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14 November 2025
Milton Man Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison on Drug Trafficking ChargesRead the Press Release
WILLIAMSPORT - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Justo Melendez-Morales, age 45, from Milton, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on October 15, 2025, to 41 months’ imprisonment and six years of supervised release by Chief United States District Judge Matthew W. Brann after pleading guilty to distribution of cocaine.
According to United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, on or about February 26, 2025 through May 9, 2025, Melendez-Morales sold and possessed approximately 38 grams of cocaine in his Milton apartment, which he maintained as a premises for drug trafficking.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Robin Zenzinger prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
This matter occurred on date indicated but not issued at that time due to the government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations
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Millbury Man Formerly Responsible for Safety of Boston Public School Buses Charged with BriberyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – The former Director of Fleet and Facilities for the company that manages the operations and maintenance of Boston Public Schools’ (BPS) fleet of school buses was arrested and charged today for allegedly soliciting bribes from vendors who worked on the buses and in the bus yards. One of the vendors who allegedly paid bribes was also arrested and charged.
Michael Muller, 59, of Millbury, Mass. and John Colantuoni, 60, of Westwood Mass. were charged in a 21-count indictment. Muller is charged with five counts of soliciting and accepting bribes as an agent of BPS, five counts of conspiring to commit bribery, five counts of conspiring to commit honest services mail fraud and four counts of extortion. Colantuoni is charged with one count of paying bribes to Muller as an agent of BPS, one count of conspiring to commit bribery, one count of conspiring to commit honest services mail fraud and one count of obstruction of justice. Muller will make his initial appearance in federal court in Boston at 2:30 p.m. this afternoon. Colantuoni was arrested in Florida this morning and is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court in Tampa today. Colantuoni will appear in Boston at a later date.
According to court documents, Muller’s employer, the “Transportation Company,” had a contract with BPS to manage the operations and maintenance of BPS’ fleet of over 700 school buses. When not on the road, the buses were kept in bus yards owned by the City of Boston. Muller allegedly supervised all the Transportation Company employees who worked in the yards. According to the BPS contract, Muller’s job was to “ensure that BPS’s fleet is safe, well-maintained and ready for service on a daily basis.”
The Transportation Company subcontracted out much of its work on the BPS contract, including to vendors who cleaned the buses, made autobody and mechanical repairs, and plowed the snow from the bus yards. Muller allegedly managed and supervised all the vendors and had the authority to fire them. The vendors gave their invoices to the Transportation Company, which forwarded them to BPS without any markup. BPS paid the invoice amounts to the Transportation Company, allegedly from its annual transportation budget funded by taxpayer money. The Transportation Company then mailed checks to the vendors.
Between 2010 and December 2021, Muller allegedly solicited and accepted a total of more than $870,000 in bribes and kickbacks from five vendors, including Colantuoni. The alleged bribes included, among other things, cash, checks, a used pickup truck worth $15,000 and $85,000 in building materials for Muller’s vacation house. Muller also allegedly required one vendor to hire his adult child.
According to the indictment, Muller conspired to have “Vendor Two,” whose company power-washed the outside of BPS school buses and the engines, to inflate Vendor Two’s invoices by claiming to have washed more engines than Vendor Two actually had. It is alleged that Muller also told Vendor Two to pay him part of Vendor Two’s total revenues from the Transportation Company as a kickback. Muller allegedly hounded Vendor Two as soon as the Transportation Company mailed Vendor Two a check, wanting to meet as soon as the check cleared so that Muller could collect his cut. Muller and Vendor Two allegedly exchanged the following texts in 2016-2018:
- Muller: “Did the eagle land?” Vendor Two: “Not there yesterday. Will see on Monday.”
- Vendor Two: “Check did not clear. You got $2,500 last week. $5,000 this week. $500 more next week. $8,000 total….” Muller: “Just add to engine u owe for February.”
- Muller: “What time we meeting and were [sic]? We can meet on pike at rest stop if that works. Also are u giving my whole half or half of what you have? I have today off and want to do some shopping so sooner would be great.” Vendor Two: “Bank opens @9 am. Rest area @ Natick.”
It is further alleged that Muller conspired to have “Vendor Three” invoice the Transportation Company $189,444 for work Vendor Three never performed – specifically, cleaning snow off the roofs of BPS buses – and paying Muller most of the money.
Muller also allegedly demanded “Vendor Four” pay him a 5% kickback on Vendor Four’s revenues from the Transportation Company. Vendor Four sometimes paid the kickback with checks made out to a landscaping company Muller owned, in exchange for fake invoices from the landscaping company for services it never performed.
John Colantuoni was the president and half-owner of a small construction and landscaping company in Norwood, Mass. The indictment alleges that Colantuoni’s company bought approximately $85,000 in building materials from a lumber company for Muller’s vacation house in Pascoag, R.I., and, at the same time, revenues to Colantuoni’s company from the Transportation Company increased dramatically. Muller allegedly tried to conceal his business relationship with Colantuoni by telling the lumber company that Colantuoni was his uncle. Colantuoni allegedly tried to keep Muller’s address off the lumber company’s invoices, at one point telling the lumber company to use a false address in Falmouth, Mass. The indictment further alleges that Colantuoni testified in the grand jury and made false and misleading statements about his company’s purchase of the building materials for Muller.
“Families and taxpayers trust that the people overseeing their children’s school buses are doing the right thing, not looking for a payout. As alleged, these defendants broke that trust — treating taxpayer-funded contracts as a source of illicit income and, for years, siphoning off money that should have supported students. Their alleged conduct undermines confidence in a system that families rely on every day,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley. “We are committed to rooting out corruption wherever it occurs and ensuring that public dollars are used for public good.”
“Today’s arrests are shining a light on an alleged bribery and kickback scheme spearheaded by the manager of a company entrusted by Boston Public Schools to maintain its fleet of vehicles used to transport the city’s most precious cargo, its children,” said Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division. “These two men stand accused of padding their income with ease, turning a tidy profit at the expense of taxpayers. Add in the allegations of extortion and obstruction of justice and you’ve practically got a playbook of the varied ways to violate the public’s trust. Make no mistake, the FBI will continue to work with our partners to ensure those who violate their obligations to the public are brought to justice.”
The bribery and bribery conspiracy charges each provide for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charges of conspiracy to commit honest services mail fraud each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The extortion charges each provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge for obstruction of justice provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes that govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Tom Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation in Boston made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Boston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Wichers of the Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in the court of law.
Mexican national sentenced for trafficking fentanyl in the Eastern District of TexasRead the Press Release
PLANO, Texas – A Mexican drug trafficker was sentenced to over 26 years in federal prison for importing fentanyl for distribution in the United States, announced Eastern District of Texas Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
Juan Manuel Navarette Robles, 49, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and was sentenced to 315 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Richard Schell on October 1, 2025.
According to information presented in court, Robles was a high-level source of supply for narcotics, mainly fentanyl and methamphetamine, from Mexico to the United States. Robles trained others and directed them in the distribution of drugs in the United States, primarily by using the mail and various “hubs” to receive packages for distribution into Texas and elsewhere. Robles eventually traveled to the United States where he was found in possession of large amounts of fentanyl.
This case was investigated and prosecuted by the Eastern District of Texas Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) as part of Operation Take Back America. HSTFs, which were established by President Trump in Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion, are joint operations led by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide federal initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
This case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney William R. Tatum.
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Mexican Nationals Plead Guilty to Possession with Intent to Distribute FentanylRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Adrian Alcantar-Sanchez, a/k/a Pedro Ruiz-Betancur, age 45, and Jorge Luis Mejia-Mejia, age 39, both of Mexico, entered guilty pleas to one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl, punishable by a term of ten years to life imprisonment. Alcantar-Sanchez also pleaded guilty to one count of Unlawful Reentry of Removed Alien, punishable by a term of imprisonment of not more than ten years, and a fine of not more than $250,000.
The Indictment alleged that on March 29, 2025, Alcantar-Sanchez and Mejia-Mejia knowingly and intentionally possessed 400 grams or more of a substance containing fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance, intending to distribute it.
The Indictment also alleged that on March 29, 2025, Alcantar-Sanchez, an alien, was found in the United States without obtaining the express consent of the Secretary of Homeland Security to reapply for admission to the United States after having been previously removed on June 19, 2009, and April 6, 2012.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement Division.
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. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The Honorable D. Edward Snow, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the pleas and ordered the completion of presentence investigation reports.
A U.S. District Court Judge will determine the sentences to be imposed after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The defendants will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob R. Parker represented the United States.
Mexican National Sentenced to 24 Months in Prison for Firearms OffenseRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Diego Edgardo Aleman-Lozano, age 25, a Mexican national, was sentenced on October 2, 2025, to 24 months in prison to be followed by one year on supervised release by United States District Judge Jennifer P. Wilson for possession of a firearm by an alien.
According to United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, Aleman-Lozano was pulled over by Pennsylvania State Police in 2021 for violations of the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicle Code. State Troopers saw a 5.56 caliber green-tipped rifle cartridge on the front passenger seat. Because Aleman-Lozano was an alien on a nonimmigrant visa and was therefore not permitted to possess a firearm or ammunition, law enforcement obtained a search warrant for the car. Upon executing the warrant, Troopers recovered a 9mm polymer semiautomatic pistol with no serial number.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
This matter was investigated by the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Assistant United States Attorney Michael Scalera prosecuted the case.
This matter occurred on date indicated but not issued at that time due to the government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.
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Mexican National Sentenced to 24 Months for Third Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
Editor's Note: This matter occurred on the date indicated but was not published at that time due to a lapse in federal appropriations. Press releases are posted and made available following the return to normal operations
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – A Citizen of Mexico, illegally residing in Charlottesville, Virginia, who was previously removed from the United States on at least three occasions, was sentenced this week to 24 months in federal prison for illegal reentry of a previously removed alien.
Jose Luis Saavedra-Escamirosa, 36, pled guilty recently in U.S. District Court in Charlottesville.
“Illegal reentry into the United States is a federal felony offense,” Acting United States Attorney Robert N. Tracci said today. “This office will affirmatively prosecute those who violate the immigration laws of the United States.”
Saavedra-Escamirosa was arrested in April 2025 by the Virginia State Police and charged with driving under the influence. According to court documents, Saavedra-Escamirosa was in a vehicle stopped in the median on I-64 following a vehicle accident. He had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, and smelled strongly of alcohol.
Further investigation revealed that Saavedra-Escamirosa was first removed from the United States in 2011. He illegally returned to the United States and in 2014 was convicted of two drug offenses in Colorado. Immigration officials once again removed Saavedra-Escamirosa to Mexico.
He again returned to the United States. In 2016, Saavedra-Escamirosa was convicted of illegal reentry in the Southern District of Texas and sentenced to 20 months in prison. After serving his sentence, he was once again removed to Mexico in January 2018.
Undeterred, Saavedra-Escamirosa, returned to the United States yet again where he lived illegally until his arrest for DUI in Virginia in April 2025.
Robert N. Tracci, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Virginia made the announcement.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement- Homeland Security Investigations – Harrisonburg- investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sally J. Sullivan is prosecuting the case for the United States.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
Mexican National Pleads Guilty to Illegal Reentry into the United StatesRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that Jorge Mazariegos-De Leon (39, Mexico) has pleaded guilty to illegal reentry of a removed alien. Mazariegos-De Leon faces a maximum penalty of two years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to court documents, at some time between May 2014 and April 2024, Mazariegos-De Leon voluntarily entered the United States, with knowledge that he had previously been removed and that he was not legally permitted to reenter. On April 1, 2024, officers from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Enforcement and Removal Operations found Mazariegos-De Leon in Manatee County. Mazariegos-De Leon is a native and citizen of Mexico and was previously removed from the United States on two different occasions in 2014.
This case was investigated by Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Enforcement and Removal Operations and was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Joseph Wheeler, III.
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.
NOTE: This matter occurred on a previous date but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.
Mexican National Indicted for Immigration, Fraud, and Identity Theft CrimesRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Juan Jaramillo Vazquez, a/k/a Juan Vazquiz (49, Bradenton), with one count of illegal reentry by a deported alien, two counts of Social Security fraud, and one count of aggravated identity theft. If convicted, Vazquez faces a minimum of two years in prison for aggravated identity theft, a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment for each count of Social Security fraud, and up to two years in prison for illegal reentry.
According to the indictment, Vazquez was found to be voluntarily present in the United States after having been previously removed from the United States three times in 2012. Vazquez had not received the consent of the Attorney General or Security of Homeland Security to reapply for admission. Vazquez is a citizen of Mexico. Vazquez also fraudulently used the Social Security number related to Victim 1 to gain employment and tax benefits, fraudulently representing himself to an employer and the Social Security Administration.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, the Social Security Administration - Office of the Inspector General, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Department of Agriculture - Office of Inspector General, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ilyssa M. Spergel.
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.
NOTE: This matter occurred on a previous date but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.
Mexican National Extradited Back to Florida to Face Forced Labor ChargesRead the Press Release
Alexander Villatoro Moreno, also known as “Quichi,” 53, made his first appearance in federal court today after the Mexican government recently apprehended and extradited him to the United States. Villatoro Moreno faces four charges, including conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, conspiracy to commit forced labor, conspiracy to obstruct proceedings before agencies, and one count of forced labor for conduct alleged to have occurred between September 2015 and December 2017.
According to the indictment, Villatoro Moreno and his co-defendants fraudulently recruited Mexican nationals to lawfully enter the United States to perform seasonal agricultural work, often lying to the victims about how much they would be paid, the hours they would work, the working conditions, and the reimbursement they would receive for paying recruitment fees and other expenses. Villatoro Moreno and his co-defendants then misled the United States to secure valid H-2A visas for the victims.
Once in the United States, Villatoro Moreno and his co-defendants compelled the labor and services of the victims by, among other actions, having the victims engage in long hours of physically demanding agricultural work while paying them far less money for their work than they were entitled to under the law. Villatoro Moreno and his co-defendants also took the victims’ passports to prevent them from leaving, warned the victims that family members back in Mexico could get harmed if they did not comply with their demands, and threatened them with arrest and deportation.
When officials began investigating, Villatoro Moreno distributed fake reimbursement receipts to the victims to make it appear that Los Villatoros Harvesting (LVH), the Farm Labor Contractor that Moreno helped manage, was reimbursing the workers for their travel-related expenses.
Villatoro Moreno’s four co-defendants previously pleaded guilty in connection with their roles in the scheme. Bladimir Moreno, Alexander Moreno’s brother, owned LVH and pleaded guilty in 2022 to conspiracy to violate the RICO Act and conspiracy to commit forced labor. Efrain Cabrera Rodas and Christina Gamez, LVH supervisors, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the RICO Act while Guadalupe Mendes Mendoza, another LVH supervisor, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct a federal investigation. In 2022, Bladimir Moreno was sentenced to 118 months in prison and ordered to pay over $175,000 in restitution to the victims while Rodas and Gamez were sentenced to 41 months and 37 months in prison, respectively. Mendoza was also sentenced in 2022 to serve eight months of home detention and a $5,500 fine to be paid over 24 months of supervised release.
If convicted, Villatoro Moreno faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The Palm Beach County Human Trafficking Task Force, which includes the FBI, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. The Task Force received assistance from the Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General, the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division, the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, Colorado Legal Services Migrant Farm Worker Division, Legal Aid Services of Oregon Farmworker Program and Indiana Legal Services Worker Rights and Protection Project.
The Government of Mexico, including the Fiscalía General de la República (FGR), provided significant assistance in the extradition of Villatoro Moreno to the United States. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with law enforcement partners in Mexico to secure the arrest and extradition of Villatoro Moreno.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ilyssa Spergel for the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorney Matthew Thiman of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit are prosecuting the case.
Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Justice Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and Villatoro Moreno is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Menominee Man Sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for Assault with Intent to Murder and BurglaryRead the Press Release
Richard G. Frohling, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on November 10, 2025, Neegee J. Cloud (age: 34), formerly of Neopit, received a total sentence of 360 months in federal prison for committing assault with intent to commit murder and burglary on the Menominee Indian Reservation. The sentence, imposed by Senior United States District Judge William C. Griesbach, came after a federal jury found Cloud guilty of the charges on August 7, 2025, following a multi-day trial. After completing his prison sentence, Cloud will be on supervised release for an additional 36 months.
According to court documents, Cloud broke into a home in Neopit on the Menominee Indian Reservation on September 20, 2024. Once inside, Cloud violently assaulted his girlfriend by punching her, stomping on her head and neck, and kicking her. Cloud also slammed the woman’s face into the floor. Her resulting injuries included multiple facial fractures, a traumatic brain injury, and swelling to her neck and throat that necessitated spending nearly two weeks in an intensive care unit and a month at the hospital. The woman survived due to rapid response by law enforcement and medical personnel, who were alerted after the homeowner remotely witnessed some of Cloud’s actions which were recorded on the home’s surveillance cameras.
In sentencing the defendant, Judge Griesbach noted the seriousness of the offense, which he described as a “horrible, horrible crime” that involved “a wanton infliction of brutality.” He also noted Cloud’s lengthy criminal history, which included seven prior convictions involving violence against others.
The case was investigated by the Menominee Tribal Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Andrew J. Maier and Alexander E. Duros prosecuted the case.
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For further information contact:Public Affairs Officer Steve Caballero
(414) 297-1700
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McKees Rocks Resident Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Attempting to Coerce Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity and Possession of Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
This release was issued following the 43-day government shutdown during which the sentencing occurred.
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A former resident of McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 14 years of imprisonment, to be followed by 15 years of supervised release, on his conviction of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity and possession of child sexual abuse material, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
Senior United States District Judge Arthur J. Schwab imposed the sentence on Ryan Peters, 36, on November 12, 2025.
According to information presented to the Court, law enforcement executed a search warrant for Peters’ residence based on tips reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children regarding online activity involving child sexual abuse material. During the search, investigators located and seized numerous electronic devices, including a cell phone hidden in a cat litterbox as well as Peters’ laptop. A forensic review of these devices revealed child sexual abuse material, including five videos and 11 images that involved the use of minors—including prepubescent minors and minors who had not attained 12 years of age—engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
A few weeks later, Peters used a social networking and dating application to contact and attempt to persuade and entice an individual he believed was a 12-year-old girl from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to engage in sexual activity. During their subsequent online conversations, Peters discussed sex with the purported child—who was, in fact, an undercover FBI agent—and solicited the minor to send him sexually explicit images of herself. Peters then suggested they meet in person and, following a failed attempt to do so in late-August 2021, again arranged to meet the purported minor on September 13, 2021. Peters was arrested upon his arrival at the predetermined meeting place.
Assistant United States Attorney Carl J. Spindler prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Allegheny County Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Peters.
Man Unlawfully Living in the United States Charged with Assaulting Federal OfficersRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Ore.—A Guatemalan national unlawfully residing in the United States made his initial appearance today after being charged with assaulting federal officers.
Alvaro Carrillo, 32, has been charged by criminal complaint with Assaulting a Federal Officer.
According to court documents, on November 11, 2025, federal border patrol agents assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers initiated a traffic stop on a silver Saturn sedan. Law enforcement officers approached the vehicle, identified themselves to Carrillo, and attempted to remove him from the vehicle when he did not comply with their commands. Carrillo put the car in drive and fled the scene. Carrillo intentionally struck the border patrol agents’ vehicle during the pursuit. After more than ten minutes, Carrillo lost control of his vehicle and collided with a concrete curb. Carrillo exited the vehicle and assumed a fighting position. Carrillo attempted to escape and ran approximately thirty yards before an officer was able to take Carrillo into custody. Carrillo resisted the officers during the arrest.
Carrillo made his first appearance in federal court today before a U.S. Magistrate Judge. He was ordered detained pending further court proceedings.
Homeland Security Investigations is investigating the case. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon is prosecuting the case.
A criminal complaint is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Man Sentenced to 189 Months after Firing on Law Enforcement in Winston-SalemRead the Press Release
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – A Forsyth County, North Carolina, man was sentenced in Winston-Salem to a total of more than 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to felon in possession of a firearm, announced Dan Bishop, United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina (MDNC).
Cortez Desean IRELAND, age 24, pleaded guilty on May 6, 2025, to one count of Felon in Possession of a Firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8). He was sentenced today to 165 months’ imprisonment plus 3 years of post-release supervision by the Honorable Thomas D. Schroeder, United States District Judge in the United States District Court for the MDNC.
At the time of the incident that led to this charge, IRELAND was on federal post-release supervision for a prior felon in possession of a firearm conviction. For violating the terms of that supervised release, IRELAND was additionally sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment to run consecutive to the other sentence.
According to court records, in the early hours of June 25, 2024, officers with the Winston-Salem Police Department (WSPD) were called to a domestic disturbance with a report of shots fired. A woman reported that her ex-boyfriend IRELAND had pointed a gun at her and her cousin, demanded their cellphones, and then discharged a single shot into the wall over the women’s heads. IRELAND left the apartment shortly after and the women called police. WSPD officers responded and began searching the area. As Officer-1 approached the apartment complex, she observed IRELAND and another man walking down the street and observed that IRELAND had a gun in his right hand. As Officer-2 began to slow down and put his patrol car in park, IRELAND fired at him, shattering the back driver’s side window. Officer-2 exited his vehicle and returned fire. IRELAND and the other man fled, but IRELAND was found a few minutes later, less than half a mile away. When officers frisked IRELAND for weapons, they found a Taurus 9mm in his front pants pocket loaded with 10 live rounds. Following his arrest, IRELAND told Officer-2, “I’m going to kill you next time.”
The case was investigated by the Winston-Salem Police Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigations, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Martin.
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Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Production of Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
Montgomery, Ala. – Today, Acting United States Attorney Kevin Davidson announced the sentencing of a member of the U.S. Army serving in Alabama for producing child sexual abuse material. On November 13, 2025, a federal judge ordered 36-year-old Sean Jeffery Childers, originally from Quincy, Florida, to serve 180 months in prison. The judge also ordered that Childers remain on supervised release for five years following his prison term and pay $3,000 in restitution to the victim in the case. Childers will also be required to register as a sex offender. There is no parole in the federal system.
According to Childers’ plea agreement and other court records, in March 2023, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) discovered the online upload of child sexual abuse materials in Alabama and notified the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA). ALEA investigated and determined that the materials were being uploaded from a personal device connected to an individual serving in the U.S. Army and notified the Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID). The investigation ultimately identified Childers as the source of the uploads.
A search warrant was executed at Childers’ residence in Opp, Alabama, where agents examined multiple electronic devices. Forensic analysis revealed numerous images of child sexual abuse materials stored on those devices. In his plea agreement, Childers admits to creating a video including a 12-year-old minor.
In 2024, a federal grand jury in Montgomery, Alabama charged Childers with producing child sexual abuse material. Childers pleaded guilty to that charge on August 6, 2025.
The Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) investigated this case, with assistance from the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, the Covington County Sheriff’s Office, the Alabama Attorney General’s Office, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). Assistant United States Attorney Tara S. Ratz from the Middle District of Alabama and Acting Deputy Chief Kyle Reynolds from the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section prosecuted the case.
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. 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.
Man Indicted for Importing Protected Parakeets in his PantsRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO –Jesse Agus Martinez was indicted by a federal grand jury today for illegally importing two sedated orange-fronted parakeets in his pants.
Martinez, a U.S. citizen residing in Tijuana, attempted to cross the border at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry on October 23, 2025, at approximately 12:50 p.m. Martinez was diverted to secondary inspection after a Customs and Border Protection officer noticed a bulge in Martinez’s groin area. Customs and Border Protection records indicated that Martinez had previously smuggled birds into the United States.
Martinez claimed several times that the bulge was his “pirrin,” a Spanish word for penis. When a CBP officer further inspected Martinez, the officer found two brown sacks, each containing one orange-fronted parakeet, in Martinez’s underwear. The birds were apparently unconscious but breathing and heavily sedated.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents and inspectors responded to the scene. A wildlife inspector identified the birds as protected juvenile orange-fronted parakeets (Eupsittula canicularis).
The birds were initially cared for by Veterinary Services at the southern border, before being transferred to a Department of Agriculture Animal Import Center for quarantine. The birds are now reported to be in stable condition.
Orange Fronted Parakeets are native to Western Mexico and Costa Rica. The Orange Fronted Parakeet is protected and has been listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) since 2005. Martinez’s concealment of the parakeets would have resulted in their entering the United States without any quarantine period or process.
To import many types of wildlife, the wildlife must be subject to quarantine before it can be introduced into the United States. Many animals have diseases that can be transferred to humans (zoonotic diseases) or other animals that can have disastrous health effects to human or animal populations. For example, birds can carry and spread Avian influenza (bird flu), psittacosis, and histoplasmos. Bird flu is highly contagious and can cause flu like symptoms, respiratory illness, pneumonia and death in humans and other birds including the United States poultry farms. There are many other diseases that can be transmitted from different animals and have disastrous effects, that is why it is necessary to quarantine animals entering the United States to limit and safeguard against this potential disease transmission.
This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Rookard.
DEFENDANT Case Number 25MJ6054-BLM
Jesse Agus Martinez Age: 35
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Importation Contrary to Law – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 545
Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $250,000 fine
INVESTIGATING AGENCY
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Malaysian National Convicted of Sexual Abuse of a Minor on Cruise ShipRead the Press Release
MIAMI – A federal jury in Miami convicted a Malaysian national on Oct. 23 for abusive sexual contact of a minor aboard a cruise ship sailing in international waters.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Lay Ong, 67, was walking down a stateroom corridor when he encountered two boys, ages seven and nine, playing outside their cabin. Evidence showed that Ong began speaking with the children while touching the seven-year-old’s head and chin, then reached down and squeezed the child’s genitalia before walking away.
“Abusing a child is an unforgivable act,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “This verdict makes clear that anyone who preys on a child—anywhere, and under any flag—will be held to account. We will continue working with the FBI to protect young victims and bring their abusers to justice.”
The jury found Ong guilty of abusive sexual contact of a minor. He faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Ong will be subject to deportation following his sentence.
U.S. Attorney Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of the FBI, Miami Field Office, made the announcement.
FBI Miami is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ilana Malkin and Yeney Hernandez are prosecuting the case.
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 the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate better, 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.
To report suspected human trafficking or to obtain resources for victims, please call 1-888-373-7888; text “BeFree” (233733), or live chat at HumanTraffickingHotline.org. The toll-free phone, SMS text lines, and online chat function are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Help is available in English, Spanish, Creole, or in more than 200 additional languages. The National Hotline is not managed by law enforcement, immigration, or an investigative agency. Correspondence with the National Hotline is confidential, and you may request assistance or report a tip anonymously.
“To report online child sexual exploitation, use the electronic Cyber Tip Line or call 1-800-843-5678. The Cyber Tip Line is operated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in partnership with the HSI and other law enforcement agencies.”
To learn more about the National Resource Hotline, visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. To learn more about the U.S. Department of Justice’s efforts to combat human trafficking, visit www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.
Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 25-cr-20173.
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Lycoming County Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Production of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Christopher Stout, age 49, a resident of Hughesville, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on October 23, 2025, to 30 years’ imprisonment by Chief United States District Judge Matthew W. Brann, for production of child pornography.
According to the United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, between July 28, 2024 and July 29, 2024, Stout communicated with a 14-year-old child via Instagram. Over a twenty-four-hour period, Stout directed the child to take and remit sexually explicit images of herself. On August 23, 2024, a search warrant was executed at Stout’s residence and three cellular telephones belonging to Stout were seized and analyzed. In total, hundreds of images of child sexual abuse material, including images and videos of the 14-year-old child engaging in sexually explicit conduct were recovered from Stout’s devices.
Forensic review confirmed that in addition to communicating with the 14-year-old child, Stout communicated with multiple minors via Snapchat. The conversations were graphic, sexually explicit, and revolved around the production of child sexual abuse material. In addition to producing sexually explicit images and videos of children, Stout distributed child sexual abuse material to others via the encrypted Telegram application.
Stout admitted to communicating with minors online and requesting sexually explicit images from them. Further, to gain their trust, he acknowledged that he would often pose as a juvenile male.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation – Philadelphia Division, the Lycoming County District Attorney’s Office, and the Hughesville Borough Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Tatum Wilson prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by 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.
This matter occurred on date indicated but not issued at that time due to the government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.
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Longview drug trafficker sentenced to federal prison for dealing fentanylRead the Press Release
TYLER, Texas –A Longview man who sold fake prescription drugs has been sentenced to nearly 20 years in federal prison for trafficking fentanyl in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
Trevorris Rashomique Woodard, also known as B1, 37, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and was sentenced to 235 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Jeremy D. Kernodle on October 30, 2025.
According to information presented in court, law enforcement stopped Woodard while driving a vehicle for a traffic violation on February 16, 2022. During the stop, officers observed the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle and conducted a probable cause search, resulting in the discovery of 9.85 grams of pills later analyzed and determined to contain fentanyl. Investigators later obtained a warrant for the content of Woodard’s cell phone and found numerous photographs and text messages related to the illegal distribution of pills.
“This case demonstrates what can be accomplished when federal, state, and local law enforcement work together to protect our communities,” said Acting ATF Special Agent in Charge Brian Garner. “Fentanyl is a deadly threat and removing it from our streets requires the coordinated efforts of every agency involved. We are grateful for the teamwork that brought this trafficker to justice, and we will continue strengthening these partnerships to keep East Texas families safe.”
Woodard is a three-time felon, including two prior federal convictions for drug trafficking offenses, which resulted in an enhanced punishment range under the Career Offender provisions of the United States Sentencing Guidelines Manual. Woodard was also on federal supervised release at the time of the offense.
This case was investigated and prosecuted by the Eastern District of Texas Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) as part of Operation Take Back America. HSTFs, which were established by President Trump in Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion, are joint operations led by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide federal initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Gregg County Sheriff’s Office; and the Longview Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucas Machicek.
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Lehigh Acres Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Federal Prison for His Role in Orchestrating Multi-Million Dollar Covid Relief Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Fort Myers, FL – U.S. District Judge Sheri Polster Chappell has sentenced Lester John Parker, Jr. (55, Lehigh Acres) to ten years and one month in federal prison for his role in a multi-million-dollar COVID-19 relief fraud scheme. Parker pleaded guilty on July 9, 2025, to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, access device fraud, and aggravated identity theft.
According to court records, between 2020 and 2021, Parker orchestrated and carried out a scheme to defraud the United States Small Business Administration (SBA) and various SBA-approved lenders by submitting fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan applications on behalf of himself and numerous other individuals and businesses. Forgivable PPP loans—which were 100% guaranteed by the federal government—were one of the sources of economic relief provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
The fraudulent applications submitted by Parker included false documents such as forged bank statements and bogus IRS records, as well as fraudulent representations regarding the PPP applicant’s average monthly payroll, in an effort to deceive the SBA and various SBA-approved lending institutions into approving large PPP loans for applicants who did not qualify for such loans. Altogether, more than 100 fraudulent PPP applications were linked to Parker’s conspiracy, which resulted in over $3 million in fraudulent loan proceeds being disbursed.
Aside from filing fraudulent PPP applications, Parker’s conspiracy also included an intricate scheme to launder fraud proceeds to bogus employees of sham businesses controlled by Parker. In some instances, stolen identities were used by conspirators in furtherance of the fraud.
This case was investigated by the United State Secret Service and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Simon Eth.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by contacting the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
NOTE: This matter occurred on a previous date but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.
Leader of Colombian Drug Trafficking Organization Sentenced to over 13 Years for Conspiring to Traffic over 43,000 Kilograms of Cocaine Valued at $1.3 BillionRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Kathryn K. Mizelle has sentenced Jorge Hernan Gonzalez-Ortiz (49, Colombia) to 13 years and 4 months in federal prison for conspiring to import cocaine into the United States. Gonzalez-Ortiz pleaded guilty on January 14, 2025.
According to the plea agreement and other court documents, from 2016 until 2023, Gonzalez-Ortiz established and led a drug trafficking organization in Colombia responsible for transporting cocaine via commercial airplanes and maritime vessels. Conspirators loaded commercial aircraft with cocaine disguised in boxes of fruit at Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport in Cali, Colombia and intended for Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport in San Andrés Island, Colombia. With the assistance of no less than 20 corrupt Colombian police officers, the conspirators exported the cocaine out of the San Andrés Island airport and then smuggled the narcotics by boat to either Nicaragua or Honduras, then to Mexico and the United States via land routes.
From 2016-2023, Gonzalez-Ortiz’s organization smuggled cocaine onto at least 27 commercial flights in Cali, totaling at least 43,000 kilograms, and worth approximately $1.3 billion (USD).
In addition to corrupt police officers, Gonzalez-Ortiz’s drug trafficking network included a security supervisor at the Cali airport who was responsible for diverting security cameras away from the airport’s external gates where the cocaine was imported. Other conspirators in the drug trafficking network included airport personnel who altered the cargo manifests, as well as luggage cart drivers and warehouse personnel at both airports who loaded and unloaded the cocaine onto and from the commercial aircraft. On July 29, 2023, one of the organization’s cocaine shipment (1,310 kilograms) was interdicted by the Colombian National Police after it was offloaded from a commercial aircraft in San Andrés Island.
(July 29, 2023, drug interdiction seizure)
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi- jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.
The specific mission of the OCDETF Panama Express Strike Force is to disrupt and dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations involved in large scale drug trafficking, money laundering, and related activities. The OCDETF Panama Express Strike Force is comprised of agents and officers from the Coast Guard Investigative Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations, and the prosecution was led by the Office of the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida.
Valuable assistance was provided by the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, the Colombian National Police’s Dirreccion de Antinarcotics (DIRAN), and the Colombian Equipo de Trabajo Investigativo Control Aeronaves (ETICA). This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David J. Pardo.
NOTE: This matter occurred on a previous date but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.
Las Cruces Teenager Charged with Receiving Firearm While Under IndictmentRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A Las Cruces teenager has been charged with illegally receiving a firearm while under indictment following an investigation that linked him to a handgun through social media evidence.
According to court documents, on August 31, 2025, Doña Ana County Sheriff's deputies responded to a call involving multiple people with firearms near the intersection of Roe Deer Court and Cous Deer Avenue. Deputies had been searching for a sedan that had dropped off a gunshot victim at a local hospital earlier that day and located the sedan and another vehicle at the scene.
The owner of the second vehicle stated she did not own any firearms and provided written consent to search the vehicle. Inside, detectives recovered a loaded handgun from the back seat, with a round in the chamber and a 17-round capacity magazine. The owner indicated she believed her passenger, Anthony Jacob Lopez, 19, left the firearm in her vehicle.
A subsequent search warrant for Lopez's Instagram account and cell phone revealed multiple photographs and videos of Lopez with the same handgun on various dates. Instagram messages from July 14, 2025, showed an associate offering to sell Lopez the specific handgun for $600, with Lopez confirming the purchase on July 18, 2025, stating "Appreciate dat heater too brudda good ass deal." Cell phone data showed photographs of the firearm taken at Lopez's residence in Las Cruces.
A screenshot of a photo posted to Lopez’s Instagram account on or about August 22nd, 2025On March 5, 2025, Lopez received a two-year deferred sentence for Smuggling of Persons in Texas and is currently on supervised release. His probation conditions explicitly prohibit him from possessing or transporting any firearms. Under federal law, Lopez is considered under indictment until he successfully completes his deferred sentence. Lopez is charged with receiving a firearm while under indictment. If convicted, he faces up to five years in prison.
Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.
The Las Cruces Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Las Cruces Police Department and Doña Ana County Sheriff's Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Y. Armijo is prosecuting the case.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
This press release was posted November 14, after the end of the federal government shutdown.
Lafayette man sentenced to federal prison in connection with armed bank robberies in Texas and LouisianaRead the Press Release
BEAUMONT, Texas – A Lafayette, LA man has been sentenced to federal prison in the Eastern District of Texas for robbing banks in Texas and Louisiana, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
Charleston Jamal Washington, 39, pleaded guilty to two separate armed bank robberies and was sentenced to 168 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on October 2, 2025.
According to information presented in court, on June 14, 2024, Washington entered the Home Bank in Welsh, LA, wearing a bucket hat and a mask covering most of his face. Washington pointed a handgun at one of the bank tellers and demanded money from her and two others. The bank employees complied, and Washington placed the money in a draw-string backpack and fled with approximately $11,500 in U.S. currency. On July 18, 2024, Washington, wearing a similar disguise, entered First State Bank in Vidor and pointed a handgun at a bank teller while demanding money. Washington placed the money in a similar draw-string backpack and left with approximately $7,676 in cash. On that occasion, surveillance video revealed that Washington drove off in a distinctive blue, step-side pickup truck. Investigators subsequently connected the truck to Washington and found that he had purchased it with cash the same day as the robbery of the Home Bank in Welsh. Washington was arrested on September 19, 2024, after police in Lafayette stopped him for a traffic violation. At that time, he was found in possession of a firearm that matched the handgun used in both bank robberies.
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. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
This case was investigated by the FBI-Beaumont Resident Agency; FBI-Lake Charles Resident Agency; FBI-Lafayette Resident Agency; Vidor Police Department; Orange Police Department; Welsh Police Department; Crowley Police Department; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Lafayette Police Department; and the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John B. Ross.
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Lackawanna County Man Sentenced to 108 Months’ Imprisonment for Conspiracy and Theft of Major ArtworkRead the Press Release
SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Damien Boland, age 50, of Covington Township, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on November 13, 2025, to 108 months’ imprisonment, a term of supervised release, and to pay restitution in the amount of $2,049,420.15, by Senior United States District Judge Malachy E. Mannion for conspiracy, theft of major artwork and concealment/disposal of major artwork.
According to United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, a jury found Boland guilty of all eleven counts following a nearly month-long trial earlier this year. The jury found that, along with his co-defendants and other co-conspirators, Boland was responsible for stealing the following:
- “Le Grande Passion” by Andy Warhol and “Springs Winter” purportedly by Jackson Pollock stolen in 2005 from the Everhart Museum in Scranton, Pennsylvania;
- Six championship belts, including four belonging to Carmen Basillio and two belonging to Tony Zale stolen in 2015 from the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, New York;
- The Hickok Belt and MVP Trophy belonging to Roger Maris, stolen in 2016 from the Roger Maris Museum in Fargo, North Dakota;
- The U.S. Amateur Trophy and a Hickok Belt awarded to Ben Hogan, stolen in 2012 from the USGA Golf Museum & Library;
- Fourteen trophies and other awards worth approximately $300,000 stolen in 2012 from the Harness Racing Museum & Hall of Fame in Goshen, New York;
- Five trophies worth over $350,000, including the 1903 Belmont Stakes Trophy, stolen in 2013 from the National Racing Museum & Hall of Fame in Saratoga Springs, New York;
- Three antique firearms stolen in 2006 from Space Farms: Zoo & Museum in Wantage, New Jersey;
- An 1903/1904 Tiffany Lamp stolen in 2010 from the Lackawanna Historical Society in Scranton, Pennsylvania;
- “Upper Hudson” by Jasper Crospey, worth approximately $120,000, stolen in 2011 from Ringwood Manor in Ringwood, New Jersey; and
- Antique firearms worth over $150,000, stolen in 2011 from Ringwood Manor in Ringwood, New Jersey.
Boland committed the above thefts as part of a larger, eight-person conspiracy. After a month-long trial held earlier this year co-conspirators Nicholas Dombek, age 55, of Thornhurst, Pennsylvania and Joseph Atsus, age 51, of Roaring Brook, Pennsylvania were convicted alongside Boland of conspiracy to commit theft of major artwork, concealment and disposal of major artwork, and interstate transportation of stolen property, as well as multiple related substantive offenses. They are presently pending sentencing.
Three additional co-conspirators pled guilty pursuant to felony informations and were sentenced by Judge Mannion earlier this year. They include:
- Thomas Trotta, age 50, of Dunmore Pennsylvania, who was sentenced to 96 months’ imprisonment for theft of major artwork;
- Dawn Trotta, age 53, of Dunmore, Pennsylvania who was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment for conspiracy to commit theft of major artwork, concealment and disposal of major artwork, and interstate transportation of stolen property;
- Frank Tassiello, age 52, of Taylor, Pennsylvania, who was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment for conspiracy to commit theft of major artwork, concealment and disposal of major artwork, and interstate transportation of stolen property; and
- Ralph Parry, age 47, of Springbrook Township, Pennsylvania, who was sentenced to three years of probation as well as a period of home-confinement for conspiracy to commit theft of major artwork, concealment and disposal of major artwork, and interstate transportation of stolen property.
After stealing the above-described items, the conspirators would transport the stolen goods back to Northeastern Pennsylvania, often to the residence of Dombek, and melt the memorabilia down into easily transportable metal discs or bars. The conspirators would then sell the raw metal to fences in the New York City area for hundreds or a few thousands of dollars, significantly less than the sports memorabilia would be worth at fair market value.
Dombek burnt the painting “Upper Hudson” by Jasper Crospey, valued at approximately $125,000, to avoid the painting being recovered by investigators and used as evidence against the members of the conspiracy. The whereabouts of many of the other paintings and stolen objects are currently unknown, however, several antique firearms stolen from the Space Farms: Zoo and Museum and the Ringwood Manor Museum, both in New Jersey, were recovered by investigators, including an antique gun which Boland had earlier hidden at a relative’s house in a different state.
The matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Pennsylvania State Police, the New Jersey State Police, the New York State Police, the New Jersey State Park Police, the Newport Police Department (Rhode Island), the Fargo Police Department (North Dakota), the Chester Police Department (New York), the Exeter Borough Police Department (Pennsylvania), the Scranton Police Department, the Franklin Police Department (New Jersey), the Village of Goshen Police Department (New York), the Metropolitan Police Department (Washington, D.C.), the West Milord Township Police Department (New Jersey), the Montclair Police Department (New Jersey), the Saratoga Springs Police Department (New York), the Canastota Police Department (New York), the South Abington Police Department (Pennsylvania), the Bernards Township Police Department (New Jersey), the Salisbury Township Police Department (Pennsylvania), the Montclair State University Police Department (New Jersey) the Lackawanna County District Attorney’s Office (Pennsylvania), the Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office (New Jersey), the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office (New Jersey), the Orange County District Attorney’s Office (New York), and multiple other local law enforcement agencies from across the country. Assistant United States Attorneys James M. Buchanan and Jenny Roberts prosecuted the case.
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Kentucky Man Sentenced for Role in Scheme to Defraud Boone County SchoolsRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Jesse Marks, 65, of Rush, Kentucky, was sentenced on Thursday, November 13, 2025, to five years of federal probation, including one year and six months on home detention, and ordered to pay $3,448,571.85 in restitution for conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Marks admitted that he conspired with Michael David Barker to overbill the Boone County Schools system while Barker was its maintenance director during the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Marks was the sole owner and operator of Rush Enterprises when Barker contacted him in November 2019 about Rush Enterprises selling custodial and janitorial supplies to Boone County Schools. Marks agreed to supply Boone County Schools with hand soap, trash can liners, facemasks, face shields, and hand sanitizer among other items.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, schools received additional government funds to ensure that students and staff could attend in-person learning in a safe and clean environment. Marks admitted that he and Barker entered into the overbilling scheme around March 2020. From that time until on or about December 2023, Barker submitted fraudulent invoices to Boone County Schools on behalf of Rush Enterprises that significantly inflated the number of products it was delivering to Boone County Schools. The Boone County Board of Education relied on the fraudulent invoices to issue checks to Rush Enterprises using the United States Postal Service.
Marks estimated that approximately 80 percent of the total payments received by Rush enterprises from Boone County Schools, or $3,448,571.85, was for products never delivered. Marks admitted that he gave Barker at least half of the fraudulent profits from the overbilling scheme after deducting the cost of the products actually delivered to Boone County Schools. Marks deposited the mailed checks from Boone County Schools into the business bank account for Rush Enterprises, wrote himself checks on that account that he cashed at various banks, and personally delivered cash to Barker in manila envelopes.
Barker, 48, of Foster, was sentenced on November 10, 2025, to two years and nine months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $3,448,571.85 in restitution for conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Barker pleaded guilty on April 7, 2025, admitting that he conducted the scheme while employed as the Boone County Schools maintenance director.
“Justice prevailed due to the tremendous teamwork of our federal and state law enforcement agencies,” United States Attorney Moore Capito said. “These two defendants enriched themselves by stealing millions of dollars from a public school system in our southern coalfields during a national emergency. They stole hope from the children of Boone County and did so at the expense of taxpayers throughout West Virginia and our country. This is no longer a negotiable vice in West Virginia – it is a crime we will prosecute without mercy.”
Capito commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), the West Virginia State Police, and the West Virginia State Auditor’s Office (WVSAO) Public Integrity and Fraud Unit (PIFU), and the assistance provided by the West Virginia Department of Education.
United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Gabriel Price prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:25-cr-6.
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Justice Department Announces Nationwide Actions to Combat Illicit North Korean Government Revenue GenerationRead the Press Release
Four U.S. Nationals and Ukrainian Identity Broker Plead Guilty
Department Seeks Forfeiture of More Than $15M in Virtual Currency Stolen and Laundered by North Korean Hackers
The Justice Department today announced five guilty pleas and more than $15 million in civil forfeiture actions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) remote information technology (IT) work and virtual currency heist schemes. The DPRK government uses both types of schemes to fund its weapons and other priorities in violation of sanctions.
First, as described in court documents associated with the guilty pleas, facilitators in the United States and Ukraine assisted North Korean actors with obtaining remote IT employment with U.S. companies. For example, the facilitators’ provided their own, false, or stolen identities, and hosted U.S. victim company-provided laptops at residences across the United States to create the false appearance that the IT workers were working domestically. In total, these defendants’ fraudulent employment schemes impacted more than 136 U.S. victim companies, generated more than $2.2 million in revenue for the DPRK regime, and compromised the identities of more than 18 U.S. persons.
Second, as described in the two civil forfeiture complaints, a North Korean military hacking group known to the private sector as Advanced Persistent Threat 38 (APT38) carried out multimillion-dollar virtual currency heists at four overseas virtual currency platforms in 2023. While APT38 actors continued to launder their ill-gotten gains for these heists, the U.S. government froze and seized more than $15 million worth of virtual currency that it now seeks to forfeit for eventual return to the rightful owners.
“These actions demonstrate the Department’s comprehensive approach to disrupting North Korean efforts to finance their weapons program on the backs of Americans,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “The Department will use every available tool to protect our Nation from this regime’s depredations.”
“Ensuring national and economic security are paramount to the Department’s mission,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Hostile nation-states raising funds for illicit programs by stealing from digital asset exchanges threatens both. The Criminal Division is steadfast in its determination to forfeit ill-gotten gains from bad actors and return funds to victims.”
“FBI investigations continue to expose the North Korean government’s relentless campaign to evade U.S. sanctions and generate millions of dollars to fund its authoritarian regime and weapons programs,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “These guilty pleas send a clear message: No matter who or where you are, if you support North Korea's efforts to victimize U.S. businesses and citizens, the FBI will find you and bring you to justice. We ask all our private sector partners to improve their security process for vetting remote workers and to remain vigilant regarding this emerging threat.”
The Department’s actions to combat both the North Korean IT worker and hacking schemes are the latest in a series of law enforcement actions under a joint National Security Division (NSD) and FBI Cyber and Counterintelligence Divisions effort, the DPRK RevGen: Domestic Enabler Initiative. This effort prioritizes targeting and disrupting the DPRK’s illicit revenue generation schemes and its U.S.-based enablers. The Department previously announced other actions pursuant to the initiative, including in January and June 2025.
As the FBI has described in Public Service Announcements published in May 2024 and January 2025, North Korean remote IT workers posing as legitimate remote IT workers have committed data extortion and exfiltrated the proprietary and sensitive data from U.S. companies. DPRK IT worker schemes typically involve the use of stolen identities, alias emails, social media, online cross-border payment platforms, and online job site accounts, as well as false websites, proxy computers, and witting and unwitting third parties located in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Three Guilty Pleas – Southern District of Georgia
Yesterday, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, U.S. nationals Audricus Phagnasay, 24, Jason Salazar, 30, and Alexander Paul Travis, 34, each pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy. From approximately September 2019 through November 2022, Phagnasay, Salazar, and Travis provided their U.S. identities to IT workers they knew were located outside the United States so that the workers could fraudulently apply for and obtain employment with victim U.S. companies. In addition, the three defendants hosted victim U.S. company-provided laptops at their residences, and installed remote access software on those laptops without authorization, so that the IT workers could create the false appearance that they were remote working from the defendants’ residences. Each defendant also assisted overseas IT workers in passing employer vetting procedures. Travis and Salazar, in particular, appeared for drug testing on behalf of the overseas IT workers.
“My office is committed to pursuing individuals that seek to harm the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Margaret E. Heap for the Southern District of Georgia. “This collaboration with our law enforcement agencies exemplifies how our joint efforts are successful in identifying, investigating and prosecuting those defendants.”
Travis, an active-duty member of the U.S. Army at the time, received at least $51,397 for his participation in the scheme. Phagnasay and Salazar earned at least $3,450 and $4,500, respectively. The fraudulent scheme earned approximately $1.28 million in salary payments from the victim U.S. companies, the vast majority of which were sent to the IT workers overseas.
The FBI Augusta (Georgia) Resident Agency is investigating the cases.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Hamner for the Southern District of Georgia and Trial Attorney Jacques Singer-Emery of the NSD National Security Cyber Section are prosecuting the cases.
Oleksandr Didenko Guilty Plea – District of Columbia
On Nov. 10, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Ukrainian national Oleksandr Didenko pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy and one count of aggravated identity theft in connection with a years-long scheme that stole the identities of U.S. citizens and sold them to overseas IT workers, including North Korean IT workers, so they could fraudulently gain employment at 40 U.S. companies. Victim U.S. companies paid Didenko’s IT worker clients hundreds of thousands of dollars for their work. As part of his plea, Didenko agreed to forfeit more than $1.4 million, which includes more than $570,000 in fiat and virtual currency seized from Didenko and his co-conspirators.
“North Korea is focused on victimizing and perpetrating fraud on American citizens, companies, and banks by stealing the identity of U.S. citizens and selling them around the world so foreign actors can gain employment in America,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro for the District of Columbia. “These convictions prove that we will stop at nothing to uncover complex fraud schemes especially when they are committed by North Korean actors to fund their weapons program.”
The case was investigated by the FBI New York Field Office, with assistance from the FBI Norfolk and San Diego Field Offices and the Jefferson City (Tennessee) Resident Agency. In May 2024, Polish authorities arrested Didenko and on Dec. 30, 2024, he was extradited to the United States.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen P. Seifert and Steven Wasserman for the District of Columbia are prosecuting the case, with valuable assistance from Trial Attorney Jacques Singer-Emery of the NSD National Security Cyber Section. The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Southern District of California, Eastern District of Tennessee, and Eastern District of Virginia, and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance.
Erick Ntekereze Prince Guilty Plea – Southern District of Florida
On Nov. 6, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, U.S. national Erick Ntekereze Prince, 30, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy. From approximately June 2020 through August 2024, Prince, through his company Taggcar Inc., contracted to supply allegedly “certified” IT workers to victim U.S. companies, knowing that the IT workers were located outside the United States and were using false and stolen identities to gain employment. In addition, Prince hosted victim U.S. company-provided laptops at Florida residences and installed remote access software on those laptops without authorization, so that the IT workers could create the false appearance that they were remote working from Prince’s residence. Prince earned more than $89,000 for his participation in the scheme.
“These prosecutions make one point clear: the United States will not permit the DPRK to bankroll its weapons programs by preying on American companies and workers,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “We will keep working with our partners across the Justice Department to uncover these schemes, recover stolen funds, and pursue every individual who enables North Korea’s operations.”
Prince, U.S. national Emanuel Ashtor, and a Mexican national Pedro Ernesto Alonso de los Reyes were charged in January 2025 by indictment alleging their participation in a criminal scheme that obtained work for North Korean IT workers from more than 64 U.S. companies. The fraudulent scheme earned more than $943,069 in salary payments from victim U.S. companies, the vast majority of which were sent to the IT workers overseas. Ashtor is awaiting trial, and de los Reyes is pending extradition from The Netherlands.
The case was investigated by the FBI Miami Field Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Cronin for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Gregory J. Nicosia Jr. of NSD’s National Security Cyber Section are prosecuting the case.
Forfeiture Complaints for More Than $15 Million in Stolen Funds – District of Columbia
The Department recently filed two civil complaints to forfeit USDT, a virtual currency stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, that the FBI seized in March 2025 from North Korean APT38 actors: an Oct. 24, 2025 complaint (1:25-cv-03771) to forfeit 1,159,834.52 USDT; and a complaint filed today (1:25-cv-03943) to forfeit 13,980,951.103 USDT. In total, the seized USDT is valued at more than $15 million.
As alleged in the complaints, the seized virtual currency relates to North Korean APT38 actors’ efforts to raise revenue for the DPRK government through four heists from virtual currency providers: (1) a July 2023 theft of approximately $37 million in virtual currency from an Estonia-based virtual currency payments processor; (2) a July 2023 theft of approximately $100 million from a Panama-based virtual currency payment processor; (3) a November 2023 theft of approximately $138 million from a Panama-based virtual currency exchange; and (4) a November 2023 theft of approximately $107 million in virtual currency from a Seychelles-based virtual currency exchange. Efforts to trace, seize, and forfeit related stolen virtual currency remain ongoing, as the APT38 actors continue to launder such funds through various virtual currency bridges, mixers, exchanges, and over-the-counter traders.
The FBI Los Angeles Field Office and the FBI’s Virtual Assets Unit are investigating the cases associated with these complaints.
Senior Counsel Jessica Peck of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, Trial Attorneys Gregory J. Nicosia Jr. and Prava Palacharla of NSD’s National Security Cyber Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Blaylock for the District of Columbia are handling the forfeiture actions.
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Other public advisories about the threats, red flag indicators, and potential mitigation measures for these schemes include a May 2022 advisory released by the FBI, Department of the Treasury, and Department of State; a July 2023 advisory from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence; and guidance issued in October 2023 by the United States and the Republic of Korea (South Korea). As described the May 2022 advisory, North Korean IT workers have been known individually to earn up to $300,000 annually, generating hundreds of millions of dollars collectively each year, on behalf of designated entities, such as the North Korean Ministry of Defense and others directly involved in the DPRK’s weapons programs.
The U.S. Department of State has offered potential rewards for up to $5 million in support of international efforts to disrupt the DPRK’s illicit financial activities, including for cybercrimes, money laundering, and sanctions evasion.
Justice Department Announces Nationwide Actions to Combat Illicit North Korean Government Revenue GenerationRead the Press Release
Four U.S. Nationals and Ukrainian Identity Broker Plead Guilty
Department Seeks Forfeiture of More Than $15M in Virtual Currency Stolen and Laundered by North Korean Hackers
MIAMI – The Justice Department today announced five guilty pleas and more than $15 million in civil forfeiture actions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) remote information technology (IT) work and virtual currency heist schemes. The DPRK government uses both types of schemes to fund its weapons and other priorities in violation of sanctions.
First, as described in court documents associated with the guilty pleas, facilitators in the United States and Ukraine assisted North Korean actors with obtaining remote IT employment with U.S. companies. For example, the facilitators’ provided their own, false, or stolen identities, and hosted U.S. victim company-provided laptops at residences across the United States to create the false appearance that the IT workers were working domestically. In total, these defendants’ fraudulent employment schemes impacted more than 136 U.S. victim companies, generated more than $2.2 million in revenue for the DPRK regime, and compromised the identities of more than 18 U.S. persons.
Second, as described in the two civil forfeiture complaints, a North Korean military hacking group known to the private sector as Advanced Persistent Threat 38 (APT38) carried out multimillion-dollar virtual currency heists at four overseas virtual currency platforms in 2023. While APT38 actors continued to launder their ill-gotten gains for these heists, the U.S. government froze and seized more than $15 million worth of virtual currency that it now seeks to forfeit for eventual return to the rightful owners.
“These actions demonstrate the Department’s comprehensive approach to disrupting North Korean efforts to finance their weapons program on the backs of Americans,” said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg. “The Department will use every available tool to protect our Nation from this regime’s depredations.”
“Ensuring national and economic security are paramount to the Department’s mission,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Hostile nation-states raising funds for illicit programs by stealing from digital asset exchanges threatens both. The Criminal Division is steadfast in its determination to forfeit ill-gotten gains from bad actors and return funds to victims.”
“FBI investigations continue to expose the North Korean government’s relentless campaign to evade U.S. sanctions and generate millions of dollars to fund its authoritarian regime and weapons programs,” said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division. “These guilty pleas send a clear message: No matter who or where you are, if you support North Korea's efforts to victimize U.S. businesses and citizens, the FBI will find you and bring you to justice. We ask all our private sector partners to improve their security process for vetting remote workers and to remain vigilant regarding this emerging threat.”
The Department’s actions to combat both the North Korean IT worker and hacking schemes are the latest in a series of law enforcement actions under a joint National Security Division (NSD) and FBI Cyber and Counterintelligence Divisions effort, the DPRK RevGen: Domestic Enabler Initiative. This effort prioritizes targeting and disrupting the DPRK’s illicit revenue generation schemes and its U.S.-based enablers. The Department previously announced other actions pursuant to the initiative, including in January and June 2025.
As the FBI has described in Public Service Announcements published in May 2024 and January 2025, North Korean remote IT workers posing as legitimate remote IT workers have committed data extortion and exfiltrated the proprietary and sensitive data from U.S. companies. DPRK IT worker schemes typically involve the use of stolen identities, alias emails, social media, online cross-border payment platforms, and online job site accounts, as well as false websites, proxy computers, and witting and unwitting third parties located in the U.S. and elsewhere.
Erick Ntekereze Prince Guilty Plea – Southern District of Florida
On Nov. 6, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, U.S. national Erick Ntekereze Prince, 30, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy. From approximately June 2020 through August 2024, Prince, through his company Taggcar Inc., contracted to supply allegedly “certified” IT workers to victim U.S. companies, knowing that the IT workers were located outside the United States and were using false and stolen identities to gain employment. In addition, Prince hosted victim U.S. company-provided laptops at Florida residences and installed remote access software on those laptops without authorization, so that the IT workers could create the false appearance that they were remote working from Prince’s residence. Prince earned more than $89,000 for his participation in the scheme.
“These prosecutions make one point clear: the United States will not permit the DPRK to bankroll its weapons programs by preying on American companies and workers,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “We will keep working with our partners across the Justice Department to uncover these schemes, recover stolen funds, and pursue every individual who enables North Korea’s operations.”
Prince, U.S. national Emanuel Ashtor, and a Mexican national Pedro Ernesto Alonso de los Reyes were charged in January 2025 by indictment alleging their participation in a criminal scheme that obtained work for North Korean IT workers from more than 64 U.S. companies. The fraudulent scheme earned more than $943,069 in salary payments from victim U.S. companies, the vast majority of which were sent to the IT workers overseas. Ashtor is awaiting trial, and de los Reyes is in custody in The Netherlands awaiting extradition.
The case was investigated by the FBI Miami Field Office.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Cronin for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorney Gregory J. Nicosia Jr. of NSD’s National Security Cyber Section are prosecuting the case.
Three Guilty Pleas – Southern District of Georgia
Yesterday, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia, U.S. nationals Audricus Phagnasay, 24, Jason Salazar, 30, and Alexander Paul Travis, 34, each pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy. From approximately September 2019 through November 2022, Phagnasay, Salazar, and Travis provided their U.S. identities to IT workers they knew were located outside the United States so that the workers could fraudulently apply for and obtain employment with victim U.S. companies. In addition, the three defendants hosted victim U.S. company-provided laptops at their residences, and installed remote access software on those laptops without authorization, so that the IT workers could create the false appearance that they were remote working from the defendants’ residences. Each defendant also assisted overseas IT workers in passing employer vetting procedures. Travis and Salazar, in particular, appeared for drug testing on behalf of the overseas IT workers.
“My office is committed to pursuing individuals that seek to harm the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Margaret E. Heap for the Southern District of Georgia. “This collaboration with our law enforcement agencies exemplifies how our joint efforts are successful in identifying, investigating and prosecuting those defendants.”
Travis, an active-duty member of the U.S. Army at the time, received at least $51,397 for his participation in the scheme. Phagnasay and Salazar earned at least $3,450 and $4,500, respectively. The fraudulent scheme earned approximately $1.28 million in salary payments from the victim U.S. companies, the vast majority of which were sent to the IT workers overseas.
The FBI Augusta (Georgia) Resident Agency is investigating the cases.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Hamner for the Southern District of Georgia and Trial Attorney Jacques Singer-Emery of the NSD National Security Cyber Section are prosecuting the cases.
Oleksandr Didenko Guilty Plea – District of Columbia
On Nov. 10, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, Ukrainian national Oleksandr Didenko pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud conspiracy and one count of aggravated identity theft in connection with a years-long scheme that stole the identities of U.S. citizens and sold them to overseas IT workers, including North Korean IT workers, so they could fraudulently gain employment at 40 U.S. companies. Victim U.S. companies paid Didenko’s IT worker clients hundreds of thousands of dollars for their work. As part of his plea, Didenko agreed to forfeit more than $1.4 million, which includes more than $570,000 in fiat and virtual currency seized from Didenko and his co-conspirators.
“North Korea is focused on victimizing and perpetrating fraud on American citizens, companies, and banks by stealing the identity of U.S. citizens and selling them around the world so foreign actors can gain employment in America,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro for the District of Columbia. “These convictions prove that we will stop at nothing to uncover complex fraud schemes especially when they are committed by North Korean actors to fund their weapons program.”
The case was investigated by the FBI New York Field Office, with assistance from the FBI Norfolk and San Diego Field Offices and the Jefferson City (Tennessee) Resident Agency. In May 2024, Polish authorities arrested Didenko and on Dec. 10, 2024, he was extradited to the United States.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen P. Seifert and Steven Wasserman for the District of Columbia are prosecuting the case, with valuable assistance from Trial Attorney Jacques Singer-Emery of the NSD National Security Cyber Section. The U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Southern District of California, Eastern District of Tennessee, and Eastern District of Virginia, and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance.
Forfeiture Complaints for More Than $15 Million in Stolen Funds – District of Columbia
The Department recently filed two civil complaints to forfeit USDT, a virtual currency stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, that the FBI seized in March 2025 from North Korean APT38 actors: an Oct. 24, 2025 complaint (1:25-cv-03771) to forfeit 1,159,834.52 USDT; and a complaint filed today (1:25-cv-03943) to forfeit 13,980,951.103 USDT. In total, the seized USDT is valued at more than $15 million.
As alleged in the complaints, the seized virtual currency relates to North Korean APT38 actors’ efforts to raise revenue for the DPRK government through four heists from virtual currency providers: (1) a July 2023 theft of approximately $37 million in virtual currency from an Estonia-based virtual currency payments processor; (2) a July 2023 theft of approximately $100 million from a Panama-based virtual currency payment processor; (3) a November 2023 theft of approximately $138 million from a Panama-based virtual currency exchange; and (4) a November 2023 theft of approximately $107 million in virtual currency from a Seychelles-based virtual currency exchange. Efforts to trace, seize, and forfeit related stolen virtual currency remain ongoing, as the APT38 actors continue to launder such funds through various virtual currency bridges, mixers, exchanges, and over-the-counter traders.
The FBI Los Angeles Field Office and the FBI’s Virtual Assets Unit are investigating the cases associated with these complaints.
Senior Counsel Jessica Peck of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, Trial Attorneys Gregory J. Nicosia Jr. and Prava Palacharla of NSD’s National Security Cyber Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Blaylock for the District of Columbia are handling the forfeiture actions.
Other public advisories about the threats, red flag indicators, and potential mitigation measures for these schemes include a May 2022 advisory released by the FBI, Department of the Treasury, and Department of State; a July 2023 advisory from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence; and guidance issued in October 2023 by the United States and the Republic of Korea (South Korea). As described the May 2022 advisory, North Korean IT workers have been known individually to earn up to $300,000 annually, generating hundreds of millions of dollars collectively each year, on behalf of designated entities, such as the North Korean Ministry of Defense and others directly involved in the DPRK’s weapons programs.
The U.S. Department of State has offered potential rewards for up to $5 million in support of international efforts to disrupt the DPRK’s illicit financial activities, including for cybercrimes, money laundering, and sanctions evasion.
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Jury convicts Richmond meth dealer of federal drug and firearms chargesRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – A federal jury convicted a Richmond man today on charges of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, on Oct. 9, 2024, law enforcement was attempting to locate an individual who was wanted in Chesterfield County. When officers located the individual in Gilpin Court in Richmond, the individual was accompanied by Montrio Santos Neville, 40. When the pair was detained, an officer searched Neville and recovered a firearm, 6.8750 grams of methamphetamine powder, and numerous tablets containing methamphetamine.
As a previously convicted felon, Neville cannot legally possess firearms or ammunition.
Neville faces up to 20 years in prison when sentenced on April 8, 2026. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Lindsey Halligan, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Ian Kaufmann, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement after U.S. District Judge David J. Novak accepted the verdict.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine E. Groover 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 protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:24-cr-183.
Jefferson Hills Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison for Federal Drug Trafficking and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Jefferson Hills, Pennsylvania, was sentenced in federal court to 15 years of imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release, on his convictions of violating federal narcotics and firearms laws, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced.
United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan imposed the sentence on Alonzo Henry Griffin Jr., 24, on September 26, 2025.
According to information presented to the Court, on November 13, 2024, following the execution of a federal search warrant at Griffin’s residence, law enforcement recovered over 1,200 bricks of fentanyl, crack cocaine, two stolen and loaded semi-automatic pistols, and an AR-style semi-automatic rifle. Law enforcement also seized $4,500 in U.S. currency from the residence along with drug trafficking paraphernalia. With prior felony convictions that include a state drug trafficking offense and aggravated assault, Griffin is prohibited under federal law from possessing a firearm or ammunition.
Assistant United States Attorney V. Joseph Sonson prosecuted this case on behalf of the United States.
The Pennsylvania State Police Drug Law Enforcement Division Southwest Strike Force Unit and Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation that led to the successful prosecution of Griffin.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
Jamaican citizen indicted for stealing $800,000 from Vancouver, Washington victim in lottery scamRead the Press Release
Seattle – A Jamaican citizen who was extradited to Western Washington was ordered detained pending trial on four counts of wire fraud and four counts of mail fraud for his lottery scheme that cost an elderly victim more than $800,000, announced U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. Roshard Andrew Carty, 34, was arrested in Jamaica on August 21, 2025, and arrived in the Western District of Washington for arraignment on October 23, 2025. Late Wednesday, November 12, 2025, Magistrate Judge David W. Christel ordered Carty detained pending trial scheduled for December 22, 2025.
According to records filed in the case, Carty first contacted the 73-year-old victim in 2020. Between August 2020 and February 2024, he convinced the victim to send him $800,000 as taxes, fees and other costs to claim a $22 million prize from Publishers Clearing House. Carty allegedly convinced the victim that the FBI was recording the call and told her she was not to tell anyone about the big win.
Carty’s requests for cash started small and grew over time. He had the victim remove small amounts of cash from her accounts and send them to a U.S. location via FedEx. Carty told the victim the money was lost or stolen and demanded more. Carty allegedly told the victim to borrow against her home so she could send more money. Carty allegedly convinced the victim to sell her home to cover additional “costs and fees” to claim her prize. In all, Carty allegedly stole more than $800,000 from the victim by having her mail the money to various couriers in the U.S.
Carty was relentless in contacting the victim using various phone numbers and texting programs. When she tried to cut off contact, he tried sending tow trucks, and pizza deliveries, and asked her landlord for a welfare check to try to get back in touch with the victim.
Carty was indicted in November 2024. Following his August 2025 arrest in Jamaica, Carty consented to extradition to the United States.
The U.S. Embassy in Jamaica has a page devoted to lottery scams based in that country. Find it here. The bottom line: You never should pay to receive a prize and any request for advance fees is a scam.
Wire fraud and mail fraud are punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
The charges contained in the indictment are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
The case is being investigated by the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lauren Staniar and David Martin. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with the Government of Jamaica to secure the arrest and extradition of Carty.
Jamaican National Sentenced for Federal Drug Trafficking and Aggravated Illegal Re-Entry ChargesRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – District Judge Deborah L. Boardman sentenced Sarah Maud Jess, 62, a Jamaican national living in Capitol Heights, Maryland, to five years in federal prison for distributing more than 40 grams of fentanyl and re-entry of an alien removed after conviction for an aggravated felony.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the plea with Acting Special Agent in Charge Evan Campanella, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Special Agent in Charge Christopher C. Goumenis, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) – Washington Division; Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Baltimore Field Office; Chief Marc R. Yamada, Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD); and Chief George Nader, Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD).
According to her guilty plea, Jess disseminated at least 40 grams of fentanyl in Maryland and elsewhere between at least November 2023 and October 2024. Jess distributed the fentanyl in the form of pressed fentanyl pills – round, light blue pills imprinted with “M30.” As part of the investigation, a DEA undercover (UC) agent purchased fentanyl pills from Jess. Additionally, law enforcement seized fentanyl pills from her vehicle as she was en route to distribute to the UC and recovered additional fentanyl pills and a firearm from Jess’s residence. In total, law enforcement recovered more than 3,000 fentanyl pills, totaling more than 350 grams of fentanyl, from Jess.
During the investigation, on June 21, 2024, after coordinating with Jess via text message, the UC conducted a controlled purchase of approximately 600 fentanyl pills from Jess in a Greenbelt, Maryland restaurant parking lot for $3,600. Jess provided the UC with a black sock containing a clear plastic baggie with pills totaling more than 65 grams of fentanyl.
Then on September 4, the UC conducted another purchase of approximately 1,000 pills from Jess for $6,000. Jess again met the UC in the Greenbelt restaurant parking lot and provided the UC with a black sock containing a clear plastic baggie with fentanyl pills comprised of more than 100 grams of fentanyl.
On September 30, Jess texted the UC asking how many pills he or she wanted to purchase. Jess agreed to sell the UC 700 pills. Then on October 2, Jess and the UC spoke and arranged to meet at a Silver Spring, Maryland mall parking lot. Law enforcement officers surveilled Jess while she drove to the mall. As Jess drove to meet the UC, law enforcement officers conducted a traffic stop.
Law enforcement found the pills Jess intended to sell to the UC and took her into custody. Jess provided the officers with a fake driver’s license with a fake name and an address that was not her actual residence. While searching the vehicle, law enforcement officers recovered a black sock with a clear plastic baggie inside containing approximately 700 blue pills — weighing more than 75 grams of fentanyl — that Jess intended to distribute to the UC.
Additionally, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Jess’s residence. During the search, law enforcement discovered a plastic baggie containing 46 fentanyl pills — weighing more than five grams — and a handgun loaded with nine rounds of ammunition in Jess’s bedroom.
Throughout this timeframe, Jess was an alien illegally in the United States. Jess was previously convicted of conspiracy to distribute marijuana in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Based on the conviction for this aggravated felony, Jess was previously removed from the United States after proceedings before an immigration judge. As part of her removal, Jess was advised that she was permanently excluded from re-entering the United States because of her prior conviction.
Following her removal, Jess voluntarily and unlawfully re-entered the United States without inspection or permission. She never sought nor obtained the consent of the Attorney General of the United States or the Secretary of Homeland Security to apply for re-admission.
This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of 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 Baltimore comprises agents and officers from various federal, state, and local agencies with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.
Additionally, 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.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended HSI, the DEA, FBI, MCPD, and PGPD for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Wright and Nicholas Potter who prosecuted the federal case.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Jamaican National Sentenced for Federal Drug Trafficking and Aggravated Illegal Re-Entry ChargesRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – District Judge Deborah L. Boardman sentenced Sarah Maud Jess, 62, a Jamaican national living in Capitol Heights, Maryland, to five years in federal prison for distributing more than 40 grams of fentanyl and re-entry of an alien removed after conviction for an aggravated felony.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the plea with Acting Special Agent in Charge Evan Campanella, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore; Special Agent in Charge Christopher C. Goumenis, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) – Washington Division; Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Baltimore Field Office; Chief Marc R. Yamada, Montgomery County Police Department (MCPD); and Chief George Nader, Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD).
According to her guilty plea, Jess disseminated at least 40 grams of fentanyl in Maryland and elsewhere between at least November 2023 and October 2024. Jess distributed the fentanyl in the form of pressed fentanyl pills – round, light blue pills imprinted with “M30.” As part of the investigation, a DEA undercover (UC) agent purchased fentanyl pills from Jess. Additionally, law enforcement seized fentanyl pills from her vehicle as she was en route to distribute to the UC and recovered additional fentanyl pills and a firearm from Jess’s residence. In total, law enforcement recovered more than 3,000 fentanyl pills, totaling more than 350 grams of fentanyl, from Jess.
During the investigation, on June 21, 2024, after coordinating with Jess via text message, the UC conducted a controlled purchase of approximately 600 fentanyl pills from Jess in a Greenbelt, Maryland restaurant parking lot for $3,600. Jess provided the UC with a black sock containing a clear plastic baggie with pills totaling more than 65 grams of fentanyl.
Then on September 4, the UC conducted another purchase of approximately 1,000 pills from Jess for $6,000. Jess again met the UC in the Greenbelt restaurant parking lot and provided the UC with a black sock containing a clear plastic baggie with fentanyl pills comprised of more than 100 grams of fentanyl.
On September 30, Jess texted the UC asking how many pills he or she wanted to purchase. Jess agreed to sell the UC 700 pills. Then on October 2, Jess and the UC spoke and arranged to meet at a Silver Spring, Maryland mall parking lot. Law enforcement officers surveilled Jess while she drove to the mall. As Jess drove to meet the UC, law enforcement officers conducted a traffic stop.
Law enforcement found the pills Jess intended to sell to the UC and took her into custody. Jess provided the officers with a fake driver’s license with a fake name and an address that was not her actual residence. While searching the vehicle, law enforcement officers recovered a black sock with a clear plastic baggie inside containing approximately 700 blue pills — weighing more than 75 grams of fentanyl — that Jess intended to distribute to the UC.
Additionally, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Jess’s residence. During the search, law enforcement discovered a plastic baggie containing 46 fentanyl pills — weighing more than five grams — and a handgun loaded with nine rounds of ammunition in Jess’s bedroom.
Throughout this timeframe, Jess was an alien illegally in the United States. Jess was previously convicted of conspiracy to distribute marijuana in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Based on the conviction for this aggravated felony, Jess was previously removed from the United States after proceedings before an immigration judge. As part of her removal, Jess was advised that she was permanently excluded from re-entering the United States because of her prior conviction.
Following her removal, Jess voluntarily and unlawfully re-entered the United States without inspection or permission. She never sought nor obtained the consent of the Attorney General of the United States or the Secretary of Homeland Security to apply for re-admission.
This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of 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 Baltimore comprises agents and officers from various federal, state, and local agencies with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland.
Additionally, 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.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended HSI, the DEA, FBI, MCPD, and PGPD for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Wright and Nicholas Potter who prosecuted the federal case.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Jacksonville Man Sentenced to More Than Four Years for Possessing Destructive DevicesRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard has sentenced Matthew Reid Davisson (36, Jacksonville) to four years and five months in federal prison for possessing destructive devices which were not registered to him in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record. Davisson pleaded guilty on February 18, 2025.
According to court documents, Davisson was arrested on unrelated state charges on October 26, 2023. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives subsequently received information that Davisson had large amounts of chemicals and possible grenades at his residence in Jacksonville. After obtaining a search warrant for the home, law enforcement recovered two improvised explosive bombs, one improvised explosive grenade, items constituting combinations of parts from which three improvised explosive grenades could be readily assembled, quantities of homemade high explosives and detonators, large volumes of explosive precursor chemicals, and homemade explosive manufacturing equipment. None of the destructive devices were registered to Davisson in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record, as required by law.
One of Davisson’s family members also surrendered to law enforcement one of Davisson’s firearms, which was later determined to be an unregistered machinegun with an unregistered homemade silencer attached to the barrel.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David B. Mesrobian and Rachel Lasry.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
NOTE: This matter occurred on a previous date but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.
Jacksonville Man Indicted for Robbing Two Pizza Shops with A FirearmRead the Press Release
Jacksonville, FL – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces the return of an indictment charging Eugene Campbell IV (35, Jacksonville) with two counts of Hobbs Act robbery and two counts of discharging a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. If convicted, Campbell faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison for each robbery offense, and a minimum sentence of 10 years, up to life, for each firearms offense.
According to the indictment, on August 4, 2025, Campbell robbed a pizza shop in Jacksonville while discharging a firearm. The next day, Campbell robbed another pizza shop in Jacksonville while discharging his firearm again.
An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David B. Mesrobian.
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. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).
NOTE: This matter occurred on a previous date but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.
ICYMI: Significant federal prosecutions in the Eastern District of Texas during nation-wide shutdownRead the Press Release
PLANO, Texas – During the recent federal government shutdown, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas continued its mission to protect public safety and hold criminals accountable, prosecuting cases involving immigration violations, firearms violations, fraud, drug trafficking, and other federal offenses.
“Over the past 43 days, our mission remained the same, the pursuit of justice for the citizens of the United States,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs. “During the shutdown our prosecutors never stopped. They were in court and on the job every day pursuing justice and protecting our communities as a part of Operation Take Back America.”
Operation Take Back America is 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.
The following is just a glimpse of some of the many cases handled during the shutdown:
Corey Buchea Grant, 31, and Calvin Autae Thompson, 36, both of Dallas, were convicted by a jury of conspiring to distribute heroin and crack cocaine following a six-day trial in Plano.
William Caleb Elliott, 26, a former Celina ISD coach and teacher, was named in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury charging him with seven counts of production of child pornography and one count of attempted production of child pornography. A grand jury indictment is not evidence of guilt, and the defendant is considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Bobby Michael Dennis, 64, of Jacksonville, was charged with firearms violations related to the shooting of a Jacksonville police officer. A complaint or indictment is not evidence of guilt, and the defendant is considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
John Prentice Robertson, 65, of Aubrey, was sentenced to 360 months in federal prison for paying women in the Philippines to sexually abuse their children and make custom ordered child pornography for him.
David Valdez, 45, and his son, Abel Valdez, 28, both Mexican naturalized citizens living in Dallas, were each to sentenced to 324 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.
Juan Manuel Navarette Robles, 49, a Mexican national illegally in the United States, was sentenced to 315 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute fentanyl.
Rolando Alberto Vindas Abarca, 45, a Costa Rican national, was sentenced to 292 months in federal prison after being extradited to the United States for conspiring to manufacture and distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine for importation into the United States.
Trevorris Rashomique Woodard, 37, of Longview, was sentenced to 235 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute and possess fentanyl.
Ashley Blaine Brooks, 57, of Plano, a convicted sex offender, was sentenced to 200 months in federal prison for child pornography violations.
Desmond Denard Brown, 39, of Longview, was sentenced to 188 months in federal prison for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.
Frank James Collins, 45, of Port Arthur, was sentenced to 175 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
Trinity Snow Cassels, also known as Dustin Joseph McDuffie, 34, of Denton, was sentenced to 170 months in federal prison for posing as a teen boy online to communicate with minors and distribute child pornography to them.
Charleston Jamal Washington, 39, of Lafayette, LA, was sentenced to 168 months in federal prison for robbing a Vidor bank.
Kahkashan Haider Khan, 54, of Frisco, was sentenced to 96 months in federal prison for making false statements to federal agents in relation to international terrorism.
Dominique Keyrel Carr, 37, of Grapeland, was sentenced to 96 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine.
Daniel Nichols Corbin, 36, of Beaumont, was sentenced to 78 months in federal prison for carjacking.
Eric Andrew Wara, 29, of Beaumont, was sentenced to 71 months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Bradley Morgan Holts, 54, of Orange, a former financial advisor and stockbroker, was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $186,381.64 in restitution for using interstate wire communications to defraud three of his investors.
Juan Colorado-Jimenez, 30, a Mexican national illegally living in Nacogdoches, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for possession of a firearm by an illegal alien.
Linda Burrell, 51, of Farmers Branch, was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison, for a Housing and Urban Development (HUD) fraud scheme.
Antonio Hernandez-Perez, 48, a Mexican national illegally living in Nacogdoches, pleaded guilty to being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm.
Joshua Deshon Scott, 18, of Beaumont, pleaded guilty to possession of stolen firearms following the burglary of a Beaumont pawn shop.
James Christopher Moffett, 55, of Beaumont, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Carlton Hollins, 55, a Longview tax preparer, pleaded guilty to making false statements on federal tax returns.
Bradley Broussard, 38, of Beaumont, pleaded guilty to brandishing a firearm while robbing a tobacco store.
A federal grand jury returned a 19-count indictment charging five Beaumont men with drug trafficking and firearms violations related to a marijuana conspiracy. A grand jury indictment is not evidence of guilt, and the defendants are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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ICYMI: Federal Cases by the District of Utah During the Recent Government ShutdownRead the Press Release
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – During the lapse in government funding, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah continued its mission to protect public safety and prosecute federal cases. Below are some of the indictments, pleas of guilty, and sentencings obtained during the shutdown.
Oct. 9, 2025
Ryan Michael Gaines, 32, of Santa Clara, Utah, pleaded guilty to damaging government property, specifically a Department of Homeland Security Transit Van in April 2025. As a result, the damage to the van totaled $2,883.20. Gaines’ sentencing is set for January 7, 2026, before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at 11:30 a.m. in courtroom 2B 206 in St. George, Utah.
Oct. 14, 2025
Hector Luis Castillo-Reyes, 33, a Nicaraguan citizen living in the United States illegally, was indicted by a federal grand jury after he allegedly obtained approximately 104,000 blue M30 fentanyl pills that field-tested positive for fentanyl and weighed 23 pounds total. Castillo-Reyes was charged with possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute. He had his initial appearance on the indictment on October 30, 2025.
Oct. 14, 2025
Mario Guzman Bonilla, 20, a Honduran citizen living in the United States illegally, was indicted by a federal grand Jury on October 14, 2025, after law enforcement in Washington County, Utah, seized ten packages of narcotics from his vehicle. The packages tested positive for fentanyl, with a total weigh of 10 kilograms of fentanyl powder. Guzman Bonilla was charged with possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute. He had his initial appearance on the indictment on October 20, 2025.
Oct. 15, 2025
Darwin Brock, 58 of Lapoint, Utah, was indicted by a federal grand jury for abusive sexual contact of a child in Indian Country after he allegedly engaged in sexual contact with a victim under the age of 12. His initial appearance on the indictment is scheduled for November 18, 2025, at 2:15 p.m. in courtroom 8.4 before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.
Oct. 29, 2025
Diriyeh Gass, 18, of Salt Lake City, Utah, was charged by a federal grand jury after he allegedly pulled out a handgun and pointed it at the driver of a vehicle that Gass then carjacked. Officers were able to stop the vehicle in Salt Lake City, Utah, but Gass took off on foot. Because Gass possessed the victim’s earbuds, the officers were able to track Gass to his home in Salt Lake City where Gass was arrested. Officers also seized a Hi-Point C9 9mm handgun from his home. Gass’s initial appearance on the indictment was on November 4, 2025.
Nov. 12, 2025
Thomas Paul Madden, 67, of Washington City, Utah, was sentenced to 100 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay $13,860,988.56 in restitution after he engaged in a yearslong scheme in which he defrauded over 200 people out of $25 million. In addition to his term of imprisonment, the court also sentenced Madden to two years’ supervised release.
Hong Kong Businessman Indicted for Role in Filing False SEC Investment Adviser Forms on behalf of Sham Entities Used in Ramp-and-Dump SchemeRead the Press Release
A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment yesterday charging a Hong Kong man for his role in a conspiracy to file false and deceptive investment adviser forms with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for at least 10 shell business entities that he and co-conspirators created. The false forms gave the impression that the entities were legitimate financial advisers, though they were sham entities. At least two of these false entities were then used to induce retail investors through social media and WhatsApp chats to purchase the stock of Chinese companies listed on NASDAQ.
“Today’s indictment charges the defendant for his alleged role in a complex securities fraud scheme that caused hundreds of millions of dollars in investor losses,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Criminal Division is fully committed to stopping foreign actors who victimize American retail investors. Under my leadership, the Criminal Division will aggressively investigate and prosecute criminals who steal the hard-earned savings of U.S. citizens through fraud and deceit.”
“The investing public relies on the accuracy and integrity of materials filed with the SEC,” said SEC Inspector General (SEC-OIG) Kevin B. Muhlendorf. “The SEC-OIG will tirelessly investigate domestic and foreign actors who seek to abuse the SEC’s processes for malicious purposes.”According to the indictment, Guanhua Su, 37, of Hong Kong, who goes by the alias “Michael Su,” was the managing director and marketing director of Rhino Consulting Business Service Ltd, a Hong Kong-based financial services business. As alleged, between approximately February 2023 and March 2025, Su and his co-conspirators created at least 10 shell entities and filed fraudulent investment adviser forms with the SEC on behalf of the companies. For example, on behalf of two entities — Bluesky Eagle Capital Management LTD (Bluesky Eagle) and Wisdom Capital Management Group LTD (Wisdom Capital) — Su allegedly made or caused to be made false statements concerning the entities’ principal place of business, status as a public company, chief officers and whether information about private funds would be disclosed on other investment advisers’ filings.
According to the indictment, in April 2024, Bluesky Eagle and Wisdom Capital were used by co-conspirators to induce investors to purchase stock of a NASDAQ-listed public company based in the Cayman Islands with business in China that operated, at one point, with a variable interest entity (VIE) structure. Using false identities of financial advisers purportedly connected to Bluesky Eagle and Wisdom Capital, co-conspirators allegedly promised returns of 300-500% in WhatsApp chats, telling investors that they would be fully compensated for any losses. The indictment further alleges that as investors were told to buy stock in the public company promoted by WhatsApp accounts associated with the sham entities, foreign-based brokerage accounts sold the company’s stock for gross proceeds of as much as $211 million. On April 17, 2024, the public company’s stock price collapsed by approximately 88%, resulting in significant investor losses.
On Nov. 13 the SEC filed civil actions against a number of entities for which the Department had charged Su with filing false forms with the regulator. The SEC filed civil actions against Bluesky Eagle and Supreme Power Capital Management LTD in the Southern District of New York and against AI Financial Education Foundation Ltd.,AI Investment Education Foundation Ltd., Invesco Alpha Inc. and Adamant Stone Ltd. in the District of Colorado. The SEC previously filed a civil action against Wisdom Capital in the District of Columbia.
Su is charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, making material misstatements in a report filed with the SEC, and false statements. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count.
The SEC-OIG investigated the case. The Department of Justice appreciates the efforts of FINRA’s Surveillance and Market Intelligence – Market Abuse Group.
Trial Attorney Matthew Reilly of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Honduran Man Convicted at Trial for Kidnapping-For-Ransom Charges and Assault on a Federal OfficerRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – Following a three-day jury trial, HECTOR MONDRAGON-FLORES (“MONDRAGON”), age 33, was found guilty on October 23, 2025 of all eight counts of a superseding indictment against him. The jury found MONDRAGON guilty of kidnapping, and conspiracy to commit kidnapping, in violation of Title 18 United States Code, Sections 1201(a)(1) and 1201(c); two counts of interstate transmission of a ransom demand, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 875(a); conspiracy to receive a ransom payment and two counts of receipt of a ransom payment, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1202(a) and 371; and assault on a federal officer using a deadly weapon, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 111(a)(1) and (b).
Evidence presented at trial established that MONDRAGON and his co-defendant, Edwin Salgado-Nunez (Salgado), kidnapped the victim on October 2, 2024. MONDRAGON and Salgado bound the victim’s feet together and bound the victim’s hands together behind his back. The two men then held the victim at gunpoint in MONDRAGON’s apartment and demanded payment of a $7,000 ransom from the victim’s father for his son’s release. MONDRAGON called the victim’s father over 50 times and threatened to kill the victim. if the ransom was not paid. The victim’s father agreed to pay the ransom but reported the kidnapping to the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) on his way to the ransom exchange. NOPD detectives monitored the ransom exchange and arrested Salgado after the victim’s father paid $3,000 cash to co-defendant Abel Garcia, an associate of MONDRAGON and Salgado.
Following Salgado’s arrest, MONDRAGON took the victim at gunpoint to co-defendant Janette Ramirez’s apartment. MONDRAGON then demanded a ransom payment from the victim’s girlfriend for his release. After the victim’s girlfriend was unable to successfully transfer the payment to MONDRAGON or Ramirez, MONDRAGON took the victim at gunpoint to an ATM. The victim then withdrew $400 and gave it to MONDRAGON to secure his release.
The next day, law enforcement officers spotted MONDRAGON in an apartment complex in New Orleans East. When officers attempted to arrest him, MONDRAGON pulled out a gun, forced his way into an occupied apartment, and took a hostage inside the apartment. The hostage escaped when MONDRAGON attempted to climb out of a window. As MONDRAGON was kicking out the window screen, he pointed his gun at two law enforcement officers, who forced him to turn back inside. MONDRAGON barricaded himself in the apartment for nearly eight hours until the NOPD SWAT team deployed tear gas and forced him to surrender.
As to his kidnapping convictions, MONDRAGON faces up to life in prison, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to five years of supervised release. As to his convictions for interstate transmission of a ransom demand and assault on federal officer with a deadly weapon, MONDRAGON faces up to 20 years in prison, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release. As to his convictions for receipt of a ransom payment, MONDRAGON faces up to 10 years in prison, up to a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release. He faces up to five years in prison and the same penalties on his conviction for conspiracy to receive a ransom payment. Each count also carries a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New Orleans Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys David Berman and Sarah Dawkins of the Violent Crime Unit are in charge of the prosecution.
Homosassa Man Sentenced to Seven Years in Federal Prison for Possession of Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
Ocala, FL – United States District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced John Hill (41, Homosassa) to seven years in federal prison for possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) involving young children. The court also ordered Hill to forfeit the cellphone used in the offense. Hill pleaded guilty on April 10, 2025.
According to court documents, in February 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received multiple cyber tips from a cloud-based storage provider reporting that hundreds of files containing CSAM had been uploaded from Hill’s cellphone. Search warrants executed on the storage provider revealed that Hill had uploaded at least 300 images of CSAM, including an image of a young child. In September 2024, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Hill’s residence and seized his cellphone. When interviewed, Hill did not deny that he had CSAM on his phone but claimed that he had been “hacked.”
A subsequent forensic examination of Hill’s cellphone revealed multiple CSAM images involving young children. The images were found within a folder saved to the camera roll, as well as on the phone’s “Clipboard,” which stores screenshots or information that has been otherwise copied by the user. The phone’s browser history revealed hundreds of visits to websites related to CSAM, and the browser’s cache contained images of minors as young as 3 years old. Investigators found no evidence that the phone had been hacked.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Belkis H. Callaos.
This is another case 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.justice.gov/psc.
NOTE: This matter occurred on a previous date but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.
Hawaii Man Sentenced to Life in Prison and to Pay over $1M in Restitution for Sex Trafficking Three Adult Women and One MinorRead the Press Release
Isaiah McCoy, 37, of Honolulu, Hawaii, was sentenced yesterday to life in prison after a jury found McCoy guilty in April of four counts of sex trafficking three adults and one minor, two counts of obstructing a sex trafficking investigation, seven counts of interstate and foreign travel or transportation in aid of racketeering enterprises, and one count of interstate travel for prostitution purposes. Additionally, the court ordered McCoy to pay the victims $1,017,241.00 in restitution.
“The significant sentence imposed by the court reflects the egregiousness of the defendant’s conduct in abusing and preying on multiple women and girls,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The defendant targeted each victim’s vulnerabilities and used physical force, threats, sexual violence, and psychological coercion to compel the victims to engage in commercial sex for his own profit. The Justice Department is committed to fully enforcing our federal human trafficking statutes to hold offenders accountable and to seek justice for survivors of these heinous crimes.”
“The sentencing of Mr. McCoy is a testament to HSI’s zero tolerance for those who engage in sex trafficking in Hawaii,” said Special Agent in Charge Lucy Cabral-DeArmas of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Hawaii. “McCoy is a predator who left countless victims in his path while he sought to enrich himself at their expense. HSI will aggressively pursue those, like McCoy, who seek to exploit vulnerable women and girls and mute their voices while believing they will not be held accountable.”
The evidence presented at the 12-day trial earlier this year showed that McCoy compelled victims to commit hundreds of commercial sex acts between 2019 and 2021. McCoy made promises of a romantic relationship, a luxurious lifestyle, and financial security to women and girls struggling with low self-esteem, a difficult upbringing, and/or financial trouble. McCoy’s promises ended up hollow and false, designed to provide him with the opportunity to learn about a victim’s vulnerabilities while misrepresenting himself as caring and empathetic. McCoy’s feigned romantic interest and claimed wealth led him to emotionally manipulate his victims.
After luring the victims into his orbit with his false promises, McCoy turned violent and abusive if the victims did not provide him with enough money or otherwise violated one of his many rules, which included requiring the victims to call him “Daddy” or “Zeus,” requiring the victims to share their cell phone location, and requiring the victims to provide him an update on the amount of money earned through commercial sex work. Evidence presented in court detailed the extensive violence to which McCoy subjected his victims. For example, McCoy repeatedly burned one of the victims on her arms when she did not provide him with enough money. On other occasions, McCoy threw victims to the ground before repeatedly stomping on their head, stomach, or hands with his feet. McCoy even smashed a victim’s head against a car door before carrying her unconscious body through a hotel lobby and into an elevator. McCoy inflicted violence against multiple victims that caused them to seek treatment at local hospitals. All of McCoy’s actions contributed to the creation of a climate of fear where the victims felt they had no way out because McCoy promised them that he had eyes and ears everywhere monitoring the victims’ every move.
McCoy required his victims to work all hours of the day and night even when they were sick or hungry. Afterwards, McCoy required the victims to turn over all the proceeds from his commercial sex business to himself because he felt that the money belonged to him. McCoy then spent the money on high-end designer shoes, belts, clothing, and other accessories. In contrast, although McCoy would intermittently buy items for the victims as “rewards,” the victims were ultimately left with nothing.
HSI investigated the case with assistance from the Honolulu Police Department.
Trial Attorney Elizabeth Hutson and former Trial Attorney Maryam Zhuravitsky of the Civil Rights Division’s Human Trafficking Prosecution Unit prosecuted the case.
Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Justice Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.
Harrisburg Man Sentenced to 210 Months in Prison for Role in Straw Purchasing Firearms and Attempted MurderRead the Press Release
HARRISBURG - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Johnny Quinones, age 32, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on October 29, 2025, by United States District Judge Jennifer P. Wilson to 17.5 years in prison for his role in straw purchasing firearms and attempted murder.
According to United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, Quinones conspired with three other individuals to purchase firearms for felons and persons under indictment. Quinones was prohibited by law from possessing a firearm because of his prior felony convictions. Quinones was convicted on October 18, 2023, of straw purchasing a gun, possession of a firearm and ammunition as a felon and conspiracy.
On August 11, 2020, Harrisburg Police responded to a shooting victim in the City of Harrisburg where a victim was shot in the head. They eventually focused on Johnny Quinones, a felon. The investigation ultimately revealed that Taashaun Mansfield was buying guns for felons. Mansfield bought seven guns in a two-month period, and each time he lied on the forms about who was going to get the guns. All the guns ended up in the possession of people prohibited by law from possessing the guns.
The following coconspirators pleaded guilty to weapons offenses and were sentenced:
- Taashaun Mansfield was sentenced to 37 months in prison;
- Michael Windham was sentenced to 46 months in prison; and
- Antonio Godbolt was sentenced to 33 months in prison.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in conjunction with the Harrisburg Bureau of Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael A. Consiglio and Richard Euliss prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
This matter occurred on date indicated but not issued at that time due to the government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations
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Gregg County man sentenced to over 17 years for trafficking fentanylRead the Press Release
TYLER, Texas –A Longview man who sold fake prescription drugs has been sentenced to over 17 years in federal prison for trafficking fentanyl in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
Desmond Denard Brown, also known as Money C, 39, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and was sentenced to 206 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Jeremy D. Kernodle on October 30, 2025.
According to information presented in court, on June 20, 2024, Brown received a U.S. Postal Service package in which investigators discovered nearly five and a half kilograms of pills containing fentanyl. The pills delivered to Brown were round and light blue, bearing the markings “M” and “30,” which are the same manufacturer’s markings for 30 milligram tablets of oxycodone. The approximate street value of the seized pills exceeds $500,000. A subsequent search of Brown’s phone revealed numerous text messages discussing the illegal distribution of pills to others.
Brown is a three-time felon, with previous convictions for aggravated robbery, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine. Brown was also on federal supervised release at the time of the offense.
This case was investigated and prosecuted by the Eastern District of Texas Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) as part of Operation Take Back America. HSTFs, which were established by President Trump in Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion, are joint operations led by the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide federal initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Homeland Security Investigations; Gregg County Sheriff’s Office; and the Longview Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucas Machicek.
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Georgia Non-Profit Entity Pays $3.5 Million to Settle False Claims Act Allegations Involving Paycheck Protection ProgramRead the Press Release
Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that Southside Communities Fire Protection, Inc. (Southside), a nonprofit entity providing emergency services to Chatham County, Georgia, has agreed to pay a settlement of $3,499,619 to resolve allegations that Southside violated the False Claims Act by improperly obtaining a loan under the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP).
Congress created the PPP in March 2020 as part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide emergency loans to small businesses suffering economic hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act authorized these businesses to seek forgiveness of the loans if they spent the loan funds on eligible expenses. When applying for PPP loans, borrowers were required to certify the truthfulness and accuracy of all information provided in their loan applications. The PPP was administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Under the PPP rules and regulations, nonprofit entities organized under Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code were not eligible for PPP loans.
GNGH2, Inc. (GNGH2) filed a qui tam complaint in the Middle District of Florida alleging that Southside improperly obtained a $3.1 million PPP loan. According to the allegations in the complaint, Southside was ineligible for its PPP loan because it was a Section 501(c)(4) nonprofit entity. The United States investigated GNGH2’s allegations with the cooperation of Southside. This settlement concludes the litigation and GNGH2 will receive $318,115 as a share in the recovery.
“This settlement is the latest demonstration of our Office’s commitment to the recovery of money from individuals and entities that improperly obtained loans under the PPP program,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe for the Middle District of Florida.
“The favorable settlement in this case is the product of enhanced efforts by federal agencies, such as the Small Business Administration, working in conjunction with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to recover the pandemic relief funds improperly procured,” said SBA General Counsel Wendell G. Davis.
This settlement resulted from a coordinated effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Middle District of Florida and the Southern District of Georgia. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Emden from the Middle District of Florida and Jennifer Thompson from the Southern District of Georgia led the investigation, with assistance from the Small Business Administration’s Office of General Counsel.
The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
NOTE: This matter occurred on a previous date but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.
Frisco woman sentenced to 8 years in federal prison for lying to FBIRead the Press Release
SHERMAN, Texas –A Frisco woman has been sentenced to eight years in prison for federal violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
Kahkashan Haider Khan, 54, pleaded guilty to false statements in relation to international terrorism and was sentenced to 96 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Amos, L. Mazzant, III on October 7, 2025.
“We will not allow the United States to be a launching point for terrorist attacks abroad,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs. “Vigilantly protecting the United States and its interests is inherent in everything we do. This includes aggressively prosecuting those who wrongly believe that they can find safe-harbor in the United States while plotting crimes elsewhere.”
“The FBI will aggressively investigate individuals planning or taking part in acts of violence in support of terrorism. We take these crimes seriously and will work with our international partners to hold perpetrators accountable,” said FBI Dallas Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock.
According to information presented in court, on February 23, 2023, Khan was interviewed by Special Agents from the FBI regarding her involvement in the planned fire-bombing of two gas stations in Karachi, Pakistan. Khan, a U.S. citizen and immigrant from Pakistan, is a member of a separatist movement in Pakistan known as the Mujahir Qaumi Movement (MQM), which claims grievances against the Pakistani government over the treatment of mujahir immigrants in Pakistan. Khan served as a recruiter and facilitator of terrorist actions in Pakistan by collecting funds, sending them to Pakistan, and arranging and paying for violent actions in Pakistan.
In January 2023, Khan recruited an individual in Pakistan to conduct fire-bombings on two Punjabi-owned gas stations in Karachi Pakistan. Khan discussed multiple aspects of the plan with her co-conspirator in Pakistan, including selecting the target locations, discussing which flammable accelerants to use, where to stage before the attacks, how to escape after the attacks, and arranged for the purchase of two firearms to be used by the attackers to ensure their success. Khan collected money from MQM sympathizers in the United States and wired the funds to Pakistan to pay for the attacks.
On February 20, 2023, Khan’s co-conspirator in Pakistan sent Khan photos from news coverage of a fire-bombing of a Karachi, Pakistan gas station caused by attackers throwing something from a vehicle, resulting in six people being burned. Khan celebrated the news and told her Pakistani co-conspirator that he would be greatly rewarded for his work. Throughout that day, February 20, 2023, Khan scoured the internet for news in Pakistan regarding the fire-bombing but could find none. After approximately one day of searching, she discovered that the photos her co-conspirator sent were from an event that occurred in October of 2022. Khan was furious and accused her co-conspirator of deceit and being a disgrace to the MQM movement.
On February 23, 2024, FBI Special Agents interviewed Khan at her home about these events. During the interview, Khan made multiple false statements about the events and lied about her involvement in the attempted attacks. Khan denied that she wanted a co-conspirator to commit the fire-bombings in Pakistan. Khan denied that she was involved in an action in Pakistan that would possibly result in someone’s harm or death. During her plea hearing in February 2025, Khan admitted that these were false statements made knowing that the statements were material to a terrorism investigation.
This case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys D. Ryan Locker and Camelia Lopez.
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Franklin County Couple Indicted for Financially Exploiting Navy VeteranRead the Press Release
Editor's Note: This matter occurred on the date indicated but was not published at that time due to a lapse in appropriations. Press releases are posted and made available following the return to normal operations
ROANOKE, Va. – A federal grand jury returned a 30-count indictment October 2 charging Melissa Diana Simmons, 50, and James Patrick Brown, 59, with bank fraud, access device fraud, forging Treasury checks, and aggravated identity theft.
According to the indictment, Simmons, Brown, and others, attempted to execute a scheme to defraud a 75-year-old Navy and Vietnam War veteran.
According to court documents and other evidence, Simmons met the victim in May 2022, when she was assigned as his in-home care provider, pursuant to a contract between her employer and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (“VA”). Beginning around December 2022, the victim began withdrawing significantly more money from his bank account than normal, sometimes through checks made out to Simmons and her boyfriend, Brown.
In June 2023, Simmons’s company fired her, and, in violation of company policy, she persuaded the victim to move in with her and Brown at their residence in Boones Mill, Virginia. Beginning in July 2023, staff at the victim’s bank became suspicious as Simmons and Brown brought the victim to the bank drive-through for frequent and increasingly large withdrawals. Court records claim staff observed the victim’s condition deteriorate over time, from upbeat to hunched over, confused, and fearful.
In mid-August 2023, Simmons had the victim add her as a signatory to the victim’s bank account. Within 30 days of being added to the victim’s account, the victim allegedly lost around $30,000 from Simmons and Brown’s continual, large withdrawals.
In mid-September 2023, bank staff demanded Simmons come inside when she attempted another large withdrawal at the drive-through. Inside, staff saw the victim’s nose was burned from smoking while using his oxygen tank. He was confused and reeked of urine and feces. The victim could not remember when he last bathed, ate, or visited the VA Medical Center. Bank staff persuaded him to open a new account without Simmons as joint owner. As bank staff privately questioned the victim, Simmons grew belligerent, hitting the office window, barging in, and shouting at staff until police arrived.
According to court records, days later, Brown arrived at the bank with the victim, urgently asking how to get the victim’s VA benefits and social security checks direct deposited into the victim’s account. Brown also sought to have the victim withdraw between $60,000 and $70,000 from the account. The victim appeared to be in even worse physical condition than before. Bank staff observed an overwhelming stench of urine and feces. He was confused as to why he was withdrawing the money.
Soon after the incident, Franklin County Adult Protective Services (“APS”) opened an investigation. An APS staff member administered a mental status exam on the victim, which showed the victim was suffering from dementia.
On November 18, 2023, Simmons and Brown reported to the Roanoke County Fire and Rescue that the victim was non-responsive. Emergency responders rushed him to Roanoke Memorial Hospital, where he was admitted with acute respiratory failure and critically low oxygen saturation. Medical records showed methamphetamine in the victim’s system, even though he had no history of methamphetamine use and had no ability to independently travel.
From January 2024 into April 2024, while the victim recovered at the hospital and later a rehab center, Simmons received four of the victim’s VA benefits checks though the United States Mail, totaling close to $8,000. The indictment claims Simmoms forged the victim’s signatures on these checks and deposited them into the victim’s new bank account. Simmons and Brown then used the victim’s debit card for their personal use, including thousands of dollars at a casino.
In May 2024, Franklin County deputies asked Simmons and Brown about the victim’s vehicles, which were still at their house. Brown told one of the investigators he thought the victim was dead, and said he felt he should get a storage fee for keeping the victim’s property. Ultimately, the victim’s next-of-kin recovered the vehicles, and found one of them inoperable and both in poor condition, uninsured, and with expired registration.
On October 22, 2024, during an interview with agents of the VA Office of the Inspector General, Simmons admitted that she forged the victim’s VA checks, and that she and Brown spent the victim’s money with his debit card while he was in the hospital.
Acting U.S. Attorney Robert N. Tracci made the announcement.
The VA Office of the Inspector General, with assistance from the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office, is investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Drew O. Inman and Keith A. Parrella are prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Fort Dodge Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Illegally Possessing a Stolen FirearmRead the Press Release
A man who possessed a stolen firearm as a prohibited person was sentenced November 13, 2025, to more than four years in federal prison.
Jammonttay Coleman, 36, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, received the prison term after a July 7, 2025, guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.
Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that on August 25, 2024, Coleman possessed a stolen 9mm pistol with a large capacity magazine. That day, law enforcement in Fort Dodge stopped a vehicle driven by Coleman for speeding through a construction zone. During the traffic stop, law enforcement smelled marijuana coming from Coleman’s vehicle. After first refusing to exit his vehicle, Coleman ultimately complied. When he opened his door, a bag of marijuana fell from the vehicle. Law enforcement then searched the vehicle and located the stolen 9mm pistol. This firearm had been reported stolen in July 2024 during a fight in Otho, Iowa, where defendant was observed by others taking the firearm after it had been discarded by the owner. Coleman admitted to officers to taking the firearm and possessing it as a felon, as well as being a user of marijuana. As a felon and user of a controlled substance, he was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition. At the time of his illegal possession of the firearm, Coleman was on parole for felony burglary and assault while participating in a felony in Sac County, Iowa.
Coleman was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Coleman was sentenced to 57 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a two-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
Coleman is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by the Webster County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Dodge Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case file number is 24-3039. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
Former attorney sentenced to prison for stealing over $500,000 from disabled clientRead the Press Release
Seattle – A former Tacoma lawyer was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to 18 months in prison for wire fraud, for his embezzlement from a vulnerable client’s trust account, announced U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. Colby Parks, 65, stole more than $530,000 from a client who received about$1.66 million due to significant permanent injuries she suffered as a passenger in a motorcycle accident. At the sentencing hearing U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones said, “At some point your ethical barometer had to go off over the ten years that you were stealing from a disabled elderly person… You transitioned from need to greed and that transpired into entitlement.”
“Not only did this defendant betray the trust of his client, he repeatedly lied about it to her and to those who investigated his financial abuse,” said U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd. “Only after Mr. Parks was indicted and pled guilty did he settle the civil suit and agree to pay restitution to the victim. My office is committed to seek out and fully prosecute those who prey on vulnerable victims.”
“The cruelty in this case is astounding,” said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office. “For more than a decade, Mr. Parks abused the trust of a vulnerable client who thought he was her friend. He lied to her, stole hundreds of thousands of dollars, and ultimately left her with a drained account. To those fraudsters who believe they can successfully embezzle from others, the FBI and our partners will show that financial crimes have consequences, including a prison sentence.”
According to records filed in the case, in 2010 Parks became the trustee for a living trust designed to pay the victim’s expenses after she was severely injured as a passenger on a motorcycle. Initially, the victim’s trust account contained approximately $1.66 million. However, over the first seven years that Parks was the trustee, he siphoned the funds for his own personal use in such large amounts that only $20,000 was left. In 2018, Parks had the victim take out a reverse mortgage on her home and used the proceeds to fund the trust account. He continued to make transfers from the account for his own use. Records from the account show that Parks repeatedly transferred funds to his own bank accounts and then, on the same day or soon thereafter, Parks would make a payment for a personal credit card for the same amount as the transfer. In all Parks made more than 600 transfers of the victim’s funds to accounts he controlled. In October 2017 he made 13 different transfers from the victim’s account to the ones he controlled.
In all, over ten years, Parks transferred more than $880,000 from the victim’s accounts to ones he controlled. He paid himself at least $530,000 more than he was entitled to receive as his fees for trustee services.
By the end of 2019, the victim’s accounts held only $15. She was forced to sell her home. And even then, Parks diverted proceeds from the sale by claiming the victim owed him money he had advanced to her.
Parks repeatedly told the victim she was spending too much money, when in fact, the amount that the victim received as cash disbursements was a fraction of the amount that Parks secretly siphoned for himself.
When Washington State’s Adult Protective Services investigated Parks’ representation of the victim, Parks initially claimed he was only paid a flat rate of $24,000 per year. After Adult Protective Services requested supporting documentation, Parks revised his statement and said he was paid varying amounts that averaged over $54,000 per year. However, Parks collected well over $80,000 per year from the victim.
The Washington State Bar also investigated the matter, and Parks resigned his law license instead of discipline, which could have been disbarment.
Speaking in court today, the victim said to Parks, “For ten years I asked for printed statements. I never reviewed one invoice…. You were the person I trusted with my funds for ten years. You have devastated my life.”
In asking for the 33-month prison sentence Assistant United States Attorney Cindy Chang wrote to the court, “What Parks did was not a mistake. It was not sloppy accounting. It was not an ‘unfortunate’ civil matter that can be resolved by money. Victim 1 is a victim, not a ‘complaining party.’ And Parks’ conduct is not, as Parks references in his letter, merely a ‘fireable offense.’ What Parks did was a knowing, willful crime with devasting impacts on a vulnerable victim.”
The case was investigated by the FBI with cooperation from the Washington State Bar and Adult Protective Services. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Cindy Chang.
Former VA Employee Charged with Running Criminal Scheme to Obtain VA Benefits for OthersRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO –Daniel Rikkels of Chula Vista was indicted by a federal grand jury today on charges that he helped veterans fraudulently obtain disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) while he was a department employee responsible for reviewing and approving disability claims.
According to the 33-count indictment, since 2020, Rikkels knowingly and intentionally instructed veterans to provide false, exaggerated, and misleading claims of service-related injuries to support their disability claims. Rikkels also instructed veterans to alter documents submitted during the claims process.
Through these false claims, the indictment said, veterans fraudulently obtained millions of dollars in VA disability payments and backpay, and Rikkels received millions of dollars in payments from the veterans in return for his work on their behalf.
Until June of 2025, Rikkels was employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs and was responsible for reviewing and approving VA disability claims from veterans. During this time-period he negotiated with veterans for assistance in their VA claims and demanded payment from them, all while he was taking official action on their claims in violation of government ethics laws.
The indictment also alleges that Rikkels frequently requested that veterans who lived in the local area meet him to make payments in cash to minimize what he would have to pay in taxes. According to court records, the investigation revealed that during just a three-month period between February and May of 2025, Rikkels met with at least four local veterans and received a total of $57,000 in cash payments from them. On November 13, 2025, agents searched Rikkels, his vehicle, and residence and seized a total of over $280,000 in cash.
“The Department of Veterans Affairs and the VA disability system serve a crucial role in providing support and care to those who have served and sacrificed in defense of our country,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “We will zealously safeguard the integrity of the VA disability program and will investigate and prosecute those who attempt to undermine the system to their own financial advantage.”
“Daniel Rikkels is accused of using his trusted position at the VA for personal gain at the expense of taxpayers and the integrity of the VA as an institution,” said Mark Dargis, Special Agent in Charge of the San Diego Field Office. “He allegedly manipulated the system by imposing a fraudulent fee onto veterans in exchange for favorable disability ratings. FBI San Diego is grateful for the invaluable partnership with the VA OIG during this investigation and ensuring that defendants are held accountable.”
“This indictment and arrest demonstrate the VA OIG’s steadfast commitment to protecting the integrity of VA programs and taxpayer dollars,” said Special Agent in Charge Anthony Heddell with the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General’s Western Field Office. “The VA OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure that anyone who tries to illegally circumvent the law, will be held accountable.”
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph S. Smith and Daniel F. Casillas.
DEFENDANT Case Number 25-cr-4276-H
Daniel Rikkels Age: 55 Chula Vista, CA
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud - Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1349
Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $250,000 fine
Wire Fraud - Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1343
Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $250,000 fine
Bribery of a Public Official - Title 18, U.S.C., Sections 201(b)(2)(A) and (B)
Maximum penalty: Fifteen years in prison and $250,000 fine
Willfully Engaging in Acts Affecting a Personal Financial Interest - Title 18, U.S.C., Sections 208(a) and 216(a)(2)
Maximum penalty: Five years in prison and $250,000 fine
Laundering of Monetary Instruments – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1956(a)(1)(B)
Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $500,000 fine
Money Laundering - Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1957
Maximum penalty: Ten years in prison and $250,000 fine
INVESTIGATING AGENCIES
Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of the Inspector General
Federal Bureau of Investigation
*The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Anyone with information about allegations of unlawful activity; fraud, waste and abuse; violations of VA policy; or gross mismanagement involving VA programs and operations can report it by calling the VA Office of the Inspector General Hotline at 800-448-8244 or at www.va.gov/oig/hotline.
Former Qualcomm Executive Sentenced to Prison for $180 Million FraudRead the Press Release
SAN DIEGO – Dr. Karim Arabi was sentenced in federal court on October 28, 2025, to 48 months in prison for wire fraud and money laundering in connection with a massive $180 million scheme targeting his then-employer, Qualcomm.
Chief U.S. District Judge Cynthia A. Bashant also ordered Dr. Arabi to forfeit more than $45 million plus properties in Canada and Norway, and to pay $100,894,711.12 in restitution to Qualcomm. During the hearing, Chief Judge Bashant characterized Dr. Arabi’s conduct as “breathtaking in its dishonesty.”
Dr. Arabi was convicted of wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering following a four-week jury trial in April 2025. According to evidence presented at trial, while working as a Vice President of Qualcomm’s Research and Development Department, Dr. Arabi committed fraud by developing valuable microchip technology, marketing the technology through a company, Abreezio, which he created to conceal his involvement, and then selling the company and its technology to Qualcomm for $180 million. In reality, Qualcomm would not have paid a dime for the technology had it known of Dr. Arabi’s involvement because, as part of his employment with Qualcomm, Dr. Arabi had agreed that virtually all technology he invented while working at Qualcomm belonged to his employer.
The trial evidence showed that Dr. Arabi and his accomplices created a host of lies and false documents to deceive Qualcomm about Abreezio’s origins. Dr. Arabi himself created two fake email accounts to impersonate his sister to make it appear that she was actively participating in Abreezio and to hide his own involvement. His accomplices repeatedly called him by his sister’s name in their communications to obscure his role. Dr. Arabi even created a fake resume for his sister, embellishing her background to make it more plausible that a graduate student could have invented the technology behind a $180 million company.
Qualcomm actually paid over $150 million to the coconspirators and others before discovering the fraud. According to evidence presented at trial, after the deal closed and Qualcomm unwittingly paid almost $92 million to Dr. Arabi’s sister, the campaign of concealment continued: Dr. Arabi invested the money in Canadian and Norwegian real estate while hiding his involvement, funneled funds back to his U.S. companies via intermediary shells, and received steady installments of laundered fraud proceeds until the month before his arrest in this case. Altogether, Dr. Arabi’s siblings bought 15 pieces of luxury real estate with the proceeds of his fraud. The forfeiture order entered as part of Dr. Arabi’s sentencing reflects the disgorgement of these ill-gotten gains from Dr. Arabi. Even when Qualcomm filed a civil suit against Dr. Arabi, his sister, and Abreezio’s CEO, the deception did not end. Dr. Arabi and his sister answered requests from Qualcomm about the origins of Abreezio’s technology by producing a falsified research notebook that, as shown during trial, was created years after the fact. And Dr. Arabi himself directed one of his accomplices to delete emails when he learned he was being investigated.
“The defendant’s conduct was a staggering betrayal of trust,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “He spent years scheming, lying, and hiding his deception so he could secretly enrich himself at his employer’s expense. His complex and devious fraud cost the company more than $150 million. This sentence—four years in prison and massive restitution and forfeiture—reflects the seriousness of his crimes and sends an unmistakable message: corporate criminals who abuse their positions out of greed will face justice.”
“Karim Arabi conspired to profit from technology he knew he had no lawful right to claim, betraying his then-employer,” said Mark Dargis Special Agent in Charge of the FBI San Diego Field Office. “Corporate fraud hurts more than individual companies and their shareholders—it also damages the trust of entire communities. FBI San Diego is proud to have worked with our law enforcement partners at the IRS and U.S. Marshals Service to conduct a thorough investigation ensuring Arabi was held accountable for this elaborate scheme.”
“This case underscores the importance of corporate integrity and the serious consequences of betraying that trust. Mr. Arabi’s actions were not only deceptive but deeply calculated, involving layers of misrepresentation and concealment,” said Special Agent in Charge Tyler Hatcher, IRS Criminal Investigation, Los Angeles Field Office. “The sentence sends a clear message, no matter how sophisticated the scheme, those who defraud and manipulate for personal gain will be held accountable.”
The sentencing took place on October 28, 2025. This press release was delayed due to the lapse in appropriations.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nicholas W. Pilchak, Janaki G. Chopra and Eric R. Olah.
DEFENDANT Case Number 22-CR-1152-BAS
Karim Arabi Age: 59 Oceanside, CA
CHARGES
Wire Fraud Conspiracy, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349
Maximum Penalties: Twenty years in prison; $1 million fine or twice the amount of the criminally derived property involved in the transaction
Wire Fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343
Maximum Penalties: Twenty years in prison; $1 million fine
Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h)
Maximum Penalties: Twenty years in prison; $500,000 fine or twice the amount of the criminally derived property involved in the transaction
INVESTIGATING AGENCIES
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation
United States Marshals Service
Former Connecticut Tax Preparer Pleads GuiltyRead the Press Release
David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, today announced that on October 1, 2025, DIANA MILLER-LLOYD, also known as “Diana Rabin” and “Diana Lloyd,” 44, of Jacksonville, Florida, waived her right to be indicted and pleaded guilty in Hartford federal court to aiding in the preparation of false tax returns.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Miller-Lloyd formerly resided in Middlefield and operated Lloyd Forenzique & Accounting Services Corporation, a tax return preparation business in Connecticut. She established the business in 2017 in Windsor, and subsequently moved it to Branford in 2019 and to Guilford in 2021. Before 2017, Miller-Lloyd provided tax preparation services under the business name Lloyd Forensic & Accounting Services. Miller-Lloyd routinely obtained substantial federal tax refunds for her clients, many of whom had annual incomes exceeding $500,000, by disregarding information provided by the clients and their employers, and by fabricating and improperly deducting charitable contributions and business expenses, including advertising, repairs and maintenance, travel, meals, utilities, insurance, and legal services.
As a result of these fraudulent deductions, for the 2016 through 2021 tax years, Miller-Lloyd attempted to obtain for her clients at least $1,062,293 in either fraudulent refunds or fraudulent reductions on owed tax payments. The IRS detected apparent fraudulent activity on several of the filed returns before refund monies were paid, resulting in an actual loss to the government of $472,913.
In addition, Miller-Lloyd at times used the professional credentials of another person, who was a certified public accountant, to defend filed returns when audited by the IRS.
Miller-Lloyd pleaded guilty to two counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false and fraudulent income tax returns, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of three years on each count. She is released on a $25,000 bond pending sentencing, which is scheduled for February 23.
Miller-Lloyd has agreed to pay to the IRS restitution of $472,913.
This investigation has been conducted by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher W. Schmeisser.
Former Connecticut Resident Pleads Guilty to Lying to Obtain U.S. Citizenship After Committing War Crimes in BosniaRead the Press Release
A naturalized U.S. citizen from Bosnia and Herzegovina pleaded guilty on November 10, 2025, in Bridgeport federal court to criminal charges related to her lying about her prior criminal conduct to obtain U.S. citizenship.
“The defendant obtained the privileges of U.S. citizenship through lies and deceit, concealing the violent crimes she committed in Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Department is fully committed to holding accountable those who exploit our immigration system and pose a threat to public safety.”
“Covering up past human rights abuses to attain U.S. citizenship is an egregious offense, and I thank our law enforcement partners both here in the U.S. and in Bosnia and Herzegovina for investigating this matter to ensure that justice is done,” said U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan for the District of Connecticut.
“Individuals who lie on their naturalization documents undermine the process for all who justly apply to be a part of our great nation,” said Special Agent in Charge P.J. O’Brien of the FBI. “Tomanic’s admissions of fraud are detestable because of her history of targeting people based on their ethnicity and religion. The FBI, along with our partners at the Department of Homeland Security’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center, and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Office of Fraud Detection and National Security will continue to investigate crimes of this nature to ensure the sanctity of the immigration process for all who righteously apply for U.S. Citizenship.”
According to court documents, Nada Radovan Tomanic, 53, of West Virginia, formerly of Hartford, Connecticut, served with the Zulfikar Special Unit of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 1990s, during the armed conflict in the region. Along with other Zulfikar Special Unit soldiers, Tomanic participated in the physical and psychological abuse of Bosnian Serb civilian prisoners.
When applying for U.S. naturalization in 2012, Tomanic falsely denied having served in a detention facility or in any other situation involving the detention of others. She also falsely denied having committed a crime for which she had not been arrested – specifically, the crime of inflicting serious bodily harm under the Criminal Law of the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia.
Tomanic’s deception extended beyond her written naturalization application. During her interview with a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services officer, she was placed under oath and legally obligated to answer questions truthfully. Despite that obligation, she again lied about her service in a detention facility and her past criminal conduct.
Tomanic pleaded guilty to one count of procuring citizenship contrary to law. She is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 3, 2026, and faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.
Trial Attorney Elizabeth Nielsen of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Angel Krull and Anastasia King for the District of Connecticut are prosecuting the case, with assistance from HRSP historians. The Criminal Division’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance.
The FBI is investigating the case, with coordination provided by the Department of Homeland Security’s Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center (HRVWCC) and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ Office of Fraud Detection and National Security (FDNS), along with the FBI’s International Human Rights Unit (IHRU). The Justice Department thanks authorities from Bosnia and Herzegovina, to include the Ministry of Justice of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Srpska Ministry of Interior, Serbian authorities, and the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, who were instrumental in providing assistance that aided in furthering the investigation.
Members of the public who have information about human rights violators in the United States are urged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALLFBI (1-800-225-5324) or through the FBI’s online tip form at www.tips.fbi.gov/, or Homeland Security Investigations at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE (1-866-347-2423) or through ICE’s online tip form at www.ice.gov/webform/ice-tip-form.