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11 September 2025
Former Jericho Road employee sentenced for theft of funds related to a government programRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Dejan Karlovic, 30, of Amherst, NY, who was convicted of theft of funds related to a government program, was sentenced to serve three months in prison by U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. In addition, he was ordered to pay restitution totaling $584,884.99, and forfeit a BMW, a pickup truck, and more than $240,000 in cash and financial accounts.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles M. Kruly, who handled the case, stated that between January and March 1, 2024, Jericho Road, which operates the Jericho Road Community Health Center, received more than $10,000 in federal grants and funding. Karlovic was employed by Jericho Road as a Senior Grants Accountant, and in that role acted as a liaison between the program and finance side of Jericho Road, with access to several Jericho Road commercial credit cards and other financial accounts. Between March 1 and June 26, 2024, Karlovic stole or intentionally converted funds belonging to Jericho Road totaling $584,884.99, by submitting fake invoices to Jericho Road from a company called “D and D” and making them appear as expenses related to moving and relocation, which is one service Jericho Road provides to its clients. Karlovic then paid these fraudulent invoices using a Jericho Road commercial credit card.
The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Philip Tejera.
Former Fiscal Officer for Brooklyn Charity Sentenced to 21 Months’ Imprisonment for EmbezzlementRead the Press Release
BROOKLYN, NY – Marcia Joseph was sentenced today by United States District Judge Eric N. Vitaliano in federal court in Brooklyn to 21 months’ imprisonment for embezzling funds from her employer, a non-profit organization based in Brooklyn that provides employment and education services for those in need (the Non-Profit). Joseph pleaded guilty to wire fraud in January 2024. As part of her sentence, Joseph was also ordered to pay $2.3 million in restitution and forfeiture in the amount of $2.3 million.
Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Jocelyn E. Strauber, Commissioner, New York City Department of Investigation (DOI) announced the sentence.
“By stealing from a charity she was entrusted to serve, the defendant shamefully diverted resources from those in need to line her own pockets,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “Today’s sentence makes clear that those who exploit non-profits for personal gain will face the loss of their freedom and serious financial penalties. Our Office is committed to protecting non-profit organizations and the communities that rely on them from fraudsters.”
“Marcia Joseph abused her position and access within a non-profit charity to steal more than two million dollars intended to fund critical employment and education services for the city,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia. “For nearly two decades, Joseph selfishly prioritized her extravagant lifestyle at the expense of those who truly needed the financial aid. The FBI remains committed to protecting vulnerable populations from becoming targets of fraudulent and exploitative schemes.”
“Non-profits that receive City funding provide critical services to New Yorkers. As a senior fiscal officer, this defendant had a duty to act in the best interests of this City-funded organization; instead she abused her position and access to steal over $2.3 million, generating fictitious documentation to hide her theft for almost two decades. DOI thanks our law enforcement partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York and the FBI for their commitment to protect the City’s precious resources for the benefit of their intended recipients,” stated DOI Commissioner Strauber.
According to court filings and statements made in court, Joseph was a former senior fiscal officer for the Non-Profit. Joseph admitted stealing $2,339,700 from the Non-Profit and funneled the funds to a sham company she had set up. The invoices described services purportedly provided in connection with a New York City Department of Education educational program focusing on students in shelters and, later, job training for adults in shelters. Over the course of nearly 17 years, Joseph generated and submitted more than 500 fictitious invoices and manipulated the Non-Profit’s accounting systems to avoid detection. She used the stolen funds to pay for numerous personal expenses, including approximately $235,000 in mortgage payments, $207,000 in credit card payments, $98,000 in car payments, $45,000 in Amazon expenses, and various other personal items, such as home remodeling, spa treatment, landscaping expenses, and luxury goods.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Public Integrity Section. Assistant United States Attorney Eric Silverberg is in charge of the prosecution. Assistant United States Attorney Claire S. Kedeshian of the Office’s Asset Recovery Section is handling forfeiture matters and Assistant United States Attorney Daniel Saavedra of the Office’s Financial Litigation Program is assisting with restitution matters.
The Defendant:
MARCIA JOSEPH (also known as “Marcia James,” “Marcia Lewis,” and “Marcia Peters”)
Age: 59
Baldwin, Long IslandE.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-CR-04 (ENV)
Former Boston Children's Hospital Anesthesiologist Pleads Guilty to Child Exploitation OffensesRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A former pediatric cardiac anesthesiologist fellow at Boston Children’s Hospital pleaded guilty today to possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
Christopher Sheerer, 37, of Boston, pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography; one count of possession of child pornography; and one count of sexual exploitation of children. U.S. District Court Chief Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for Dec. 18, 2025. Sheerer was arrested and charged in July 2024 and has remained in federal custody since.
Sheerer was a fellow in pediatric cardiac anesthesiology at Boston Children’s Hospital and previously a fellow in pediatric anesthesiology at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.
In May 2024, an investigation began into a user of an online, encrypted chat application who belonged to a group described as a place for “dads, uncles, and babysitters” to chat, share live material and meet up. The group required prospective members to verify their status as a male guardian or family member by uploading a nude photo of a child under 13 years old, next to a handwritten sign bearing the group’s name. The target user was subsequently identified as Sheerer, with an IP address tracing to Johns Hopkins University. Sheerer uploaded imagery of a child known to him to gain admission to that group.
Following a search of Sheerer’s residence in Boston the night of his arrest, multiple chats were discovered on Sheerer’s phone, several of which contained pictures and videos appearing to be CSAM involving children as young as infants. A number of devices, including his phone, a tablet and computers were seized for further forensic analysis. Forensic analysis showed that Sheerer was involved in dozens of chats with users of the encrypted application, several of which included the exchange of CSAM. Several pornographic images of the child known to Sheerer which appeared to have been created in 2023 were also located.
The charge of distribution of child pornography provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years in prison, a mandatory minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of sexual exploitation of children provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. 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 and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the Districts of Maryland and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania; Homeland Security Investigations in Baltimore and Harrisburg; and the Boston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Soto and Anne Paruti of the Major Crimes Unit are prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. 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.
Federal Search Warrants ExecutedRead the Press Release
DES MOINES, Iowa – On September 11, 2025, federal search warrants were executed at the following locations in the Des Moines metropolitan area:
- 800th block of SW Ordnance Road, Ankeny;
- 1400th block of Arlington Avenue, Des Moines;
- 1200th block of Wall Avenue, Des Moines;
- 2500th block of East 23rd Street, Des Moines;
- 1300th block East Sheridan Avenue, Des Moines;
- 900th block of Emma Avenue, Des Moines;
- 100th block of East 28th Street, Des Moines;
- 1600th block of Army Post Road, Des Moines;
- 2200th block of Lyon Street, Des Moines;
- 2900th block of Dubuque Avenue, Des Moines; and
- 3000th block of Gateway Drive, Carlisle.
The searches at these locations were an official law enforcement action involving officers, agents, investigators, and analysts from Des Moines Police Department, FBI Des Moines Resident Agency of the Omaha Field Office, Mid-Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force (MINE), Mid-Iowa Narcotics Enforcement East (MINE East), Mid-Iowa Drug Task Force, Metro Special Tactics and Response (STAR), FBI Omaha Field Office, Iowa Division of Intelligence and Fusion Center, Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement (DNE), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), FBI Omaha SWAT, FBI Kansas City SWAT, Iowa State Patrol, Iowa State Patrol SWAT, Polk County Sheriff’s Office, Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Dallas County Sheriff’s Office, Story County Sheriff’s Office, Clive Police Department, West Des Moines Police Department, Altoona Police Department, Carlisle Police Department, Knoxville Police Department, Ankeny Police Department, Marshall County’s Sheriff’s Office, Urbandale Police Department, Windsor Heights Police Department, Newton Police Department, Pleasant Hill Police Department, Suburban Emergency Response Team (SERT), and Cedar Rapids Police Department.
Federal Jury Convicts Weleetka Resident of MurderRead the Press Release
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced today that Michael Wayne Lambert, age 56, of Weleetka, Oklahoma, was found guilty by a federal jury of charges relating to an Okfuskee County murder in 2024.
The federal jury returned a guilty verdict on three charges: one count of Murder in Indian Country, punishable by life imprisonment and a $250,000.00 fine; one count of Use, Carry, Brandish and Discharge of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence, punishable by up to ten years imprisonment and a $250,000.00 fine; and one count of Causing the Death of a Person in the Course of a Violation of Title 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), punishable by up to life imprisonment and a $250,000.00 fine.
The jury trial began with testimony on September 8, 2025, and concluded on September 11, 2025, with the guilty verdicts.
During the trial, the United States presented evidence that on June 30, 2024, Lambert unlawfully killed the victim with premeditation and malice aforethought. At trial, the Government presented evidence that Lambert shot the victim multiple times on the stairs of an Okemah apartment complex, then fled the scene. The crime occurred in Okfuskee County, within the boundaries of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Reservation of Oklahoma, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.
The guilty verdicts were the result of investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Okemah Police Department, and the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the trial in Muskogee and ordered the completion of a presentence report. The sentencing will be scheduled following completion of the report. Lambert was remanded into the custody of the United States Marshals until sentencing.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lewis M. Reagan and Ryan Conway represented the United States.
Federal Investigation of Orlando Smoke Shop Charges Five Men with Drug Trafficking and Firearm OffensesRead the Press Release
Orlando, Florida– United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces the return of an indictment charging five individuals with drug trafficking and firearms offenses stemming from an investigation into Smoke Break Productions, an Orlando Smoke Shop, that operated as a drug and gun marketplace. The indictment alleges the following federal charges:
Charge
Offense Dates
Defendants
Maximum Penalties
Drug Trafficking Conspiracy11/14/24–07/23/25
Angel Luis Carrasquillo
(42, Orlando)
Rogelio Vidal, Jr.
(30, Orlando)
Andrew Abbott
(35, Brooksville)
20 years (each)
Possession of a Firearm by Convicted Felon01/16/25
Angel Luis Carrasquillo
15 years
Drug Trafficking04/07/25
Angel Luis Carrasquillo
Rogelio Vidal, Jr.
20 years (each)
Using or Carrying a firearm in a Drug Trafficking Crime04/07/25
Angel Luis Carrasquillo
5 years to life
Drug Trafficking06/06/25
Angel Luis Carrasquillo
Andrew Abbott
20 years
(each)
Possession of a Firearm by Convicted Felon02/26/25–03/07/25
Jahmil Lally
(29, Orlando)
15 years
Possession of a Firearm by Convicted Felon11/21/24–08/01/25
Christopher Alonnzo
(23, Orlando)
15 years
According to court documents, Carrasquillo operated Smoke Break Productions, an Orlando area Smoke Shop that functioned as a drug and gun marketplace. At Smoke Break, Carrasquillo and his co-defendants distributed narcotics and firearms to various individuals.
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 Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Noah P. Dorman.
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 Project Safe Neighborhoods.
Farmington Hills Nihilistic Violent Extremist Charged with Producing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
DETROIT – A Farmington Hills man has been charged in a criminal complaint with possession and production of child pornography, coercion and enticement of a minor, and the interstate transmission of extortionate threats and threatening communications, announced United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr.
Gorgon was joined in the announcement by Reuben Coleman, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Justin Miller (23) was charged in a federal criminal complaint which detailed his participation in online groups as a Nihilistic Violent Extremist (NVE). NVEs are individuals who engage in criminal conduct in furtherance of political, social, or religious goals that derive from the hatred of society and a desire to bring about its collapse by encouraging social instability. As detailed in the criminal complaint, Miller was an administrator of an online group which facilitated and encouraged self-harming. Miller is accused of encouraging victims to inflict “cutsigns”—the process of cutting his screenname into their flesh. Miller also allegedly groomed and coerced underage girls to produce and send him sexually explicit videos and images.
“The alleged crimes are sick and twisted. Nihilistic violent extremists shamefully terrorize vulnerable victims in our communities to create chaos and instability,” U.S. Attorney Gorgon said. “We will do everything in our power to root out and prosecute this perverse behavior.”
"The federal charges announced today against Justin Miller reaffirm the FBI’s unrelenting commitment to protecting children from exploitation,” said Reuben Coleman, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Detroit Field Office. "Safeguarding our children from violence, coercion and exploitation is a top priority for the FBI. I extend my gratitude to the dedicated members assigned to this investigation, who will continue to work closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, as this case moves forward.”
This case is being investigated by agents from the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Ramamurthy.
A criminal complaint is merely a formal charge and is not evidence of guilt. Every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. It is the burden of the government to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Evansville Career Criminal to Spend Two Decades in Federal Prison for Armed Dealing in Fentanyl, Cocaine, and MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
EVANSVILLE- Troy Ogburn, 44, of Evansville, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents, beginning in October of 2024, members of the DEA Evansville Resident Office and Detectives with the Evansville Vanderburgh County Drug Task Force (EVCDTF) initiated an investigation into the Troy Ogburn Drug Trafficking Organization after receiving information that Ogburn was selling large amounts of crystal methamphetamine, cocaine, and fentanyl out of his Evansville apartment.
On October 24, 2024, during a search of Ogburn’s apartment, members of the EVCDTF recovered 1,470 grams of methamphetamine, 143 grams of fentanyl in pink powder form, 25 grams of cocaine, 109.8 grams of fentanyl in pink pills marked “K/56” and 238.6 grams of fentanyl in blue pills marked “M30.”
Additionally, detectives recovered two sets of digital scales, a loaded, stolen, Glock 21, .45 caliber handgun and two 9mm handguns, each with 14 rounds in the magazine, as well as a total of $1,695.00 in cash and a drug ledger indicating names of buyers and dollar amounts paid.
At the same time as the apartment search, Ogburn was arrested during a traffic stop. During a search of his vehicle, officers recovered another drug ledger and $4,572.00 in cash.
Ogburn has a prior federal conviction for Possession with Intent to Distribute Five Grams or More of a Substance Containing a Detectable Amount of Cocaine Base and a felony for Dealing in Marijuana, which prohibit him from ever legally possessing a firearm again.
“Trafficking deadly amounts of methamphetamine and fentanyl fuels addiction, overdoses, and violence in our communities,” said Tom Wheeler, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “This sentence ensures that a dangerous offender is removed from our streets and sends a clear message: those who deal in these poisons while armed with illegal firearms will face serious federal prison time.”
The Drug Enforcement Administration and Evansville Police Department investigated this case, with valuable assistance provided by the Evansville Vanderburg County Drug Task Force. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Matthew P. Brookaman.
U.S. Attorney Wheeler thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Wheatley, who prosecuted this case.
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Employee at Multinational DVD Company Sentenced to over Four Years Prison for Stealing, Selling Pre-Release Commercial DVDs for Blockbuster FilmsRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON — A court in Tennessee today sentenced a former employee of a DVD and Blu-ray manufacturing and distribution company used by major movie studios to 57 months in prison for stealing DVDs and Blu-rays of blockbuster movies from the company and selling them before their official scheduled release dates, as well as for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. A digital copy of at least one of the stolen Blu-rays was illegally distributed tens of millions of times over the internet, causing the copyright owner tens of millions of dollars in losses.
“The defendant profited from the creativity and intellectual property of others by stealing DVDs and Blu-rays of movies that were being prepared for commercial distribution,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s sentencing signals our commitment to protecting American innovation from pirates that would exploit others’ work for a quick profit, which, in this case, cost one copyright owner tens of millions of dollars.”
“The copyright owner lost tens of millions of dollars as a result of Steven Hale stealing DVDs and Blu-rays of blockbuster movies and selling them before their official scheduled release dates,” said Special Agent in Charge Joseph E. Carrico of the FBI Nashville Field Office. “Today’s sentence should send a strong message that willfully stealing another party’s intellectual property is a serious crime and the FBI is committed to holding violators accountable.”
According to court documents and statements made in court, Steven R. Hale, 38, of Memphis, worked for a multinational company that, among other things, manufactured and distributed DVDs and Blu-rays of movies. From approximately February 2021 to March 2022, Hale stole hundreds of “pre-release” DVDs and Blu-rays, that is, discs being prepared for commercial distribution in the United States and not available for sale to the public. These included DVDs and Blu-rays for such popular films as “F9: The Fast Saga,” “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” “Godzilla v. Kong,” “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” “Dune,” and “Black Widow.” Hale sold the DVDs and Blu-rays through e-commerce sites. At least one pre-release Blu-ray that Hale stole and sold, “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” was extracted or “ripped” from the Blu-ray by bypassing the encryption that prevents unauthorized copying. That digital copy was then illegally made available over the internet more than a month before the Blu-ray’s official scheduled release date. Copies of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” were downloaded tens of millions of times, with an estimated loss to the copyright owner of tens of millions of dollars.
In addition, Hale unlawfully possessed a pistol that was loaded with one live round in the chamber and 13 rounds in the magazine. Hale has prior felony convictions for armed robbery and attempted robbery.
In May 2025, in the DVD and Blu-ray case, Hale pleaded guilty to criminal copyright infringement and agreed to make full restitution to his victims, including the return of the approximately 1,160 stolen DVDs and Blu-rays seized from him to the company where he worked. The same day, in the gun case, Hale pleaded guilty to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. The cases were consolidated for sentencing.
The FBI is investigating the case.
Senior Counsel Matthew A. Lamberti of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Raney Irwin for the Western District of Tennessee prosecuted the case.
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CRM
25-940
If you have questions, please use the contacts in the message or call the Office of Public Affairs at 202-514-2007.
Employee at Multinational DVD Company Sentenced to over Four Years Prison for Stealing, Selling Pre-Release Commercial DVDs for Blockbuster FilmsRead the Press Release
A court in Tennessee today sentenced a former employee of a DVD and Blu-ray manufacturing and distribution company used by major movie studios to 57 months in prison for stealing DVDs and Blu-rays of blockbuster movies from the company and selling them before their official scheduled release dates, as well as for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. A digital copy of at least one of the stolen Blu-rays was illegally distributed tens of millions of times over the internet, causing the copyright owner tens of millions of dollars in losses.
“The defendant profited from the creativity and intellectual property of others by stealing DVDs and Blu-rays of movies that were being prepared for commercial distribution,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s sentencing signals our commitment to protecting American innovation from pirates that would exploit others’ work for a quick profit, which, in this case, cost one copyright owner tens of millions of dollars.”
“The copyright owner lost tens of millions of dollars as a result of Steven Hale stealing DVDs and Blu-rays of blockbuster movies and selling them before their official scheduled release dates,” said Special Agent in Charge Joseph E. Carrico of the FBI Nashville Field Office. “Today’s sentence should send a strong message that willfully stealing another party’s intellectual property is a serious crime and the FBI is committed to holding violators accountable.”
According to court documents and statements made in court, Steven R. Hale, 38, of Memphis, worked for a multinational company that, among other things, manufactured and distributed DVDs and Blu-rays of movies. From approximately February 2021 to March 2022, Hale stole hundreds of “pre-release” DVDs and Blu-rays, that is, discs being prepared for commercial distribution in the United States and not available for sale to the public. These included DVDs and Blu-rays for such popular films as “F9: The Fast Saga,” “Venom: Let There Be Carnage,” “Godzilla v. Kong,” “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” “Dune,” and “Black Widow.” Hale sold the DVDs and Blu-rays through e-commerce sites. At least one pre-release Blu-ray that Hale stole and sold, “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” was extracted or “ripped” from the Blu-ray by bypassing the encryption that prevents unauthorized copying. That digital copy was then illegally made available over the internet more than a month before the Blu-ray’s official scheduled release date. Copies of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” were downloaded tens of millions of times, with an estimated loss to the copyright owner of tens of millions of dollars.
In addition, Hale unlawfully possessed a pistol that was loaded with one live round in the chamber and 13 rounds in the magazine. Hale has prior felony convictions for armed robbery and attempted robbery.
In May 2025, in the DVD and Blu-ray case, Hale pleaded guilty to criminal copyright infringement and agreed to make full restitution to his victims, including the return of the approximately 1,160 stolen DVDs and Blu-rays seized from him to the company where he worked. The same day, in the gun case, Hale pleaded guilty to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. The cases were consolidated for sentencing.
The FBI is investigating the case.
Senior Counsel Matthew A. Lamberti of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Raney Irwin for the Western District of Tennessee prosecuted the case.
Employee Retention Credit Tax Scheme Lands Philadelphia Man in Federal Prison for Three YearsRead the Press Release
WILMINGTON, Del. – Julianne E. Murray, U.S. Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced that Carnell Ragan, 59, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to three years in federal prison for assisting in the filing of false tax forms. Ragan was also ordered to pay over $1.6 million in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Chief U.S. District Judge Colm F. Connolly pronounced the sentence.
Congress created the Employee Retention Credit (ERC) to provide emergency financial assistance in connection with the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The ERC was introduced in 2020 to incentivize businesses to continue paying employees by providing, at first, for a 50% credit on up to $10,000 in wages paid to each employee for the calendar year for businesses closed by government order or who had a 50% drop in gross receipts due to the pandemic. By 2021, the percentage credit increased to 70% per employee per quarter. To obtain ERC, entities had to file an IRS Form 941 setting forth their eligibility for ERC
According to court documents, Ragan recruited over 20 people to take part in his ERC scheme. Each of those people maintained a business entity that was not entitled to ERC because the relevant business was either non-operational or did not have paid employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ragan knew those people and entities were not entitled to ERC but nonetheless used their information to file false Forms 941 with the IRS seeking over $20 million in ERC. Based on those false tax filings, the IRS issued checks worth over $1.6 million to entities, including over $800,000 to a Delaware registered business, that were not entitled to those funds.
U.S. Attorney Murray commented on the case, “Ragan took advantage of pandemic relief funds that were intended to help those harmed most by the pandemic. He shamelessly enriched himself and his friends at the expense of the American taxpayer. My office and our law enforcement partners will continue to investigate and hold responsible all those who stole COVID-19 pandemic relief funds that were intended to help hard working Americans cope with the financial fallout from the pandemic.”
"Today's sentencing is a strong reminder that those who find ways to fraudulently benefit from government programs meant to help struggling businesses will be brought to justice," said Yury Kruty, Special Agent in Charge, Philadelphia Field office, IRS Criminal Investigation. "Those who line their pockets with profits from these schemes should know they will not go undetected and will be held accountable."
This case was investigated by IRS-CI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jesse S. Wenger.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware. Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the District of Delaware or on PACER by searching for Case No. 25-CR-0009-CFC.
Ecuadorian Drug Smuggler Caught on the High Seas with 1,092 Kilograms of Cocaine Sentenced to 108 Months in PrisonRead the Press Release
United States District Court Judge Terry F. Moorer sentenced Tanyl Damian Anchundia-Rezebala, 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 and had visible suspect packages on deck. The USCG 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 a video, of the drugs smugglers jettisoning packages in the ocean while the boat was disabled.
USCG personnel boarded the vessel from a Zodiac-style boat launched from the Cutter. USCG personnel recovered 24 bales from the water surrounding the vessel, which yielded an at-sea weight of approximately 1,092 kilograms of cocaine.
Anchundia-Rezebala and four other smugglers were taken into custody from the vessel and transferred to USCG Cutter MUNRO with the cocaine 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 and 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).
East Weymouth Woman Pleads Guilty to Bank FraudRead the Press Release
BOSTON – An East Weymouth woman pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to fraudulently obtaining Social Security benefits.
Debora A. Siler, 68, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin scheduled sentencing for Dec. 15, 2025. Siler was charged in August 2025.
Siler fraudulently obtained approximately $61,685.13 in Social Security benefits from June 2015 through September 2020. Siler had access to the checkbook and debit card of a Social Security beneficiary who died in May 2015. Instead of reporting the beneficiary’s death to the Social Security Administration or the bank where the benefits were deposited, Siler accessed the improperly paid benefits by forging the deceased beneficiary’s name on several checks and regularly depleting the account funds through debit card transactions.
The charge of bank fraud provides for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Amy Connelly, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Boston Field Division made the announcement. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Nagelberg of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
Dominican National Sentenced for Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Dominican national unlawfully residing in Lawrence, Mass. was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for unlawfully reentering the United States after deportation.
Santo Beato Aybar-Aybar, 49, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Brian E. Murphy to time served (five months). The defendant is now subject to deportation proceedings. In June 2025, Aybar-Aybar pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien. Aybar-Aybar was indicted in April 2025.
Aybar-Aybar was previously deported from the United States three times, the last time on or about Sept. 21, 2021. Sometime after his September 2021 removal, Aybar-Aybar again illegally reentered the United States without permission. Aybar-Aybar has been convicted of numerous crimes while residing in the country unlawfully, including a 2013 New Hampshire conviction for possessing cocaine with intent to distribute, and a 2021 Massachusetts conviction for possessing fentanyl with intent to distribute. He was located by immigration authorities during a law enforcement operation in Lawrence, Mass.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Patricia H. Hyde, Acting Field Office Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric L. Hawkins of the Major Crime Unit prosecuted the case.
Deering, Alaska man convicted of abusive sexual contact on airline flight to SeattleRead the Press Release
Seattle – A 28-year-old Deering, Alaska man was convicted Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Seattle of abusive sexual contact, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. Trayton C. Ballot was arrested on January 15, 2025, when the Alaska Airlines flight he was on arrived at Seattle-Tacoma International airport. The jury deliberated about an hour following a two-day trial. Jurors found Ballot repeatedly rubbed the inner thigh of a 17-year-old seated next to him on the plane for his sexual gratification. Ballot faces up to two years in prison when sentenced by U.S. District Judge John H. Chun on December 15, 2025.
According to records filed in the case, the 17-year-old victim was flying with her mother and a friend from Anchorage to Seattle. Ballot was seated in the middle seat in a row near the back of the plane. The victim was in the window seat. Ballot appeared to be asleep but then moved his hand onto the victim’s inner thigh and began rubbing her thigh. The victim removed Ballot’s hand. Two more times Ballot moved his hand onto the 17-year-old’s inner thigh, and she removed his hand. After the third time, the victim lowered her tray table and wedged a stuffed animal under it to protect her lap. Despite those barriers, Ballot moved his hand under the armrest and attempted to place it over the victim’s thigh. The victim pressed down on the stuffed animal to stop the assault and Ballot took his hand away.
The victim typed into her phone that the man seated next to her had touched her and showed the message to her mother who was seated in the row behind her. At her mother’s instruction, the victim notified the flight attendants who moved her to a different seat.
Ballot was arrested when the plane arrived in Seattle.
The case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Port of Seattle Police.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Carolyn Forstein and Cindy Chang.
Danville Man Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for Carjacking and MurderRead the Press Release
PEORIA, Ill. – A Danville, Illinois, man, Kevin Marshall, 35, was sentenced on September 8, 2025, to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole on four charges, including two charges related to the carjacking and murder of Daniel Walter in Danville on April 25, 2020, and two charges related to drug trafficking and carrying a firearm during and in relation to drug trafficking. Marshall was also sentenced to an additional ten years for possessing a firearm as a felon.
At the sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge Colin S. Bruce, the judge considered evidence from Marshall’s August 2024 jury trial showing that after he was released from custody in January 2020, Marshall used a Taurus handgun to murder Walter at a rural home in Danville. The evidence at trial showed that Marshall lured Walter out of his truck around 4 a.m., and once they were in a concealed area between the home and detached garage, Marshall shot Walter four times at close range in the head and body. After initially leaving in Walter’s truck, Marshall returned and shot Walter five more times in the head and face, even though Walter was already deceased, and took Walter’s phone and wallet. After the murder, Marshall spent the summer of 2020 selling methamphetamine before his arrest on August 18, 2020. Forensic testing on a Taurus firearm seized during Marshall’s arrest connected the gun to Walter’s murder, as well as to a series of shootings in Danville in early 2020.
A federal grand jury returned an indictment against Marshall in August 2021, charging him with possessing a firearm as a felon. A superseding indictment including the same gun charge, as well as the charges related to the carjacking and murder of Walter, drug trafficking, and carrying a firearm during and in relation to drug trafficking, was returned by the grand jury in April 2023. The case went to trial from July 31 through August 7, 2024. During the trial, the evidence showed Marshall’s extensive efforts to tamper with witnesses and obstruct the proceedings, including ordering others to delete Facebook records and forcing witnesses to draft documents falsely claiming responsibility for Marshall’s own actions. Despite the obstruction, evidence of which was presented to the jury during the trial, the jury found Marshall guilty on all counts. Marshall has been in the custody of the U.S. Marshal’s Service since his federal arrest on August 3, 2021.
Prior to this case, Marshall had been convicted of second-degree murder for the murder of Latifah Cross in Danville on May 21, 2013. In imposing four life sentences – one for each count of conviction – Judge Bruce noted both murders and said that the evidence from the case showed his involvement in other violence and tampering with witnesses, as well as a general lack of remorse. Judge Bruce said one of his major concerns was the need to protect the public from Marshall.
“The defendant’s violent murder of Daniel Walter, along with his armed distribution of dangerous drugs in our community, show a chilling disregard for human life,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Gregory M. Gilmore. “Our office is dedicated to pursing justice for victims of violence and to protecting our communities from those, like the defendant, who seek to sow harm. We are grateful to our federal and local law enforcement partners for their invaluable work on this case.”
“I appreciate the commitment, diligent work, and collaboration of Danville Police officers and detectives, the Illinois State Police, federal agencies, Vermilion County State’s Attorney’s Office, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in bringing closure to this case and holding the convicted, Kevin Marshall, accountable for his actions,” said Danville Chief of Police Christopher S. Yates. “We also must recognize the courage of the witnesses who stepped forward. It takes all of us to keep our community safer from predators and those who want to do others harm. Though the conviction and sentencing of Kevin Marshall does not erase the damage, pain, and suffering he caused, hopefully this can contribute further to the healing process for family and friends of Daniel Walter, as well as our community.”
“This sentence holds Kevin Marshall accountable for his unforgivable crimes and the trail of violence and loss he left behind,” said Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Springfield Field Office, Christopher J. S. Johnson. “Our office and our partners worked tirelessly to achieve this outcome. We hope it brings a measure of justice.”
The Danville Police Department; Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Field Office; Illinois State Police; the U.S. Marshals Service; Vermilion County (Illinois) Sheriff’s Office; and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives all took part in investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bryan Freres and Eugene Miller represented the government in the prosecution, in cooperation with Vermilion County State’s Attorney Jacqueline Lacy.
Convicted felon who assaulted officer sent to federal prison for illegally reentering U.S.Read the Press Release
HOUSTON - A 34-year-old Honduran national has been sentenced for unlawfully returning to the country after a prior removal, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Jose Leon Cruz-Lanza pleaded guilty April 7.
U.S. District Judge Charles R. Eskridge has now ordered Cruz-Lanza to serve 70 months in federal prison. Not a U.S. citizen, he is again expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment.
“The defendant in this case took a bad situation and made it much, much worse,” said Ganjei. “You don’t come to this country illegally, and you don’t assault law enforcement. And you certainly don’t do both of these at the same time. Hopefully this sentence serves as a lesson to other would-be lawbreakers.”
Cruz-Lanza was first removed from the United States in 2017, but later illegally returned. He was convicted of illegal reentry and removed again. In May 2022, authorities found him in the United States again, this time in The Woodlands, after he had assaulted two members of law enforcement – a local police officer and a deputy constable.
He will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant. U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Weinhold and Amanda Alum prosecuted the case.
Clay County Pharmacy Investigation and Prosecution Ends in Guilty PleasRead the Press Release
NASHVILLE – Thomas K. Weir, 65, majority owner of Oakley Pharmacy d/b/a Dale Hollow Pharmacy and Clay County Xpress Pharmacy (“Xpress Pharmacy”); William L. Donaldson, 65, former owner and pharmacist of Dale Hollow Pharmacy (then known as Donaldson Pharmacy); and Pamela Spivey, 55, co-owner of Xpress Pharmacy (all of Celina, Tennessee), have pleaded guilty a week before a criminal trial was set to begin in Cookeville, Tennessee, announced Robert E. McGuire, Acting United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee.
Weir pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and dispense controlled substances, a conspiracy to commit health care fraud, and a conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute. Donaldson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and dispense controlled substances and a conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute. Spivey pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to distribute and dispense controlled substances and a conspiracy to commit health care fraud.
A minority owner of Dale Hollow Pharmacy, Charles Robert “Bobby” Oakley, 74, of Manchester, Tennessee, and the pharmacists-in-charge of each pharmacy; John Polston, 64, of Tompkinsville, Kentucky; and Michael Griffith, 41, of Mount Juliet, Tennessee, all previously pleaded guilty.
The guilty pleas end a years-long investigation and prosecution involving the pharmacies in the small town of Celina, Tennessee, who between 2014 and 2019 dispensed large volumes of controlled substances to patients despite obvious signs of abuse and diversion by the patients and other indications that the prescriptions were not for legitimate medical purposes.
In May and June of 2016, diversion investigators with the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) inspected Dale Hollow Pharmacy and in 2017, Weir, Oakley, and Polston signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the DEA related to violations of the regulations governing the dispensing of controlled substances. Dale Hollow Pharmacy, through the conspirators, violated that agreement, and the dispensing at Dale Hollow Pharmacy and neighboring Clay County Xpress Pharmacy continued to increase, as did the obvious signs that patients were abusing and selling the substances, including dispensing to patients who traveled long distances together to fill controlled substances prescriptions in the small town.
The conspirators, through Dale Hollow Pharmacy and Xpress Pharmacy, also submitted false and fraudulent claims to Medicare Part D plans, and to TennCare, for controlled substances dispensed to Medicare and TennCare beneficiaries. The conspirators submitted claims for payment to Medicare and TennCare for medically unnecessary combinations of controlled substances that they knew were highly sought after and abused.
Weir and Donaldson also pleaded guilty to a kickback scheme that involved Donaldson receiving kickbacks to recruit patients to Dale Hollow Pharmacy. The conspirators also paid patient co-payments and gave patients a fake currency called “Monkey Bucks” that patients could exchange for cash. Weir also paid patients cash in exchange for filling their prescriptions at Dale Hollow Pharmacy that were then billed to Medicare and TennCare.
Weir has agreed as part of his guilty plea to pay $1,419,974.00 in restitution to Medicare and TennCare, and to forfeit properties associated with the pharmacies.
Weir and Spivey will be sentenced on January 5, 2026. Donaldson will be sentenced on January 22, 2026. At sentencing, Weir and Spivey each face a maximum penalty of ten years on the conspiracies to distribute and dispense controlled substances and health care fraud. Donaldson faces a maximum penalty of twenty years on the conspiracy to distribute and dispense controlled substances. Weir and Donaldson each face a maximum of five years on the conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute. Weir and Spivey each face a potential fine between $250,000 and $500,000. Donaldson faces a potential fine between $250,000 and $1 million.
This case was investigated by the DEA; the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services-Office of Inspector General; and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation; with the assistance of the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and Celina Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah K. Bogni and Zachary T. Hinkle prosecuted the cases. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ellen Bowden-McIntyre is handling parallel civil litigation.
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Cherokee, Iowa, Man to Federal Prison for Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
Roger Strickland, age 62, from Cherokee, Iowa, was sentenced September 9, 2025, in federal court in Sioux City, Iowa, to over 5 years in prison. Strickland pled guilty on April 25, 2025, to two counts of possessing child pornography.
Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that from June 2022, through May 2023, Strickland received and possessed child pornography. Agents searched Strickland’s home on May 25, 2023, and seized several pieces of evidence. Agents asked to speak to whomever at the home was downloading child pornography and Strickland replied, “It’s me.” Then, while agents were awaiting results of the forensic analysis of Strickland’s electronic devices, law enforcement was again notified Strickland was receiving and possessing child pornography. Strickland admitted that between August 2023, through February 2024, Strickland received and possessed more child pornography even while knowing he was actively being investigated. In total, over 225 videos and 8,000 images of child pornography were discovered on his electronic devices. Strickland further admitted that the images and videos involved material portraying sadistic or masochistic conduct as well as prepubescent children, infants, and toddlers.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
Sentencing was held before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Strickland was sentenced to 63 months’ imprisonment and must serve a 5-year term of supervised release following imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. Strickland was also ordered to pay $39,000 in restitution to the child victims in the case. Strickland remains in custody of the U.S. Marshals Service until he can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was investigated by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation and the Cherokee Police Department and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kraig R. Hamit.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.
The case file number is CR24-4067. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.
Chattanooga Man Sentenced to 24 Months' Imprisonment for Threatening to Kill Member of CongressRead the Press Release
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – On September 10, 2025, Garry Lebron Hayes, 45, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, was sentenced to 24 months in prison by the Honorable Curtis L. Collier, United States District Judge, in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Following his imprisonment, he will be on supervised release for one year.
As part of the plea agreement filed with the court, Hayes agreed to plead guilty to an indictment charging him with knowingly and willfully transmitting in interstate commerce a communication containing a threat to injure the person of another, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 875(c).
According to filed court documents, in July of 2024, Hayes called the district office of a Member of Congress and left the following voicemail: “Chattanooga. I’m in Chattanooga. Yeah, you better ask your kids to f***ing finally kiss your a**—‘cause I’m gonna beat your a** b**ch. I’m gonna kill your a**. I’m gonna kill you b**ch.” Additional evidence of Hayes’s relevant conduct introduced at the sentencing hearing revealed that, in January of 2024, Hayes, while outside the state of Tennessee, called the office of a different Member of Congress, which was not located in the state of Tennessee, and left that Member a voicemail, identifying the Member by name and stating: “I will slice your throat, mother f***er.”
The Court-determined applicable sentencing guidelines range was 18-24 months. The United States advocated for a top of the guidelines sentence of 24 months. In imposing a 24-month sentence, the Court stressed that society must be protected from Hayes, and others like him, who threaten to maim, and murder elected officials with whom they disagree.
U.S. Attorney Francis M. Hamilton III of the Eastern District of Tennessee and Special Agent in Charge, Joseph Carrico, Federal Bureau of Investigation, made the announcement.
Assistant United States Attorney David P. Lewen, Jr. represented the United States.
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Bowdoinham Man Pleads Guilty to Illegally Possessing FirearmsRead the Press Release
PORTLAND, Maine: A Bowdoinham man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Portland to possessing a firearm after previously being convicted of a felony offense.
According to court records, in September 2024, Brunswick police responded to a Walmart regarding a potential shoplifting incident. Upon arrival, officers were directed to Rodney Skipper, 46, who had gone outside to his vehicle. Officers noticed Skipper had an empty pistol holster on his hip, and were told that Skipper had been seen with a firearm in the holster before their arrival. A subsequent search of Skipper’s vehicle resulted in the recovery of a 9mm pistol, a .40 caliber pistol, and a 10mm pistol. Skipper was prohibited from possessing firearms by virtue of a prior felony for assaultive conduct.
Skipper faces up to 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and supervised release for up to three years following any imprisonment. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigative report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case with the assistance of the Brunswick Police Department.
Project Safe Neighborhoods: 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. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-me/psn.
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Beckley Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Gun CrimeRead the Press Release
BECKLEY, W.Va. – Ryan H. Guerrant, 34, of Beckley, was sentenced today to three years and 10 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on November 26, 2023, Guerrant possessed a Bersa model BP9CC 9mm at a Beckley residence.
Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Guerrant knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of his prior felony convictions for first-degree robbery, conspiracy to commit first-degree robbery and escape in Raleigh County Circuit Court on January 15, 2010, for possession of a firearm by a prohibited carrier in Raleigh County Circuit Court on June 13, 2013, and for being a felon in possession of a firearm in United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia on October 25, 2017.
Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Beckley Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).
Chief United States District Judge Frank W. Volk imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Brian D. Parsons prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:24-cr-93.
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Beaufort Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Drug TraffickingRead the Press Release
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Michael Thomas Martin, 54, of Beaufort, was sentenced to more than five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute.
Evidence presented in court revealed that Martin received multiple pounds of methamphetamine through the mail. The shipments originated with a Mexican cartel, moving from Tucson to Phoenix before reaching Martin in South Carolina. To avoid detection, Martin used sophisticated packing methods to send and receive the drugs.
On March 5, 2024, DEA agents conducting surveillance watched Martin complete a drug deal in a North Charleston area known for high crime and narcotics trafficking. Agents followed him, conducted a traffic stop, and discovered a magnetic box hidden in the engine compartment containing 56 grams of crystal methamphetamine. A later search of Martin’s residence uncovered more crystal methamphetamine, along with marijuana, fentanyl, and ammunition.
United States District Judge Richard M. Gergel sentenced Martin to 70 months in prison to be followed by three years of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.
This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Goose Creek Police Department, Charleston Police Department, and Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Lietzow is prosecuting the case.
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Atlanta travel agent sentenced to over a year in prison for taking money from his clients for travel services he never providedRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – An Atlanta travel services vendor was sentenced today to one year and one month in prison for defrauding multiple individual and institutional victims.
According to court documents, Maurice Eugene Smith, 45, operated a luxury travel company called EUGENE TORIKO LLC, which offered customized travel planning services. From at least September 2022 through November 2024, Smith took customers’ money for booking travel and converted it to his own personal use instead of paying to secure reservations that he or his employees booked.
Customers paid Smith and EUGENE TORIKO thousands of dollars for luxury vacations to destinations such as St. Lucia, the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and Guatemala. Smith then used customer money to provide refunds to earlier customers or for his own personal enrichment, including on sports betting sites or to pay for his own travel to such destinations as Mexico and Panama.
Customers often learned that their travel and hotel accommodations were not paid shortly before departing for or upon arriving at their destinations. The cost had to be covered by the customers, who had already paid, and some were reimbursed by credit card or travel insurance companies.
In addition to individuals who booked travel through Smith and EUGENE TORIKO, two university sports programs and a college paid for travel services that were not provided. A university baseball team paid Smith for airline travel, but ultimately had to pay additional funds for and utilize transportation by bus because Smith failed to use the money the university paid to EUGENE TORIKO to purchase airline tickets.
A college booked a trip to Thailand for faculty and students, but EUGENE TORIKO purchased one-way airline tickets for all travelers but one. Faculty and students realized that Smith had only purchased one-way tickets after they were already in Thailand. The faculty and parents of students had to pay for their return tickets out-of-pocket and were reimbursed by the college.
Through a third-party sports event marketing company, a university and its foundation paid for travel arrangements to the Bahamas for its men’s basketball team to participate in a basketball foreign tour. The travel accommodations included, among other things, round trip airfare from Virginia to the Bahamas; ground transportation by charter bus; hotel accommodations including daily breakfast and lunch on tournament days; and sightseeing to a minimum of two destinations.
On April 17, 2024, the university foundation sent a wire transfer of $55,914.60 to the sports event company. Two days later, Smith invoiced the company for the services that EUGENE TORIKO was supposedly arranging for the basketball team. The company wired Smith $40,800. On May 20, 2024, Smith sent another invoice for the balance owed, $103,841. The company invoiced the university foundation, which sent a wire transfer of $103,841 to the company, which in turn paid EUGENE TORIKO $57,736.07 on May 29, 2024, and $11,220 on June 10, 2024. In total, the company paid EUGENE TORIKO the entire amount of the above invoice, $109,756.07, using funds paid by the university foundation. Additional family members, friends, and supporters of the basketball team also paid the company and EUGENE TORIKO to accompany the team on their trip to the Bahamas.
Although Smith reserved seats on flights from Virginia to the Bahamas and reserved a block of rooms, he made no payments toward any legitimate cost associated with the trip. As a result, the resort and the airline canceled the reservations. Instead, Smith used the money in part to pay for his own personal travel and to refund other victims from whom he had stolen money.
Erik S. Siebert, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Reid Davis, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office's Criminal Division, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine E. Rumbaugh and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Hood prosecuted the case.
A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:25-cr-73.
Albuquerque Man Pleads Guilty to Unlicensed Firearms DealingRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – An Albuquerque man pleaded guilty to dealing firearms without a license.
According to court documents, between 2019 and 2023, Anthony Lutz, 43, sold dozens of guns for profit. Lutz’s operation was discovered after Mexican police seized one of his rifles at a crime scene in 2022, leading to an investigation by the ATF that linked him to 11 additional crime scene firearms, six from crime scenes in Albuquerque and six from crime scenes in Mexico, and uncovered evidence of approximately 82 firearms purchased by Lutz, including 50 of the same two AR-15 models.
In his plea agreement, Lutz admitted to building receivers into functional firearms and selling them for profit using online platforms such as JasonsGuns.com.
Lutz pleaded guilty to one count of unlawfully dealing in firearms. In the plea agreement, the parties agreed to recommend that Lutz serve a term of five years of probation and pay a fine of $30,000.
Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Brendan Iber, Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, made the announcement today.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittany DuChaussee is prosecuting the case.
This effort is part of 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.
View the Plea Agreement (Lutz).pdfArkansas Man Convicted of Attempting to Entice a Minor to Engage in Sexual ActivityRead the Press Release
TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Bobby Joe Sheffield, 52, of Paris, Arkansas, was found guilty by a federal jury yesterday of attempting to entice a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity. The verdict was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “Thanks to the collaboration of our state and federal law enforcement partners in the execution of Operation Safe Summer, and this successful prosecution by the attorneys in my office, this predator is facing justice for his attempt to victimize and sexually exploit a minor child. My office is committed to protecting the most vulnerable members of our community against the predations of offenders who seek to sexually exploit our children, and we will not hesitate to prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”
Trial testimony demonstrated that in July 2024, federal, state, and local law enforcement executed Operation Safe Summer, an undercover operation designed to apprehend individuals who use the Internet to sexually exploit children online. During the operation, Sheffield communicated with an undercover officer, who he believed to be a minor female, and expressed interest in engaging in sexual activity with the child. When Sheffield arrived at a pre-arranged meeting location, law enforcement arrested him and found condoms in his possession. A subsequent search of his cellular phone confirmed his communication with the undercover officers.
Sheffield faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum of life imprisonment, followed by a term of five years to life of supervised release. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.
The case involved a joint investigation by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Harley W. Ferguson and Joseph A. Ravelo.
Sentencing is scheduled for November 19, 2025, at 3:00 pm at the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee before United States District Judge Mark Walker.
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 and led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), it marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.
49 Members of a Violent Gang Charged with Drug Trafficking and Firearms Violations in Bayamón, Puerto RicoRead the Press Release
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On September 3, 2025, a federal grand jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned an indictment charging 49 violent gang members from the municipality of Bayamón with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, possession and distribution of controlled substances, and firearms violations, announced W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. This investigation was led by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the Puerto Rico Police Bayamón Strike Force, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), with the collaboration of the U.S. Marshals Service, the Bayamón Municipal Police, the Guaynabo Municipal Police, and Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations (CBP AMO).
“Today is the anniversary of 9/11 – the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil that took nearly 3,000 innocent lives. After the attack, Americans came together in unity, resolve, and determination to confront those who sought to harm us.Today, we face another threat to our communities – one that comes to use from criminal cartels – now rightly designated as foreign terrorist organizations – flooding our streets with fentanyl, other deadly drugs, and violence. In recent years, overdose deaths, mostly from fentanyl, have averaged over 100,000 per year. Just as 9/11 demanded a national response, the toll of gang violence and drug trafficking in our communities demands action and unity,” said U.S. Attorney Muldrow. “The Department of Justice and our law enforcement partners, including those who participated in this morning’s operation, are responding and taking action to make our communities and our streets safer. We are unified and our resolve is firm.”
“This investigation, which falls directly under the Attorney General’s “Commitment to Targeting Violent Crime” is an example of how working together with our federal, state, and local partners creates an outcome that is positive for the community,” said Gordon Mallory, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives, Miami Field Division. “The men and women of ATF continuously strive to take the necessary measures to fight violent crime to include the illegal use and possession of firearms. Because of the hard work of these individuals, the residents of this community can take their neighborhood(s) back.”
The indictment alleges that from 2019 through the present, the defendants worked as part of a drug trafficking organization known as “Bin Laden Records” that distributed illegal drugs for significant financial gain and profit -- including heroin, cocaine base (commonly known as “crack”), cocaine, marihuana, fentanyl, Oxycodone (commonly known as Percocet), and Alprazolam (commonly known as Xanax) – all within 1,000 feet of the Virgilio Dávila Public Housing Project (PHP), and within 1,000 feet of a public or private school and/or playground.
The charging documents further allege that when the members of the gang perceived threats to the organization and/or its members, they incurred in violent acts, including, but not limited to, murder to protect themselves and their organization. They also transported, distributed, and profited from the distribution of kilogram quantities of cocaine into the continental United States. The defendants also engaged in the trafficking of illegal firearms and ammunitions. As part of the operations of the drug points, the defendants and co-conspirators would obstruct and delay the work of law enforcement agents by obstructing the main entrance of the Virgilio Dávila PHP with shopping carts.
The defendants acted in different roles to further the goals of the drug trafficking conspiracy, including acting as leaders, drug point owners, enforcers, runners, sellers, lookouts, and facilitators. The defendants charged in the indictment are:
[1] Jonathan Berríos Rojas, a.k.a. “Manita”
[2] Adalberto Rivera Robles, a.k.a. “Batata/Bata/Gordo/B”
[3] Jonathan Bermúdez Valdés, a.k.a. “Valdes/V”
[4] Jovany Rivera Robles, a.k.a. “Wiliador 1”
[5] Raymond Sánchez Santiago, a.k.a. “Churrun/Peca”
[6] Luis Ramos Oyola, a.k.a. “Homero/Father/Gordo”
[7] Brian Rivera Robles, a.k.a. “Calva/Calvita/Carba/Calvi”
[8] Joseph Siraguza De Jesús, a.k.a. “Joker”
[9] Oscar Rosa Marrero, a.k.a. “Josky/Oski”
[10] Edgar Joel Figueroa Rondón, a.k.a. “Chencho/Edgar”
[11] José Romero Rivera, a.k.a. “Chaleco/Chale/Ñeco/Wiliador 3/Ñecombel”
[12] John Michael Díaz Díaz, a.k.a. “Oxy”
[13] Roberto Hernández Pacheco, a.k.a. “Chino/Pri”
[14] Jonathan De Jesús Bonilla, a.k.a. “Abuelito”
[15] Ángel Gabriel Mojica Valdés, a.k.a. “Tazmania”
[16] Ardwin Fuentes Rojas, a.k.a. “Bartolo/Barto”
[17] Raúl González Santiago, a.k.a. “Mambru”
[18] Luis Esteban Rivera Pérez, a.k.a. “Teta”
[19] José Rivera Nazario, a.k.a. “Jose”
[20] Carlos Victor Ruiz Jiménez, a.k.a. “Bimbo/Bin-B”
[21] Carlos Javier Reyes Núñez, a.k.a. “Dutty/Duty”
[22] Ricardo Rivera Figueroa, a.k.a. “El Viejo”
[23] Ricardo Rivera González, a.k.a. “Ricky/Kiki”
[24] Geraldino Castillo Genao, a.k.a. “El Domi”
[25] Suriel Rivera González
[26] Wilfredo Jesiel Barros Robles, a.k.a. “Wiliador 2/Wilo”
[27] Ángel Ocasio Cancel, a.k.a. “Garabato”
[28] Michael Paredes Tollinchi, a.k.a. “Tonka/Tractor”
[29] William Nieves Díaz, a.k.a. “Willy”
[30] Yeriel Dávila Cosme, a.k.a. “Yiyo/Guillo”
[31] Luis A. Malpica Negrón, a.k.a. “Malpi”
[32] Cristian Reyes Bonilla, a.k.a. “Bebo Magali”
[33] Wesley De Jesús Serrano, a.k.a. “Boss”
[34] Jomar Vélez Bermúdez, a.k.a. “Borra”
[35] Kevin O’neill Rodríguez Rosa
[36] Kiven J. Rodríguez Rosa, a.k.a. “Boli”
[37] Josué Raúl Cantres Ríos, a.k.a. “Bolita”
[38] Rafael González Lastra, a.k.a. “Rafy/Rafi”
[39] Efraín Ramírez Cortés, a.k.a. “Banano”
[40] Orlando Dávila Bonilla, a.k.a. “Alex Magaly”
[41] Christian J. Rivera Maldonado, a.k.a. “Plo Plo”
[42] Christian Malpica Sánchez
[43] Carlos Javier Vázquez Rodríguez, a.k.a. “El Javi/Javi”
[44] Luis Cartagena Cabezudo, a.k.a. “Nenguito”
[45] Edwin Rivera Román, a.k.a. “Zuldo”
[46] Rodney Alexis Maldonado Marquez, a.k.a. “Ronni”
[47] Joel Manuel Vélez Bally
[48]Arnaldo Rivera Rondón, a.k.a. “Nandy”
[49] Taina Michelle Colón De Jesús, a.k.a. “Griselda”
Sixteen of the above-listed defendants also face one charge of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and five of those defendants are facing one count of possession of a machinegun in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Upon conviction, all defendants are subject to a narcotics forfeiture allegation of $50,735,000.
Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) and Chief of the Gang Section Alberto López-Rocafort; Deputy Chief of the Gang Section, AUSA Teresa Zapata-Valladares; AUSA Andrés Orr Sevilla, and Puerto Rico Department of Justice Special AUSA Javier Rivera Rivera, are in charge of the prosecution of the case. If convicted on the drug trafficking charges, the defendants face a minimum sentence of 10 years to life in prison. If convicted of both the drug trafficking and the firearms charges in Count Seven, the defendants face a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years to life in prison. The defendants charged with possession of machineguns in furtherance of drug trafficking in Count Eight face a mandatory sentence of thirty years in prison to be served consecutive to any sentence imposed on the drug trafficking charges.
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).
An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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10 September 2025
Virginia Nurse Sentenced to over Seven Years in Prison for Distributing Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
A Virginia nurse was sentenced today to over 87 months in prison and ten years of supervised release for distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on an end-to-end encrypted messaging application. He was also ordered to pay a $20,000 fine.
“The defendant, who occupied a position of trust as a nurse practitioner, used an end-to-end encrypted messaging application to disseminate images depicting the abuse of young children and bragged about the effectiveness of the measures that he used to evade law enforcement detection,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “He thought that he could use technology to hide his crimes, but he was wrong. His sentence today should serve as a warning – to those that would harm vulnerable children, we will identify you, prosecute you, and bring you to justice.”
According to court documents, Lucas Fussell, 43, formerly of Onley, Virginia, used the Session messaging application to send and receive numerous videos and images depicting the rape and sexual exploitation of prepubescent boys with another individual. Fussell, who worked as a nurse practitioner, also discussed several of his male patients, including children, in these communications, and boasted about the sophisticated technological measures he took to evade detection by law enforcement. The FBI came into possession of the other individual’s cellphone. In June 2024, Fussell sent an undercover officer nine videos depicting the sexual exploitation of prepubescent boys. Fussell was then arrested in July 2024 and has been detained since. In December 2024, Fussell pleaded guilty to the indicted charges without a plea agreement.
Trial Attorney James E. Burke IV of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Assistant U.S. Attorney Caroline Burrell, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Courtney for the District of Columbia prosecuted the case. CEOS’ High Technology Investigative Unit (HTIU) provided substantial assistance in investigating the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.
United States Attorney’s Office Charges 88 Defendants for Federal Drug Offenses During Summer 2025Read the Press Release
SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that the U.S. Attorney’s Office indicted 88 defendants between April and August 2025 for federal offenses related to the trafficking of cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine. These federal charges resulted from sophisticated, long-term investigations carried out by federal, state, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies, many of which collaborate through one of the various long-standing drug task forces operating throughout South Dakota.
“Drug traffickers who flood our South Dakota communities with illegal narcotics will be met with the full force of federal prosecution,” said U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Dakota is proud to work alongside federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies to protect the public by disrupting and dismantling drug trafficking organizations. We will continue to use every legal tool available to ensure drug traffickers face significant sentences in federal prison for endangering our communities and fueling addiction.”
Leading the effort to identify and dismantle drug trafficking organizations operating in South Dakota are multi-agency drug task forces located throughout the state, including the following:
- Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force (SFADTF), comprised of the Sioux Falls Police Department, the Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
- Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team (UNET), comprised of the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, the Rapid City Police Department, DCI, the South Dakota Highway Patrol (SDHP), and the South Dakota National Guard (SDNG)
- Badlands Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, comprised of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Indian Affairs-Division of Drug Enforcement (BIA-DDE), DCI, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety (OSTDPS)
- Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, comprised of the FBI, BIA-DDE, DCI, SDHP, SDNG, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services, Hughes County Sheriff’s Office, Tripp County Sheriff’s Office, Ziebach County Sheriff’s Office, and the Mobridge Police Department
Among the 88 defendants indicted over the course of the last several months were 16 defendants arrested during Operation Snowy Ridge, a two-day, multi-agency drug trafficking takedown in Western South Dakota.
Examples of significant illegal drug cases prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office this calendar year, and the federal prison sentences that resulted, include the following:
- United States v. Rikki Barrowman, et al.: Defendant pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance (150 pounds of methamphetamine) throughout Pierre, Rapid City, and several South Dakota reservations and was sentenced to nearly 23 years in federal prison. The case was investigated by the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan Dilges prosecuted the case.
- United States v. Guillermo Calderon, et al.: Defendant pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance (methamphetamine) within the Pine Ridge Reservation and Rapid City area and was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison. The case was investigated by the FBI, DEA, BIA-OJS, and OSTDPS. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Lindrooth prosecuted the case.
- United States v. Curtis Cummings, et al.: Following a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance (fentanyl) Resulting in Death. He was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison; his co-conspirators each received 20-23 years in federal prison. The case was investigated by UNET. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meghan Dilges and Edward Tarbay prosecuted the case.
- United States v. Nathan Johnson, et al.: This 24-defendant methamphetamine conspiracy spanned the state and was one of the largest drug conspiracies in South Dakota history. The lead co-conspirators received sentences ranging from 27-36 years in federal prison. The case was investigated by the DEA, FBI, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), DCI, the SFADTF, and the SDHP, with collaboration from more than a dozen other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies across the country. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paige Petersen prosecuted the case.
- United States v. Cory Linderman, et al.: Defendant was part of a group of people who worked together to traffic approximately 100 pounds of methamphetamine throughout the Rapid City area. He was sentenced to 23 years in federal prison. Other co-conspirators received sentences ranging from 14-22 ½ years in federal prison. The case was investigated by UNET. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Hodges prosecuted the case.
- United States v. Quantiae Harris, et al.: This 26-defendant methamphetamine and fentanyl conspiracy operated throughout the Sioux Falls area. To date, numerous defendants have pleaded guilty and Defendants Hailey Schneiderman and Heather Downey have been sentenced to 16 years and 10 years in federal prison, respectively. The case was investigated by the DEA, the SFADTF, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Joyce is prosecuting the case.
- United States v. Misty Stahlhoefer, et al.: This seven-defendant conspiracy involved the distribution of approximately 30-35 pounds of methamphetamine throughout the Pierre area. Misty Stahlhoefer was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison. Other co-conspirators received sentences ranging from 2-18 years in federal prison. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, the Pierre Police Department, the Chamberlain Police Department, and the Lyman County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan Dilges prosecuted the case.
- United States v. Calvin Taylor, et al.: Three defendants were charged with Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance (methamphetamine) in the Aberdeen area. Two defendants pleaded guilty and one was convicted at trial. Defendants Hillard and Fowler have received 10 years and 25 years in federal prison, respectively. Taylor awaits sentencing. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Joyce is prosecuting the case.
The prosecution of illegal narcotics by the U.S. Attorney’s Office is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the United States Department of Justice to 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).
United States Attorney’s Office Charges 88 Defendants for Federal Drug Offenses During Summer 2025Read the Press Release
SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that the U.S. Attorney’s Office indicted 88 defendants between April and August 2025 for federal offenses related to the trafficking of cocaine, fentanyl, and methamphetamine. These federal charges resulted from sophisticated, long-term investigations carried out by federal, state, tribal, and local law enforcement agencies, many of which collaborate through one of the various long-standing drug task forces operating throughout South Dakota.
“Drug traffickers who flood our South Dakota communities with illegal narcotics will be met with the full force of federal prosecution,” said U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office in South Dakota is proud to work alongside federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies to protect the public by disrupting and dismantling drug trafficking organizations. We will continue to use every legal tool available to ensure drug traffickers face significant sentences in federal prison for endangering our communities and fueling addiction.”
Leading the effort to identify and dismantle drug trafficking organizations operating in South Dakota are multi-agency drug task forces located throughout the state, including the following:
- Sioux Falls Area Drug Task Force (SFADTF), comprised of the Sioux Falls Police Department, the Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office, the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
- Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team (UNET), comprised of the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office, the Rapid City Police Department, DCI, the South Dakota Highway Patrol (SDHP), and the South Dakota National Guard (SDNG)
- Badlands Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, comprised of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Indian Affairs-Division of Drug Enforcement (BIA-DDE), DCI, and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety (OSTDPS)
- Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, comprised of the FBI, BIA-DDE, DCI, SDHP, SDNG, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services, Hughes County Sheriff’s Office, Tripp County Sheriff’s Office, Ziebach County Sheriff’s Office, and the Mobridge Police Department
Among the 88 defendants indicted over the course of the last several months were 16 defendants arrested during Operation Snowy Ridge, a two-day, multi-agency drug trafficking takedown in Western South Dakota. The number also includes Defendant Mario Balquier, a large-scale methamphetamine dealer based in Mexico with high-level connections to the Sinaloa Cartel. Balquier, a U.S. citizen, fled to Mexico in 2013 after being indicted on federal drug charges. He was recently taken into custody with the assistance of federal agents from South Dakota following a high-risk fugitive arrest.
Examples of significant illegal drug cases prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office this calendar year, and the federal prison sentences that resulted, include the following:
- United States v. Rikki Barrowman, et al.: Defendant pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance (150 pounds of methamphetamine) throughout Pierre, Rapid City, and several South Dakota reservations and was sentenced to nearly 23 years in federal prison. The case was investigated by the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan Dilges prosecuted the case.
- United States v. Guillermo Calderon, et al.: Defendant pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance (methamphetamine) within the Pine Ridge Reservation and Rapid City area and was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison. The case was investigated by the FBI, DEA, BIA-OJS, and OSTDPS. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Lindrooth prosecuted the case.
- United States v. Curtis Cummings, et al.: Following a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance (fentanyl) Resulting in Death. He was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison; his co-conspirators each received 20-23 years in federal prison. The case was investigated by UNET. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meghan Dilges and Edward Tarbay prosecuted the case.
- United States v. Nathan Johnson, et al.: This 24-defendant methamphetamine conspiracy spanned the state and was one of the largest drug conspiracies in South Dakota history. The lead co-conspirators received sentences ranging from 27-36 years in federal prison. The case was investigated by the DEA, FBI, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), DCI, the SFADTF, and the SDHP, with collaboration from more than a dozen other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies across the country. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paige Petersen prosecuted the case.
- United States v. Cory Linderman, et al.: Defendant was part of a group of people who worked together to traffic approximately 100 pounds of methamphetamine throughout the Rapid City area. He was sentenced to 23 years in federal prison. Other co-conspirators received sentences ranging from 14-22 ½ years in federal prison. The case was investigated by UNET. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Hodges prosecuted the case.
- United States v. Quantiae Harris, et al.: This 26-defendant methamphetamine and fentanyl conspiracy operated throughout the Sioux Falls area. To date, numerous defendants have pleaded guilty and Defendants Hailey Schneiderman and Heather Downey have been sentenced to 16 years and 10 years in federal prison, respectively. The case was investigated by the DEA, the SFADTF, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Joyce is prosecuting the case.
- United States v. Misty Stahlhoefer, et al.: This seven-defendant conspiracy involved the distribution of approximately 30-35 pounds of methamphetamine throughout the Pierre area. Misty Stahlhoefer was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison. Other co-conspirators received sentences ranging from 2-18 years in federal prison. The case was investigated by the FBI’s Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, the Pierre Police Department, the Chamberlain Police Department, and the Lyman County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan Dilges prosecuted the case.
- United States v. Calvin Taylor, et al.: Three defendants were charged with Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance (methamphetamine) in the Aberdeen area. Two defendants pleaded guilty and one was convicted at trial. Defendants Hillard and Fowler have received 10 years and 25 years in federal prison, respectively. Taylor awaits sentencing. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Joyce is prosecuting the case.
The prosecution of illegal narcotics by the U.S. Attorney’s Office is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the United States Department of Justice to 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).
U.S. Attorney and HSI Announce Repatriation of 16th-Century Hebrew Religious Text to Jewish Theological SeminaryRead the Press Release
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, and Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), Ricky J. Patel, announced today the repatriation of a valuable cultural artifact, the Chamisa Humshe Torrah (Five Books of Moses), Venice, Giovanni di Gara, 1588, and Haftarot, 1589, Miniature, 162+60 Leaves (the “Di Gara Text”) to the Jewish Theological Seminary of the University of Jewish Studies in Budapest, Hungary (the “Jewish Theological Seminary”) at a ceremony at the Hungarian Consulate in New York City. The ceremony was attended by, among others, U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton; Hungarian Ambassador to the United States Szabolcs Takács; Hungarian Consul General Istvan Pasztor; Rector of the Jewish Theological Seminary, Professor Gábor Balázs; and HSI Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel.
“The repatriation of the nearly 450-year-old Di Gara Text to the Jewish Theological Seminary marks the end of the text’s 80-year displacement from its rightful home,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton and HSI Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel. “The Di Gara Text was looted from the seminary’s holdings during the occupation of Budapest by Nazi forces in 1944 and was found in the Southern District of New York in 2023. Our offices are honored to have had a role in returning this precious text to where it belongs.”
According to the stipulated facts in the voluntary forfeiture order, statements made in court filings, and relevant online publications:
Giovanni di Gara was a Venetian printer of Hebrew books in the 16th century. The Di Gara Text is comprised of two works from the Jewish faith: the Chamisa Humshe Torrah (Five Books of Moses), or the Jewish Torah in book form, and the Haftarot, a series of selections from the Hebrew Bible. An image of the leather-bound Di Gara text is included below.
Lelio Della Torre was an Italian Jewish scholar and rabbi who lived from approximately 1805 to 1871. At some point during his life, the Di Gara Text came into Della Torre’s personal collection (the “Della Torre Collection” or the “Collection”). Works in the Della Torre Collection were stamped to indicate that they belonged to the Collection.
In or about 1877, after Della Torre’s death, the Collection was sold to the Jewish Theological Seminary. In 1944, in the midst of World War II and the Holocaust, Nazi forces invaded Budapest and seized and occupied the Jewish Theological Seminary, looting its holdings. The Di Gara Text is believed to have disappeared during this period.
In March 2023, Hungarian officials notified the Department of Homeland Security that a volume that appeared to be the Di Gara Text was for sale for $19,000 on www.abebooks.com. AbeBooks is an online marketplace used by independent vendors to sell, among other things, rare books. An image of a stamp in the volume was consistent with the stamp used by Della Torre to mark items in his Collection.
In April 2023, Special Agents with HSI seized the Di Gara Text, and, on October 4, 2024, U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres issued an order confirming the forfeiture of the Di Gara Text for the purposes of having this piece of cultural property returned to its rightful historical owner in Hungary.
* * *
Mr. Clayton and Mr. Patel praised the outstanding investigative work of Special Agents from HSI’s Cultural Property, Art, and Antiquities Squad. Mr. Clayton and Mr. Patel also thanked the Government of Hungary and the Hungarian Inspectorate of Cultural Goods for notifying the U.S. Government of the Di Gara Text’s presence in the Southern District of New York, providing helpful information to effectuate its seizure and forfeiture, and hosting today’s repatriation ceremony.
This case is being handled by the Office’s Illicit Finance and Money Laundering Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin A. Gianforti is in charge of this matter.
Two Plead Guilty to Conspiracy Involving Manufacturing of Counterfeit Pills Containing FentanylRead the Press Release
BOSTON – Two Massachusetts men pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to their roles in a conspiracy involving the distribution and manufacturing of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and other controlled substances.
Elmidio Crisostomo, 30, of Lynnfield and David Depena, 32, of Lynn, pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencings for Dec. 10, 2025. In November 2023, both men were indicted by federal grand jury.
Crisostomo and Depena used an apartment in Lynn to manufacture counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and other controlled substances. The defendants then distributed thousands of these pills to customers in towns including Malden and Revere. During a search of the Lynn apartment in June 2023, a large hand-crank-style press used for manufacturing pills as well as multiple kilograms of pills and powder containing fentanyl and other controlled substances were recovered.
The charge of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances provides for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, at least three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. 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 and Jarod A. Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Lynn Police Department and the Revere Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel R. Feldman of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case.
Three Sentenced for Methamphetamine OffensesRead the Press Release
ELKINS, WEST VIRGINIA – Three people have been sentenced for methamphetamine possession and distribution.
Cody Ray Robinson, 32, of Belington, West Virginia, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison for selling methamphetamine in Barbour County. Robinson was previously convicted for drug trafficking and petit larceny.
Emily Ann Swecker, 34, of Coalton, West Virginia, was sentenced to 110 months in prison. Swecker who has prior convictions for drug offenses was selling methamphetamine in Randolph County.
William Charles Wilson, also known as “BJ Wilson,” 40, of Franklin, West Virginia, was sentenced to 51 months in prison for selling methamphetamine in Pendleton County. Wilson was previously convicted of domestic battery, assault, and drug offenses.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Warner prosecuted the cases on behalf of the government.
Investigative agencies include the Mountain Region Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the Potomac Highlands Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the West Virginia State Police; and the Pendleton County Sheriff’s Office.
Chief U.S. District Judge Thomas S. Kleeh presided.
Three Defendants Federally Indicted for Armed Robbery Spree That Shut Down Fairgrounds of the Minnesota State FairRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – Dylan Charles Jungwirth, age 21, Kenneth Toy Spight, age 21, and Kemonie Hurd, age 18, have all been indicted by a federal grand jury with Hobbs Act Robbery charges. On August 17, 2025, the defendants went on a spree of gas station robberies in a stolen vehicle, using a highly realistic airsoft gun to threaten store employees. Their spree caused the nearby Minnesota State Fair preparations to temporarily shut down.
“The State Fair is one Minnesota’s most cherished traditions. It is a time for all of us to come together and celebrate the state and the end of summer,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson. “These defendants brought violence to that celebration with their armed robbery spree. Anyone who does that will see federal charges.”
On August 17, 2025, at 5:56am, defendants Jungwirth and Spight robbed a Speedway gas station in Roseville, Minnesota. A few hours later, at 8:34am, defendants Jungwirth, Spight, and Hurd robbed another gas station, this time a BP gas station in Little Canada, Minnesota. At 9:05am, defendants Jungwirth, Spight, and Hurd robbed a third gas station, a BP gas station in Roseville, Minnesota.
The defendants robbed all three gas stations at gunpoint. At the third gas station, one of the defendants demanded the cashier’s wallet. The cashier refused and attempted to grab the gun. The defendant then struck the cashier on the head with the gun, resulting in a laceration and burst blood vessel in the cashier’s eye.
After the third robbery, law enforcement spotted a suspect vehicle and pursued it into St. Paul, where the defendants crashed their car. One defendant was arrested while the other two fled on foot into the woods. A search ensued. The other two defendants were later arrested.
The robberies occurred as preparations were ongoing for the Minnesota State Fair. The pursuit and search took place near the State Fairgrounds. At 10:20am that morning, law enforcement sent out an emergency alert, telling people that the fairgrounds were closed due to police activity in the area and to avoid the area south of the fairgrounds. Law enforcement later issued a second “all clear” alert.
The defendants made their initial appearances yesterday afternoon in federal court. All three defendants are detained pending further proceedings. If convicted, the defendants face up to life in prison.
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, the Minnesota State Fair Police Department, the Roseville Police Department, and the St. Anthony Police Department.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristian Weir is prosecuting the case.
An indictment is merely an allegation, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Stone County Sex Offender Sentenced for Child PornographyRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Galena, Mo., man who is a registered sex offender was sentenced in federal court yesterday for receiving and distributing child pornography.
Steven Vincent Sanchez, 56, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 200 months in federal prison without parole. The court also sentenced Sanchez to spend 15 years on supervised release following incarceration.
On April 22, 2025, Sanchez pleaded guilty to one count of receipt and distribution of child pornography. Sanchez has prior felony convictions for statutory sodomy in the second degree and loitering within 500 feet of a public park, and has been required to register as a sex offender.
According to court records, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a CyberTipline Report after the file sharing service Dropbox discovered a video file containing suspected child pornography. Investigators linked the file to Sanchez and executed a search warrant at Sanchez’s residence in Galena, Mo., on Aug. 7, 2023. Investigators seized several electronic devices and found 234 images and one video depicting child pornography.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Wan. It was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, and the Stone County, Mo., Sheriff’s Office.
Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.”
St. Louis County Fossil Company Operator Admits Disability FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A man who recreates fossils on Wednesday admitted stealing $106,923 in Social Security disability benefits.
Scott A. Taylor, 50, of Wellston, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one felony count of theft of government money. Taylor was granted disability benefits on Sept. 5, 1996. At some point, he opened Taylor Made Fossils, which made multiple-sized cast or molded fossil recreations. All business paperwork was in Taylor’s girlfriend’s name, but he oversaw the business, his plea agreement says. Since 2014, the business generated income ranging from hundreds of dollars to tens of thousands of dollars per month in all but three months.
On Oct. 1, 2023, Taylor completed a continuing disability review report in which he falsely reported having difficulty walking, standing, concentrating, feeding himself, shopping, using his arms, managing money, seeing, hearing, speaking and caring for his hair. He stated his vision caused him to walk into people and objects and frequently fall down the stairs, that he was in extreme constant pain, that it was dangerous for him to leave the house alone, that he could not feel his hands or feet and that even normal items would become too heavy to lift. All the while, Taylor was carrying large or heavy objects, doing yard work, using a cell phone, and walking normally while unassisted and alone. Later that same month, Defendant falsely claimed he had received no wages or income and had no form of employment since 1997.
On Nov. 1, 2023, Taylor completed a function report in which he reiterated his false claims about his limited ability to see, move and care for himself.
After an investigation by the Social Security Administration - Office of Inspector General (SSA-OIG), Taylor’s disability benefits were discontinued. Taylor stole a total of $106, 923, his plea agreement says.
Taylor is scheduled to be sentenced on December 9. The crime carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 or both prison and a fine. He will also be ordered to repay the money.
The SSA-OIG investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwen Carroll is prosecuting the case.
Springfield Man Sentenced for Meth and Fentanyl TraffickingRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for his role in a drug-trafficking conspiracy involving 19 defendants and over $1.8 million worth of methamphetamine and fentanyl.
Dontrell A. Powell, 36, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 32 and a half years in federal prison without parole for one count each of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking. Powell pleaded guilty on Jan. 21, 2025.
According to court documents, an investigation into the drug-trafficking organization began on Jan. 17, 2024, when a Trooper with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol searched a vehicle on a car hauler at a truck stop in Oklahoma City, Ok. The Trooper found approximately 100 pounds of methamphetamine and two pounds of fentanyl pills hidden in a subwoofer speaker box in the cargo area of a Dodge Magnum. The approximate street value of the drugs was $1,850,000.
Agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration removed the fentanyl pills from the Dodge Magnum and replaced most of the methamphetamine with sham methamphetamine before conducting a controlled delivery of the vehicle the next morning.
On Jan. 18, 2024, Dontrell Powell and his brother, Dreshawn Powell, 28, also of Springfield, Mo., arrived at the parking lot in a 2018 Mercedes Benz GLE, which was registered to Dontrell. Dontrell Powell signed for the Dodge Magnum, which had been shipped from California to Missouri under a false name, and drove it out of the parking lot. Agents followed the Powell brothers and two codefendants to Dontrell Powell’s residence, where they were all arrested.
When agents searched Dontrell Powell’s residence they found an Anderson Manufacturing multi-caliber, semi-automatic pistol, two Glock carrying cases, three high-capacity Glock magazines, including a drum-style magazine loaded with 40 rounds of ammunition, several types of ammunition, and approximately $140,000. Agents also located four more large subwoofer boxes at the residence and a loaded Glock, .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol in the glove box of Dontrell Powell’s Mercedes.
Dontrell Powell is the second defendant to be sentenced in this case. His brother, Dreshawn Powell, was sentenced on July 21, 2025, to 190 months in federal prison without parole for one count of aiding and abetting the attempted possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica R. Eatmon. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, the Kansas Bureau of Investigation, the Parsons, Kan., Police Department, the Ozarks Drug Enforcement Team, and the Labette County, Kan., Sheriff’s Department.
Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force
This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Sports Park Executives Sentenced to Prison for Municipal Bond FraudRead the Press Release
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, announced that RANDY MILLER and CHAD MILLER, former executives of the Legacy Park sports complex in Mesa, Arizona, were sentenced yesterday to six and five years in prison, respectively, for securities fraud and aggravated identity theft in connection with their scheme to defraud municipal bond investors. Both defendants previously pled guilty and were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan.
“The significant sentences imposed for this municipal bond fraud, along with the parallel civil fraud action by the SEC, reflect the commitment of our Office, the FBI, and the SEC to hold accountable those who exploit the trust of investors,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “Randy and Chad Miller orchestrated a sophisticated scheme that cost bondholders nearly $300 million. Their scheme undermined confidence in the $4 trillion+ municipal bond market that communities across America depend on to finance essential projects. We will continue to fight for the integrity and efficiency of the municipal bond market.”
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In addition to their prison terms, RANDY MILLER, 70, and CHAD MILLER, 41, were sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay money judgments in the amounts of $7,289,134.89 and $4,798,980.19.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding work of the FBI and thanked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which resolved a parallel civil action.
The case is being handled by the Office’s Securities and Commodities Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Courtney L. Heavey and Matthew R. Shahabian are in charge of the prosecution.
Somerset County Man Admits to Distributing Fentanyl Resulting in the Deaths of Four Individuals and Possessing with Intent to Distribute CocaineRead the Press Release
TRENTON, N.J. – A Somerset County man admitted to distributing fentanyl and cocaine resulting in the deaths of four individuals, Acting U.S. Attorney and Special Attorney Alina Habba announced today.
Mauricio Gutierrez, 52, of Somerset, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi today in Trenton federal court, to a four-count Information charging him with two counts of distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and two counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
On the evening of June 22, 2022, Gutierrez distributed fentanyl on two separate occasions from his personal residence in Somerset, New Jersey which resulted in the deaths of four individuals. On September 27, 2023, Gutierrez was arrested by law enforcement and found to be in possession of cocaine that was stored in both his private vehicle and personal residence. Gutierrez admitted that even after becoming aware of the deaths of the four individuals in 2022, he intended to distribute the cocaine that was located by law enforcement at a later date.
Each of the four counts is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison, and the sentence of each count may run consecutively. Each count also carries a potential fine of the greater of $1,000,000, or twice the gross profits or other proceeds for the offense, and the defendant must be sentenced to a term of supervised release after any term of imprisonment imposed.
Sentencing is scheduled for January 13, 2026.
Acting U.S. Attorney and Special Attorney Habba credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael McCarthy, with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked the North Brunswick Department, under the direction of Chief Joe Battaglia, and Franklin Township Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Quovella Maeweather, for their assistance.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
The investigations leading to these charges is part of Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force’s (OCDETF) operations. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vincent D. Romano and Christopher Fell of the Criminal Division in Newark.
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Defense counsel: Anthony Pope, Esq. and Joseph Alter. Esq.
gutierrez.information.pdfSecond Man Pleads Guilty, Two Others Charged in Robbery of a Montgomery BusinessRead the Press Release
MONTGOMERY, AL – Acting United States Attorney Kevin Davidson announced today that a second man has pleaded guilty, and two additional men have been charged, in connection with the March 10, 2025, robbery of a Montgomery dry cleaning business.
On September 10, 2025, Spencer Thomas, 67, of Prattville, Alabama, pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of Hobbs Act robbery, a crime that carries a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. Previously, Zedekiah Sykes, 58, of Montgomery, Alabama, entered a guilty plea to the same charge. Sentencing hearings for both men will be scheduled in the coming months.
In addition, 51-year-old Spirit Hooks and 55-year-old Clinton Thompson, both of Birmingham, Alabama, have been charged as the third and fourth alleged accomplices in the robbery. An indictment or criminal complaint is merely a formal accusation. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
According to court records, on March 10, 2025, Sykes, Thomas, Hooks, and Thompson forced their way into the business, located on East South Street in Montgomery, by shattering the front door with a rock. Once inside, the men confronted the business owner and forced him into an office where a locked safe was located. One of the intruders displayed what appeared to be a handgun, later determined to be a BB gun, and demanded that the victim open the safe.
When the owner struggled to recall the combination, one of the robbers struck him in the left eye, causing visible bruising and swelling. The group ultimately accessed the safe and stole approximately $8,000 in cash. Before fleeing, they zip-tied the victim’s hands and feet and took his cell phone and car keys. The assailants then used the stolen keys to drive away in the victim’s vehicle.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Montgomery Police Department, Alabama Law Enforcement Agency (ALEA), and the Metro Area Crime Suppression (MACS) Task Force investigated this case, with assistance from the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul Markovits.
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).
Salvadoran National and Convicted Child Molester Charged with Naturalization Fraud and Passport FraudRead the Press Release
RALEIGH, N.C. – Isidro Arcenio Alvarado, 57, a U.S. citizen born in El Salvador, appeared in federal court yesterday for his initial appearance. On August 20, 2025, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging him with naturalization fraud and passport fraud. The indictment alleges that Alvarado lied about his criminal history on his application to obtain U.S. citizenship and used a fraudulently obtained naturalization certificate to obtain a U.S. passport.
“We will not tolerate illegal aliens or lying immigrants who get status to stay in this wonderful country if they hurt children,” said United States Attorney Ellis Boyle. “We do not tolerate any crimes against children. If you do this, we will kick you right back out.”
According to the indictment, Alvarado allegedly knowingly made materially false statements under oath and penalty of perjury on his naturalization application and during a naturalization interview with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). In response to the questions “Were you EVER involved in any way with any of the following:…[f]orcing or trying to force someone to have any kind of sexual contact or relations?”; “Have you EVER committed, assisted in committing, or attempted to commit, a crime or offense for which you were NOT arrested?”; “Have you EVER given any U.S. Government officials any information or documentation that was false, fraudulent, or misleading?”; and “Have you EVER lied to any U.S. government officials to gain entry or admission into the United States or to gain immigration benefits while in the United States?” Alvarado answered “No.” Alvarado took the oath of citizenship and naturalized on October 12, 2022. On March 7, 2023, Alvarado used his fraudulently obtained naturalization certificate to apply for a passport from the U.S. Department of State.
On April 25, 2023, police arrested Alvarado and charged him with committing multiple sex offenses against a child. On July 8, 2025, in the Superior Court of North Carolina for Wake County, Alvarado pleaded guilty to two counts of indecent liberties with a child. The state court judge sentenced him to a suspended term of imprisonment of between 32 and 58 months and ordered to register as a sex offender. Alvarado confessed to committing these the crimes against a 10-year-old child from January 1, 2019, through April 10, 2021. State law enforcement agents did not arrest him until after he naturalized, so immigration officials were unaware of his crimes prior to granting citizenship.
Alvarado is charged in a four-count indictment. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 40 years in prison as well as the automatic revocation of his U.S. citizenship.
Ellis Boyle, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement. ICE ERO officers and HSI agents assigned to the Document and Benefit Fraud Task Force are investigating the case as part of Operation False Haven, an ongoing initiative designed to aggressively target child molesters and other egregious felons who fraudulently obtain U.S. citizenship. USCIS’s Fraud Detection and National Security Division is assisting with the initiative. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori Warlick is prosecuting the case.
Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:25-CR-208-D-BM.
An indictment is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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Saginaw Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Possessing over Ten Pounds of MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
BAY CITY — Devante Thomas, 32, of Saginaw was sentenced today to 180 months in federal prison for his possession of methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it, U.S. Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon, Jr. announced.
Gorgon Jr. was joined in the announcement by James Deir, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF).
U.S. District Court Judge Thomas L. Ludington imposed sentence on Thomas following his guilty plea for possessing with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.
According to court documents, in January of 2025, the Michigan State Police stopped Thomas’s car on I-75 in Birch Run and found over four kilograms of methamphetamine. The Bay Area Narcotics Enforcement Team and ATF special agents then executed a search warrant at Thomas’s residence. Inside, they recovered 579 more grams of methamphetamine, 27 grams of fentanyl, 108 grams of cocaine, and four firearms.
This investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, in conjunction with the Michigan State Police Bay Area Narcotics Enforcement Team. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William Orr.
Registered Sex Offender Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Enticement of A MinorRead the Press Release
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, announced today that CURTIS ELLINGTON was sentenced to 25 years in prison by U.S. District Judge Philip M. Halpern for his enticement of a 15-year-old minor to engage in sexual activity and for committing this offense while being required to register as a sex offender.
“Children deserve protection from those who would exploit them,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “There is zero tolerance for this heinous conduct. Our Office will pursue every lead, use every tool, and bring every resource to bear to ensure that predators like Curtis Ellington are removed from our communities. If you suspect sexual exploitation, please reach out to our law enforcement partners.”
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in related court proceedings:
ELLINGTON was convicted on or about January 12, 2007, in Orange County Court of Rape in the 1st Degree: Intercourse with A Person Less Than 11 Years Old and sentenced to seven years in prison. As a result of this conviction, ELLINGTON was required to register as a sex offender.
On or about April 7, 2023, ELLINGTON, who had traveled to Orange County, New York, from Kansas, slept at the home of a 15-year-old minor (“Victim-1”). While there, ELLINGTON engaged in sexual activity with Victim-1. Prior to engaging in sexual activity with Victim-1, ELLINGTON engaged in numerous communications with Victim-1 via Instagram in which ELLINGTON discussed his desire to engage in sexual activity with Victim-1.
Individuals with information concerning the sexual exploitation of children are urged to call 1-800-Call-FBI.
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In addition to the prison term, ELLINGTON, 36, of Junction City, Kansas, was sentenced to 15 years of supervised release.
Mr. Clayton praised the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Middletown Police Department, the Geary County Sheriff’s Office in Junction City, Kansas, the New York State Police, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas in connection with this investigation.
The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcia S. Cohen is in charge of the prosecution.
Providence Man Convicted of Trafficking CocaineRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE – A Providence man pleaded guilty today in federal court to trafficking in kilos of cocaine, announced Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.
Eluid Rosa-Escudero, 35, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. He is scheduled to be sentenced on December 10, 2025. The sentence imposed in this matter will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Court documents reflect that a three-month, multi-agency investigation into Rosa-Escudero’s drug trafficking activities culminated on April 10, 2025, with the execution of a court-authorized search of his Providence residence and the seizure of two kilograms of cocaine, $10,000 in cash, and other items associated with the trafficking of narcotics.
Leading up to the execution of the search warrant, law enforcement surveilled the retrieval of a package suspected of containing cocaine delivered by the U.S. Postal Service to the front porch of a Providence residence. The package was retrieved by a person who arrived by car and then drove to a nearby gas station where the driver met with Rosa-Escudero, who was in a separate vehicle. As the two vehicles pulled away, Rosa-Escudero was followed by a law enforcement surveillance team to his residence. East Providence Police effected an investigative stop of the car driven by the person who retrieved the package from the porch of the residence, who they then identified as being 15 years old.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine D. Lowell and G. Michael Seaman.
The matter is being investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service Contraband Interdiction and Investigations Task Force, with the assistance of the Providence Police Department, the Pawtucket Police Department, and the Rhode Island State Police.
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).
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Prison Sentence for Man Convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter Related to Vehicular Crash on Menominee Indian ReservationRead the Press Release
Richard G. Frohling, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced that on September 5, 2025, Desmond Waukau (age: 22), an enrolled member of the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin and former resident of Keshena, received a 42-month prison sentence following a conviction for involuntary manslaughter.
The sentence, imposed by Senior United States District Judge William C. Griesbach, was the result of a guilty plea entered by the defendant on May 30, 2025. Waukau will also face three years of supervised release once he completes his sentence.
According to publicly filed court documents, Waukau drove a car far in excess of the posted speed limit on a state highway that runs through the Menominee Indian Reservation. Waukau attempted to flee from tribal law enforcement vehicles that were going the opposite direction, and then he failed to negotiate a turn onto Crowe Settlement Road, which is an unpaved road between Keshena and Middle Village. The resulting crash led to the death of a passenger. Later examination of the vehicle revealed Waukau was operating the vehicle at approximately 105 mph five seconds before the crash, and 65 mph at the time of impact.
At the sentencing hearing, Judge Griesbach noted the seriousness of the crime and remarked upon the need to punish the defendant for his acts. The court also discussed the need to deter others in the community from engaging in reckless driving.
The case was investigated by the Menominee Tribal Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with valuable assistance from the Wisconsin State Patrol. Assistant United States Attorney Andrew J. Maier prosecuted the case.
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For further information contact: Public Affairs Officer Steve Caballero
(414) 297-1700
Follow us on XPrior felon charged with illegal reentryRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y.–U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Miguel Angel Ruiz Guevara, 53, a citizen and national of El Salvador, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with re-entry of removed aliens and re-entry of previously deported or removed aliens following a felony conviction, which carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Smith, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, on August 29th, 2025, investigators encountered Ruiz Guevara at a hotel in Bowmansville, NY. They approached the room that he was staying in and questioned Ruiz Guevara regarding citizenship. Ruiz Guevara did not have any documents that would allow him to be or remain in the United States lawfully, presenting instead an El Salvadorian passport. Further investigation determined that he was ordered removed from the United States on three occasions, in 1992, 2005, and 2011. In addition, in September 2004, Ruiz Guevara was convicted of DUI for the third time, a felony.
Ruiz Guevara made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy and was detained.
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.
The complaint is the result of an investigation by U.S. Border Patrol, under the direction of Patrol Agent-in-Charge David Banks.
The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
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Previously removed alien imprisoned for 17 years for immigration, narcotics, and firearms violationsRead the Press Release
BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 31-year-old Mexican citizen illegally residing in the Weslaco area has been sentenced following his conviction for illegal reentry after removal, conspiracy to possess with intent to deliver over five kilograms of cocaine and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, announced U.S. Attorney Nicolas J. Ganjei.
Jorge Huerta-Garcia pleaded guilty to the immigration and drug/firearms crimes in August 2024 and March 2025, respectively.
U.S. District Judge Rolando Olvera has now ordered him to serve a total of 204 months in federal prison. Not a U.S. citizen, Huerta-Garcia is again expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence that described the extensive elements of the drug conspiracy which attributed 643 kilos of cocaine to Huerta-Garcia as relevant conduct. In handing down the sentence, the court noted he had serious prior convictions which included an aggravated assault and firearm possession.
A federal jury indicted Jorge Huerta-Garcia in March 2024 for illegal reentry after removal. During this time, law enforcement was also investigating him as part of a drug trafficking organization. In September 2024, he was charged with the additional possession of drug and firearms crimes.
On Nov. 28, 2023, several vehicles were traveling in tandem in Hidalgo County, including a Chevrolet Silverado truck which Huerta-Garcia was driving. Alvino Lozoya-Ramon was the passenger. They arrived at a residence in Brownsville where Juan Alberto Monroy-Villanueva was located. All three men then placed wrapped bundles from the location into the back seat of the Silverado.
Law enforcement attempted to conduct a traffic stop, but a chased ensued. After crashing through a ranch gate, Huerta-Garcia successfully fled the scene, but authorities took Loyoza-Ramon into custody. A search of the vehicle resulted in the discovery of 39.46 kilograms of cocaine.
The investigation revealed Huerta-Garcia was an illegal alien from Mexico who had been previously convicted in 2017 of being a felon in possession of a firearm and removed from the United States in June 2022.
Authorities ultimately arrested him in March 2024, at which time they found a loaded AR-10 rifle and assorted rounds of ammunition and weapon magazines.
He has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Loyoza-Ramon, 56, and Monroy Villanueva, 42, both Mexican citizens who illegally resided in Weslaco and Brownsville, respectively, pleaded guilty to possessing with intent to deliver cocaine and were sentenced in December 2024. Loyoza-Ramon received a 120-month sentence, while Monroy-Villanueva was ordered to serve 48 months.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations and Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Cameron County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Oscar Ponce prosecuted the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces and Project Safe Neighborhood.
Previously Convicted Federal Felon Sentenced for Defrauding COVID-19 Loan Program and Identity TheftRead the Press Release
Greenbelt, Maryland – District Judge Deborah L. Boardman sentenced Jemel Lyles, 43, of Washington, DC, to 66 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered him to pay $281,947 in restitution, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. In his guilty plea, Lyles admitted to submitting applications for and receiving funds from six fraudulent CARES Act loans. Additionally, Lyles violated his supervised release from a previous federal conviction for obstruction of an audit.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the guilty plea with Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Baltimore Field Office.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act — a federal law enacted in March 2020 — provided emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. It gives financial assistance including forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and other expenses. Established by the CARES Act, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) — administered through the Small Business Administration (SBA) — along with the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), helped businesses meet their financial obligations.
According to the guilty plea, between April 2020 through February 2021, while on supervised release for a prior federal felony fraud conviction, Lyles defrauded the SBA and PPP by obtaining six fraudulent PPP loans. In the relevant applications, Lyles inflated the applicant businesses’ number of employees and monthly payroll amounts to fraudulently increase the amount of PPP funds he received.
Lyles also knowingly submitted both false payroll documentation and false tax documents to support the false assertions. Under PPP regulations, Lyles’s prior felony fraud conviction made any business in which he had a reportable ownership interest ineligible to receive PPP funds. Lyles fraudulently obscured either his ownership interest in the applicant businesses or the fact that he would be the immediate recipient and have primary control over the PPP funds to evade this legal restriction.
When Lyles submitted one set of applications, he omitted his reportable interest in the applicant companies Green Capital Construction and Landscape, LLC (Green Capital) and JSL, Investments LLC. In another set of applications, Lyles used the identity of his then friend and employee to apply for PPP loans in the individual’s name. These loans were then deposited into bank accounts that Lyles was a signatory. Then Lyles proceeded to use PPP funds in impermissible ways, some of which included expenditures such as a home gym, jewelry, child-support payments, personal retail credit accounts, food, and personal financial investments. In total, Lyles defrauded approximately $281,900 in PPP funds from the United States and PPP lenders.
The District of Maryland Strike Force is one of five strike forces established throughout the United States by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud, including fraud relating to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The CARES Act was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The strike forces focus on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors. The strike forces are interagency law enforcement efforts, using prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams designed to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds.
For more information about the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit justice.gov/coronavirus. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI for its work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph L. Wenner, who is prosecuting the federal case, and recognized the Maryland COVID-19 Strike Force 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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Pittsburgh Woman Sentenced for Vandalizing Jewish PropertiesRead the Press Release
PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to five years of probation on her conviction of conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States and defacing and damaging a religious building, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
United States District Judge Christy Criswell Wiegand imposed the sentence on Talya A. Lubit, 25.
According to information presented to the Court, Lubit and her codefendant, Mohamad Hamad, conspired to damage and deface the Chabad of Squirrel Hill. The Chabad is a center for Jewish educational programming and occupies a building for Jewish religious services in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh. In the early morning hours of July 29, 2024, acting on their plan to cause damage to a Jewish institution, Lubit and Hamad spray-painted the words “Jews 4 Palestine” with an inverted triangle onto the exterior of the Chabad building with red paint. The inverted triangle first appeared in videos posted online by Hamas, a designated foreign terrorist organization, of the current fighting in Gaza, where the symbol was used to mark an Israeli target about to be attacked by Hamas fighters. The act of vandalism was born from Hamad’s and Lubit’s shared growing animosity towards Israel since the terrorist attack of October 7, 2023, and the war that ensued between Israel and Hamas.
Charges against Lubit’s codefendant Hamad, which also include making false statements in a matter within the jurisdiction of the Executive branch of the United States and possession of destructive devices, remain pending.
As part of her sentence, Lubit agreed to pay restitution of $10,534 for the damage done to the Chabad property, as well as graffiti that she and Hamad spray-painted on an entry sign to the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh the same day.
The sentencing hearing included the reading of victim impact statements from both Chabad of Squirrel Hill and the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh regarding the impact the defendants’ vandalism had on their institutions and community. Chabad of Squirrel Hill described the damage of the spray-painting as “not only physical but deeply symbolic” and “a painful reminder that we remain a target,” with the incident having “caused distress and fear among our members.” The Jewish Federation stated that “the hateful words and symbols painted on our Federation sign revived deep feelings of fear, violation and vulnerability” and that the vandalism’s “premeditated nature based on our remote location made it clear that the target was not just property, but our employees.”
“Talya Lubit instilled fear in the Pittsburgh Jewish community by spray-painting a synagogue with the mark of a designated foreign terrorist organization, along with vandalizing the sign of a building belonging to an organization that provides critical services to members of the Jewish community and others,” said Acting United States Attorney Rivetti. “Protected speech obviously does not include damaging or defacing religious property, and our office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to protect the civil rights of all members of our community to practice their faiths and to live without fear.”
Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
Acting United States Attorney Rivetti commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Pittsburgh Bureau of Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Lubit.
Philadelphia Man Sentenced to over 11 Years in Prison for His Role in Violent Armed CarjackingRead the Press Release
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Leevah Mills, 25, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 135 months in prison, five years’ supervised release, and $42,909 in restitution by United States District Judge Paul S. Diamond for taking part in a violent armed carjacking.
The defendant was charged by indictment in August 2023 with one count of carjacking and one count of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. He pleaded guilty to both charges in February of this year.
As detailed in court filings and admitted to by the defendant, in the early morning hours of July 11, 2023, Mills and two others carjacked a 26-year-old man who had just parked his car near his Northeast Philadelphia home, with the defendant and others pointing their semiautomatic pistols directly at the victim, at very close range. The carjackers then pistol-whipped the man, took his cell phone, and drove off in his Dodge Charger.
Philadelphia police officers soon located and followed the stolen vehicle. As Mills and his codefendants were trying to flee police in the Charger, they collided with another vehicle and crashed into a pole on Castor Avenue, where the stolen car caught fire and was destroyed. Police quickly apprehended all three carjackers after the crash.
Mills’ co-defendants, Emmanuel Sia and Kysime Brown, also pleaded guilty to the charges against them and are scheduled to be sentenced in October.
“This roving crew of criminals ambushed and assaulted an innocent victim just trying to park his car and get home,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “My office and our partners on the Philadelphia Carjacking Task Force will continue to target violent individuals like Leevah Mills, to improve public safety and the quality of life in our city.”
“Armed carjackings are brazen crimes that leave victims with lasting trauma and communities living in fear,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office. “Today’s sentencing is a measure of justice, but more importantly, it is a promise to our community that the FBI and our law enforcement partners will not relent in protecting innocent people from senseless violence.”
The case was investigated by the Philadelphia Police Department and the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas M. Zaleski.