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13 November 2025
District Man Sentenced to Nearly 29 Years for Two Murders Committed One Month Apart in 2020Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Michael Mason, 21, was sentenced October 31, 2025, to 28 years and eight months in prison in connection with the shooting death of Brea Moon in April 2020 in Southeast Washington and the shooting death of Antwuan Roach in May 2020 in Northeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Mason pleaded guilty to two counts of second-degree murder while armed on October 31, 2025.
With respect to the April 2020 homicide, according to the government’s evidence, Mason was riding in a stolen white vehicle that pulled into the BP gas station located at 4101 Alabama Avenue SE shortly before 10:30 p.m. on April 7, 2020. Minutes later, a gray sedan pulled into that same gas station with the victim, Brea Moon, in the front passenger seat. When the gray sedan left the gas station, the white vehicle followed. Shortly thereafter, the white vehicle pulled up beside the gray sedan and the defendant fired multiple gunshots at the gray sedan, including one that struck the victim and killed her.
With respect to the May 2020 homicide, according to the government’s evidence, on May 22, 2020, defendant Mason learned of Mr. Roach’s location and tracked him to the unit block of Anacostia Road NE shortly before 5:00 p.m. After locating Mr. Roach, the defendant’s vehicle pulled into an alley behind the 3800 block of East Capitol Street NE. As Mr. Roach stepped into the alley, the defendant fired at him and killed him.
Joining in the announcement was Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.
In announcing the sentences, U.S. Attorney Pirro and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the U.S. Secret Service, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Marshals Service, and the Capital Area Regional Fugitive Task Force.
Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gauri Gopal, Julia Cosans, Sarah Folse, Yasmin Emrani, and Daniel Bromwich, who investigated and prosecuted the case, along with former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregory Kimak and Alec Levy.
Editor's Note: This matter occurred on date indicated but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.
District Man Sentenced to 28 Years of Incarceration for Killing Innocent Bystander and Torching Getaway Vehicle ThereafterRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Kylee Palmer, 26, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced on November 7, 2025, to 336 months in prison for the 2020 murder of Barron Goodwin in Washington, D.C., announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Palmer was found guilty by a jury on September 11, 2024, following a two-week trial in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, of second-degree murder while armed, possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, felony destruction of property, and tampering with evidence.
According to the government’s evidence, on February 11, 2020, Palmer got into an argument with an ex-girlfriend and stole her cell phone. After exchanging calls with the ex-girlfriend’s brother in the early hours of February 12, 2020, at approximately 11:01 a.m., Palmer drove a stolen black Nissan Altima, with another individual inside, past 843 51st Street Southeast, where they fired six bullets into the ex-girlfriend’s family home. One of those shots broke through a living room window and struck Barron Goodwin, a 60-year-old innocent bystander, in the head as he slept on a couch in the living room. About an hour later, after Palmer fled the scene, he burned the vehicle used in the shooting in an alley near the 800 block of Chesapeake Street Southeast.
Joining in the announcement was Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Pirro and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also expressed appreciation for the assistance provided by the U.S. Marshals Service and FBI CAST team. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Investigative Analyst Zach McMenamin, Paralegal Specialist Meridith McGarrity, Litigation Technology Specialists Leif Hickling and Charlie Bruce, Victim/Witness Advocate Latrice Washington-Williams, and Victim/Witness Coordinators Maenylie Watson and Katina Adams-Washington.
Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan Sellinger, Christopher Carson, Lisa Lindhorst, and Julia Cosans, who investigated, indicted, and prosecuted the case.
Editor's Note: This matter occurred on date indicated but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.
District Man Sentenced to 25 Years for Producing Child Pornography and Sexually Abusing a Young GirlRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Charles Hilton, 40, of the District of Columbia, was sentenced October 24, 2025, in U.S. District Court to 25 years in federal prison in connection with producing child pornography and sexually abusing a young girl, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Hilton pleaded guilty March 27, 2025, before Judge Ana C. Reyes to a criminal Information charging him with one count of coercion and enticement of a child and one count of first degree sexual abuse of a child with aggravating cirmcumstances.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Reyes ordered Hilton to serve 15 years of supervised release and to register as a sex offender.
Joining in the announcement of the sentencing was FBI Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox of the Washington Field Office, and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.
On November 21, 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received three separate tips regarding possession of child sex abuse material (CSAM). The reports referenced more than 1,000 files of child pornography stored on a server connected with accounts linked to Hilton. About 20 of the CSAM files appeared to have been homemade. The tipster provided Hilton’s name, phone number, email address and mailing address to the NCMEC.
On Nov. 26, 2024, law enforcement obtained an arrest warrant for Hilton, as well as a warrant to search his residence in Northeast. Officers recovered numerous digital devices from the residence.
In an interview with investigators, Hilton initially claimed his accounts had been hacked. Investigators confronted Hilton with a specific video showing the sexual abuse of a minor victim. Hilton then admitted to having made it.
Investigators recovered text messages from Hilton’s devices. The texts indicated that Hilton blackmailed the minor victim. In them, Hilton coerced the victim to engage in sexual activity by threatening to share embarrassing information about her. Hilton eventually produced photos and videos of himself sexual abusing the minor victim.
This case was investigated by FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard S. Kelley and Jocelyn Bond.
This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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Editor's Note: This matter occurred on date indicated but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.
District Man Sentenced to 25 Years for Producing Child Pornography and Sexually Abusing a Young GirlRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Charles Hilton, 40, of the District of Columbia, was sentenced October 7, 2025, in U.S. District Court to 25 years in federal prison in connection with producing child pornography and sexually abusing a young girl, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Hilton pleaded guilty March 27, 2025, before Judge Ana C. Reyes to a criminal Information charging him with one count of coercion and enticement of a child and one count of first degree sexual abuse of a child with aggravating cirmcumstances.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Reyes ordered Hilton to serve 15 years of supervised release and to register as a sex offender.
Joining in the announcement of the sentencing was FBI Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox of the Washington Field Office, and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.
On November 21, 2024, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received three separate tips regarding possession of child sex abuse material (CSAM). The reports referenced more than 1,000 files of child pornography stored on a server connected with accounts linked to Hilton. About 20 of the CSAM files appeared to have been homemade. The tipster provided Hilton’s name, phone number, email address and mailing address to the NCMEC.
On Nov. 26, 2024, law enforcement obtained an arrest warrant for Hilton, as well as a warrant to search his residence in Northeast. Officers recovered numerous digital devices from the residence.
In an interview with investigators, Hilton initially claimed his accounts had been hacked. Investigators confronted Hilton with a specific video showing the sexual abuse of a minor victim. Hilton then admitted to having made it.
Investigators recovered text messages from Hilton’s devices. The texts indicated that Hilton blackmailed the minor victim. In them, Hilton coerced the victim to engage in sexual activity by threatening to share embarrassing information about her. Hilton eventually produced photos and videos of himself sexual abusing the minor victim.
This case was investigated by FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard S. Kelley and Jocelyn Bond.
This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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Editor's Note: This matter occurred on date indicated but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.
District Man Sentenced to 24 Years for Killing a Disabled Elderly Man in Southwest WashingtonRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Terry Thompson, 33, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced to 24 years of incarceration on October 31, 2025, for shooting a disabled elderly man in a 7-Eleven parking lot in Southwest Washington D.C. The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Thompson pleaded guilty to second degree murder while armed on April 4, 2025, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. On October 31, the Honorable Rainey Brandt sentenced Thompson to 24 years for murdering the victim, Christopher Callahan, 64.
According to court documents, at 4:15 p.m., on May 15, 2023, the defendant emerged from a group of a men hanging out in the 7-Eleven parking lot, located at 3900 Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd, Southwest. Thompson approached Mr. Callahan, who was sitting on his walker next to his car. The defendant had a rifle concealed in a duffle bag, and he began pointing it in Mr. Callahan’s face. Mr. Callahan feebly rose from his walker and attempted to swat the rifle away. The defendant then stepped back and fired a single round into Mr. Callahan’s neck, killing him instantly. Thompson then slowly walked off as onlookers stood by in shock. As people started to disperse from the area, the defendant walked back over to Mr. Callahan’s lifeless body, pointed the rifle at him, but then slowly walked off again without pulling the trigger a second time.
The next day, the defendant was arrested in the same location wearing the same shoes that still had the victim’s blood on them.
Joining in the announcement was Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Hall, supported by Paralegal Specialist Lisa Speight, and Victim Assistant Latrice Washington-Williams.
Editor's Note: This matter occurred on date indicated but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.
District Man Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison for Sexually Abusing a RelativeRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – A 23-year-old man, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced October 24, 2025, to a 17-year prison term for sexually abusing his grandmother, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
The man, who is not identified here to protect the privacy of the victim, pleaded guilty on August 21, 2025, in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, to a charge of first-degree sexual abuse while armed. The plea, which was contingent upon the Court’s approval, called for an agreed-upon 17-year prison term. The Honorable Danya A. Dayson accepted the plea and sentenced the defendant accordingly. The Court ordered a lifetime period of supervised release to follow his prison term, and the man will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.
According to the government’s evidence, on November 28, 2023, the defendant entered the victim’s bedroom, carrying a knife. The defendant dragged the victim to his bedroom, where he held her against her will for several hours. During that time, he subjected her to numerous acts of physical and sexual abuse.
Joining in the announcement was Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Pirro and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including former Assistant U.S. Attorney Marco Crocetti and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen Houck, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Editor's Note: This matter occurred on date indicated but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.
Diagnostic Laboratory Agrees to Pay More Than $9 Million to Settle Alleged False Claims Act ViolationsRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – Patients Choice Laboratories (PCL), a diagnostic laboratory headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, agreed to pay the United States $9,620,000 to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act and the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS).
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, and Tom Wheeler, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, announced the settlement with Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon, Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), and Mario M. Pinto, Special Agent in Charge, HHS-OIG – Chicago Regional Office.
The government alleges that PCL knowingly submitted claims to Medicare for respiratory pathogen panels (RPPs) that were either medically unnecessary or obtained through kickbacks. PCL also paid commissions to independent sales representatives and marketing firms (1099 representatives) based on the volume or value of referrals.
Specifically, the United States alleges that on November 20, 2020, PCL entered into a Marketing Services Agreement (MSA) with a purported infection prevention company (the Company). Through the MSA, PCL agreed to pay $5,000 per month in exchange for “marketing and management services” in long-term care facilities. In reality, according to the United States, the MSA served as a pretext for paying the company for laboratory test referrals, which PCL then billed to Medicare.
Additionally, the United States alleges that PCL paid the Company to perform services in long-term care facilities, including specimen collection for infectious disease testing. The Company swabbed residents for COVID-19, and PCL used the same specimens to conduct and bill Medicare for medically unnecessary RPPs. In some cases, PCL billed for RPPs without performing any COVID-19 tests at all.
Between December 1, 2020, and May 11, 2022, PCL paid the company approximately $1.86 million in exchange for RPP referrals. During this time, PCL billed Medicare for thousands of RPPs conducted at 43 long-term care facilities nationwide, receiving more than $6 million in reimbursement.
Additionally, from January 1 to March 31, 2021, PCL contracted with 1099 representatives to promote its laboratory tests to health care providers. The United States alleges that these individuals were not bona fide employees. PCL paid them a percentage of the revenue generated from testing they facilitated. The representatives helped arrange referrals and orders for tests billed to Medicare in violation of the AKS. PCL’s commission payments to these representatives totaled at least $372,000.
“Providing impermissible compensation to induce patient referrals that then lead to medically unnecessary diagnostic tests is simply unacceptable,” Hayes said. “We’re committed to taking the necessary actions to protect patients and taxpayer-funded government health programs.”
“Kickback arrangements that drive unnecessary testing waste taxpayer dollars and undermine the integrity of our healthcare system,” Wheeler said. “This settlement reflects our commitment to holding accountable those who seek to profit at the expense of federal healthcare programs and the patients they serve.”
“Entities who submit false Medicare claims destroy public trust in federal health care programs and divert taxpayer-funded resources away from vulnerable citizens who truly need them,” Dixon said. “We are unwavering in our dedication to safeguarding the integrity of the Medicare trust fund and the services provided to enrollees.”
“Wasteful spending fueled by kickback arrangements undermines the public’s confidence in our health care system and depletes valuable resources that should be used to improve patient care,” Pinto said. “Working together with our law enforcement partners, HHS-OIG will continue to identify and investigate alleged violations of federal law.”
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the HHS-OIG for its work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tarra DeShields, District of Maryland, and Adriana Figueroa, Southern District of Indiana; and Trial Attorneys Kelly McAuliffe and Asha Natarajan, DOJ Civil Division – Fraud Section, who jointly handled this case.
The United States’ settlement in this matter illustrates the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud. One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act. Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services, at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).
The claims resolved by this settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Detroit Man Sentenced After Meticulously Plotting and Secretly Sending Cryptocurrency to Help ISISRead the Press Release
DETROIT – Jibreel Pratt, 26, of Detroit, Michigan, was sentenced today to 9 years in federal prison after having pleaded guilty to two counts of concealing cryptocurrency donations he intended to make to the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS), a designated foreign terrorist organization, announced United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr.
Gorgon was joined in the announcement by Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan.
According to court records, in February 2023, Pratt initiated a conversation with a Confidential Human Source (CHS) who Pratt believed was an ISIS member who could facilitate overseas travel to join ISIS. Over the next several months, Pratt communicated his desire to travel overseas to join ISIS and recorded a video pledging allegiance to ISIS’s leader. Pratt also provided ideas, information, documents and handwritten notes on a variety of subjects, including how ISIS could use drones and remote-controlled cars to deliver explosives, how ISIS could organize intelligence operations, and how ISIS could improve its air defense systems. And, in March and May 2023, Pratt sent cryptocurrency (Bitcoin) to the CHS, intending that the money would be used to help pay for the travel of other individuals who were purportedly traveling to join ISIS and/or to help fund an individual who Pratt believed would commit an act of violence in support of ISIS. Pratt concealed the nature and source of his Bitcoin transfers by using a privacy focused VPN and an app that encrypted private keys and transaction data.
“Over these last years, our office has worked shoulder-to-shoulder with the FBI to protect Americans from hardened ISIS supporters in our midst. Mr. Pratt is the latest traitor who—in his own words—operated ‘in the shadows.’ And we will continue to stand guard because he may not be the last,” said U.S. Attorney Gorgon.
“Today’s sentencing of Jibreel Pratt is a testament to the hard work of FBI Detroit’s Joint Terrorism Task Force in keeping Michigan safe from homegrown violent extremists,” said Jennifer Runyan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. “It should send a strong message to anyone seeking to support foreign terrorist organizations, via financial means or otherwise, that the FBI will not stand idly by and allow this activity to occur within the United States. FBI Detroit remains committed to protecting the American people and will work relentlessly to disrupt any plot that threatens the security of our nation.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Douglas Salzenstein and Jennifer Burke, Trial Attorney, National Security Division, U.S. Department of Justice are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
DC Man Found Guilty in Armed Robberies of Three Businesses in Washington, D.C.Read the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Mark Thomas Moore 34, of the District of Columbia, was found guilty on November 6 following a bench trial in U.S. District Court in connection with the three armed robberies, including a U.S. Post Office, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Judge Amit P. Mehta found Moore guilty of two counts of interference with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act Robbery) and one count of armed postal robbery. Each count of Hobbs Act robbery carries a maximum sentence of 20 years. Armed postal robbery carries a maximum sentence of 25 years.
Judge Mehta scheduled sentencing for April 8, 2026.
According to the government’s evidence, Moore committed three armed robberies over a 30 day period in October and November 2022. Specifically, Moore entered a McDonalds, a 7-Eleven, and a U.S. Post Office while masked and armed with an imitation firearm. Each time, Moore held store employees at gunpoint and demanded money from the cash register. Store employees testified at trial that they feared for their lives—each believing that Moore possessed an actual firearm and was prepared to shoot them.
Moore was arrested on Nov. 28, 2022, following a robbery of a CVS store in Arlington, Virginia. When Moore was arrested, he possessed clothing and items that tied him to earlier robberies. A subsequent residential search recovered additional distinct clothing worn by Moore during the robberies. The U.S. Postal Inspection Service also determined that Moore left a fingerprint inside the cash register drawer during the postal robbery.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office’s Violent Crime Task Force, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Washington Division, and the Metropolitan Police Department’s Carjacking Task Force. Valuable assistance was provided by the Arlington County Police Department.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Caelainn Carney, Jared English, and Jason B.A. McCullough of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Valuable assistance was provided by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Martin. The case was investigated and indicted by former Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Courtney.
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Crownpoint Man Pleads Guilty to Fatal DUI CrashRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A Crownpoint man pleaded guilty to federal charges after a fatal crash involving alcohol and prescription opioids.
According to court documents, on July 3, 2024, Joey Martin, 55, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was driving on State Highway 371 in Crownpoint, New Mexico, when he swerved to avoid a semitruck and lost control. His passenger was killed in the crash. After the crash, Martin admitted to taking opioid pain medication an hour or two prior.
Martin pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. At sentencing, Martin is subject to a sentence of up to eight years in prison. Upon his release from prison, Martin will be subject to up to three years to life of supervised release.
Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison made the announcement today.
The Navajo Nation Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Pahl is prosecuting the case.
This press release was posted November 13, after the end of the federal government shutdown.
Court Sentences Man to 22 Year Prison Term for Broad Daylight Killing of a Man Outside a Northeast DC Gas StationRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Damon McQuarters, 45, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced October 24, 2025, to 22 years in prison for the August 2024 shooting murder of Michael Simpson, on the sidewalk in front of a gas station, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
On May 30, 2025, the defendant pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree murder in Superior Court of the District of Columbia. In sentencing McQuarters, the Honorable Danya Dayson accepted the agreed-to sentencing range of 21 to 25 years and sentenced the defendant to 22 years of in prison, followed by five years of supervised release.
According to the government’s evidence, at approximately 5:35 p.m., on August 24, 2024, McQuarters approached Mr. Simpson, who was sitting in a tree box in front of the Citgo gas station, located at 3820 Minnesota Ave. NE, Washington, socializing with friends. McQuarters retrieved a handgun from his shorts pocket and shot Mr. Simpson a single time in the head. The defendant placed the handgun back into his front right shorts pocket and walked away. Mr. Simpson was transported from the scene of the shooting to an area hospital where he died the following day.
Joining in the announcement was Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.
In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Pirro and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They acknowledged the efforts of those who worked on the case from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including Paralegal Specialist Kelly Blakeney, and Victim/Witness Advocate Latrice Washington-Williams.
Finally, they commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Coronado, who investigated and prosecuted the case.
Editor's Note: This matter occurred on date indicated but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.
Court Sentences Ecuadorian Drug Smuggler Caught on the High Seas with Approximately 1,092 Kilograms of CocaineRead the Press Release
On October 22, 2025, United States District Court Judge Terry F. Moorer sentenced Walter Alejandro Hedrera, an Ecuadorian national, to 108 months’ imprisonment for smuggling 1,092 kilograms of cocaine in the Pacific Ocean following his prior guilty plea on the charges.
Court documents show that on September 24, 2024, while on routine patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter from the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter MUNRO located a drug smuggling vessel operating in international waters, approximately 160 nautical miles south of Manzanillo, Mexico. The vessel displayed no indicia of nationality, was operating northbound at a high rate of speed in a known drug trafficking area with visible suspect packages on deck. The U.S.C.G. helicopter fired warning shots which were ineffective in stopping the vessel. The helicopter then used disabling fire and shot out the engines to stop the smuggling boat. The MUNRO helicopter then observed and recorded video of the drugs smugglers jettisoning packages in the ocean while the boat was disabled.
During a later boarding of the vessel, U.S.C.G. personnel recovered 24 bales from the water surrounding the vessel which yielded an at-sea weight of approximately 1,092 kilograms of cocaine.
Herera and four other smugglers were taken into custody and brought to the United States for prosecution under the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act. The vessel was deemed a danger to navigation due to no suitable tow points and its distance from land. Consequently, the vessel was sunk upon completion of law enforcement activities.
U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.
The case was investigated by the United States Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations.
Assistant United States Attorney George F. May prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
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).
Convicted felon gets 15-year maximum sentence after pointing gun at law enforcement officerRead the Press Release
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 45-year-old Robstown resident has been sentenced to federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Guadalupe Calderon III pleaded guilty July 31.
U.S. District Judge Davis S. Morales has now ordered Calderon to serve 180 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. At the sentencing hearing, the court saw footage of Calderon pointing and attempting to fire a handgun at a local sheriff’s deputy during a traffic stop. In handing down the sentence, the court noted he would have sentenced Calderon to a higher sentence, but the statutory maximum penalty was 180 months.
On July 26, 2024, law enforcement had conducted a traffic stop on Calderon’s truck. When asked for his license and insurance, he pointed a Ruger pistol at the officer’s face and pulled the trigger. When the gun did not fire, Calderon fled the scene in his truck.
Authorities located him approximately six hours later riding in another vehicle. A search resulted in the discovery of the firearm in the back seat where he had been sitting along with over 30 rounds of ammunition and a high-capacity drum magazine.
Calderon admitted the gun was his and that he had pointed it at the officer earlier that day.
He has multiple prior felony convictions. As such, he is prohibited from possessing firearms per federal law.
Calderon has been and will remain in custody.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Nueces County Sheriff’s Department and Corpus Christi Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashley Martin prosecuted the case.
Convicted Sex Offender Sentenced for Possession of a Firearm and AmmunitionRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Vankese Russell, 26, a previously convicted felon residing in the District of Columbia, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 15 months in federal prison for his illegal possession of a pistol, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Russell pleaded guilty on July 21 before Judge Carl J. Nichols to unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. In addition to the 15-month prison sentence, Judge Nichols ordered Russell to serve three years of supervised release.
The prosecution was part of the "Make D.C. Safe Again" initiative created to address gun violence in the District, prioritize federal firearms violations, pursue tougher penalties for offenders, and seek detention for federal firearms violators.
Joining in the annoucement were Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
According to court documents, on Jan. 28, 2025, about 6:37 p.m., MPD officers were patrolling Chinatown on foot when they observed a cloud of smoke coming from behind a bus stop on the 600 block of H Street NW. They smelled burning marijuana and walked toward the bus stop, where numerous pedestrians were present.
The officers observed Russell holding a hand-rolled cigarette. As the officers approached, Russell attempted to extinguish the cigarette and dropped it to the ground. Officers cuffed Russell and told him he was under arrest. The officers searched Russell and recovered a loaded Smith & Wesson SW40VE from his waistband.
Russell previously pleaded guilty in 2017 to first degree attempted child sex abuse in D.C. Superior Court, was sentenced to four years in prison, and was therefore prohibited from possessing a firearm.
This case was investigated by the MPD and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Tobacco, Washington Field Division. The matter was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kondi Kleinman.
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Editor's Note: This matter occurred on date indicated but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.
Convicted Felon with a Glock Sentenced to 46 MonthsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Daron Keith Brown, 30, a previously convicted felon who resides in the District of Columbia, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 46 months in federal prison in connection with his possession of a loaded semiautomatic pistol that had been modified to fire as a machine gun, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Brown pleaded guilty on March 25 before Judge Dabney L. Friedrich.to being a felon in unlawful possession of a firearm. In addition to the 46-month prison term, Judge Friedrich ordered Brown to serve three years of supervised release.
Joining in the announcement of the sentencing was ATF Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood of the Washington Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
According to court documents, on Jan. 10, 2024, members of the MPD’s Robbery Suppression Unit were on patrol on the 700 block of Florida Ave. NW when they saw a silver VW stopped on a crosswalk and impeding traffic. Officers attempted a vehicle stop, but the VW fled. The VW subsequently was seen on the 900 block of R Street, NW. Officers again attempted a traffic stop, however, this time the driver, later identified as Robert Williams, exited the car and fled on foot. As officers followed Williams, another officer stayed with the VW and ordered the front seat passenger, Daron Brown, to get out of the car.
As the officer approached, he spotted a gun on the front driver’s seat. Brown exited the vehicle and had a blue coat in his lap. As Brown was pulled out of the vehicle he put the coat back onto the seat. Once outside the vehicle Brown attempted to run but was eventually restrained. Another investigator searched the vehicle and located a second gun, a Glock 21, .45 caliber semi-automatic firearm with a converter switch, under the blue coat on the front passenger seat where Brown had been sitting.
The Glock was found under a blue coat where Brown had been sitting.
Brown was on supervised release for a 2021 firearms offense in 2021. Brown pleaded guilty in July 2022 and served 36-months. He also has previous convictions for assault with a dangerous weapon offense committed while on release and possession of a firearm during a crime of violence.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and the ATF. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin Helfand and Shehzad Akhtar and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Haley Pennington.
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Editor's Note: This matter occurred on date indicated but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.
Convicted Felon Sentenced to 37 Months for Unlawful Possession of a 9mm PistolRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Raymond Davon Benson, 32, a convicted felon residing in the District of Columbia, was sentenced today, October 31, in U.S. District Court to 37 months in prison for illegally possessing a 9mm firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Benson pleaded guilty July 1, 2025, before Judge Trevor N. McFadden to an indictment charging him with unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon. In addition to the 37-month prison term, Judge McFadden ordered Benson to serve three years of supervised release.
According to court documents, on March 29, 2025, about 1:45 a.m., Metropolitan Police officers were on patrol in the U Street Corridor when they spotted Benson holding a red Solo cup in his hand. As officers parked and exited their cruiser, Benson noticed their approach and tossed the cup to the ground. He walked away and then took headlong flight.
Benson ran into the alleys off the 200 block of Vermont Ave, NW. While running, he withdrew a large firearm from his waistband and threw it over a fence in the 900 block of U Street, NW. Police eventually caught and detained him.
Investigators recovered Benson’s Cobray M-11 9mm pistol and 28 rounds of ammunition. Benson was previously convicted in Superior Court for a 2016 charge of Aggravated Assault and Carrying a Pistol Without a License. He was sentenced to 60 months in prison and, as a convicted felon, forbidden from possessing firearms.
This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department with valuable assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Washington Division. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Solomon Eppel and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Strong.
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Editor's Note: This matter occurred on date indicated but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.
Colombian National Sentenced to over Seven Years in Prison for Participation in International Money Laundering ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Colombian man was sentenced on Oct. 28, 2025 in federal court in Boston for his involvement in a sophisticated international money laundering organization that laundered more than $6 million in drug trafficking proceeds from Colombian cartels through the United States, Caribbean and European banking systems.
Oscar Rodriguez-Camargo, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to 87 months in prison. The defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of the imposed sentence. In March 2025, Rodriguez-Camargo pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy and 18 counts of money laundering.
Rodriguez-Camargo was among 20 individuals from Colombia, Jamaica and Florida who were indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2022 in connection with the money laundering conspiracy. Rodriguez-Camargo is the 16th defendant to be sentenced. All 20 defendants have been convicted either at trial or by pleading guilty.
Over the course of the investigation, $1 million was seized from corporate bank accounts and other investigative activity. Nearly 3,000 kilograms of cocaine – with a street value of over $90 million – was traced back to the money laundering organization. This includes approximately 1,193 kilograms of cocaine seized at sea 60 miles south of Jamaica in July 2019, as well as 1,555 kilograms of cocaine seized in nine scrap metal shipping containers at the Port of Buenaventura, Colombia in March 2019.
In or about October 2016, an investigation began into a sophisticated money laundering organization located primarily in Barranquilla, Colombia. During an extensive five-year investigation, the organization laundered over $6 million in drug proceeds through intermediary banks in the United States, including banks in Massachusetts, as well as additional proceeds through banks in the Caribbean and Europe by use of the Colombian Black Market Peso Exchange (BMPE). By using the BMPE, the defendants and their co-conspirators sought to conceal drug trafficking activity and proceeds from law enforcement as well as evade currency exchange requirements in the United States and Colombia through the illegal currency exchange process. As part of the conspiracy, members of the organization held roles and responsibilities relative to the needs and opportunities of the scheme, such as drug suppliers, peso brokers, money couriers and business owners/dollar purchasers.
Through the BMPE, Colombian drug trafficking organizations with drug proceeds generated in the United States use third parties – generally referred to as “peso brokers” that are also based in Colombia – who agree to exchange Colombian pesos they control for the drug supplier’s dollar proceeds. Peso brokers then use money couriers in the United States and elsewhere to physically secure the drug proceeds, often in suitcases or bags on the street, and transfer the proceeds into the United States banking system. To avoid detection, peso brokers deposit the drug proceeds into bank accounts in company or individual names intended to appear as legitimate business activity, or through multiple small deposits into different bank accounts which are then consolidated into larger accounts. As a result, Colombian peso brokers control a pool of drug-derived proceeds in United States bank accounts. These dollar proceeds are then purchased by individuals or companies in Colombia seeking to exchange pesos for United States dollars at a favorable exchange rate and in a manner that avoids currency exchange and income reporting requirements. The dollar drug proceeds are transferred at the direction of the purchaser and often end up in bank accounts of individuals or companies who appear to have no direct involvement in drug trafficking crimes.
Beginning in 2016 and continuing until 2022, an undercover agent infiltrated the organization by portraying himself as an international money launderer able to pick up bulk cash throughout the world, launder the proceeds through his United States-based accounts and send the money to Colombia through the BMPE.
Throughout the course of the investigation, members of the money laundering organization would contact the undercover and arrange meetings for the undercover and the undercover’s purported associates to collect bulk cash throughout the world. Members of the money laundering organization would then direct where the money was to be sent, and facilitators, such as Rodriguez-Camargo, would facilitate the payout of the laundered proceeds in Colombia for the benefit of the drug suppliers. Over the course of the conspiracy, Rodriguez-Camargo was personally responsible for the laundering of over $2.4 million in drug proceeds.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Thomas Demeo, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office; Aura Liliana Trujillo Rojas, Delegate for Criminal Finance for the Colombian Attorney General’s Office; Ricardo Sánchez Silvestre, Brigadier General of the Colombian National Police Anti-Narcotics Directorate; Jervis Moore, Chief of the Narcotics Division for the Jamaica Constabulary Force; and Colonel Geoffrey Noble of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Office of the Judicial Attaché in Bogotá, Colombia provided significant assistance in securing the arrests and extraditions of Cover, Rowe, and other co-defendants from Colombia and Jamaica. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared C. Dolan and Alathea E. Porter of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.
Cocaine Dealer Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
BOISE – William Charles Jones, 34, of St. Louis, Missouri, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for his involvement in the distribution of cocaine in Idaho, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced today.
According to court records, Jones was a high-volume cocaine distributor in the treasure valley. He would travel to Missouri to purchase kilos of cocaine, ship the cocaine to himself at a residence in Idaho, and then distribute the cocaine into the community through several mid-level distributors. On one occasion, Jones traveled to Canada, purchased two kilos of cocaine, and shipped it to himself in Idaho. Through the efforts of Customs and Border Protection and the Drug Enforcement Administration, that shipment was seized at the U.S./Canadian border.
After his indictment, investigators executed a federal search warrant at his residence and located a workstation in his garage consisting of a scale, packaging material, and a heat sealer. Investigators also found one and a half kilos of cocaine in brick form, an additional five one-ounce bundles of cocaine, several psilocybin mushrooms bars, and sixteen unlawfully possessed firearms strategically placed throughout the residence to afford him quick access to a firearm in the event he needed to protect his drugs or illicit proceeds.
U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill also ordered Jones to serve four years of supervised release following his prison sentence.
U.S. Attorney Davis commended the work of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Nampa Police Department Special Investigations Unit, the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, the Boise Police Department, the Meridian Police Department, Customs and Border Protection, and the United States Postal Inspection Service, which led to the charges and arrest. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Morse prosecuted this case.
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Clinton Man Found Guilty of Illegal Machinegun PossessionRead the Press Release
Jackson, MS – On October 2, 2025, following a two-day jury trial, a federal jury convicted a Clinton man for illegal possession of a machinegun. The trial and jury verdict occurred during the government shutdown.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Lennell Antonio Moore, Jr., 28, was stopped by Capitol Police for a traffic violation in Jackson. Officers conducted a probable cause search of the vehicle and located three Glocks pistols with attached machinegun conversion devices (MCDs a/k/a switches). Two were in the center console, directly next to Moore, along with a drum magazine that held approximately 40-rounds of ammunition.
Moore is scheduled to be sentenced on January 28, 2026. Moore faces a maximum penalty of ten years. He is currently being held in federal custody.
Acting United States Attorney Patrick Lemon of the Southern District of Mississippi and ATF Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson made the announcement.
The United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Capitol Police Department, and the Jackson Police Department investigated the case.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matt Allen and Amber Jones.
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).
Climate Activist Sentenced in Defacing Degas Exhibit at National Gallery of ArtRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Timothy Martin, 55, of Raleigh, North Carolina, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to two years of supervised release for his role in the April 27, 2023, defacement of Edgar Degas’ Little Dancer, Age Fourteen, at the National Gallery of Art, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
A jury found Martin guilty on Apr. 7, 2025, of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and injury to a National Gallery of Art exhibit.
In addition to the two months of supervised release, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered Martin to serve 150 hours of community service that must include 20 hours of cleaning graffiti. He must also stay out of Washington, D.C. and not visit any museum. Judge Berman Jackson also ordered Martin to pay $4,062. in restitution.
According to evidence introduced in court, Martin and co-defendant Johanna Smith, 54, of Brooklyn, NY, smeared paint on the case and base of Edgar Degas’ Little Dancer, Age Fourteen, a sculpture which has drawn visitors for years to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. Following the attack, a group called Declare Emergency claimed credit.
Martin and Smith agreed, along with other co-conspirators, to enter the National Gallery of Art for the purpose of injuring the exhibit and entered the museum armed with water bottles filled with paint. Martin and Smith handed their phones to other co-conspirators and waited until patrons cleared the area in front of the Little Dancer. The pair proceeded to smear paint on the case and base of the exhibit, at times smacking the case with force. Prior to the attack, members of the conspiracy had alerted the Washington Post. Two reporters from the Post recorded and photographed the offense, as did additional members of the conspiracy
Smith and Martin caused over $4,000 in damage, including material and labor costs, and the exhibit was removed from public display for 10 days so that it could be repaired.
Smith pleaded guilty December 15, 2023, to one count of causing injury to a National Gallery of Art exhibit. She was sentenced to 60 days in prison, followed by 24 months of supervised release and ordered to pay a $3,000 fine and $4,062 in restitution.
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, specifically the FBI’s Art Crime Team, with assistance from National Gallery of Art Police, and U.S. Park Police. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron A. Tepfer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.
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Editor's Note: This matter occurred on date indicated but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.
Clarksdale Man Sentenced to 30 Months for being a Felon in Possession of a Stolen FirearmRead the Press Release
JACKSON, MS – A Clarksdale man was sentenced on November 4, 2025, to 30 months of incarceration for being a felon in possession of a firearm in Hinds County. The defendant was also ordered to pay a fine and serve 3 years of supervised release following his incarceration.
According to court documents, Kyler Seamster, 29, was found by law enforcement agents to be in possession of a stolen firearm during a street level narcotics operation executed by Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics throughout Jackson in 2024. Seamster had previous felony convictions for grand larceny and residential burglary in Tallahatchie County.
Seamster was indicted by a federal grand jury on January 24, 2025, and pleaded guilty on August 5, 2025. Seamster will continue serving a concurrent 15-year state sentence for trafficking in stolen firearms out of Madison County.
Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, Patrick A. Lemon and Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson of the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives made the announcement.
The ATF investigated this case with the assistance of the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics.
Assistant U.S. Attorney C. Brett Grantham prosecuted the case.
This case was investigated by the ATF as 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).
Cincinnati fentanyl dealer sentenced to 18 years in federal prisonRead the Press Release
CINCINNATI – A local multi-kilogram drug trafficker – who was captured on camera in February 2024 shooting a rival fentanyl dealer repeatedly in the chest, after losing a bet over who sold more potent fentanyl – was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 216 months in prison.
According to court documents, Robert Lee Howard, 34, of Cincinnati, was primarily a multi-kilogram dealer of fentanyl, but also sold cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana.
In June 2024, agents recorded the defendant advising he was waiting on 23 pounds of methamphetamine to come in the mail in five separate packages. Agents intercepted one of those packages and discovered it contained more than four kilograms of 96 percent pure crystal meth.
That same month, Howard’s car was shot up while he was driving around Cincinnati. The next day, he was recorded on calls offering to pay $10,000 total for “friends from Chicago” to come to Cincinnati and solve his “problem” by “putting [the rival fentanyl dealer] on a T-shirt.”
Agents then executed a search warrant at Howard’s primary residence in Price Hill – where four young children also lived – and arrested him. At Howard’s home, they discovered more than nine kilograms of fentanyl, cocaine, an industrial size pill press, press parts and other supplies for making fake “ecstasy” pills with fentanyl, body armor, ammunition and AK-47 magazines. Howard had multiple firearms lying out on his bedroom floor amongst scattered vials of fentanyl, including a Mini Draco style rifle and two pistols with extended magazines.
Howard was charged by federal criminal complaint in June 2024 and pleaded guilty in July 2025.
Dominick S. Gerace II, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Joseph O. Dixon, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Detroit; West Chester Police Chief Brian Rebholz; Cincinnati Interim Police Chief Adam Hennie; Jorge Rosendo, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF); and Lesley Allison, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Pittsburgh Division; announced the sentence imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Jeffery P. Hopkins. Assistant United States Attorney David P. Dornette is representing the United States in this case.
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Chroma Systems Solutions Agrees to Pay over $1.9 Million to Resolve Allegations of PPP Loan FraudRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Chroma Systems Solutions, Inc. (Chroma Systems) has agreed to pay over $1.9 million to resolve False Claims Act allegations that the company falsely certified its eligibility for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan.
As detailed in the settlement agreement, Chroma Systems admitted that in January 2021 it applied for a second draw PPP loan and certified that it was eligible to receive the loan under the PPP rules. When it applied, Chroma Systems, together with its foreign affiliate, had over 1,800 employees.
Congress enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and the Economic Security Act (CARES Act) on March 29, 2020, to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans who were suffering the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act authorized forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain approved expenses through the PPP. On May 5, 2020, the SBA issued guidance that explained that, for purposes of meeting size eligibility requirements (i.e. whether the applicant is a “small business concern” or otherwise falls below the cap on employee headcount) an applicant must count all of its employees and the employees of its U.S. and foreign affiliates, absent a waiver of or an exception to the affiliation rules. SBA’s guidance also made clear that it would only enforce this rule prospectively, i.e. for applications made on or after May 5, 2020. On Jan. 8, 2021, SBA announced the availability of a second round of PPP loans, known as the “second draw” PPP loans. Businesses with more than 300 employees were not eligible for second draw loans.
The settlement credits Chroma Systems for cooperation under the Department of Justice’s Guidelines for Taking Voluntary Disclosure, Cooperation and Remediation into Account in False Claims Act Matters.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and the U.S. Small Business Administration made the announcement today. Assistant United States Attorney Steven Sharobem of the Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit handled the case.
Cheyenne trio sentenced for trafficking fentanylRead the Press Release
U.S. Attorney Smith announced that three co-conspirators have recently been sentenced for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Beginning in September of 2024, detectives with the Cheyenne Police Department Community Action Team began an investigation into the distribution of fentanyl in the Cheyenne area. All three convictions were obtained through plea agreements resulting in a minimum of 12 years in federal prison.
According to court documents, through surveillance and interviews, investigators were able to track Brady Ehlers and Ashley Haberman’s movements as they purchased fentanyl from Colorado and distributed it in Laramie County. Detectives obtained search warrants, resulting in the seizure of fentanyl and drug paraphernalia from Ehler’s vehicle and their shared hotel room. The investigation also revealed that they were redistributing the fentanyl for several months and that one redistributor, Stacy Scrak, sold the fentanyl to another person who overdosed. The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Cheyenne Police Department investigated the crime.
U.S. Attorney Smith said, “It is devastating to see the impact that this terrible drug has had across our nation. Knowing that fentanyl has a high rate of death, it makes it that much harder to understand how people can put profit over human life. I am grateful for the strong alliance between the Cheyenne Police Department and the Drug Enforcement Administration, and I commend their work on this case.”
Brady Joseph Ehlers, 35, of Evanston was sentenced to a total of 168 months’ imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and distribution of fentanyl. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mackenzie Morrison prosecuted the case. A criminal complaint was filed Nov. 16, 2024, and Ehlers pleaded guilty on Feb. 28. U.S. District Judge Alan B. Johnson imposed the sentence in Cheyenne on April 15. Case No. 25-CR-00026
Ashley Nicole Haberman, 40, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, was sentenced to a total of 144 months’ imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and distribution of fentanyl. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mackenzie Morrison prosecuted the case. A criminal complaint was filed Nov 26, 2024, and Haberman pleaded guilty on March 18. U.S. District Judge Scott W. Skavdahl imposed the sentence in Casper on June 5. Case No. 25-CR-00033.
Stacey Claire Scrak, 28, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, was sentenced to 144 months’ imprisonment with three years of supervised release to follow for the distribution of fentanyl. Assistant U.S. Attorney Z. Seth Griswold prosecuted the case. Scrak was arrested on complaint Feb. 19 and pleaded guilty on April 17. Chief U.S. District Court Judge Kelly H. Rankin imposed the sentence on Oct. 8 in Cheyenne.
Case No. 24-CR-00067
Cheyenne restaurant owner sentenced for filing false tax returnRead the Press Release
CHEYENNE, WYOMING – Shu Ping Chen, 48, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison with no supervised release for filing a false tax return. U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson imposed the sentence on October 28 in Cheyenne. Chen was also ordered to pay restitution totaling $293,270 to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and $66,426 to the State of Wyoming, a $75,000 fine, and $35,000 towards the cost of prosecution.
According to court documents, Chen owned and operated China Buffet restaurant in Cheyenne where she was responsible for the restaurant’s day-to-day operations and financial reporting. From at least 2018, Chen knowingly provided false financial information to her Certified Public Accountant (CPA), fully aware that the CPA would use this information to prepare and file her tax returns. Specifically, for tax years 2018 through 2022, Chen willfully underreported the restaurant’s gross cash receipts by providing false figures to her CPA. The total underreported amount over the five-year period was $959,693.94, resulting in a tax loss of $293,270 to the IRS and $66,426 to the State of Wyoming.
On January 4, 2024, the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) executed search warrants at both the restaurant and Chen’s residence. During the search, Chen was caught attempting to destroy business records.
Chen waived indictment and pleaded guilty to the charges on August 5, following the filing of an Information on July 11. The case was investigated by the IRS-Criminal Investigation division.
“Tax fraud is a serious crime that undermines the integrity of our tax system and places an unfair burden on honest taxpayers,” said U.S. Attorney Darin Smith. “This sentence demonstrates the commitment of IRS-Criminal Investigation to holding individuals accountable for their actions and ensuring that everyone pays their fair share.”
Casamero Lake Woman Pleads Guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter in Fatal Hit-and-RunRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A Casamero Lake woman pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter after striking and killing a pedestrian on a dirt road while driving drunk.
According to court documents, on or about August 6, 2024, Debbie Rojack, 45, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, hit and killed John Doe on a dirt road after drinking a 6-pack of beer the day of the incident. John Doe’s body was found on the side of the road four days later. The cause of death is listed as blunt force trauma. Investigators located car parts in the area of John Doe’s body which later came back to a vehicle owned by Rojack.
On October 4, 2024, Special Agents spoke to Rojack again, who stated that she had heard that someone was killed in the same canyon where her accident had occurred and confirmed that she was the only person in the vehicle at the time of the accident.
Rojack pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. At sentencing, Rojack faces up to eight years in prison. Upon her release from prison, Rojack will be subject to three years of supervised release.
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 Gallup Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations and the New Mexico State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittany DuChaussee is prosecuting the case.
This press release was posted November 13, after the end of the federal government shutdown.
California Man Who Distributed Hundreds of Pounds of Meth in Dubuque Sentenced to Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
A man who distributed hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine and cocaine to co-conspirators in the Dubuque, Iowa, area, was sentenced today to more than 15 years in federal prison.
Juan Jose Ruiz, age 29, from Visalia, California, received the prison term after an April 24, 2025 guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine and 50 grams or more of actual (pure) methamphetamine.
Evidence at sentencing showed that in 2021, Ruiz was responsible for distributing 200 pounds of methamphetamine and 2,000 grams of cocaine to other members of a drug-trafficking organization based in Dubuque, Iowa. In December 2021, Ruiz was driving a car from California to Iowa, when law enforcement stopped him in Colorado. Law enforcement searched his car and, under cutout doors in the metal floor of the car, found 25 pounds of ice methamphetamine.
Ruiz was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Ruiz was sentenced to 188 months’ imprisonment and must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
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).
Ruiz is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Devra T. Hake and investigated by the Dubuque Drug Task Force, Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office, Dubuque Police Department, Quad City Metropolitan Enforcement Group, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation Criminalistics Laboratory.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is 23-CR-1006.
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Court Proceedings During Government ShutdownRead the Press Release
Despite the recent government shutdown, federal courts across the nation utilized various resources to guarantee the continuity of justice and continued to operate on essential cases, including criminal prosecutions, immigration hearings, and civil rights violations.
This press release outlines the significant court hearings that were conducted in the Middle District of Louisiana during this period, highlighting their importance in maintaining legal processes and upholding citizens’ rights.
Damian R. Raby, age 42, of Gonzales, Louisiana, was sentenced by U.S. Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick to 216 months in federal prison following his convictions for conspiracy to launder money and obstructing the administration of the internal revenue laws, relating to a multimillion-dollar scheme to defraud a COVID-19 economic relief program. Raby must serve three years of supervised release upon completing his term of imprisonment. In addition to the term of imprisonment, Raby was ordered to pay $2,603,678,04 in restitution to the U.S. Treasury and forfeit an additional $2,045,241.58.
Trisha Milstead, age 53, of Newport, Tennessee, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian A. Jackson to 21 months in federal prison following her conviction for wire fraud. Milstead must serve three years of supervised release upon completing her term of imprisonment. In addition to the term of imprisonment, Milstead was ordered to pay $2,623.58 in restitution.
Antonio Felipe Belda, age 39, of Ontario, Canada, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge John W. deGravelles to 120 months in federal prison following his conviction for possession of child pornography. Belda must serve five years of supervised release upon completing his term of imprisonment. In addition to the term of imprisonment, the Court imposed a fine of $17,000, ordered Belda to pay $6,000 in restitution, and ordered him to register as a sex offender upon his release. Belda may also be deported from the United States upon completing his sentence.
Quarles James Harris, age 51, of Zachary, Louisiana, pled guilty before Chief Judge Shelly Dick to bank robbery and related firearms offenses.
Six individuals pled guilty before Judge Brian A. Jackson to various charges, including firearm and drug trafficking offenses resulting from an investigation into a drug trafficking organization based out of Ascension Parish. This case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information about Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, please visit Justice.gov/OCDETF.
- Leroy Miles, age 46, of Donaldsonville, Louisiana, for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute heroin, cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and oxycodone, possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon, and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime;
- Joseph Brown, age 38, of Donaldsonville, Louisiana, for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute heroin, cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and oxycodone, and distribution of heroin and fentanyl;
- James Miles, age 48, of Donaldsonville, Louisiana, for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute heroin, cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and oxycodone;
- Corey Powe, age 56, of Donaldsonville, Louisiana, for possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime;
- Marishell Ealem, age 39, of Donaldsonville, Louisiana, for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute heroin, cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and oxycodone, and distribution of heroin and fentanyl; and
- Destiny Renee McBride, age 35, of Donaldsonville, Louisiana, for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute heroin, cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine, and oxycodone.
A federal grand jury returned an eight-count indictment charging Anisha Devall Hunter, age 47, of Denham Springs, Louisiana, with wire fraud. Hunter appeared for her arraignment and pled not guilty to the pending charges. An indictment is an accusation by a grand jury. The defendant is presumed innocent until and unless adjudicated guilty at trial or through a guilty plea.
U.S. Attorney Kurt Wall stated, “The resilience exhibited by my office and the judiciary during this challenging time underscores the commitment to maintaining the rule of law. We remain committed in our service to the communities within the Middle District of Louisiana.”
Brockton Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison for Fentanyl Trafficking and Possessing a Loaded FirearmRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Brockton man was sentenced on Oct. 3, 2025 in federal court in Boston for possessing with intent to distribute over 70 grams of fentanyl and possessing a handgun loaded with 14 rounds of ammunition.
Edson Gomes, 28, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Patti B. Saris to 10 years in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release. In June 2025, Gomes pleaded guilty to one count of possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl and one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition.
Gomes was arrested on Aug. 14, 2023, after law enforcement encountered him in a Brockton apartment building. During the interaction, the bottom of a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson pistol was observed protruding from Gomes’s pant pocket. The firearm had a defaced serial number and was loaded with 14 rounds of ammunition. Four bags of fentanyl weighing approximately 72 grams and $1,488 in cash were also located in Gomes’s pockets. A search warrant was subsequently obtained for the apartment and other items associated with drug dealing were also located.
At the time of his arrest, Gomes was on supervised release for a prior federal drug dealing conviction. In June 2017, Gomes was sentenced to 71 months in prison and three years of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl. As a condition of his supervised release, Gomes was banned from entering the City of Brockton without permission. At the Oct. 3, 2025 hearing, Gomes was also sentenced to 24 months in prison for violating his supervised release, which was the statutory maximum penalty.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police, the Brockton Police Department and the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Cutshall of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit prosecuted the case.
Brazilian National Sentenced to Prison for Selling Firearms Without a LicenseRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Brazilian national unlawfully living in Worcester was sentenced on Oct. 23, 2025 for engaging in the business of selling firearms without a license.
Israel Dos Santos, 25, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian Murphy to two years in prison. The defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of the imposed sentence. In July 2025, Dos Santos pleaded guilty to one count of engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license.
Between May 2024 and July 2024, Dos Santos sold nine firearms to a cooperating witness without the required license in exchange for cash. In addition to firearms, Dos Santos also sold ammunition and magazines, some of which were large capacity magazines. One firearm had an obliterated serial number.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Thomas Greco, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Patricia H. Hyde, Acting Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Framingham and Worcester Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Crowley and John Reynolds of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit prosecuted the case.
Brazilian National Sentenced to Prison for Receiving and Possessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Brazilian national, residing in Lynn, Mass., was sentenced on Oct. 8, 2025 in federal court in Boston for receiving and possessing over 100 files of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Wernher Heideriqui, 38, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearn to 66 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release, during which time Heideriqui will be required to register as a sex offender. The defendant will be subject to deportation upon completion of the imposed sentence. In April 2025, Heideriqui pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. Heideriqui was arrested on June 9, 2023 after being smuggled across the U.S. border into Canada.
In August 2021, an investigation began following a CyberTip regarding the trafficking of CSAM. During a search of Heideriqui’s residence and person in May 2023, multiple electronic devices, including phones and computers, were located and seized. Forensic examination of the devices revealed that two devices had over 100 files depicting adult men raping children as young as four years old.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Lynn Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica L. Soto of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.
The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.
Brazilian National Sentenced for Selling a Dozen Firearms and Ammunition Without a LicenseRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Brazilian national unlawfully living in Fall River and on Cape Cod was sentenced on Oct. 3, 2025 for selling 12 firearms and large capacity magazines without a license.
Alason Ferreira-Peixoto, 23, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Angel Kelley to 35 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. The defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of the imposed sentence. In June 2025, Ferreira-Peixoto pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to engage in the business of dealing firearms without a license and one count of engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license.
Between June 2024 and August 2024, Ferreira-Peixoto sold 12 firearms to cooperating witnesses without the required license in exchange for cash. Ferreira-Peixoto also conspired with others to obtain the firearms in South Carolina and sell them in Massachusetts. In addition to firearms, Ferreira-Peixoto also sold ammunition and magazines, some of which were large capacity magazines.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Thomas Greco, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Patricia H. Hyde, Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Barnstable and Fall River Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Crowley and John Reynolds of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit prosecuted the case.
Brazilian National Sentenced for Selling Firearms Without a License and ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Brazilian national unlawfully living in Milford was sentenced on Oct. 24, 2025 in federal court in Worcester for conspiracy and engaging in the business of selling firearms without a license.
Rafaell Martins Ferreira, 28, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Margaret R. Guzman to time-served (approximately 13 months) followed by two years of supervised release. The defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of the imposed sentence. In July 2025, Martins Ferreira pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to engage in the business of dealing firearms without a license and one count of engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license.
Between February and March 2024, Martins Ferreira sold two firearms to cooperating witnesses without the required license. In addition, Martins Ferreira indicated he had access to additional firearms. One of these firearms included a large capacity magazine (capable of holding more than 15 rounds of ammunition).
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Thomas Greco, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; Patricia H. Hyde, Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Milford Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Crowley and John Reynolds of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit prosecuted the case.
Brazilian National Sentenced for Selling Firearms Without a License and ConspiracyRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Brazilian national unlawfully residing in Florida was sentenced on Oct. 29, 2025 in federal court in Worcester for conspiracy and engaging in the business of to sell firearms without a license.
Marcos Alves Silva, 24, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Margaret R. Guzman to 18 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. The defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of the imposed sentence. In June 2025, Silva pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to engage in the business of dealing firearms without a license and one count of engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license.
Between March 2024 and June 2024, Silva shipped nine firearms to individuals in Massachusetts. In addition to firearms, Silva also sold ammunition and magazines, some of which were large capacity magazines.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Thomas Greco, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; Patricia H. Hyde, Acting Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Milford Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Crowley and John Reynolds of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit prosecuted the case.
Brazilian National Sentenced for Selling 11 Firearms Without a LicenseRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Brazilian national unlawfully living in Milford was sentenced on Oct. 7, 2025 for selling firearms and ammunition without a license.
Vanderson Rocha Oliveira, 31, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Margaret R. Guzman to three years in prison followed by two years of supervised release. The defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of the imposed sentence. In July 2025, Rocha Oliveira pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to engage in the business of dealing firearms without a license and one count of engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license.
Between March 2024 and September 2024, Rocha Oliveira sold 11 firearms to cooperating witnesses without the required license. In addition, three more firearms shipped from Florida were intercepted by law enforcement. Rocha Oliveira conspired with others to deliver the firearms and to obtained them from Florida. In addition to firearms, Rocha Oliveira also sold ammunition and magazines, some of which were large capacity magazines.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Thomas Greco, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Patricia H. Hyde, Acting Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Milford Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Crowley and John Reynolds of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit prosecuted the case.
Brazilian National Sentenced for Conspiracy to Obtain Driver's Licenses for Illegal AliensRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Brazilian national illegally residing in Danbury, Conn. was sentenced on Oct. 2, 2025 for conspiring to obtain driver’s licenses for ineligible applicants, principally illegal aliens.
Helbert Costa Generoso, 41, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman to nine months in prison. The defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of the imposed sentence. In June 2025, Helbert Costa Generoso pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to unlawfully produce and possess with intent to transfer identification documents and one count of furnishing a false passport to another for use. In December 2024, Costa Generoso was charged along with four co-conspirators.
From in or about November 2020 through in or about September 2024, Costa Generoso and his alleged co-conspirators fraudulently procured driver’s licenses for illegal alien customers who resided in states that prohibited illegal aliens from obtaining driver’s licenses. Prior to July 2023, illegal aliens residing in Massachusetts were not permitted to obtain Massachusetts driver’s licenses. Beginning in 2019, illegal aliens residing in New York became eligible to obtain New York driver’s licenses.
Costa Generoso and his alleged co-conspirators conspired to fraudulently obtain New York driver’s licenses for illegal alien customers who did not reside in New York, including Massachusetts residents, and after July 2023 to fraudulently obtain Massachusetts driver’s licenses for illegal alien customers who did not reside in Massachusetts. In exchange for fraudulently obtaining the driver’s licenses, the co-conspirators allegedly typically charged approximately $1,400 per customer. Costa Generoso also charged $1,400 to obtain fraudulent foreign passports in the customers’ names, to be used as identification in the driver’s license applications.
In New York, before obtaining a driver’s license, applicants were required to pass a written permit test and complete driver’s education coursework from a New York driving school. Online permit test-takers were required by the New York Department of Motor Vehicles (NY DMV) to take a picture of themselves with a web camera during the test. This was to ensure that the test-taker was indeed the applicant and that there was not a person sitting with and helping the applicant with the test.
To avoid the customers having to take the permit tests, the co-conspirators allegedly conspired to obtain several pictures of the customers sitting down, making it look as if the customers were taking the tests. They also allegedly conspired to complete the permit tests for the customers online and, when prompted by the NY DMV to take pictures during the tests, they uploaded the pictures that the customers previously provided – purporting to show that it was the customers who were taking the tests, not the defendants. Costa Generoso and his alleged co-defendants also conspired to create fraudulent driver’s education certificates of completion, purportedly from New York driving schools, and conspired to forge the signatures of driving school staff on the fake certificates.
The NY DMV also required that applicants appear at a NY DMV location and provide documents to prove their identity and residence in New York. The co-conspirators allegedly conspired to meet Massachusetts-based customers at locations in Massachusetts – typically several customers at a time – and drive them to NY DMV branch locations. When they arrived at the NY DMV locations, the defendants allegedly gave the customers fraudulent documents falsely purporting to demonstrate that the customers resided in New York. The customers provided these fake records to the NY DMV staff, and the NY DMV relied on the misrepresentations to issue New York driving permits to the customers. The co-conspirators allegedly conspired to arrange for the NY DMV to mail the permits to locations in New York that were controlled by the defendants and provided the permits to the customers in-person. The defendants then allegedly conspired to schedule road driving license tests for the customers with the NY DMV and, again, drive the customers to New York for them to take the road tests. If the customers passed the tests, the NY DMV sent the driver’s licenses to mailing addresses in New York that the defendants allegedly controlled, and the defendants then provided the licenses to the customers.
The defendants allegedly conspired to obtain Massachusetts driver’s licenses for out-of-state residents, in generally the same manner as they obtained the New York licenses for Massachusetts residents. Collectively, the co-conspirators allegedly fraudulently applied for licenses for more than 1,000 customers, obtained licenses for more than 600 of the customers and collected at least hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Costa Generoso is the second defendant to plead guilty in the case. In September 2025, defendant Cesar Agusto Martin Reis was sentenced to time served (290 days in prison), for his role in the conspiracy.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Kelly Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the NY DMV Division of Field Investigation; the Boston, Danbury (Conn.) and Waterbury (Conn.) Police Departments; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut; and the New York State Inspector General’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan O’Shea of the Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Brazilian National Convicted of Role in Large-Scale Human Smuggling RingRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Brazilian national illegally residing in Worcester, Mass., pleaded guilty on Oct. 22, 20025 to his involvement in a conspiracy to smuggle aliens into the United States, money laundering conspiracy and illegal reentry. Case is part of significant international law enforcement operation targeting alien smugglers in United States and Brazil.
Flavio Alexandre Alves, a/k/a “Ronaldo,” 41, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to bring aliens to and transport aliens within the United States, one count of conspiracy to launder money and one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien. U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman scheduled sentencing for Dec. 12, 2025. The defendant was previously arrested and charged by criminal complaint with human smuggling in March 2025 and remains in federal custody.
According to the charging documents, Alves was previously convicted of human smuggling offenses in the Central District of California in 2004 and subsequently deported to Brazil in February 2005. Sometime after his removal, Alves illegally re-entered the United States and has been residing in the United States without immigration status.
In April 2022, an investigation began into a human smuggling organization (HSO) operating in the United States, Brazil and Mexico, that smuggles Brazilian nationals through Mexico, across the U.S.-Mexico border and into the United States for financial gain and laundering the proceeds. The investigation identified Alves as domestic-based smuggler for the HSO who joined the organization in 2021. Alves coordinated with co-conspirators in Brazil and Mexico to facilitate the transportation of aliens from Brazil into the United States, launder funds to Mexico to support the HSO and collect smuggling fees paid by or on behalf of the Brazilian nationals being smuggled.
Specifically, Alves was responsible for purchasing airline tickets for aliens – including families and groups – to various places within the United States. This included purchasing airline tickets for Brazilian nationals to travel from border cities to other locations across the United States shortly after the aliens were encountered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and released from detention. Between May 2021 and August 2022, Alves purchased more than 100 individual airline tickets from Tucson or Phoenix shortly after CBP encounters, to destination cities throughout the United States.
Alves sent money to aliens and smugglers located in Mexico to pay for expenses associated with transit into the United States. Bank and financial records obtained during the investigation revealed that Alves sent hundreds of thousands of dollars in money transfers to facilitate the travel of aliens who were later encountered by immigration authorities illegally crossing into the United States, and paid smugglers in Mexico for their role in the HSO. Additionally, Alves utilized different methods to conceal the nature and frequency of the transfers, including using in-person money transfer services at various locations throughout Massachusetts; providing different variations of his name and home address; and having other close associates conduct the transactions on his behalf.
Alves also collected payments from aliens as the fee for being smuggled into the United States – taking a percentage of the fee as his “cut” and transferring the remainder of the money to other members of the HSO based in Mexico.
The investigation and arrest of Alves was coordinated under Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA) and the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) Program. JTFA, a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security , has been elevated and expanded by the Attorney General with a mandate to target cartels and transnational criminal organizations to eliminate human smuggling and trafficking networks operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama and Colombia that impact public safety and the security of our borders. JTFA is comprised of detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the southwest border. Dedicated support is provided by numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, led by the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and supported by the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, Office of Enforcement Operations and the Office of International Affairs, among others. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, FBI, DEA and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 355 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers and significant facilitators of alien smuggling; more than 315 U.S. convictions; more than 260 significant jail sentences imposed; and forfeitures of substantial assets.
The ECT program is a partnership between the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and HSI and focuses on human smuggling networks that may present particular national security or public safety risks, or present grave humanitarian concerns. ECT has dedicated investigative, intelligence and prosecutorial resources. ECT also coordinates and receives assistance from other U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. 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 charge of conspiracy to bring aliens to, or transport an alien within, the United States in violation of law provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of conspiracy to launder money provides for sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of unlawful reentry of a deported alien provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and up to $250,000 fine. The defendant is subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of any sentence imposed. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Brasília, Brazil Attaché Troy Clausen for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations made the announcement today. Substantial assistance was provided by HSI Offices in Brasilia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia; HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C; U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force; and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Noto of the Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case along with Trial Attorney Alexandra Skinnion and Acting Deputy Chief Frank Rangoussis of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights & Special Prosecutions Section.
Bradenton Woman Indicted for Passport Fraud and Theft Related to Government FundsRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Jane Doe, a/k/a Rosario Alaniz (69, Bradenton), with one count of passport fraud, two counts of Social Security fraud, five counts of wire fraud, and two counts of theft of government funds. If convicted, Doe faces a maximum penalty 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count, up to 10 years’ imprisonment for the passport fraud count and each theft offense, and a maximum of 5 years in prison for each count of Social Security fraud.
According to the indictment, Doe fraudulently obtained a United States passport and using this fraudulent identity received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits from the Department of Agriculture, as well as benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSA) through disability insurance benefits. Doe failed to disclose employment, fraudulently securing payments when either no payment was due or in a greater amount than authorized. Doe has received government benefits of approximately $183,800.
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.
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.
Bloomfield Man Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison for Sexual AbuseRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A Bloomfield man was sentenced to 208 months prison for sexually abusing an incapacitated minor victim.
There is no parole in the federal system.
According to court documents, between February 26 and February 27 of 2016, Donovan Pete, 44, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, engaged in and attempted to engage in a sexual act with a sleeping minor victim.
Pete pled guilty to sexual abuse. Upon his release from prison, Pete will be subject to 15 years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender.
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 Farmington Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Brittany DuChaussee is prosecuting the case.
This press release was posted November 13, after the end of the federal government shutdown.
Bibb County murderer sentenced to 25 years on federal firearms chargesRead the Press Release
ATLANTA – Sterling Breynard Bell was sentenced to federal prison for firearms charges related to the murder of a young woman whose body was found along a highway near Macon, Georgia, nearly a decade ago.
“The diligence of a federal special agent solved a murder and prevented the conviction of an innocent man,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “By using tools designed to test ballistics, the federal agent linked a gun seized from Bell to shell casings recovered from a murder scene two years earlier. The man initially charged the murder was exonerated, and Bell was brought to justice.”
“This case underscores the vital role that the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network plays in solving violent crimes,” said ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Beau Kolodka. “By linking the firearm used in this tragic murder to Sterling Bell, our agents demonstrated the power of technology in the pursuit of justice.”
According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, the charges, and other information presented in court: On August 7, 2016, the body of 27-year-old Kendra Roberts was found along a highway near Macon, Georgia. Roberts had been shot multiple times at close range, including twice to the face and once to the back of the head. The next day, Roberts’s boyfriend was charged with the murder.
Roberts’s boyfriend remained in custody for months. However, without realizing any connection to Roberts’s murder, the Clarkston Police Department seized a Glock 9mm pistol from Sterling Bell just ten days after the murder. The Bibb County deputies who were investigating Roberts’s murder were unaware that Bell had purchased that Glock mere weeks before the murder by lying to the seller about his daily drug use.
In 2018, an ATF special agent used the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN) to confirm that Bell’s gun was the murder weapon. ATF continued to investigate Bell and learned that he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and refused to take his prescribed medication. Bell was arrested on federal firearms charges in October 2018, while the charges against Roberts’s boyfriend were dismissed. Bell later admitted to killing Roberts and was sentenced by a state judge to 20 years of imprisonment with the possibility of parole after serving 1/3 of the sentence.
On October 1, 2025, Chief U.S. District Judge Leigh Martin May sentenced Sterling Breynard Bell, 35, of Clarkston, Georgia, to 25 years in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. While on supervised release, Bell will be required to submit to mental health and substance abuse treatment. On July 3, 2025, Bell pleaded guilty to one count of false statements to a federal firearms licensee and two counts of illegal possession of a firearm as an unlawful user of a controlled substance.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laurel B. Milam and Phyllis Clerk prosecuted the case.
For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
Belen Man Pleads Guilty to $50,000 Unemployment Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A Belen man pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges after submitting 21 fraudulent unemployment insurance applications using stolen identities during the pandemic.
According to court documents, between June 18, 2020, to October 15, 2021, Joseph Anthony Martinez, 44, submitted 21 fraudulent unemployment insurance claim applications through the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions using his own name, variations of his name, and the stolen identities of others. To that end, Martinez provided false employment information and opened bank accounts in other individuals' names without authorization to receive the fraudulent payments totaling more than $50,000.
Martinez pleaded guilty to two counts of mail fraud and one count of theft of government property. At sentencing, Martinez faces up to 20 years in prison. Upon his release from prison, Martinez will be subject to one year of supervised release.
Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison made the announcement today.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General investigated this case with assistance from NM Workforce Solutions and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office. Deputy U.S. Attorney Kimberly A. Brawley is prosecuting the case.
This press release was posted November 13, after the end of the federal government shutdown.
Baltimore County Woman Sentenced for Impersonating Nurses and Aggravated Identity TheftRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Thomasina E. Amponsah, 51, of Baltimore County, Maryland, to 38 months in federal prison for making false statements in connection to health care matters and aggravated identity theft. Amponsah used stolen nursing licenses to obtain employment as a registered nurse (RN) and licensed practical nurse (LPN) but never held a nursing license or credential of her own.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon, Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG).
According to the plea agreement, beginning in or about September 2019, and continuing until in or about August 2023, Amponsah used stolen nursing credentials and false educational and professional histories. This helped her to obtain health care work as a purported licensed nurse at no less than 40 facilities in Maryland. Most of the facilities served as skilled nursing facilities that provided in-patient rehabilitation and medical treatment centers and were staffed with trained medical professionals.
These facilities billed for services that Amponsah provided to health care benefit programs, including Medicare and Medicaid. Other facilities included a Baltimore City public school and multiple nursing homes. Amponsah earned more than $145,000 in wages from working at these facilities with her false credentials.
On or about August 21, 2019, Amponsah submitted a job application to Nursing Facility 1. In her application, Amponsah fraudulently used a Maryland nursing license number issued to Identity Victim T.R.S. She also provided a duplicated picture of Identity Victim T.R.S.’s nursing license to Nursing Facility 1.
Additionally, on her application, Amponsah modified her name to falsely include Identity Victim T.R.S.’s last name as part of her purported name. In her purported professional and educational history, Amponsah also claimed that she previously served as an LPN supervisor, and that she held a nursing degree from Florida State University, although neither claim was true.
As a result of this fraudulent application, Nursing Facility 1 hired Amponsah as an LPN. Nursing Facility 1 terminated Amponsah after she admitted forging a physician’s signature for Tramadol — an opioid painkiller — on a controlled medication prescription form and then faxing the form to a pharmacy.
Amponsah also admitted she used a second stolen identity to obtain nursing positions. On or about July 18, 2021, Amponsah submitted an online job application to Staffing Agency 1. Nurses who work for Staffing Agency 1 can sign up for nursing shifts at partner facilities. On her Staffing Agency 1 application, Amponsah used a Florida nursing license number that belonged to Identity Victim E.A. She also provided a duplicated picture of Identity Victim E.A.’s nursing license to Staffing Agency 1 and submitted a fictitious resume.
Additionally, Amponsah used her fabricated application to obtain employment in numerous other skilled nursing facilities. In total, between July 18, 2021, and October 9, 2022, Amponsah worked for at least 21 different skilled nursing facilities in connection with her fictitious Staffing Agency 1 application.
Through Staffing Agency 1, Amponsah also obtained several shifts at Nursing Facility 2 in October 2022. During these shifts, Amponsah failed to administer prescribed medication to multiple patients and falsified the corresponding medical records. Although Nursing Facility 2 and Staffing Agency 1 confronted and eventually terminated Amponsah for working as an unlicensed nurse, she continued applying for and accepting employment as a licensed nurse using Identity Victim T.R.S.’s and Identity Victim E.A.’s credentials through August 2023.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the HHS-OIG for its work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph L. Wenner and Sean R. Delaney, who prosecuted the case, and recognized Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Phelps and Paralegal Specialist Joanna B.N. Huber, for their valuable assistance.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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Attleboro Woman Pleads Guilty to Embezzling More Than $400,000Read the Press Release
BOSTON – The former office manager for a Franklin environmental services business pleaded guilty on Oct. 15, 2025 in federal court in Boston to embezzling more than $400,000 from her employer.
Marie Hobson, 54, of Attleboro, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud and one count of filing a false tax return. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for Jan. 22, 2026. Hobson was charged on Oct. 1, 2025.
Between December 2019 and March 2025, Hobson inflated her own payroll by adding approximately $268,046 in phony expense reimbursements, such as uniform costs even though Hobson did not wear a uniform in her position. To conceal the thefts, Hobson manipulated her employer’s accounting software to make it appear she was only receiving her weekly salary. Hobson also misused her company-issued credit card to pay for country club memberships, vacations, cruises, timeshares and personal residence costs totaling more than $105,000.
To further conceal her scheme, Hobson failed to report the funds that she embezzled on her federal income tax filings for tax years 2021 through 2024, resulting in a tax loss to the government of approximately $81,000.
The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, restitution and forfeiture. The charge of filing a false tax return provides for a sentence of up to three years in prison, one year of supervised release and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Thomas E. Demeo, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston made the announcement today. The Franklin Police Department provided valuable assistance with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rilwan Adeduntan of the Securities, Financial & Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.
Atlanta Man Convicted at Trial for Trafficking Thousands of Methamphetamine Pills and Illegally Possessing a FirearmRead the Press Release
MOBILE, AL – In October 2025 a federal jury convicted an Atlanta, Georgia, man for engaging in a yearslong methamphetamine-trafficking conspiracy, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
According to court documents and evidence presented at a weeklong trial, Kenyatta Lee Frazier, 44, manufactured and distributed tens of thousands of pressed methamphetamine pills throughout Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi between September 2022 and August 2024. The jury reviewed numerous photos and videos of the pills that Frazier took with his cell phones after manufacturing them with an illegal pill press machine. Frazier marketed and sold the pills as “ecstasy” to his various customers.
In April 2023, agents arrested Frazier and a coconspirator during a traffic stop in Mobile after they had delivered 2,000 pressed methamphetamine pills to a customer in Mississippi. A court-authorized CCTV recording device installed in the truck in which Frazier was a passenger captured Frazier discussing drug deals, illicit profits, and the quality of his so-called “ecstasy” pills with coconspirators. When agents searched the truck, they found a loaded .380 caliber pistol that Frazier had concealed behind the plastic molding in the floorboard area near where he had been sitting. The pistol had previously been reported stolen out of Pinellas County, Florida.
The jury reviewed text messages in which Frazier had shared photos of the same pistol in an effort to sell it, as well as a recorded jail call in which Frazier admitted that he “stuffed” the pistol so that police would not find it. At the time Frazier illegally possessed the pistol, he previously had been convicted of at least eight felonies, including robbery, aggravated assault, firearms offenses, thefts, and drug crimes.
Frazier’s convictions carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 30 years to life in prison. He will be sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Jeffrey U. Beaverstock in February 2026.
U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.
Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office are investigating the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Roller and George May are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.
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).
Artesia Drug Dealer Gets 20-Year Federal SentenceRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – An Artesia man was sentenced to 240 months in prison for selling pure methamphetamine and fentanyl pills to an undercover agent.
There is no parole in the federal system.
According to court records, on April 3, 2024, Sammie Joe Peralta, 49, sold 859 grams of pure methamphetamine and fentanyl pills to an undercover Homeland Security Investigations agent at a gas station in Artesia, New Mexico. When Peralta was arrested, he was found with three handguns and an additional 126 grams of pure methamphetamine.
Peralta pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Upon his release from prison, Peralta will be subject to five years of supervised release.
Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Jason T. Stevens, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations - El Paso, made the announcement today.
Homeland Security Investigations investigated this case with assistance from Pecos Valley Drug Task Force, and the Eddy County Sherrif’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Kirk Williams is prosecuting the case.
This press release was posted November 13, after the end of the federal government shutdown.
Armed career criminal sentenced to 15 years in prison for federal drug and firearms offensesRead the Press Release
RICHMOND, Va. – A Farmville man was sentenced yesterday to 15 years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, Oxycodone, and marijuana.
According to court documents, on Feb. 7, 2024, law enforcement observed Tyrone Lamont Fowlkes, 42, in an idling pickup truck in a parking lot in Nottoway County. When a deputy approached the vehicle and tapped on the window, Fowlkes fled at high speed and the deputy pursued. Fowlkes eventually crashed into a tree, totaling the vehicle and causing serious injuries to himself.
From the truck, law enforcement recovered three firearms, three digital scales, $948.84, 198 grams of cocaine, four methamphetamine pills, 60 Oxycodone pills, and 455 grams of marijuana. One of the firearms had been stolen.
On Aug. 9, 2024, with several arrest warrants arising from the Feb. 7, 2024, incident still outstanding, law enforcement observed Fowlkes driving an SUV in Nottoway County. During a traffic stop, a police K9 alerted to the presence of narcotics inside the vehicle. Inside the vehicle, law enforcement found three firearms, a large-capacity magazine, two digital scales, $1,260, 117 grams of cocaine, 20 grams of methamphetamine, 24 Oxycodone pills, and 321 grams of marijuana.
Fowlkes was found guilty in 2008 and again in 2011 of distributing cocaine and in 2021 of possessing with intent to distribute marijuana for a 2019 incident during which he possessed a firearm. As a convicted felon, Fowlkes cannot legally possess firearms or ammunition.
Lindsey Halligan, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Anthony A. Spotswood, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr. The Nottoway County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the investigation of this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick J. McGorman prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to 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. 3:25-cr-25.
Armed Career Criminal Sentenced to 25 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle has sentenced Darius Lavon Williams (40, Hudson) to 25 years in federal prison for possessing with the intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
According to court documents, deputies with the Pasco Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle being driven by Williams. During a search of the vehicle, deputies located two firearms, two ounces of cocaine, an ounce of fentanyl, over two ounces of cocaine base, marijuana, THC wax, psylocibin gummies, and a digital scale. Williams has an extensive criminal history, including aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, felon in possession of a firearm, and eight prior convictions for sale of cocaine.
This case was investigated by the Pasco Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David P. Sullivan.
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.
Albuquerque Man Charged with Drug Trafficking and Firearms OffensesRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – An Albuquerque man has been charged with federal drug and weapons offenses after U.S. Marshals arrested him on a supervised release violation last month.
According to court documents, on September 8, 2025, Orlando Mario Jude Serrano, 44, was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service on an active federal warrant for violating his supervised release. During the arrest in Albuquerque, agents recovered approximately 1,283 grams of fentanyl pills, 364 grams of methamphetamine, crack cocaine, and a Glock pistol equipped with a machinegun conversion device inside a camera bag and lunch bag Serrano was carrying and inside his vehicle.
Serrano was previously convicted in 2015 for drug trafficking and felon in possession of a firearm.
Serrano is charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine, possession of a machinegun in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and felon in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the current charges, Serrano faces no less than 10 years and up to life in prison.
Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Jason T. Stevens, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations El Paso, made the announcement today.
Homeland Security Investigations investigated this case with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Oliver Stephanz 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.
This press release was posted November 13, after the end of the federal government shutdown.
Alabama Doctor Pleads Guilty to $6 Million Telemedicine Health Care Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
BOSTON – An Alabama-based doctor pleaded guilty on Oct. 1, 2025 in federal court in Boston to a $6 million telemedicine fraud scheme involving medically unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME) and genetic testing primarily used to detect mutations in genes that could indicate a higher risk of developing certain types of cancers.
Tommie Robinson, 43, pleaded guilty to one count of health care fraud. U.S. Senior District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton scheduled sentencing for Jan. 14, 2026. Robinson was charged in August 2025.
Between December 2018 and March 2021, Robinson worked with telemedicine companies to sign medical documentation, including doctors’ orders, for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment and genetic testing. The orders Robinson signed were pre-populated based on telemarketing calls made to Medicare beneficiaries. Robinson generally did not contact the beneficiaries himself and had no medical relationship with the beneficiaries. DME suppliers and laboratories ultimately submitted claims to Medicare for these signed orders. As a result of Robinson’s participation in this scheme, over $6 million in claims were submitted to Medicare for DME and genetic testing that were medically unnecessary, based on false documentation and tainted by kickbacks.
The charge of health care fraud 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 or twice the gross pecuniary gain or loss, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Robert Coviello, Special Agent in Charge, Health and Human Services-Office of Inspector General; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Boston Division; Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division; Kelly M. Lawson, Acting Regional Director, U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, Boston Regional Office; and Patrick Hegarty, Special Agent in Charge, Defense Criminal Investigation Service, North East Field Office made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard Locker of the Health Care Fraud Unit and Alexandra Brazier and Lindsey Ross of the Affirmative Civil Enforcement Units are prosecuting the case.
Adams Man Pleads Guilty to Sexual Exploitation of a ChildRead the Press Release
BOSTON –An Adams, Mass. man pleaded guilty on Nov. 4, 2025 in federal court to the producing child sexual abuse material.
Brian Warner, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a child before U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun, who scheduled sentencing for Feb. 12, 2026.
According to charging documents, between July 2016 and December 2016, Warner employed, used, persuaded, induced, enticed and coerced a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of that conduct.
The charges of sexual exploitation a child and attempted sexual exploitation of a child provide for a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
Acting United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Michael Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Caroline G. Merck of the Springfield Office is 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. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.