of dollars in violation of U.S. sanction laws,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “Our nation’s laws prohibiting doing business with one of the world’s largest state sponsors of terrorism must be enforced and obeyed. We will hold him accountable by seeking an appropriate prison sentence and by seizing his assets, including his $35 million Newport Beach mansion.”
“Today’s arrest reflects our commitment to disrupt the illegal flow of American technology to foreign nations, especially our adversaries. As alleged, Mr. Ghomi spent years exploiting United States financial systems and procurement channels to move controlled equipment to Iran while hiding his activities behind front companies and falsified documentation,” said Darren Lian, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation’s Los Angeles Field Office. “We will continue to work with our partners to safeguard national security by utilizing our financial investigative expertise.”
The IEEPA and the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations (ITSR) impose controls and restrictions on transactions involving Iran based on the threats posed by Iran to the national security of the United States, including its pursuit of nuclear weapons and sponsorship of terrorism. The IEEPA and ITSR prohibit the export, re-export, sale, or supply, directly or indirectly, from the United States or by a United States person, wherever located, of any goods, technology, or services to Iran or the Government of Iran without first obtaining authorization from OFAC.
According to the affidavit filed with the complaint, Ghomi is the founder, owner, and CEO of Faraz Pardaz Rayaneh Co. Ltd. (FPR), a Tehran-based computer networking company. For more than a decade, Ghomi has used FPR to procure U.S.-origin networking equipment for customers in Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions. At no time did Ghomi or FPR obtain a license from the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) authorizing those transactions.
Ghomi identified, negotiated, purchased, and arranged the shipment of large quantities of controlled U.S. technology for his own company. From 2011 to 2023, he used his own eBay and PayPal accounts to make hundreds of purchases of computer-networking equipment, directing the goods to intermediaries in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). In 2023, Ghomi personally negotiated the purchase of U.S.-origin networking equipment directly from suppliers in Minnesota and Nebraska, routing it through a UAE front company and on to FPR in Iran.
None of these items could be lawfully exported to Iran without a license from OFAC.
From 2014 to 2018, Ghomi arranged the smuggling of more than 250 metric tons (275.6 U.S. tons) of networking equipment into Iran, using freight forwarders and intermediaries in Dubai to disguise that Iran was the true destination.
Ghomi knew this conduct was illegal and took deliberate steps to conceal it. He directed his UAE co-conspirators to keep his name off shipping paperwork, to omit invoices from shipments bound for Iran, and on at least two occasions to hide U.S.-origin computer equipment inside larger shipments. He used front companies in the UAE to obscure his role, and he personally received warnings on invoices and software licenses that exporting these goods to Iran was prohibited. Ghomi and his co-conspirators referred to Iran as “Motherland” in their internal correspondence concerning the equipment’s procurement.
FPR’s annual sales exceeded $10 million, and its clientele included hundreds of Iranian companies and government entities, many of which were subject to U.S. sanctions. A relatively small but significant portion of that business went to the most sensitive end-users in Iran: the Iranian regime’s nuclear and military establishment.
From 2017 to 2023, FPR supplied U.S.-origin computer networking equipment to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) – the Iranian government agency responsible for Iran’s nuclear program, including its centrifuge and uranium-enrichment programs. The U.S. State Department sanctioned AEOI in 2020 for playing a leading role in Iran's nonperformance of its nuclear commitments, including exceeding the limits on its uranium stockpile and enrichment levels. According to the affidavit, AEOI required FPR to register as an approved vendor, which it did in 2021 and 2022.
From 2014 to 2022, FPR supplied U.S.-origin networking, security, and encryption equipment to Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics — the Iranian ministry responsible for research, development, and manufacturing across Iran’s defense enterprise -- and to affiliated military and defense-electronics entities. FPR’s 2017 contract with Iran Computer Industries, signed by Ghomi, expressly identified the buyer as the “Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics — Iran Computer Industries.”
Ghomi laundered the proceeds of his illegal business into the United States, depositing FPR’s Iranian sales revenue into its operating account at a sanctioned Iranian bank and then sweeping those funds to himself. Within days, he received matching wires into his U.S. accounts from a rotating set of unrelated trading companies and exchange houses in the British Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, Turkey, and the UAE. Those wires bore false descriptions such as “Buying Goods” and “For Consulting Fees.”
From 2011 to 2024, Ghomi moved more than $15 million from Iran into his U.S. bank accounts and into a construction escrow account held on his behalf. He falsely reported those funds to the IRS as a foreign inheritance. Ghomi’s federal tax returns reported almost no income, his highest reported income in any year being $20,684. Ghomi claimed the Earned Income Tax Credit, a federal tax break for low- to moderate-income working individuals and families, in seven different tax years. Over the same period, Ghomi reported more than $1.7 million in home-mortgage interest and $1.25 million in state and local real-estate taxes on his federal income tax returns.
Ghomi funded the construction of his Orange County mansion with the proceeds of his sanctions-evasion scheme. Ghomi purchased a vacant lot in Newport Coast in March 2010 for $4,490,000 and paid approximately $10,490,371 to construct the residence from 2010 to 2013. From May 2011 to August 2015, foreign-source wires totaling more than $7 million flowed into the escrow account funding the home’s construction. These wires came from many of the same trading companies as the transfers from FPR’s operating account, were handled by the same FPR employees, and bore the same false descriptions.
A complaint is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
If convicted, Ghomi would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
IRS Criminal Investigation, in coordination with the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security, is investigating this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney David C. Lachman of the Major Frauds Section is prosecuting this case, with valuable assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.
As Part of Freedom 250 Celebration the United States Attorney Announces Hometown Hero AwardRead the Press Release
BOISE – U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced that Bonneville County Sheriff’s Detective Korey Payne was selected as the recipient of Idaho’s “Hometown Hero” Award. Detective Payne was selected for his extensive work combating child exploitation.
As part of the Freedom 250 initiative celebrating America’s 250th birthday, the Department of Justice and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho recognized Detective Payne for his exceptional efforts to protect children and his dedicated service to the community. Detective Payne is a Bonneville County Sheriff’s detective and is assigned to Idaho’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. During his nearly two decades of experience in law enforcement, Detective Payne led or played a major role in hundreds of investigations that resulted in the identification and prosecution of offenders who sexually exploited children. Beyond investigative work in his own cases, he mentored and trained other investigators and devoted countless hours to teaching parents and children internet safety practices to prevent child exploitation and victimization.
“Protecting our vulnerable children is among the highest priorities for the United States Attorney’s Office and our collective law enforcement community,” said U.S. Attorney Davis. “Without the outstanding work of Detective Payne, many of these crimes would go unsolved and additional children would be victimized. His experience, expertise, and commitment to protecting
children truly makes him a hero for our community and our state. As we celebrate America’s 250th birthday, we also recognize Detective Korey Payne and the many other law enforcement officers, first responders, and public servants whose daily work helps protect our communities and safeguard the freedoms we enjoy in this great nation.”
“As a member of my Idaho Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Korey does some of the hardest work in all of law enforcement,” said Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador. “He has confronted what others look away from, built the cases that hold offenders accountable, and brought a rare combination of skill, relentlessness, and compassion to every investigation. On behalf of the State of Idaho, congratulations to Korey on this well-earned recognition.”
To recognize Detective Payne, U.S. Attorney Davis provided him with a letter of commendation, a commemorative Hometown Hero medallion, and a United States Attorney’s Office challenge coin.
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