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21 July 2026
Convicted Drug Trafficker on Probation Sentenced to 15 Years for Distributing MethamphetamineRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A convicted drug trafficker on probation was sentenced today to 180 months in prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Robert James Salyards, 52, of Claremont, N.C., was ordered to serve five years of supervised release after he completes the prison term.
“Career criminals like Salyards are fueling addiction and ruining communities,” said U.S. Attorney Russ Ferguson. “By removing him from the streets, we have, as he admitted, put an end to at least 50 drugs sales every week.”
According to filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, Salyards was on state parole for a drug conviction. On February 25, 2025, officers with the Catawba County Sheriff’s Office stopped Salyards’ vehicle for driving at excessive speed. During the stop, the officers observed a glass meth pipe at the front console. During a subsequent search of the vehicle, the officers found in the center console a clear plastic bag containing 111 grams of methamphetamine. They also located an eye glass case containing a plastic bag with 3.7 grams of methamphetamine. On the driver’s seat of the vehicle there was a bag containing another clear plastic bag with 26 grams of methamphetamine. During the investigation, Salyards admitted to selling methamphetamine, and that he made approximately 50 drug sales per week.
Due to Salyards’ multiple prior convictions, including Possession With Intent to Manufacture, Sell, or Distribute Methamphetamine, he was sentenced as a career criminal.
Salyards is currently in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation to a federal facility.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Hickory Police Department for their investigation of the case.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte 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 (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
Canton Man Sentenced to 15+ Years in Prison for Meth and Heroin Trafficking OperationRead the Press Release
AKRON, Ohio – A 45-year-old man was sentenced to prison for his role in operating a drug trafficking enterprise out of his restaurant and home in Summit County.
Jerrick Jermain Daniels, of Canton, was sentenced to 180 months (15.6 years) in prison by U.S. District Judge Dan Aaron Polster after pleading guilty in March to:
- Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine
- Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin
- Felon in Possession of Firearms and Ammunition; prior convictions include Possession of Cocaine in 2002 and 2005, Felonious Assault in 2007, and Trafficking in Cocaine, Possession of Cocaine and Possession of Heroin in 2014.
- Possession of Firearms in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime
Daniels was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release after imprisonment.
According to court documents, agents were investigating suspected drug trafficking taking place in Summit County, Ohio, when Daniels was identified as a suspect. In May 2025, federal agents executed a search warrant at his residence located on Navarre Road and at his restaurant on Fremont, both located in Canton. In total, the following items were seized during the investigation:
- Bond Arms Roughneck .45 ACP handgun
- Springfield XD-9 handgun with a loaded magazine
- Smith and Wesson M&P handgun, with an extended magazine
- Carina RTA 12-gauge shotgun
- Glock 48 handgun
- Glock 42 handgun
- Glock 17 handgun
- Springfield XD-9 handgun
- Taurus G2C handgun
- Two digital scales with residue
- 156.74 grams of heroin
- 138.475 grams of pure methamphetamine
- Packing materials from the narcotics
Daniels later admitted possessing the narcotics with the intent to distribute them and that he used the firearms to further his drug trafficking operation.
This case was investigated by the FBI Canton Resident Agency.
Assistant United States Attorney Toni Beth Schnellinger Feisthamel led the prosecution for the Northern District of Ohio.
Burlington, Vermont Man Sentenced to 97 Months for Distribution of Child Sexual Abuse MaterialRead the Press Release
BURLINGTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont stated that on July 21, 2026, Stephen Lane, 57, of Burlington, Vermont, was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Christina Reiss to a term of 97 months’ imprisonment to be followed by a 15-year term of supervised release. Chief Judge Reiss also imposed a $10,000 assessment to be paid to the Child Pornography Victims Reserve and a $5,000 assessment to be paid to the Domestic Trafficking Victims’ Fund. Lane previously pleaded guilty to distributing a video of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).
According to court records, between September 26, 2024, and October 9, 2024, defendant Lane corresponded with an undercover U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID) special agent, who purported to be a 13-year-old living in Korea with her family. Lane engaged in messaging through social media websites and internet-based platforms, seeking to have the purported teenage girl produce and send CSAM. Army CID coordinated with the Vermont Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations, who then executed a search warrant at Lane’s residence on October 10, 2024. A subsequent review of Lane’s electronic devices revealed that Lane was corresponding with multiple people over the internet, seeking media files and/or video chats depicting CSAM involving teenage girls. One of these people indicated they were 17 years old. Lane asked this person to produce CSAM, and during the exchange, sent a 28-second video of a child under the age of 16 exposing herself. Lane was initially charged in Vermont Superior Court. Upon his federal arrest in December 2025, Lane was found to be in violation of his state release conditions, including by using the messaging component of a meditation cellphone application to contact other users who he believed looked like young girls.
First Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt commended the collaborative investigatory efforts of U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division, Homeland Security Investigations, and Detectives of the Vermont Attorney General’s Office.
The case was prosecuted by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ophardt. Lane was represented by Jessica L. Burke, Esq., and Sara M. Puls, Esq.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.
Buffalo man pleads guilty to conspiring to distribute fentanylRead the Press Release
BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Giovanni Rosa, 32, of Buffalo, NY, pleaded guilty to narcotics conspiracy before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 40 years, and a fine of $5,000,000.
Between January and February 2025, Rosa conspired with others to sell fentanyl in the Buffalo area. Investigators conducted three controlled purchases of fentanyl from Rosa between January 30 and February 27, 2025. For each of the controlled purchases, Rosa would acquire approximately an ounce of fentanyl from his source of supply.
This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Buffalo/Rochester comprises agents and officers from HSI, the FBI, DEA, ATF, and IRS-CI, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Garrett Fitzsimmons. The plea is the culmination of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Farhana Islam, New York Field Division.
Sentencing is scheduled for November 16, 2026, before Judge Sinatra.
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Birmingham Man Sentenced to More Than Five Years in Prison for Possession of Illegal DrugsRead the Press Release
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A Birmingham man has been sentenced for possession of illegal drugs, announced U.S. Attorney Phillip W. Williams Jr.
U.S. District Judge Annmarie C. Axon sentenced Deverick Dewayne Croom, 35, to 63 months in prison. In April, Croom pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine.
“Keeping violent offenders and illegal drugs out of our communities remains a top priority,” said U.S. Attorney Phillip W. Williams Jr. “I am grateful to our federal, state and local law enforcement partners for their continued commitment to holding dangerous offenders accountable and keeping the citizens of the Northern District of Alabama safe.”
“As in this case, domestic violence involving firearms is particularly concerning and often links to further criminal activity that affects the victims and our communities as a whole,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge James VanVliet. “Today’s sentencing underscores the importance of holding individuals accountable who recklessly engage in criminal acts of violence, illegally possess firearms, and distribute narcotics.”
According to the court documents, on August 12, 2020, an officer with the Birmingham Police Department responded to a domestic violence call. The victim reported that Croom had assaulted and strangled her, shot at her, and took her phone and money. Law enforcement officers went to a Birmingham hotel to locate Croom. After knocking on the hotel room door and receiving no response, officers entered and found the room unoccupied. While in the room, they observed suspected marijuana and pills containing methamphetamine on the dresser and a loaded Windham Weaponry AR-style rifle in the closet. A short time later, Croom returned to the hotel and officers encountered him in the lobby. Croom was detained in connection with the domestic violence complaint and the suspected narcotics. It was subsequently discovered that Croom had active arrest warrants issued by the City of Birmingham. When Croom was detained, he had a hotel room key in his hand and the victim’s phone in his pocket. The officer returned to the room and seized 10 bags of marijuana (each containing approximately 3.5 grams of the drug), more than 200 pills containing methamphetamine, and the AR-style rifle. Croom was then arrested for possession of a controlled substance and domestic violence by strangulation or suffocation.
ATF investigated the case along with the Birmingham Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel S. McBrayer prosecuted the case.
Baltimore County Felon Sentenced for Federal Drug-and-Firearm CrimesRead the Press Release
Baltimore, Maryland – A federal judge sentenced a Baltimore County man to prison, today, in connection with drug-and-firearm charges related to a federal drug investigation.
U.S. District Judge Adam B. Abelson sentenced Jacque “Hammer” Brown, 50, of Randallstown, Maryland, to 135 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, after law enforcement recovered 500 grams of fentanyl and two firearms from his home.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Special Agent in Charge Christopher C. Goumenis, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) – Washington Division; Chief Robert McCullough, Baltimore County Police Department (BCPD); Commissioner Richard Worley, Baltimore Police Department (BPD); and Secretary Carolyn J. Scruggs, Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS).
According to court documents, in March 2025, the DEA began investigating Brown after learning that he was dealing fentanyl in the Baltimore region. After investigators identified Brown’s vehicles and Randallstown residence, the court authorized law enforcement to conduct electronic surveillance over his vehicles and cellular phone.
In April 2025, investigators observed a meeting between Brown and his drug supplier. It appeared that Brown engaged in a re-up with his supplier. A few days after the meeting, investigators saw Brown meet with multiple suspected drug customers throughout the day. Later that evening, law enforcement observed Brown leave his residence with a plastic bag of suspected drugs. When Brown left in his vehicle, investigators initiated a traffic stop.
During the traffic stop, a K-9 officer responded to the scene, scanned the vehicle, and positively detected the presence of narcotics. After the positive alert, Brown, who was standing with a patrol officer, ran away from the traffic stop. As he fled, Brown threw a clear plastic bag. Then investigators quickly apprehended Brown, placing him under arrest.
After apprehending Brown, investigators retraced his steps and discovered a clear plastic bag that contained 15 grams of fentanyl on the ground. Officers also recovered a cellphone from Brown and three additional cellphones from his vehicle.
Following Brown’s arrest, law enforcement executed a search warrant on his Randallstown residence. Investigators searched Brown’s room, recovering 500 grams of fentanyl in multiple plastic bags; multiple digital scales; a hydraulic press; and sifters with drug residue. Law enforcement also found two firearms, a loaded 9mm Ruger, and a Mossberg Maverick 12-gauge shotgun. Brown, who is a convicted felon, is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition.
Additionally, investigators searched one of Brown’s phones and discovered messages between Brown and his fentanyl supplier. The messages revealed that Brown and his fentanyl supplier discussed the high potency of the fentanyl, and that Brown infused cutting agents in the narcotic to reduce the risk of overdosing.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the DEA, BCPD, BPD, and DPSCS for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Calvin Miner and Ari D. Evans who prosecuted this federal case.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit justice.gov/usao-md.
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Austin Fentanyl Dealer Sentenced to 18 Years in Federal PrisonRead the Press Release
AUSTIN, Texas – An Austin man was sentenced in a federal court in Austin to 220 months in prison for trafficking fentanyl while in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas.
According to court documents, on March 24, 2023, Daltha Ray Terrell, aka Goo Ray, 31, presented himself to a local hospital with a gunshot wound to his arm claiming that someone had shot him. Officers secured his car and obtained a search warrant. Located within the car were approximately 636 blue pills with “M-30” markings. Officers also discovered two firearms.
Further investigation revealed that Terrell was not shot by another individual but had shot himself when attempting to pull his firearm from his jacket. Additionally, the pills found in his vehicle tested positive for fentanyl.
Months later, on Dec. 1, 2023, officers responded to an overdose on an Austin Capital Metro bus. The victim was declared deceased after efforts to revive him failed, and officers located a small amount of crushed blue powder that field tested for fentanyl. Video surveillance reflected that the deceased victim had boarded the bus near Terrell’s residence. Evidence from the victim’s phone and CashApp revealed that Terrell was the victim’s dealer. Autopsy results opined that “fentanyl toxicity” was the sole cause of the victim’s death.
A state search warrant at Terrell’s residence resulted in the discovery of approximately 2,000 blue ''M-30" pills suspected to contain fentanyl, two handguns—one of which was equipped with a machinegun conversion device—and a shotgun that was later discovered to be stolen in a home invasion robbery one month prior to the execution of the search warrant.
The investigation revealed that from June 6, 2023, until the date of Terrell’s arrest on May 22, 2024, Terrell engaged in the unbroken distribution of fentanyl in excess of 400 grams. Terrell pleaded guilty on Jan. 21, 2026, to one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and one count of possession of a firearm in a drug trafficking crime.
The Drug Enforcement Administration and the Austin Police Department investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Doug Gardner prosecuted the case.
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Armed Methamphetamine Trafficker Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison in Homeland Security Task Force InvestigationRead the Press Release
MOBILE, AL – An Atlanta, Georgia man was sentenced to 420 months in prison for engaging in a yearslong methamphetamine-trafficking conspiracy, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
According to court documents and evidence presented at a weeklong federal jury trial in October 2025, Kenyatta Lee Frazier, 45, manufactured and distributed tens of thousands of pressed methamphetamine pills throughout Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi between September 2022 and August 2024. The jury reviewed numerous photos and videos of the pills that Frazier took with his cell phones after manufacturing them with an illegal pill press machine. Frazier marketed and sold the pills as “ecstasy” to his various customers.
In April 2023, agents arrested Frazier and a coconspirator during a traffic stop in Mobile after they had delivered 2,000 pressed methamphetamine pills to a customer in Mississippi. A court-authorized CCTV recording device installed in the truck in which Frazier was a passenger captured Frazier discussing drug deals, illicit profits, and the quality of his so-called “ecstasy” pills with coconspirators. When agents searched the truck, they found a loaded .380 caliber pistol that Frazier had concealed behind the plastic molding in the floorboard area near where he had been sitting. The pistol had previously been reported stolen out of Pinellas County, Florida.
The jury reviewed text messages in which Frazier had shared photos of the same pistol in an effort to sell it, as well as a recorded jail call in which Frazier admitted that he “stuffed” the pistol so that police would not find it. At the time Frazier illegally possessed the pistol, he previously had been convicted of at least eight felonies, including robbery, aggravated assault, firearms offenses, thefts, and drug crimes.
In addition to the 420-month prison sentence, Chief U.S. District Judge Jeffrey U. Beaverstock ordered Frazier to serve a ten-year term of supervised release upon his release from prison, during which time Frazier will be subject to drug testing and treatment. The court did not impose a fine, but Chief Judge Beaverstock ordered Frazier to pay $300 in special assessments and forfeited Frazier’s .380 caliber pistol to the United States.
U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.
Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Roller and George May prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.
This prosecution was part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Mobile comprises agents and officers from, among others, Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Alabama.
Arizona Man Sentenced in D.C. to 100 Months for Distributing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
WASHINGTON – Christopher Murphy, 37, of Phoenix, Arizona, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 100 months in prison in connection with distributing child sexual abuse materials, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Murphy pleaded guilty on March 16, 2026, before Judge Royce C. Lamberth to one count of distribution of child pornography. In addition to the 100-month prison sentence, Judge Lamberth ordered Murphy to serve 10 years of supervised release. Murphy will also be required to register as a sex offender.
According to court papers, on various occasions, Murphy used two encrypted messaging applications – Signal and Telegram – to distribute and receive child sexual abuse materials (CSAM), including materials involving extremely young children.
In addition to his receipt and distribution of CSAM, Murphy was a member of several Signal groups that were primarily used for the sharing of CSAM. Murphy also hosted and attended Zoom video meetings to connect with other “pedos” and view and exchange CSAM. In chat messages recovered by law enforcement, Murphy talked about building his “collection” of child pornography, ultimately possessing thousands of images and videos on his devices, all of which were discovered following his arrest.
This case was investigated by FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Richard Kelley.
This case was brought as part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood initiative. In February 2006, the Attorney General created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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Amarillo man charged with conspiracy to provide firearms to the Sinaloa Cartel and others charged with related crimesRead the Press Release
AMARILLO, Texas — United States Attorney Ryan Raybould announced that a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Texas returned a twelve-count indictment against an Amarillo man for conspiracy to provide firearms to the Sinaloa Cartel and three others charged with related crimes on June 25.
Loyd Walter Hall, 27, of Amarillo, is charged with conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances for importation into the United States, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and several counts of providing false material statements to a firearms dealer, and conspiracy to straw purchase and traffic firearms. Jesus Quezada Meza, 30, a Mexican national living in Dumas, Texas, and Omar Velasquez, 44, of Utah, are each charged with conspiracy to straw purchase firearms and conspiracy to traffic firearms. Catlynn Ann Townsend, 29, of Amarillo, is charged with making a false statement in required information kept by a licensed firearms dealer.
From 2024 to 2026, Hall and several of his co-conspirators maintained a relationship with a member of the Sinaloa Cartel in Chihuahua, Mexico. Through this relationship, Hall provided firearms, technical know-how, and guidance on evading U.S. law enforcement to the Sinaloa Cartel despite his awareness of the Cartel’s status as a foreign terrorist organization. Hall worked with named and unnamed co-conspirators to accomplish this objective.
“Every firearm trafficked from the United States to a cartel strengthens its ability to terrorize communities, secure drug operations, engage in corruption, and commit international fuel theft,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould. “This case highlights my office’s commitment to dismantling all the cartels’ criminal networks. We won’t stop until the cartels and those who aid and abet them are completely eradicated.”
“The allegations in this indictment describe not only the illegal trafficking of firearms to a designated foreign terrorist organization, but also efforts to provide the Sinaloa Cartel with guidance on bypassing U.S. firearms laws and avoiding law enforcement detection,” said Brian Garner, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Dallas Field Division. “Individuals who knowingly arm violent criminal organizations and help them exploit our laws threaten the safety and security of communities on both sides of the border. ATF remains committed to working alongside our federal, state, local, and international law enforcement partners to identify, investigate, and hold accountable those who support transnational criminal organizations.”
“Homeland Security Investigations is committed to disrupting and dismantling the criminal networks that threaten our communities and national security,” said HSI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Travis Pickard. “This indictment demonstrates the strength of our partnerships and our resolve to hold accountable those who traffic firearms and provide material support to violent cartels. HSI will continue to work with our federal, state, and local partners to ensure that those who endanger American lives face justice.”
Each defendant has made an initial appearance in court.
If convicted, Hall faces up to a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. Meza and Velasquez each face up to 15 years in federal prison. Townsend faces up to five years in federal prison.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with assistance from the FBI and the Amarillo Police Department.
This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting, the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States.
An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. The outstanding defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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20 July 2026
Virginia Man Found Guilty of Receipt and Possession of Child PornographyRead the Press Release
A district court judge today convicted a local tax preparer and Franconia museum guide of receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) over multiple years.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, in December of 2022, law enforcement began an undercover investigation into a user who was requesting CSAM files on the peer-to-peer file sharing network, Freenet. Further investigation revealed that the user was Nathaniel Carey Lee, 39, of Springfield. In June of 2024, agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) executed a search warrant and seized multiple devices which were later found to contain a large volume of images and videos depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. In an interview with law enforcement, Lee admitted to possessing approximately 4 million images of CSAM and/or child erotica.
Following a bench trial, Lee was convicted on two counts of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 6, 2027. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Trial Attorney Nadia Prinz of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith Clement for the Eastern District of Virginia are prosecuting the case.
The HSI Washington, DC Field Office investigated the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. 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 Seizes More than 1,000 Internet Domains Used to Illegally Stream World Cup 2026 MatchesRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today the successful seizure of more than 1,000 domains that were engaged in the unauthorized streaming of matches in the FIFA World Cup Finals in violation of U.S. copyright law. These seizures occurred over three separate actions during the World Cup, which include the nearly 400 sites seized by the end of last month, and were based on investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington Field Office and the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center.
“The sustained effort to seize more than a thousand domains dedicated to illegally streaming the World Cup confirms the administration’s commitment to intellectual property rights and to the success of the 2026 FIFA World Cup,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Operation Offsides is part of the Department’s ongoing effort to protect copyright while reducing the risk to American consumers from the malicious software embedded in many illicit streaming services.”
““The unauthorized broadcast of World Cup matches violates intellectual property rights and fuels criminal organizations,” said Director Ivan J. Arvelo of the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center. “Through Operation Offsides and strong partnerships with law enforcement and the private sector, we identified and seized hundreds of domains, disrupting those who steal and distribute copyrighted content. Our ongoing efforts ensure that the excitement of the World Cup reaches fans through legitimate, secure channels.”
“Streaming content from illicit websites opens your devices to unknown risks. Criminals operating these unauthorized platforms are already willing to break the law when they stream copyrighted World Cup games, they might also be planning to inject malware or steal your payment information,” said Deputy Executive Associate Director Matthew Millhollin of HSI. “Protect your online presence and enjoy the finals with official streaming partners.”
According to an affidavit in support of a seizure warrant which was filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, the seized domains were used to illegally offer users copyright-protected content in the form of real-time streams of 2026 World Cup matches as they are being played and first broadcast. In support of the application for seizure authority, HSI special agents confirmed that the seized domains were actively broadcasting World Cup matches without authorization. The seized domains were identified with assistance of FIFA, with further supporting information provided by beIN Media Group, NBC Universal, Motion Picture Association’s Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), and Warner Brothers. FIFA is the international governing body of association football (soccer) and holds the exclusive rights to sanction and stage the FIFA World Cup 2026, which is being hosted in multiple cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Banner posted on seized sites.In addition to the U.S. actions, law enforcement authorities across the Western Hemisphere, in coordination with the Justice Department’s International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (ICHIP) program, carried out extensive enforcement actions as part of “Operation Red Card” to combat digital piracy and counterfeiting linked to the World Cup. The ICHIP for Internet-Based Fraud and Public Health and ICHIP São Paulo coordinated efforts among Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Paraguay, and Peru, including a two-day intergovernmental meeting in Bogotá, Colombia, from July 1 and 2, with the Colombian Attorney General’s Cybercrime Unit, Specialized Directorate Against Organized Crime, and HSI Attaché offices. These coordinated actions resulted in the blocking of hundreds of illegal streaming sites, including 14 in Argentina, 223 in Ecuador, 28 in Peru, 309 in Brazil, 256 in the Dominican Republic, and 1,140 in Colombia. Colombian authorities also conducted 13 nationwide search-and-seizure operations targeting the manufacture and distribution of counterfeit sports apparel, leading to 11 arrests and convictions.
Building on a first phase on June 17 targeting counterfeit sports apparel in Colombia, authorities launched Phase II of Operation Red Card on July 10, executing simultaneous operations in Colombia including in Bogotá, Soacha, Maríalabaja, Manatí, and Sincerín. An ICHIP-mentored cybercrime prosecutorial team from the Colombian Attorney General’s Office arrested four members of the cybercriminal group Los Ciberinfiltrados, which since 2024 had illegally accessed telecommunication systems and sold pirated streaming content, including World Cup matches, via fraudulent credentials, VPNs, interception of security codes, and manipulation of corporate system profiles. In addition, ICHIP Bucharest coordinated efforts with Europol and foreign counterparts in Europe to combat illegal streaming activities in Europe during the World Cup.
The U.S. action is part of Operation Offsides, which focuses on disrupting illegal World Cup streaming and protecting intellectual property rights by identifying and seizing websites facilitating unauthorized broadcasts. Operation Offsides is led by the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center, targeting digital piracy domains associated with the World Cup. The operation is being conducted in coordination with HSI Washington, D.C., HSI Attaché offices, as well as private sector and law enforcement partners globally. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Mercer for the Eastern District of Virgina, Senior Counsel Brian Mund, Assistant Deputy Chief Adrienne Rose, and Acting Deputy Chief Christopher Merriam of the of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) are assisting.
CCIPS investigates and prosecutes cybercrime and intellectual property (IP) crime in coordination with domestic and international law enforcement agencies, often with assistance from the private sector. Since 2020, CCIPS has secured the conviction of over 180 cybercriminals and IP criminals, and court orders for the return of over $350 million in victim funds.
The Justice Department is providing intellectual property and cybercrime technical assistance to foreign law enforcement, prosecutorial, and judicial partners in other countries through the ICHIP program. Learn more about the Department’s ICHIP Program, jointly administered by the Criminal Division’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) and CCIPS through partnership between the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, here.
United States Postal Employee Pleads Guilty to Stealing MailRead the Press Release
Tampa, Florida – Alexandria Bullock (46, Wimauma) has pleaded guilty to theft by a postal employee. Bullock faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.
According to the plea agreement, Bullock entered duty with the U.S. Postal Service in April 2019. While on her mail route, she knowingly and unlawfully embezzled items of mail entrusted to her, including checks payable to individuals, charities, and legal entities. Bullock then changed the payee line of the checks she stole to her own name and subsequently deposited the altered checks into her bank account.
This case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Service – Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Chris Poor.
Two Men Charged with Kidnapping U.S. Forest Service Employees After Fifteen-Hour StandoffRead the Press Release
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Joseph Charles Henrichsen, 49, and Phoenix Henrichsen, 23, were arrested today and charged with kidnapping federal employees in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.
According to court documents, the defendants kidnapped two U.S. Forest Service employees who were conducting field work near Gumboot Lake Campground in a remote area of Siskiyou County. The employees were abducted at gunpoint, bound, and taken to a trailer where they were held for the next 15 hours.
At one point, Joseph used one of the victim’s phones to place a call in which he stated that he had “taken two fed [employees] hostage from the Forest Service,” that one of the victims was “ziptied,” with [their] hands “behind [their] [expletive] back,” and that he had “live rounds ready to [expletive] anyone who [expletives] with me.”
This call prompted a large-scale law enforcement response involving local, state, and federal resources. After a 15-hour standoff, negotiators from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Hostage Rescue Team secured the release of both victims and the surrender of the suspects. Both are in custody.
The FBI conducted the investigation with assistance from the U.S. Forest Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the Bureau of Land Management, the Siskiyou County Sheriff’s Office, the Shasta County Sheriff’s Office, the Mt. Shasta Police Department, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the California Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Campbell is prosecuting the case.
If convicted, the defendants face a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Two Human Smuggling Guides Sentenced After Woman Dies in New Mexico DesertRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – Two Mexican nationals were sentenced to federal prison for their roles as foot guides in a human smuggling operation that resulted in the death of a 26-year-old woman who was left behind in the New Mexico desert.
There is no parole in the federal system.
According to court documents, on August 7, 2024, United States Border Patrol agents in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, discovered 13 undocumented noncitizens hiding in the desert near New Mexico State Road 9 after they illegally entered the United States from Mexico. Agents later learned that another individual traveling with the group had been left behind and needed medical attention. When agents responded to the area, agents located 26-year-old Evelyn Esmeralda Villalta-Marquez deceased in the desert. The Office of the Medical Investigator determined Villalta-Marquez’s cause of death was hyperthermia due to environmental heat exposure.
During the investigation, agents determined Gustavo Joachin-Hernandez, 37, a Mexican national who had previously been deported, and Israel Gonzalez-Cruz, 36, a Mexican national illegally present in the United States, acted as foot guides for the group and were responsible for leading 12 undocumented noncitizens for approximately five and a half hours through desert terrain in temperatures reaching approximately 97 degrees. Joachin-Hernandez admitted that Villalta-Marquez struggled to keep up with the group due to the heat, that he assisted her to the pickup location, and that she was still alive but in bad shape when he left her behind to continue with the smuggling operation. Joachin-Hernandez further admitted he had worked as a foot guide for a human smuggling organization since November 2023 and expected to be paid $2,000 Mexican pesos for each illegal alien that he assisted in being successfully smuggled to a stash house.
Joachin-Hernandez and Gonzalez-Cruz pled guilty to conspiracy to transport an illegal alien and were sentenced to 46 months in prison. Upon their release from prison, they will be subject to deportation.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Acting Special Agent in Charge Ryan G. McRae of Homeland Security Investigations El Paso, made the announcement today.
HSI Las Cruces investigated this case with assistance from the United States Border Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Castellano prosecuted the case.
Three Illegal Aliens from Mexico Plead Guilty for Their Roles in an International Conspiracy to Smuggle Aliens from Canada into the U.S.Read the Press Release
Three illegal aliens from Mexico pleaded guilty today to being part of an international alien smuggling organization (ASO) that illegally brought aliens from Mexico and Central and South America across the northern border with Canada into the United States for profit.
According to court documents, Ignacio Diaz-Perez, 37, Samuel Diaz-Perez, 27, and Salvador Diaz-Diaz, 34, all of whom are illegal aliens from Mexico, were part of an ASO that brought hundreds of illegal aliens into the United States. Once the illegal aliens were inside the U.S., the ASO employed drivers to pick them up and drive them further into the country. The defendants personally participated in and coordinated smuggling events with other leaders of the ASO. During one smuggling event in May 2023, a van carrying illegal aliens led border patrol agents on a high-speed chase. Border Patrol had to stop their pursuit due to the risk to the public. Ultimately the local sheriff’s department used a tire deflation device to stop the vehicle after it failed to yield.
“Human smuggling threatens our national security in multiple ways, including the risks to public safety that take place when alien smugglers further ignore our laws and lead agents on dangerous high-speed pursuits,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “These defendants undermined the integrity of our border, disobeyed our traffic and public safety laws, and put ordinary citizens at risk. In short, for their own greed, they jeopardized the safety of the public and the illegal aliens they were smuggling. They will now answer for these offenses.”
“These defendants attempted to exploit our nation’s laws by unlawfully smuggling aliens into the United States through the northern border,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III for the Northern District of New York. “Through the outstanding efforts of the United States Border Patrol and their partners at Homeland Security Investigations, these smugglers have been brought to justice. They will no longer profit from exploiting vulnerable individuals or undermining the security of the American people.”
“I have seen firsthand the dangers and tragedies that result from human smuggling operations”, said Deputy Executive Associate Director Matthew Millhollin of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “Smugglers routinely put lives at risk, exposing vulnerable individuals to dangerous conditions, exploitation, and even death. This case sends a clear message that those who profit from smuggling human beings across our border will be held accountable. HSI remains committed to working with our partners to disrupt these criminal networks and protect the safety and dignity of every person.”
“Alien smuggling organizations prey on the most vulnerable without regard for human safety,” said Acting Chief Patrol Agent Richard J. Fortunato of Border Patrol Swanton Sector. “Under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, the dedicated men and women of U.S. Border Patrol’s Swanton Sector will continue to investigate these human smuggling rings and hold them accountable for their actions. The message is clear, if you attempt to break immigration law, you will be arrested, and you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Ignacio Diaz-Perez and Samuel Diaz-Perez each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling and six counts of aliens smuggling for financial gain. Salvador Diaz-Diaz pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling and five counts of aliens smuggling for financial gain. They are scheduled to be sentenced on November 23. They face a minimum penalty of five years in prison and maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Co-defendant Edgar Sanchez-Solis pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling and five counts of alien smuggling for private financial gain on May 7. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 10.
HSI Rouses Point and U.S. Border Patrol (BP) Burke Station investigated the case, with substantial assistance from HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C. and U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force.
The investigation and charges are supported and prosecuted by Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), the Department’s lead effort in combating high-impact human smuggling and trafficking committed by cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs). A highly successful partnership between the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), JTFA investigates and prosecutes human smuggling and trafficking and related immigration crimes that impact public safety and border security. JTFA’s mission is to target the leaders and organizers of Cartels and TCOs involved in human smuggling and trafficking throughout the Americas. The Attorney General has elevated and expanded JTFA to target the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating not only in Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, but also in Canada, the Caribbean, and the maritime border, and elsewhere. Led by the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and supported by the Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section, the Office of International Affairs, and the Office of Enforcement Operations, among others, JTFA has dedicated Assistant United States Attorneys from the Southern District of California; District of Arizona; District of New Mexico; Western and Southern Districts of Texas; Southern District of Florida; Northern District of New York; and District of Vermont. JTFA also partners with other USAOs throughout the country and supports high-priority cases in any district. All JTFA cases rely on substantial law enforcement resources from DHS, including ICE/HSI and CBP/BP and OFO, as well as FBI and other law enforcement agencies. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 465 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling and/or trafficking; more than 419 U.S. convictions; more than 363 significant jail sentences imposed, and forfeitures of substantial assets.
Trial Attorney Spencer M. Perry of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Carling Dunham for the Northern District of New York are prosecuting the case.
Texarkana man sentenced to federal prison in the Eastern District of Texas for possessing firearm equipped with an illegal Glock-switchRead the Press Release
TEXARKANA, Texas – A Texarkana man has been sentenced to federal prison for a firearms violation in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
Jakeem Butler, 25, pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a machinegun and was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder, III on July 20, 2026.
According to information presented in court, on December 31, 2024, Butler was stopped for a traffic violation in Texarkana. During the stop, officers detected the strong odor of marijuana leading to a search of the vehicle. During the search, officers located a firearm equipped with an illegal machinegun conversion device, also commonly referred to as a Glock-switch. Machinegun conversion devices are small mechanisms that can be attached to the rear of the slide of a firearm, converting a semi-automatic weapon into a fully automatic machinegun. Federal law defines a machinegun as a weapon which shoots, is designed to shoot, or can be readily restored to shoot, automatically more than one shot, without manual reloading, by a single function of the trigger.
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe. Coordinated by U.S. Attorneys’ offices in each of the 94 federal districts, PSN is tailored to particular communities to strategically address specific violent crime and public safety challenges. As a key component of Operation Take Back America, PSN serves a central role in the Department’s commitment to make our country safe. PSN emphasizes three core principles: rapid federal response to violent crime and criminal offenders; strong, strategic partnerships among law enforcement at all levels; and accountability and deterrence through the prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offenses and other strategies. These efforts complement and strengthen President Trump’s Homeland Security Task Forces, ensuring a comprehensive federal response to the most pressing public safety issues facing communities.
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Texarkana, Texas, Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Richards.
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Temporary Restraining Order Granted Against Lee’s Summit Man for Allegedly Defrauding Millions of Dollars from InvestorsRead the Press Release
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A temporary restraining order has been granted against a Lee’s Summit man, alleging that he operated an ongoing investment scheme that defrauded millions of dollars from victims.
According to the motion and accompanying court documents, Trevor Uhls, 29, operated a Ponzi scheme that fraudulently obtained more than $2.1 million from individual investors through false and misleading representations. Investor funds were allegedly misappropriated for Uhls’ personal benefit, resulting in substantial financial losses to his victims. This is one of many federal fraud cases pursued under the leadership of President Donald Trump and through the establishment of the Task Force to Eliminate Fraud.
According to court documents, Uhls’ fraudulent activity involved promissory note contracts guaranteeing investors a 10–15% return on their principal investment after 30, 60, or 90 days. Investors could elect to leave their funds invested and receive monthly interest payments. The average investor received only a few interest payments, if any. In addition, multiple investors have been unable to recover any of their principal investment or accrued interest.
The allegations contained in this motion are simply accusations, and not evidence of civil or criminal liability. Evidence supporting the allegations must be presented to a federal trial judge, whose duty it is to determine the government’s entitlement to relief. An injunction hearing is scheduled for Aug. 3, 2026.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John Constance and is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI).
National Fraud Enforcement Division
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud
Tarrant County man receives lengthy federal prison sentence as part of Homeland Security Task Force investigation into a fentanyl overdose death in the Eastern District of TexasRead the Press Release
PLANO, Texas – A Saginaw man has been sentenced to over 17 years in federal prison as part of a Homeland Security Task Force investigation into a fentanyl overdose death in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.
Kevin Chase McCauley, 38, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and was sentenced to 210 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Richard A. Schell on July 20, 2026.
According to information presented in court, on March 8, 2023, Denton County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the death of an individual at a residence on Stonecrest Road in Argyle, Texas. An investigation revealed the individual died from an overdose of fentanyl-laced counterfeit hydrocodone pills, which were purchased from McCauley.
This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Dallas comprises agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Dallas Field Office; U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations - Dallas (ICE-HSI); Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Dallas Field Division; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Dallas Field Division; Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations (IRS-CD; United States Postal Service, United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS); Transportation Security Administration, Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS); United States Secret Service (USSS); Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DSS); TEXOMA HIDTA; and U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) Eastern District of Texas with the prosecution being led by Eastern District of Texas Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew T. Johnson.
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Tallahassee Felon Pleads Guilty to Firearm OffenseRead the Press Release
Tallahassee, Florida – Jeremy Jovan Randolph, 37, of Tallahassee, Florida, pleaded guilty in federal court to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The plea was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “Thanks to the excellent investigative work of the Tallahassee Police Department, this armed, dangerous felon has been taken off our streets. Under the leadership of President Donald J. Trump and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the Department of Justice has renewed its commitment to public safety through Operation Take Back America, and my office will continue to deliver successful prosecutions of dangerous criminals, like this defendant, to ensure our citizens get the safe, crime-free streets they deserve.”
Court documents reflect that on February 5, 2026, Tallahassee Police Department detectives assigned to the Traffic Unit noticed a vehicle parked illegally in a handicapped spot in a gas station parking lot. The detectives observed the defendant exit the store and enter the vehicle. The detectives then approached and could smell the odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle, and confirmed the defendant did not have a medical marijuana card. The defendant was asked to exit the vehicle. As the defendant did so, the detectives saw an AR-style pistol on the driver’s side floor of the vehicle where he had been sitting. The pistol was equipped with a 60-round magazine. The defendant was a previously convicted felon and was legally prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.
Randolph faces up to fifteen years’ imprisonment and up to three years of supervised release.
The case involved a joint investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Tallahassee Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Eric W. Welch is prosecuting the case.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 17, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. at the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee before United States District Judge Mark Walker.
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 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 available 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, Northern District of Florida, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl.
Summit County Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison for Committing Crimes While Out on ParoleRead the Press Release
CLEVELAND – A 32-year-old Summit County man was sent back to prison for committing drug offenses while he was out on parole.
Darren Tibbets, of Akron, was sentenced to a total of 144 months (12 years) in prison by U.S. District Judge Donald C. Nugent. Tibbets received 24 months in prison (2 years) for being in violation of the terms of his supervised release after he was imprisoned for a previous drug conviction. He was also sentenced to 120 months (10 years) in prison after pleading guilty in December 2025 to the following charges:
- Conspiracy to Distribute Heroin and Fentanyl
- Distribution of Heroin and Fentanyl
Both sentences will run consecutively.
Court documents show that in 2025, federal agents began investigating suspected drug trafficking in Akron, Ohio. Tibbets was subsequently identified. During the investigation, law enforcement found that Tibbets was actively involved in illegal drug trafficking. In total, investigators seized approximately 21 grams of heroin and fentanyl from Tibbets.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brett S. Hammond.
St. Louis Felon Who Laundered Drug Proceeds Sentenced to 15 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – A St. Louis felon involved in a drug and money laundering conspiracy has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, U.S. Attorney Thomas C. Albus announced Monday.
From at least 2016 to 2021, Derek Rockette, 53, and others engaged in a drug trafficking conspiracy, including the sale of cocaine, according to his plea agreement. Rockette laundered drug proceeds from at least 2017 to 2021 but lost more than $1.5 million of the proceeds gambling. He began repaying the money in installments to two money laundering organizations working on behalf of Rockette’s drug source. In May 2018, he paid one man $200,000. In July of 2018, he paid the man $158,720, but the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Illinois State Police intercepted the cash on its way to Chicago. On Aug. 2, 2018, Rockette paid $59,114, which was quickly deposited in a bank and transferred to Mexico. In late August, Rockette gave a DEA confidential source $100,000 to transfer to Chicago. Investigators tracked it to a Chinese money laundering group and seized $222,300. In October 2018, Rockette gave $59,800 to a confidential source working with Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations).
Money received by the Chinese money laundering group was deposited into an account used to pay off credit card charges for airline tickets sold in China in a trade-based money laundering scheme. The Mexican based-money laundering group deposited cash via ATMs into an account and then quickly transferred the money to Mexico.
Rockette was caught with a firearm after fleeing from St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers and the DEA on March 25, 2019. He is a felon, having pleaded guilty in 2008 to a federal charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms of marijuana. On March 23, 2021, he was caught by St. Louis with $2,000 cash, 236 grams of cocaine, 3 grams of fentanyl, and 12 grams of a substance containing heroin, fentanyl and cocaine during a traffic stop.
Rockette pleaded guilty in January in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count each of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to launder money and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Illinois State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorney James Delworth 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.
St. Louis County Felon Caught Twice with Guns and Drugs Sentenced to 10 Years in PrisonRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Wednesday sentenced a convicted felon caught twice with guns and drugs to 10 years in prison.
Melvin Nelson, 42, of St. Louis County, pleaded guilty in April to one count each of possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of one or more firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He admitted that on Sept. 4, 2024, the Florissant Police Department, the St. Louis County Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Service were serving an arrest warrant at his home in the 2200 block of Gadbury Drive and found a handgun, $38,892 in cash and meth in pill form weighing at least 219 grams in his bedroom. The basement contained scales, empty pill capsules and other drug paraphernalia, and an AR-style pistol and body armor in the garage. Bags containing cocaine and fentanyl were in the backyard.
On August 26, 2025, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives served arrest and search warrants at Nelson's home and found a rifle, a pistol, at least 500 grams of a fentanyl mixture and drug paraphernalia.
The case was investigated by the Florissant Police Department, the St. Louis County Police Department, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ricardo Dixon prosecuted the case.
Springfield, Massachusetts Man Found Guilty by Jury of Drug and Gun Offenses Involving JuvenilesRead the Press Release
BURLINGTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont announced that on July 15, 2026, following a six-day jury trial in United States District Court in Burlington, Rockylane Lewis, 36, of Springfield, Massachusetts was convicted of conspiring to distribute cocaine base (crack), fentanyl, and oxycodone, conspiring to use juveniles to distribute cocaine base and fentanyl, four counts of using juveniles on specific dates to distribute cocaine base and fentanyl, and conspiring to use firearms in relation to, or possess firearms in furtherance of the drug conspiracy. Prior to opening statements in the trial, Lewis also pled guilty to three counts of distributing cocaine base and fentanyl on specific dates in 2023, while his co-defendant Takar Watson, 42, of Springfield, Massachusetts, pled guilty to conspiring to distribute cocaine. Lewis, who was arrested in June 2023, and Watson, who was arrested in September 2025, remain in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending post-trial proceedings.
According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Lewis, Watson, and other co-conspirators conspired to distribute oxycodone in Massachusetts, and then used proceeds from those drug sales to fund the purchase of drugs to be distributed in Vermont. Lewis and others agreed that juveniles would be taught to sell drugs and would distribute drugs on behalf of the conspiracy in Vermont. Between December 2022 and June 2023, law enforcement conducted fourteen controlled purchases of cocaine base and fentanyl from Lewis and others associated with the drug conspiracy in the Rutland, Vermont area. In three of those controlled purchases, Lewis sold fentanyl or cocaine base to a law enforcement confidential informant. In eight of the controlled purchases, five juveniles between the ages of 15 and 17, distributed controlled substances to the law enforcement confidential informant. Social media and text messaging presented during the trial showed Lewis communicating with the juveniles regarding the distribution of controlled substances. The evidence at trial also showed that the members of the conspiracy agreed to use firearms in relation to, or possess firearms in furtherance of the drug conspiracy. Lewis was arrested in Rutland, Vermont on the afternoon of June 21, 2023. Later that evening a 15-year-old co-conspirator was detained by law enforcement in possession of a 9mm pistol and approximately seven grams of cocaine base.
Based on the jury’s verdict, Lewis faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years’ imprisonment and a potential maximum sentence of life. Takar Watson’s plea agreement includes an agreed sentence, subject to approval by the Court, of 48 months, with a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years. The ultimate sentence for both Lewis and Watson will be determined by the Court with reference to the Sentencing Guidelines and statutory sentencing factors.
First Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt commended the investigative efforts of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”), the Rutland City Police Department, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives (“ATF”), the Vermont State Police Vermont Drug Task Force (“VDTF”), and the Bennington County Sheriff’s Office. Ophardt added: “Lewis manipulated and armed children to peddle poisons for profit throughout Rutland. I am extremely proud of the law enforcement efforts to uncover the extent of Lewis and Watson’s illicit activities, and grateful for the hard work of the trial team in obtaining these convictions. We will be advocating for a lengthy sentence for Lewis, whose callous conduct warrants significant punishment.”
“Trafficking drugs in our community is bad enough, but endangering the lives and futures of children for profit is simply egregious. Now, a jury has found Lewis guilty and he’s facing serious prison time. HSI is working every day with our law enforcement partners to improve public safety in Vermont. Tackling drug trafficking is an important part of our strategy and this verdict marks a significant achievement towards our goals,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New England Acting Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Grimming.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason Turner and Michelle Arra. Rockylane Lewis was represented by Karen Shingler, Esq. and Takar Watson was represented by Matthew Anderson, Esq.
Springfield man found guilty of receipt and possession of child sexual abuse materialRead the Press Release
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A federal judge convicted a local tax preparer and Franconia museum guide of receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) over multiple years.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, in December of 2022, law enforcement began an undercover investigation into a user who was requesting CSAM files on the peer-to-peer file sharing network Freenet. Further investigation revealed that the user was Nathaniel Carey Lee, 39, of Springfield. In June of 2024, agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) executed a search warrant and seized multiple devices which were later found to contain a large volume of images and videos depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. In an interview with law enforcement, Lee admitted to possessing approximately 4 million images of CSAM and/or child erotica.
Following a bench trial, Lee was convicted on two counts of receipt of CSAM and one count of possession of CSAM. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 6, 2027. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C., investigated this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith Clement for the Eastern District of Virginia and Nadia Prinz for the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section are prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
For more information about HSI’s efforts to protect children from sexual predators, visit Know2Protect.gov.
Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:25-cr-330.
Springfield Man Sentenced for Hatchet Attack in National ParkRead the Press Release
HARRISONBURG, Va. – A Springfield, Virginia man, convicted by a jury back in March of assaulting his then-girlfriend with a hatchet while camping in Shenandoah National Park, was sentenced today to 78 months in federal prison.
Soufiane Bougria, 31, was convicted of two counts of felony assault in the territorial jurisdiction of the United States (Shenandoah National Park) following a jury trial in March.
"This office will seek maximum accountability against violent offenders and those who violate our laws in the National Forst adn other Federal land," First Assistant United States Attorney Robert N. Tracci said. "I applaud the outstanding work of the National Forest Service and trial team for their commitment to justice in this case."
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, on the night of August 24, 2025, Bougria and his then-girlfriend (B.A.) were camping at the Mathews Arm Campground in Shenandoah National Park. Three different park visitors testified that they witnessed a heated and violent argument between Bougria and B.A. in the late-night hours of August 24.
These witnesses, from two different campsites, heard screaming, slamming, crying, choking, and what sounded to them like a gunshot. One of the witnesses saw the defendant physically grabbing B.A.
These witnesses described hearing a male voice say, “I don’t care, I’ll do the max sentence” and a female voice say, “I can’t believe you would threaten me with murder.”
All three witnesses independently called 911 to report the violent encounter.
National Park Service Rangers responded to the area near Mathews Arm Campground that night. On their way to the campground, Park Rangers encountered two of the witnesses at a nearby overlook. While speaking with the witnesses, a car matching the description of the defendant’s vehicle drove past the overlook. Officers pursued the vehicle and initiated a traffic stop.
When officers approached the vehicle, they observed Bougria driving and visibly intoxicated. He was shirtless, barefoot, and smelled of alcohol. In addition, B.A. was sitting in the passenger seat crying and screaming. She was holding a piece of clothing around her right arm in an effort to stop the bleeding from a gaping laceration on her right arm and wrist. As officers looked around the car, they saw blood and fatty tissue. They also observed that the windshield of the car was shattered, and both the hood and windshield had large, dirty footprints on them.
When questioned by officers, the defendant told them B.A.’s arm was accidentally cut with an axe.
Emergency medical personnel arrived at the overlook and transported B.A. to the nearest hospital. Treating physicians determined she needed a higher level of care based on the seriousness of her injuries and transported her to Winchester Medical Center where she underwent emergency surgery.
In the early morning hours of August 25, 2025, National Park Service Rangers returned to the Mathews Arm campsite where Bougria and B.A. were camping. There, they found a hatchet with blood spatter on the handle, blood throughout the campsite, pepper spray, shoes, and other personal belongings strewn around the campsite.
First Assistant United States Attorney Robert N. Tracci U.S. made the announcement.
The National Park Service is investigating the case.
Assistant Unite States Attorney Sally J. Sullivan and Special Assistant United States Attorney Christopher Browne are prosecuting the case for the United States.
Southeast Missouri Man Admits Trying to Arrange Wife’s MurderRead the Press Release
CAPE GIRARDEAU – A Dexter, Missouri man on Monday admitted trying to arrange for the murder of his estranged wife.
Matthew R. Alsup, 52, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to a murder-for-hire charge. He admitted traveling to Mississippi on two occasions in early August of 2025 to try to recruit a former tenant of the RV park that he owned to kill his wife. The FBI learned of the plot, and an undercover police officer met with Alsup on August 14. Alsup told the undercover officer that he wanted his wife killed because she planned to file for divorce. He showed the officer a map of the property where his wife was living in Ohio, recommended the best way to approach the house to avoid detection, and provided a .22 Magnum rifle to use and a $1,720 advance. Alsup agreed to pay a total of $5,000 for the murder of his wife and “a couple extra grand” to kill his mother-in-law if she was also there.
Alsup is scheduled to be sentenced on October 19. The charge carries a potential penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both prison and a fine.
The FBI and the Poplar Bluff Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Shelton prosecuted the case.
Second Lows Gang Member Pleads Guilty to RICO ConspiracyRead the Press Release
MINNEAPOLIS – United States Attorney Daniel N. Rosen announced that Damari “Mari” Douglas, 21, of Elk River, has pleaded guilty for his role in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy. Douglas was one of 14 members of the violent street gang known as the Lows charged with violating the RICO statutes. Douglas is the second defendant in this case to plead guilty.
The Lows gang has been in existence in Minneapolis since approximately 2004 and is primarily active in north Minneapolis. The Lows gang is alleged to have engaged in multiple acts involving murder, attempted murder, narcotics distribution, robbery, carjacking, and firearms trafficking, and the gang used intimidation, threats, armed retaliation, social‑media taunting, and shared firearms to maintain its territory and reputation.
According to court documents, Douglas admitted multiple acts in furtherance of the RICO conspiracy including voluntary manslaughter. On December 3, 2023, Douglas and several associates left a party in Minneapolis near West Lake Street and Grand Avenue South when an SUV drove by—the SUV slowed down when it approached Douglas and his associates and then accelerated past. Believing the individuals inside the SUV presented a threat, Douglas fired his handgun in the direction of the passing SUV. One of Douglas’s bullets struck and killed a member of his company.
Douglas also admitted arranging for a straw purchaser to obtain firearms on his behalf while he was prohibited from possessing them due to a prior felony conviction. Between December 2023 and February 2024, he directed the straw purchaser to buy firearms and paid for them, resulting in the purchase of at least nine firearms.
On April 19, 2024, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Douglas’s residence and saw Douglas throw a Glock pistol equipped with an automatic conversion device, commonly known as a “switch” or “auto sear,” out of his bedroom window. Officers recovered the Glock, along with a pistol and ammunition from inside his room.
Douglas pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court before Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz on July 17, 2026. This charge carries a statutory maximum sentence of life in prison. Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.
“Damari Douglas committed serious acts of violence and firearms trafficking as part of the Lows gang’s criminal enterprise,” said United States Attorney Daniel N. Rosen. “Douglas contributed directly to the violence that has harmed families and communities in Minneapolis through arranging the illegal selling and purchasing of firearms, possessing a machine gun, and firing the shot that killed a victim. Today’s guilty plea reflects my office’s ongoing commitment to hold every member of this enterprise accountable and to take down the violent network that has operated in our city for years.”
“Every guilty plea in this case represents meaningful progress toward dismantling a violent criminal organization whose members trafficked firearms and committed acts of violence,” said ATF Acting Special Agent in Charge Spence Burnett of the St. Paul Field Division. “Complex gang investigations require close coordination among our law enforcement partners and an unwavering commitment to holding every participant accountable. Today’s plea reflects that commitment.”
“This guilty plea reflects the strength of a coordinated RICO investigation and underscores our commitment to dismantling violent criminal networks,” said FBI Minneapolis Field Office Special Agent in Charge Christopher D. Dotson. “With 2 of 14 defendants now having pleaded guilty, the investigation continues to show real results. The FBI and our partners remain steadfast in driving down violent crime and removing dangerous offenders from our communities.”
“It’s an all too familiar cycle in which proceeds from drug trafficking led to the purchase of firearms which in turn result in an increase of violence and intimidation within our communities,” Drug Enforcement Administration Omaha Field Division Special Agent in Charge Dustin Gillespie said. “Today’s sentencing sends a strong message that this type of behavior is unacceptable and will be stopped by the full force of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.”
“For more than two decades, the Lows spread fear across Minneapolis through murder, drug trafficking, carjackings, and other violence, all to protect and profit from their criminal enterprise,” said Adam Jobes, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Chicago Field Office. “This guilty plea is another step toward ending that reign of violence. IRS Criminal Investigation is proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, and we will not stop until every member of this criminal enterprise is held accountable.”
“Any day we are able to hold a violent member of the Lows gang accountable is a good day,” said Michael McCarthy, Special Agent in Charge of HSI St. Paul. “This guilty plea reflects the dedication of our agents and partners and serves as a reminder that organized crime will not go unchecked in our city.”
This case was the result of an investigation by the ATF, FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, IRS Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Minneapolis Police Department, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and Minnesota Department of Corrections are investigating the case, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service.
Assistant United States Attorneys Garrett S. Fields and David M. Classen for the District of Minnesota and Trial Attorney Pegah Vakili of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section are prosecuting the case.
Note: Previous press release detailing Douglas and other Minneapolis gang members’ charges here.
Republic Man Sentenced for Firearms OffenseRead the Press Release
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Republic, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Phillip Brad Curtis, 52, who has prior felony convictions for robbery, domestic assault, possession of a controlled substance, and unlawful possession of a firearm, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to 110 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.
According to court documents, deputies with the Barry County, Missouri, Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a property near Aurora, Mo., for a report that Curtis was trespassing. Deputies contacted Curtis, who had multiple active felony warrants for his arrest. During the encounter, Curtis threatened to kill the responding deputies, announced he had a gun, and exhibited a firearm at the window during a stand-off that lasted approximately eight hours. Curtis was ultimately taken into custody without incident, and a firearm was recovered from inside a dog-food bag inside the residence.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica R. Eatmon. It was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Missouri State Highway Patrol, and the Barry County, Missouri, Sheriff’s Office.
Operation Take Back America
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.
Pensacola Felon Pleads Guilty to Gun and Drug ChargesRead the Press Release
Pensacola, Florida – Travis W. Carroll, 26, of Pensacola, Florida, pleaded guilty in federal court to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. The plea was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.
U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “My office continues to deliver successful prosecutions of armed drug traffickers to fulfill the promise made by the Department of Justice when it launched Operation Take Back America: the citizens of the Northern District of Florida deserve to live in safe, drug-free communities. Keeping drug-peddling thugs off our streets and locked away in federal prison remains a top priority that my office will achieve through aggressive prosecutions like this one.”
Court documents reflect that law enforcement received reports of an armed robbery at the Beacon Food Store in Pensacola, Florida. Law enforcement responded to the scene and observed the defendant, who matched the description given of the armed robbery suspect, riding an electric bicycle nearby. The defendant ran a stop sign, was pulled over. During the contact with the defendant, law enforcement located a loaded firearm, methamphetamine, a scale, and more than $600.00 in U.S. Currency on his person.
The defendant faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment on the possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine count; up to 15 years’ imprisonment on the possession of a firearm or ammunition by a convicted felon count; and a minimum mandatory 5 years’ imprisonment, and up to life imprisonment, consecutive to any other sentence on the possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.
This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Thomas S.P. Geeker and Christopher C. Patterson.
Sentencing is scheduled for September 3, 2026, at 10:30 am, in the United States Courthouse in Tallahassee before United States District Judge M. Casey Rodgers.
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 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, Northern District of Florida, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl.
Pastor Found Guilty by Jury of Wire Fraud, Access Device Fraud, and Obstruction of a Federal InvestigationRead the Press Release
NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle announced the conviction of DALE SANDERS, age 56, of Kenner, Louisiana after a five-day jury trial before U.S. District Judge Brandon S. Long. On Friday, July 17, 2026, a jury convicted the defendant on 25 counts of the superseding indictment pending against him for wire fraud, access device fraud, and obstruction of a federal investigation related to a years-long investigation.
According to the evidence presented at trial, SANDERS defrauded Church A and Church B in order to obtain money and property by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises. SANDERS would withdraw funds and transfer money held in Church A’s bank accounts to accounts controlled by SANDERS. The money was used to fund his personal expenditures, to include gambling, dining, and living expenses. SANDERS utilized Church A’s debit card for unauthorized personal transactions and received cash, goods and services totaling over $340,000 that he was not entitled to. SANDERS was also found guilty of obstruction of a federal investigation for providing a falsified record in response to a grand jury subpoena.
Judge Long scheduled SANDERS’ sentencing for October 13, 2026. SANDERS faces up to 20 years imprisonment, a $250,000.00 fine or the greater of twice the gross gain or twice the gross loss, up to three years of supervised release after imprisonment, and payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee per count.
U.S. Attorney Courcelle praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - New Orleans Field Office in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathryn McHugh and Tracey Knight of the Financial Crimes Unit handled the prosecution.
Updated 7/22/2026 for clarity.
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Oregon Payment Processing Broker Sentenced for $14 Million Dollar Wire Fraud SchemeRead the Press Release
Today, a payment processing broker who facilitated stealing money from businesses bank accounts was sentenced to three years in prison. Through his scheme, sham merchants stole and attempted to steal $14 million dollars from victims’ bank accounts.
According to court documents, Jeremy Todd Briley, 47, of Happy Valley, Oregon, worked as a payment processing broker. Acting on behalf of clients (merchants), Briley identified payment processors in the United States for his clients to use in processing charges. Briley’s two largest clients were sham companies that falsely represented that they provided online marketing services to businesses. Instead, they stole from victims by fraudulently debiting their bank accounts, causing over $14 million in unauthorized debits and attempted debits.
From February 2017 to December 2023, Briley obtained and maintained payment processing relationships for those sham companies so that they could process fraudulent debits, knowing that the sham companies were fraudulently debiting bank accounts, according to court documents. Despite repeatedly receiving information that the debits processed on behalf of the sham companies were not authorized by the victims, Briley concealed the fraudulent activities of the sham companies in various ways, and he arranged for a payment processor to deceive banks by manipulating return rates on the fraudulent debits.
Briley was also sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $460,000 in proceeds of the fraud.
In April 2026, Briley pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida; Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) Criminal Investigations Group; and Special Agent in Charge Vincent R. Zehme of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), Chicago Region made the announcement.
The USPIS and FDIC-OIG investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Daniel Zytnick of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff for the Southern District of Florida handled forfeiture.
Oneida County Man Pleads Guilty to Accessing Child PornographyRead the Press Release
SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – David McMurray, age 43, of Utica, New York, pled guilty July 8th, 2026 to accessing with intent to view child pornography and also admitted to violating several conditions of his federal supervised release.
First Assistant United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III, Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James made the announcement.
As part of his guilty plea, McMurray admitted that around September of 2025, while on federal supervised release related to a 2013 federal conviction related to child pornography, he accessed websites via the internet with the intent to view child pornography. McMurray also admitted to violating several conditions of his supervised release by failing to file required monthly reports, failing to submit to a polygraph, failing to successfully complete mental health treatment, accessing pornography, possessing unmonitored internet-capable phones, and committing new criminal conduct.
“The dedicated efforts of the FBI have brought this repeat offender back to justice,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarcone. “Upon his release from prison, McMurray remained subject to supervision and required to comply with the strict conditions established at sentencing. His decision to violate those conditions and again engage in conduct that threatens the safety of children has now resulted in a new federal sentence that could place him in prison for up to 20 years.”
“Mr. McMurray was already on supervised release for a federal conviction related to child pornography,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Craig L. Tremaroli. “His decision to ignore most of his conditions and repeat his horrific behavior just sent him back to prison for up to 20 years. The FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force is committed to relentlessly investigating and holding accountable any predator who accesses child pornography and perpetuates the abuse of our most vulnerable.”
New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James said, “Mr. McMurray took advantage of technology and evaded conditions of supervised release to engage in this deplorable illegal activity. These actions show that child predators will go through extreme lengths to do the unthinkable and exploit children. I commend our State Police members, the United States Attorney’s Office, and the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations for their steadfast and proactive work on this case.”
At sentencing for the child pornography charge, McMurray faces a term of imprisonment between 10 and 20 years, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life. McMurray will also be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison. McMurray also faces additional penalties, including additional prison time, for his violations of federal supervised release.
Sentencing on both matters is currently scheduled for November 18th, 2026, in Utica, New York, before Senior U.S. District Court Judge David N. Hurd.
A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statutes the defendant is convicted of violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.
This case was investigated by the FBI’s Albany Division Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, the New York State Police, and the United States Probation Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adrian S. LaRochelle as part of Project Safe Childhood.
Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
One of Rhode Island's Most Wanted Fugitive Captured After More Than 20 Years on the RunRead the Press Release
PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A man who spent more than two decades evading justice is now in custody following a coordinated multi-state law enforcement operation led by the Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force (RI VFTF) and the FBI.
After more than 20 years as a fugitive, Ronald L. Fischer, one of Rhode Island's Most Wanted fugitives, was apprehended following an intensive investigation conducted by the Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force with the assistance of numerous law enforcement partners.
During the past 48 hours, Deputy U.S. Marshals and Task Force Officers assigned to the Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force, working alongside FBI Special Agents, FBI intelligence analysts and Rhode Island State Police, pursued newly developed investigative leads regarding Fischer's whereabouts. Information received by the Task Force was rapidly analyzed, corroborated, and determined to be credible and actionable, ultimately leading investigators to New York.
Once the intelligence was confirmed, members of the Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force immediately deployed to New York and coordinated with the U.S. Marshals Service New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, the U.S. Marshals Service Southern District of New York, and the United States Coast Guard to locate and apprehend Fischer.
Investigators determined Fischer was operating a 56-foot sailing vessel, The Silver Lining, which was registered under the name Richard Graydon, an alias used by Fischer. Working from a U.S. Coast Guard 45-foot Response Boat, Deputy U.S. Marshals and U.S. Coast Guard personnel located and intercepted the vessel approximately one hour offshore. Fischer was taken into custody without incident.
Fischer was arrested on a United States Marshals Service Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution warrant. Fischer had been a fugitive since fleeing Rhode Island during his criminal trial in 2005. He was subsequently convicted in absentia of First-Degree Sexual Assault after failing to appear for trial and remained wanted for Failure to Appear, First Degree Sexual Assault, and Flight to Avoid Prosecution.
Following his arrest, Fischer was transported aboard the U.S. Coast Guard vessel to Coast Guard Station Staten Island, New York, where custody was transferred to Deputy U.S. Marshals and local law enforcement officials.
“You can run, but you cannot hide from justice. Thanks to the determined, coordinated efforts of the Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force, the U.S. Marshals Service, our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, and the dedicated prosecutors in this office, Ronald Fischer will now return to Rhode Island to face the consequences he sought to evade for more than 20 years, said First Assistant United States Attorney Charles C. Calenda.”
The successful apprehension of Ronald Fischer was the result of exceptional collaboration between the Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force, the U.S. Marshals Service New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force, the U.S. Marshals Service Southern District of New York, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Rhode Island State Police, Portsmouth Police Department and the United States Coast Guard. This investigation exemplifies the power of intelligence-driven fugitive investigations and the effectiveness of coordinated federal, state, and local law enforcement partnerships.
"This arrest demonstrates that time does not erase accountability," said Wing Chau, U.S. Marshal for the District of Rhode Island. "For more than twenty years, Ronald Fischer believed he had successfully escaped justice. The men and women of the Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force, together with our partners, remained committed to ensuring that day would eventually come. Thanks to outstanding investigative work, exceptional intelligence analysis, and seamless coordination between agencies, Fischer is finally in custody. We hope today's arrest brings a measure of justice and long-awaited closure to the victim and everyone impacted by these crimes."
The investigation was significantly enhanced by the outstanding work of FBI intelligence analysts, whose ability to rapidly collect, analyze, and develop actionable intelligence proved instrumental in identifying Fischer's location. Their analytical efforts, combined with the investigative experience and operational capabilities of Deputy U.S. Marshals, FBI Special Agents, Coast Guard personnel, and Task Force Officers, directly contributed to the successful conclusion of this operation.
"The arrest of Ronald Fischer is the result of outstanding teamwork and an unwavering commitment to justice," said Colonel Darnell Weaver, Superintendent of the Rhode Island State Police and Director of the Department of Public Safety. "I commend the members of the United States Marshals Service, the United States Coast Guard, the FBI, and our Rhode Island State Police Troopers whose professionalism and determination brought one of Rhode Island's most wanted fugitives into custody. Their efforts demonstrate that those who seek to evade justice will not succeed, and that law enforcement agencies at every level will always work together to hold dangerous individuals accountable."
The Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force is a multi-agency partnership dedicated to locating and apprehending the most dangerous violent fugitives in Rhode Island and throughout the United States. The Task Force is comprised of personnel from the United States Marshals Service, Rhode Island State Police, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Providence Police Department, Pawtucket Police Department, Warwick Police Department, Cranston Police Department, Middletown Police Department, and Portsmouth Police Department.
Combining investigative expertise, intelligence analysis, and operational resources, the Task Force conducts intelligence-driven fugitive investigations resulting in the apprehension of violent offenders throughout Rhode Island, across the United States, and internationally. Regardless of how much time has passed, the Rhode Island Violent Fugitive Task Force remains committed to ensuring violent fugitives are located and brought before the courts.
This investigation remains ongoing. Additional information will be released as official reports are completed, and court proceedings continue.
North Carolina Man Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking CrimeRead the Press Release
GREENSBORO, N.C. – Shymetrus Datre Steele, age 27, of Mount Gilead, North Carolina, was sentenced today to 60 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. He pleaded guilty to the charges on April 7, 2026.
According to court records, Steele was on probation for attempted trafficking cocaine and possession with intent to sell or deliver a Schedule II controlled substance. During a probation visit, Steele ran from North Carolina Probation and Parole Officers while holding narcotics and a handgun.
Dan Bishop, United States Attorney for the Middle District of North Carolina, made the announcement.
The case was investigated by Probation and Parole with the North Carolina Department of Adult Corrections, the Troy Police Department, the Mount Gilead Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney Mary Ann Courtney for the Middle District of North Carolina prosecuted the case.
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe. Coordinated by U.S. Attorneys’ offices in each of the 94 federal districts, PSN is tailored to particular communities to strategically address specific violent crime and public safety challenges. As a key component of Operation Take Back America, PSN serves a central role in the Department’s commitment to make our country safe. PSN emphasizes three core principles: rapid federal response to violent crime and criminal offenders; strong, strategic partnerships among law enforcement at all levels; and accountability and deterrence through the prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offenses and other strategies. These efforts complement and strengthen President Trump’s Homeland Security Task Forces, ensuring a comprehensive federal response to the most pressing public safety issues facing communities.
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New Mexico Woman Pleads Guilty to $4M Medicaid FraudRead the Press Release
A New Mexico woman pleaded guilty today to working with a non-emergency medical transport (NEMT) company to submit millions of dollars in false and fraudulent claims to New Mexico Medicaid for ineligible and non-existent trips to medical appointments.
According to court documents, Dorothea Irving, 47, of Farmington, New Mexico, worked as a driver between 2020 and 2026 for a company that provided non-emergency medical transportation. The New Mexico Medicaid program covers the cost of transportation for non-emergency medical services, such as routine doctors’ appointments, for Medicaid recipients who lack access to transportation by personal vehicle or public transportation. Instead of driving Medicaid beneficiaries who lacked transportation to their medical appointments, Irving and the company engaged in a multi-year scheme to submit fraudulent claims for purported transportation provided to Irving and her children. Together with the company, its owner, and other employees and drivers, Irving submitted false trip records claiming that she or her children were the Medicaid beneficiaries without transportation, claiming trips that had not occurred, and claiming to have been an attendant for her children on their own trips. Irving and other drivers also signed trip forms falsely representing to have driven each other to appointments to disguise the fact that they were driving themselves. In many instances, the fraudulent trips involved Irving, another driver, or minor children purportedly traveling to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings across New Mexico at great distances.
The NEMT company used the false trip records to submit millions of dollars in fraudulent claims to New Mexico Medicaid, including false claims that each passenger in the vehicle had taken a separate trip. For the trips taken by Irving and her children as the supposed Medicaid recipient without transportation, the company submitted fraudulent claims of approximately $3,957,788 and received approximately $4,142,942 from Medicaid. Irving herself received approximately $980,901 from the company over four years of the scheme.
Irving pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud. A sentencing date has not been set and she faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division; Special Agent in Charge Justin A. Garris of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Jason E. Meadows of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); Acting Special Agent in Charge Scott Brown of the IRS Criminal Investigation’s Phoenix Field Office (IRS-CI); and Director Jessica Randall of the New Mexico Medicaid Fraud Control Bureau made the announcement.
FBI, HHS-OIG, IRS-CI, and the New Mexico Medicaid Fraud Control Bureau are investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Lauren Randell of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine Lewis for the District of New Mexico are prosecuting the case.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
The Department of Justice’s Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in federal districts across the country, has charged more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 billion since 2007. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.Mid-Year Report: U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago Dramatically Increases Federal Violent Crime and Other Prosecutions While Implementing Numerous Significant Policy Initiatives and ReformsRead the Press Release
CHICAGO — The United States Attorney’s Office in Chicago continues to increase its federal caseload to tackle violent crime, national security threats, narcoterrorism, child exploitation, fraud, corruption, cybercrime, and other serious federal criminal offenses, while implementing numerous first-of-their-kind policy initiatives that have unified the District’s federal law enforcement apparatus to better serve the people, Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, said today as part of the Office’s first-ever “Mid-Year Report.” The Northern District of Illinois is the third largest federal judicial district in the country, encompassing a population of approximately 9.3 million people across 18 counties.
“Since becoming the United States Attorney on April 7, 2025, I have made the federal fight against violence my marquee priority. In doing so, my team and I have worked tirelessly and relentlessly to keep the citizens of the Northern District of Illinois safe,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros. “I have also reimagined how the federal government can play a larger and more impactful role in tackling the persistent scourge of violence in Chicago. That has required me to think outside the box to propose novel strategies that offer pioneering federal solutions to Chicago’s intractable violence problem. In doing so, the goal has been singular: to use a whole-of-federal-government approach to attack violent crime at the speed of violence. By moving with speed, purpose, impact, effectiveness, and accuracy, the Northern District of Illinois’s federal anti-violence apparatus is delivering relief to the people, who have suffered for too long because of Chicagoland’s difficult relationship with violence.”
“As we look back on the first half of 2026, I can report that the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office continues to significantly increase its violent crime prosecutions across the board, while vigorously enforcing all other federal priorities,” U.S. Attorney Boutros added. “To be sure, a lot more work still needs to be done, but it is clear that our bold strategies and policies are delivering exactly what the public wants and deserves: real, measurable reductions in violent crime and a renewed focus on holding lawbreakers accountable across the entire portfolio of criminal cases we prosecute. Although we are immensely proud of what we have achieved in 2026, our work is far from done, and we are already busy planning our next initiatives and operations to close out the second half of the year.”
Significant Surge in Office Productivity and Other Key Statistical Measures. In the first six months of 2026, federal criminal indictments across all program areas in the Northern District of Illinois were up 82% compared to the same period in 2024—the baseline timeframe immediately preceding U.S. Attorney Boutros being sworn into office. The number of defendants charged overall in the first six months of 2026 increased 81% compared to the same period in 2024. Notably, these marked improvements were achieved with substantially fewer federal prosecutors on staff than in 2024, demonstrating a profound increase in productivity and operational efficiency.
The statistics are particularly notable when comparing year-to-date figures from 2024 to 2026 in specific anti-violence program areas, including a 154% increase in firearms charges, a 78% increase in Project Safe Neighborhood gun cases, a 50% increase in sex crime prosecutions, a 24% increase in narcotics cases, and an almost 300% surge in criminal immigration cases, such as illegal re-entry into the United States. In addition, the Office is on track to achieve a projected 433% increase in firearms charges originating from ATF Chicago’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center (CGIC) for full-year 2026 compared to 2024, if the current year-to-date pace holds. Furthermore, in the white-collar portfolio, U.S. Attorney Boutros has overseen the charging of approximately $2.135 billion in alleged healthcare fraud losses in the District since taking office.
“Operation New Dawn” Delivers Extraordinary Results. The sharp increase in violent crime prosecutions in the first half of 2026 was perhaps best exemplified in the tremendous success of Operation New Dawn, U.S. Attorney Boutros’s anti-violence initiative that began in the spring and concluded on July 1, 2026. Launched in special recognition of our nation’s 250th anniversary, this historic, multi-agency initiative marked the first “badgeless” operation in the District. Operation New Dawn resulted in 484 total arrests, including 179 newly charged defendants across 140 newly filed cases, the apprehension of 305 violent fugitives, and the recovery of 24 children, many of whom had been abducted. Operation New Dawn was described as “badgeless” because multiple federal agencies came together and integrated under the banner of the United States flag as opposed to the shield of any one agency.
U.S. Attorney Boutros constructed Operation New Dawn using an innovative federal law enforcement approach to fighting violent crime that represented a first for the Northern District of Illinois: eleven federal agencies worked arm-in-arm as one cohesive, unified partnership to arrest dangerous criminals responsible for serious offenses, including armed robbery, kidnapping, kidnapping resulting in death, firearms trafficking, firearm offenses, drug trafficking, immigration violations, child exploitation, and various other federal violent crimes. During Operation New Dawn, federal law enforcement engaged in rapid, targeted, and responsive interventions that interrupted violence in real time.
“It is my view that to combat violence, federal law enforcement must move at the speed of violence,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros. “The remarkable results of Operation New Dawn resoundingly proved that point. Recognizing that crime doesn’t stop or operate at business hours, federal prosecutors, agents, Office and agency leaders, and others, worked many long days, nights, weekends, and holidays to make New Dawn a success. I couldn’t be prouder of the work of our Assistant U.S. Attorneys—many of whom joined our ranks within the past year-plus—and our law enforcement partners, some of whom literally endured violent attacks and attempted robberies by criminals who apparently didn’t get the message that we are in a new era of federal crime fighting in Chicago. Combatting violent crime remains among the federal government’s highest priorities both for this Office and our law enforcement partners across Chicagoland.”
U.S. Attorney and ATF Special Agent in Charge Pen Op-Ed Offering New Model to Disrupt Violence in Chicago. U.S. Attorney Boutros outlined his anti-violence framework for Operation New Dawn in an April full-page Chicago Tribune Op-Ed he co-authored with ATF Chicago Special Agent in Charge Christopher Amon. In the Op-Ed, U.S. Attorney Boutros and Special Agent in Charge Amon discussed violence in Chicago and how they intended to use federal tools to disrupt it. The Op-Ed stated, “What is needed is clear deterrence and accountability through immediate arrest, detention and prosecution of worthy targets. Arresting and federally charging a dangerous felon in possession of a firearm before he shoots someone are far more effective—and decent—actions than prosecuting that defendant for murder after he has already killed somebody.”
U.S. Attorney Innovates Across Federal Program Areas and Responds to Challenges. Operation New Dawn was just one of many successful initiatives, strategies, and responses launched by U.S. Attorney Boutros in the first six months of this year. Some of the others include:
- Individual Self-Disclosure Program. In May, U.S. Attorney Boutros announced the formation of a first-of-its kind Program that both encourages and incentivizes individuals to voluntarily report and/or self-report criminal wrongdoing for non-violent offenses and fully cooperate with the government in its investigation and any subsequent prosecution of other offenders. Under the Program, those who fully and voluntarily self-report criminal wrongdoing that is previously unknown to the government will have the opportunity to secure one of three tiers of potential benefits: (1) letter immunity; (2) a deferred or non-prosecution agreement; or (3) criminal prosecution with substantial sentencing relief. Drawing upon more than 25 years’ experience in the criminal law field, including nearly ten years as a practice leader in private white-collar defense, nearly eight years as a federal prosecutor in Chicago handling sophisticated white-collar prosecutions, and 16 years of teaching criminal law at the University of Chicago Law School, U.S. Attorney Boutros created this ground-breaking Program to provide greater certainty and transparent, equal-access to individuals and their counsel as to what they can expect in exchange for their full, truthful, and complete reporting of criminal wrongdoing and subsequent cooperation.
- “Davos in Chicago.” In May, U.S. Attorney Boutros assembled the highest law enforcement leadership from the entire federal apparatus in the Chicago region for the Chicago-Area Federal Agency Leadership Summit, a first-of-its-kind conference to discuss collaborative efforts to oversee important federal enforcement priorities and execute systemic solutions. The most senior leaders from more than 40 federal agencies operating in the Chicagoland region participated in the summit, as did nine U.S. Attorneys from the Seventh Circuit (Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin) and other federal districts, alongside the Head of the Department of Justice’s Trade Fraud Task Force. The day-long summit was informally dubbed “Davos in Chicago” because it drew comparisons to the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting, which brings together world leaders and top businesspersons for a renowned conference each January in Davos, Switzerland. Davos in Chicago laid the foundation for the extraordinary success of Operation New Dawn and continues to lay the groundwork for additional initiatives and operations that are in the pipeline.
- Grand Jury Reforms and Phase I and II Remediation Plans. In May, after learning of grand jury irregularities in one of the Office’s cases, U.S. Attorney Boutros promptly conducted a root-cause review of those and related issues. Thereafter, he formulated and implemented comprehensive and sweeping reforms and process improvements to the Office’s grand jury policies and practices as well as to the treatment of grand jury materials for discovery purposes. This initiative, designated as the Phase I Remediation Plan, went into effect immediately and is a best-in-class program to ensure the integrity of our criminal prosecutions. In addition to requiring extensive Criminal Division-wide training by Department of Justice experts from outside the District, these systemic reforms and process improvements were designed to address root-cause issues, create bright-line rules that remove discretion and judgment calls from Assistant U.S. Attorneys, and streamline and simplify the decision-making and disclosure processes for grand jury materials. The instituted changes were created with the purpose of being deeply curative and to put to rest once and for all any divergent practices that may have existed across the U.S. Attorney’s Office, including from one Assistant U.S. Attorney to another as well as from one generation to the next. Furthermore, in June 2026, U.S. Attorney Boutros sought and obtained court permission to issue a rare Special Report Regarding Federal Grand Jury Appearances that brought unprecedented clarity and transparency regarding his role as the District’s Chief Legal Advisor to all federal grand juries, especially during the tumultuous time of Operation Midway Blitz, the largest ever enforcement surge in the history of the Northern District of Illinois.
U.S. Attorney Boutros also has formulated a comprehensive Phase II Remediation Plan that is actively underway. Phase II includes the review of a large volume of grand jury minutes for pending criminal cases charged by indictment and currently at the pre-trial phase, as well as certain other grand jury minutes from adjudicated cases, including some cases going back to 2007. U.S. Attorney Boutros authorized this Phase II Remediation Plan to (i) ensure the absence of grand jury irregularities in the cases charged by indictment by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois; (ii) to address the judiciary’s, defense bar’s, and public’s concerns regarding the grand jury practices and proceedings of the District given the discovery of grand jury irregularities in various cases charged by indictment going back years; and (iii) ensure that Assistant U.S. Attorneys who have appeared before the grand jury in the Northern District of Illinois during the relevant time frame and/or as otherwise being defined, have acted in accordance with law and consistent with the highest ethical standards demanded of those who represent the United States and the people of this District. In the face of the substantial time, effort, and resources that have been required for these various studies, reviews, projects, and reform implementations, U.S. Attorney Boutros has been both unwavering and laser-focused on addressing these legacy institutional challenges, implementing root-cause reforms that dramatically reduce the likelihood of these same errors reoccurring, and continuing to deliver historic results in the Office’s core mission work.
- Trade Fraud Task Force. In February, U.S. Attorney Boutros announced that the Department of Justice had selected the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago to be the lead prosecutorial partner on the Trade Fraud Task Force launched in August 2025, which brings robust enforcement against importers, purchasers, supply chain actors, and other parties who commit trade, customs, forced labor, and other adjacent federal crimes. When U.S. Attorney Boutros served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Chicago from 2008 to 2015, he led what still stand as the Department of Justice’s largest-ever criminal trade fraud prosecutions, spanning 27 corporate and individual defendants across multiple indictments, with losses totaling approximately $260 million. Those cases provide valuable insight into how the Trade Fraud Task Force will build future criminal prosecutions.
This month, at a press conference in Chicago attended by national leadership of the Department of Justice, Department of Homeland Security, and other law enforcement partners, the Department of Justice announced that the Trade Fraud Task Force has surpassed $1 billion in civil and criminal recoveries, penalties, forfeitures, and publicly charged losses in less than one year. The Northern District of Illinois was selected as the site of this historic press event because of the District’s expansive venue and U.S. Attorney Boutros’s decades of experience in handling cases in this space, and because “the key roads for trade fraud enforcement lead from, to, and through Chicago past, present, and future,” as U.S. Attorney Boutros stated in his press comments.
- Resource Guide to Trade Fraud Enforcement. In July, the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security released a trade fraud enforcement Resource Guide (the “Guide”), which U.S. Attorney Boutros was instrumental in developing with DOJ and HSI leadership and other team members. As the first joint comprehensive framework of its kind, the Guide is a historic and seminal roadmap for cross-border compliance and enforcement priorities. The Guide provides critical information to enterprises of all sizes and addresses a wide variety of topics, including who and what is covered by customs regulations and anti-trade fraud laws and the different types of civil and criminal resolutions available in trade fraud enforcement. On these and other topics, the Guide takes a multi-faceted approach toward setting forth the statutory and regulatory requirements and providing insights into the enforcement practices of the DOJ and DHS.
U.S. Attorney Boutros Appointed to Attorney General’s Advisory Committee and Thereafter Selected to Co-Chair Two AGAC Sub-Committees and to Serve on a Third Sub-Committee. In May, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche selected U.S. Attorney Boutros to serve on the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee (“AGAC”), a select and prestigious body of United States Attorneys chosen by the Acting Attorney General to advise Department of Justice leadership on national law enforcement priorities. Created in 1973, the AGAC is comprised of an exclusive group of 18 United States Attorneys and is designed to ensure broad geographic, operational, and subject-matter representation. Members work through Subcommittees and working groups on issues including violent crime, national security, fraud, narcoterrorism, and other critical priorities as set by the President of the United States. The Committee plays a central role in ensuring that the experience of federal prosecutors in the field informs national Department of Justice strategy.
Thereafter, in July, U.S. Attorney Boutros was appointed to Co-Chair two critical AGAC Subcommittees: (1) Artificial Intelligence and (2) White Collar, Cyber, and Crypto Crime, in addition to being appointed on a third Subcommittee, namely, (3) Counterespionage & Research Security (CRS). As U.S. Attorney Boutros stated when he learned of his various appointments, “I am deeply grateful to General Todd Blanche for giving me the opportunity to Co-Chair two cutting-edge AGAC Subcommittees. I am confident that the Subcommittees on Artificial Intelligence as well as White Collar, Cyber, and Crypto will have a strong, positive impact on these various areas at the local, regional, and national level. Our work will very much focus on innovation as well as ways to maximize effectiveness, accuracy, productivity, and efficiency. Just look at the Department of Justice’s exceptional work on the Trade Fraud Task Force, for example; through our work on the AGAC we’ll be able to bring even more awareness and support to that top enforcement priority. Similarly, artificial intelligence is a revolutionary, generational tool that dramatically impacts all performance metrics. Working through the AGAC, our Subcommittee will study and recommend ways the Department can harness the power and versatility of artificial intelligence in a responsible, thoughtful, and effective way.” The CRS Subcommittee will focus on foreign bad actors who are infiltrating our research institutions, includinfg colleges, universities, and corporations, to commit espionage, steal trade secrets and proprietary data, and bypass sanctions.
U.S. Attorney’s Office in Middle of Enormous Hiring Spree. Much of the success in increasing the Office’s caseload and executing the Office’s strategies is due to the steady hand of the more experienced federal prosecutors and freshly-installed supervisors who carry enormous responsibilities as well as the many Assistant U.S. Attorneys that U.S. Attorney Boutros has hired for the Office from federal, state, and local prosecuting offices; other federal agencies; private practice; and federal clerkships that included prior work experience. In his 15 months as United States Attorney, U.S. Attorney Boutros has already hired approximately 40 federal prosecutors in the Criminal and Civil Divisions, both in Chicago and Rockford, many of whom many have deep experience, including trial experience, handling significant cases in federal and state courts around the country. He expects to hire an additional dozen or more Assistant United States Attorneys before the end of the year, which would bring the Office’s total hires for 2026 to more than 50 Assistant U.S. Attorneys. Federal, state, and local prosecutors have joined the Office from Main Justice as well as prosecuting offices in Arizona, California, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, and Washington, D.C. The newly hired Assistant U.S. Attorneys bring a depth of knowledge and a wealth of experience that has enabled them to be immediately impactful in the Northern District of Illinois. Last year, U.S. Attorney Boutros completely redesigned the Office’s hiring process, which included him taking on a substantially more active role in the hiring of Assistant United States Attorneys. The result of those reforms and substantial efforts is that the U.S. Attorney’s Office is now hiring more applicants with diverse backgrounds and skillsets from across the country to the great benefit of the people of the Northern District of Illinois.
U.S. Attorney Creates Important, New eLitigation Position. In close consultation with senior colleagues in the U.S. Attorney’s Office who had been advocating for an eLitigation position for many years, for the first time in the Office, U.S. Attorney Boutros established an eLitigation Assistant United States Attorney position. The newly created eLitigation AUSA role is one of only a few across U.S. Attorneys’ Offices community and was established to create a dedicated role for the development of the Office’s eLitigation systems, controls, operations, policies, and protocols in the eLitigation space. It also will prove critical for allowing the Office to stay up to date on new emerging technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence, that when fully deployed, will revolutionize the everyday work of our Assistant United States Attorneys, including their impact and effectiveness as well as the efficiency with which they tackle our mission work.
Unified Federal Partners in the Northern District of Illinois. The U.S. Attorney’s Office works closely with U.S. law enforcement agencies, including the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), various federal Offices of Inspector Generals, among many others, to investigate and prosecute federal crimes. State and local partners in this effort include the Chicago Police Department, Illinois State Police, Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, Cook County Sheriff’s Office, Rockford Police Department, and many other police departments and prosecutors’ offices throughout northern Illinois.
Examples of the many significant cases prosecuted by the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office in the first six months of 2026 are featured below:
National Security / Terrorism
Man Arrested in Connection With Planned Violent Attack at Ultimate Fighting Championship Event at White House
Alex Mercado was charged as an alleged administrator and member of Signal messaging groups that included members who appeared to communicate with others regarding the planning of a violent attack targeting the UFC event at the White House. “The investigation in this case involved serious threats to public safety, including the safety of President Donald J. Trump, the 45th and 47th President of the United States of America,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros.
Man Sentenced to More Than Three Years for Threatening To Kill President Donald J. Trump
Trent Schneider was sentenced following federal charges that he posted a video of himself stating that he would kill President Donald J. Trump, the 47th and 45th President of the United States. “As I have repeatedly stated since becoming U.S. Attorney, threats against public officials are an attack on our democracy and must be met with swift and serious consequences,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros.
Suburban Chicago Man Charged With Sending Threatening Letters to Two Federal Judges
James Lebuhn charged with mailing threatening letters to federal judges in Amarillo, Texas, and Fort Pierce, Fla. “The Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to holding accountable anyone who seeks to intimidate and instill fear in members of the federal government, including the esteemed public servants on the bench,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros.
Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Setting Fire to Two Rockford Churches
Marzavious Thomas was sentenced to five years in federal prison for setting fires at Bethesda Covenant Church and Crosspoint Church, causing a combined damage of more than $35,000.
Chicago Man Charged With Threatening To “Shoot Up” a Jewish Synagogue
Timothy Holmes was charged for transmitting a threat over interstate commerce after allegedly posting the threat on his X account. “Anti-Semitism has no place in our society,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago is using all available legal tools to combat criminal conduct that rears its head in hateful anti-Semitism.”
Chicago Man Charged With Threatening To “Shoot Up” United States Secret Service Office
Michael Kovco allegedly transmitted threats via the official White House website targeting a Secret Service field facility. “Under my watch, political violence will be dealt with as the serious federal crime that it is,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros.
Alleged Member of Criminal Cyber Hacking Group “Scattered Spider” Arrested in Finland and Extradited to United States
Peter Stokes was allegedly a member of Scattered Spider, a group of criminal cyber actors that has been involved with more than 100 network intrusions, resulting in more than approximately $100 million in ransom payments and millions of dollars in damages to the victims.
Chicago Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Conspiring to Provide Material Support to ISIS
Ashraf Al Safoo was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for his leadership role in the Khattab Media Foundation, a sophisticated online organization that swore allegiance to ISIS and created and disseminated threats and ISIS propaganda on social media.
Chinese Telecommunications Company Fined $50 Million for Conspiring To Steal Technology From Motorola Solutions
Hytera Communications Corp. Ltd. recruited Motorola employees and directed them to take proprietary and trade secret information without authorization, including information Motorola had developed through years of research and design. Hytera pleaded guilty in the Northern District of Illinois to a federal charge of conspiracy to steal trade secrets.
Drug Trafficking / Cartels / Transnational Criminal Organizations
Eight Illegal Alien Tren De Aragua Members From Venezuela Charged With Kidnappings That Resulted in Death, Racketeering Involving Murder, and Other Violent Offenses in Texas and Illinois Following Homeland Security Task Force Investigations
Three alleged members of the Tren de Aragua (TdA) transnational criminal organization were charged in Chicago with conspiring to kidnap a man who was walking near Meyering Park on the city’s South Side, an offense that allegedly resulted in the victim’s murder inside an abandoned building. Five other alleged TdA members were indicted on separate offenses in the Northern District of Texas as part of a coordinated Homeland Security Task Force operation.
Alleged Boss of Violent Sinaloa Cartel Indicted in Chicago on Drug, Firearm, and Material Support of Terrorism Charges
Jesus Omar Ibarra Felix, also known as “El Chuta,” allegedly led an armed security group known as the Las Fuerzas Especiales de Chuta (FECH), which engaged in armed conflict on behalf of the Guzman faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, a U.S. designated foreign terrorist organization previously headed by Joaquin Guzman Loera, also known as “El Chapo.” Ibarra Felix’s group allegedly provided armed security in support of Guzman Loera’s four sons, collectively known as “the Chapitos,” who took over leadership of the Sinaloa Cartel after Guzman Loera’s arrest in 2016.
Man Sentenced to More Than 26 Years in Prison for Using the Dark Web To Distribute Narcotics
Darren Hughes operated a vendor store on the Nemesis Market, one of the world’s largest dark web marketplaces. In a three-year period, Nemesis Market processed more than 400,000 orders, including more than 55,000 orders for stimulants, including meth, cocaine, crack cocaine, and other controlled substances, and 17,000 orders for opioids, including fentanyl, heroin, and oxycodone.
Co-Creator of Dark Web Marketplace Pleads Guilty in Chicago to Drug Conspiracy Charge
Raheim Hamilton operated Empire Market—one of the largest dark web marketplaces of its kind at the time. The online market facilitated more than four million transactions between vendors and buyers valued at more than $430 million. The illegal products and services available on the site included controlled substances, compromised or stolen account credentials, stolen personally identifying information, counterfeit currency, and computer-hacking tools.
Chicago Man Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison for Selling Heroin and Cocaine on the Dark Web
Tommy Spaulding sold large amounts of drugs on dark-web vendor stores known as AVALANCHE and ETHER_MART. Spaulding managed the vendor stores’ finances, including distributing money to others to purchase the drugs and helping to operate the stores. Four other defendants were convicted as part of this investigation.
Man Who Transported $9 Million in Illicit Cash Proceeds for Mexico-Based Drug Trafficking Organization Sentenced to Six Years in Federal Prison
Ricardo Tello transported bulk cash proceeds for Mexico-based traffickers who distributed cocaine to U.S. cities. Tello also used his logistics company to support the drug traffickers by exporting nearly 50 loads of plastic sheeting that had been used to smuggle at least 450 kilograms of cocaine into the United States.
Violent Crime / Firearms
Eight Defendants Charged as Part of Federal Investigation Into Violent Home Invasion in Winnetka, Ill.
The eight defendants are charged with conspiracy to commit robbery and kidnapping in connection with the alleged home invasion, which occurred on the afternoon of March 8, 2026. Some of the defendants forcibly entered the home, kept an individual in the residence captive for approximately an hour, and used firearms to physically restrain the victim. All eight defendants have been ordered to remain detained in federal custody without bond.
U.S. Attorney’s Office Charges Man With Illegally Possessing Loaded Firearm in Downtown Chicago Federal Courthouse
James Lake allegedly illegally possessed a loaded gun in the Dirksen Federal Building in Chicago. An inspector with the U.S. Marshals Service took Lake into custody and seized the gun.
Suburban Chicago Man Charged With Robbing Undercover Federal Task Force Officer
Marcus Lewis and a juvenile allegedly beat a federal task force officer with a firearm and robbed the officer of $10,000 in government funds that the officer planned to use to purchase cocaine from the pair. “FBI task force officers and agents are first responders in the fight against violent crime in our neighborhoods and communities,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros. “The dangerous and brave work they do requires them to put their lives on the line every day. We all owe our law enforcement agents and task force officers a debt of gratitude for their dedication to the mission and their commitment to public safety.”
Chicago Man Convicted of Plotting To Kill Two Witnesses in Cousin’s Murder Trial
Chris Yates sought the killings of two individuals he believed would testify against his cousin, who was set to go to trial in Cook County for allegedly fatally shooting a woman in 2020. Yates was arrested before the killings could be carried out.
Federal Judge Sentences Man to Eight Years in Prison for Robbing U.S. Postal Service Carrier in Chicago
The carrier was delivering mail when Henry Moorer approached on foot and demanded postal property. Moorer then pulled a semiautomatic handgun from the pocket of his sweatshirt and displayed the butt of the firearm before grabbing the property from the carrier.
Rockford Man Sentenced to More Than Six and a Half Years in Federal Prison for Robbing a United States Post Office With a Firearm
Anthony Johnson walked approximately one block from his residence in Rockford to the Post Office, where he reached for a firearm in his waistband and told the clerk to give him all the money in the cash register. “The U.S. Postal Service serves a critically important government function, and its employees must be allowed to perform their duties for the American people safely and securely,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros. “Under my leadership, the U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to prioritize cases that involve threats, violence, and intimidation against federal officials.”
Man Sentenced to Three Years in Federal Prison for Illegally Possessing Loaded Handgun on Chicago Train and Doing So While on Court-Ordered Supervised Release
Gerald Pittman was arrested aboard the Chicago Transit Authority’s Blue Line train while possessing a loaded gun. Pittman had previously been convicted of multiple felony offenses and was legally prohibited from possessing a firearm. One of Pittman’s prior felonies was a federal drug trafficking conviction, for which Pittman was on court-supervised released at the time of his arrest on the Blue Line. Shortly before Pittman’s arrest and federal prosecution, U.S. Attorney Boutros expanded the Project Safe Neighborhoods program to include the economic centers in downtown Chicago and the entire rail system operated by the CTA, including all train lines operating in every neighborhood from every part of the city. The expansion represented the first time anywhere in the country that the PSN program was deployed on mass transit and the first time in Chicago that the city’s downtown economic corridors were given the federal PSN designation.
Man Sentenced to More Than Four Years in Prison for Illegally Possessing Firearms and Injuring Law Enforcement Agent During Arrest Attempt
Andrew Vesely illegally possessed two guns and injured a DEA agent who was attempting to arrest him. “As I have repeatedly stated since becoming United States Attorney, criminal attacks on law enforcement constitute a direct assault on the rule of law as well as our justice system and will be met with swift, firm, and unequivocal legal consequences,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros.
Federal Grand Jury in Chicago Returns Indictment Against Operation Midway Blitz Defendant for Alleged Vehicle-Ramming Attack on Federal Immigration Agent
Diego Emmanuel Reyes allegedly rammed his sport utility vehicle into the rear of a vehicle driven by the ICE agent, who was engaged in the performance of his official duties on the Southwest Side of Chicago, and upon doing so, accelerated his SUV forward pushing the agent’s vehicle. “What this defendant did on October 4, 2025, in Chicago, Illinois, during Operation Midway Blitz was a dangerous and brazen act of violence against a federal agent as well as an attack on the rule of law,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros. “Federal agents perform risky, essential work every single day to enforce our federal laws and keep our communities safe. The Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office will never tolerate such conduct and will continue to hold accountable those who seek to assault, impede, intimidate, or interfere with lawful federal operations.”
Illegal Alien Sentenced to a Year in Prison for Feloniously Assaulting Law Enforcement Officers During Arrest
Francisco Javier Acevedo-Caldera, who had recently been bonded out of the Kane County Jail, resisted ICE officers who attempted to arrest him. Acevedo-Caldera kicked one of the officers, head-butted the other officer, and then bit a Kane County Sheriff’s Deputy who offered to help, puncturing the Deputy’s skin.
Illegal Alien Who Fired Shots Near Border Agents During Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearm Charge
Hector Gomez fired at least two shots in proximity of Border Patrol agents on Nov. 8, 2025. Gomez had previously been convicted of a felony firearm offense in state court and was prohibited under federal law from possessing a gun.
Man Who Committed Two Chicago Carjackings Sentenced to 17 Years in Prison
Edmond Singleton and two co-defendants conspired to commit a pair of carjackings on a single night of violence.
Man Sentenced to 14 and a Half Years in Prison for Carjacking Vehicle at Gunpoint in Backyard of Chicago Residence
Damarri Conner carjacked a vehicle in the backyard of a home in Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood. A woman and her daughter had just returned home in another vehicle when Conner and co-defendant Kenneth Merritt sprang from a hiding place and attacked them. Merritt is awaiting sentencing.
Suburban Chicago Man Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison for Trafficking Firearms and Drugs
Efrain Jacobo sold seven firearms in a series of transactions in Joliet, Ill. Unbeknownst to Jacobo, the buyers were undercover law enforcement officers.
Federal Law Enforcement Seizes 22 Firearms and Multiple Kilograms of Narcotics From Chicago Storage Unit; Alleged Drug Trafficker Arrested
Mario Neustadter allegedly sold fentanyl and meth to an undercover law enforcement officer. Law enforcement conducted a court-authorized search of Neustadter’s storage unit on the day of his arrest and discovered 22 firearms.
Federal Indictment Charges Reputed Chicago Gang Member With Illegally Possessing Firearms
Alexander Martinez-Quiroz recorded himself firing shots into the air from a handgun. While firing the shots, Martinez-Quiroz allegedly called out that he is a member of a certain street gang.
Federal Law Enforcement Seizes Eleven Firearms, Ammunition, and Twenty Machine Gun Conversion Devices From Chicago Residence; Two Suspected Gang Members Arrested
Law enforcement conducted a court-authorized search of two alleged gang members’ residence in Chicago and discovered a short-barrel rifle, ten handguns, 20 machine gun conversion devices, assorted ammunition, and firearm accessories.
Child Exploitation / Human Trafficking
Stephenson County, Ill. Man Sentenced to 150 Years in Prison for Sexually Exploiting Children
Matthew Kaufman enticed multiple children to engage in sexually explicit conduct and recorded it.
Suburban Chicago Man Sentenced to 48 Years in Prison for Sexually Exploiting a Minor
Tercalo Thomas enticed a prepubescent minor to engage in illegal sexual conduct, which he recorded. Thomas then trafficked the images as barter to amass a vast collection of images of other children’s sexual abuse.
Suburban Chicago Man Sentenced to 37 Years in Prison for Sexually Exploiting Nearly 100 Children
Shaun Healy used Snapchat to contact and persuade young girls to create and send him sexually explicit images and videos of themselves. Healy often posed as a young girl himself to gain his victims’ trust and induce them to produce the sexually abusive material.
Man Sentenced to More Than 33 Years in Prison for Operating Online Chat Group That Shared Child Pornography
Christopher Martin operated and led a group chat on the instant-messaging mobile application Kik. Martin moderated the chat and enforced the rules, the primary rule being that if members wanted to stay in the group, they had to constantly share photos and videos of child pornography.
Violent Sex Trafficker Sentenced to 28 Years in Federal Prison
Dennis Williams trafficked five young victims, including a 15-year-old girl. Williams also caused a 17-year-old girl, whom he also assaulted repeatedly, to assist him in trafficking the victims.
Chicago Man Sentenced to 24 Years in Prison for Producing Child Pornography
Denikos Hawkins induced two children to engage in sexual acts with him. When one of the victims stopped responding to Hawkins on Instagram, he threatened to send the videos of her to her school and to “everyone” she knew.
Man Convicted of Sex Trafficking a Minor in Chicago Suburb
Kennard Cameron recruited and enticed a 15-year-old girl to engage in commercial sex acts in a motel in Lansing, Ill.
Chicago Man Charged With Transporting Child Pornography on Flight to Mexico
Thomas Neal allegedly possessed images and videos of child pornography on his cell phone when he flew from Chicago to Mexico City. At the time of his arrest, Neal was employed as a teacher at a high school in the Northern District of Illinois.
Trade Fraud / Financial Fraud / Other Fraud
Trade Fraud Task Force Surpasses $1 Billion in Recoveries and Charged Losses in Less Than One Year
The Trade Fraud Task Force (TFTF) selected the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office as its lead prosecutorial partner. Two Chicago cases contributed to the TFTF surpassing the $1 billion milestone in enforced trade fraud matters in less than a year. As alleged, Raj Kohli and Veena Kohli’s California-based company, together with foreign manufacturers and other U.S. entities, imported and brought into the United States approximately 563 separate entries of gold jewelry that were falsely declared as having been manufactured in Singapore and in doing so avoided paying customs duties of between 5.5% and 5.8% of the declared value of the imported gold jewelry. According to court documents, the gold jewelry from the Kohlis’ criminal prosecution had an estimated total value of more than approximately $693 million, thus causing the avoidance of more than approximately $38 million in United States customs duties.
Separately, Narain Gulabani, who owned a gold jewelry importer and wholesaler in Naperville, Ill., was charged with falsely declaring the country of origin for imported gold jewelry. The charges allege that Gulabani, together with foreign manufacturers and other U.S. entities, imported or caused to be imported into the United States approximately 242 separate entries of gold jewelry that were falsely declared as having been manufactured in Oman or Singapore and in doing so avoided paying customs duties of between 5.5% and 5.8% of the declared value of the imported gold jewelry. According to court documents, the gold jewelry from Gulabani’s criminal prosecution had an estimated total value of more than approximately $240 million, thus causing the avoidance of more than approximately $13.6 million in United States customs duties.
Engineer for Illinois Company Sentenced to Federal Prison for Trade Fraud, Counterfeiting, and Other Fraud Schemes
Shaun Brouwer manufactured and sold counterfeit versions of his employer’s products and asked a vendor in China to create fake payment documents to lower the perceived value of some of the counterfeit items to avoid attracting attention from U.S. customs officials and avoid paying additional customs duty fees. He further engaged in fraud related to the Covid-relief Paycheck Protection Program. He was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison.
Former Accountant for Middle Eastern Jewelry Exporter Sentenced to Prison for Evading More Than $1.89 Million in U.S. Customs Duties
A former accountant for a gold jewelry exporter in the United Arab Emirates, Ravi Kapadia, conspired to avoid United States Customs duties on imports from India and falsely declare that the jewelry originated in Oman and was sentenced to ten months in federal prison.
Texas Man Who Orchestrated $20 Million Cryptocurrency Scam Sentenced to 23 Years in Prison
Robert Dunlap orchestrated a cryptocurrency scam that bilked nearly 1,000 investors out of more than $20 million. Dunlap made numerous false and misleading statements to potential and actual investors, including claims that his so-called Meta-1 Coin was backed by as much as $1 billion in art and $44 billion in gold.
Foreign National Sentenced to More Than Six Years in Federal Prison for Conducting “Tech Support” Fraud Scheme That Victimized Senior Citizens in United States
Kartik Saini and co-schemers falsely represented to victims that their computers had been hacked and their bank accounts had been compromised. Saini or a co-schemer then convinced the victims to transfer significant funds to various bank accounts, claiming the companies would safely hold the money while the purported cyber hack was investigated by law enforcement.
Suburban Chicago Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Stealing More Than $10 Million in Interstate Shipments
Aivaras Zigmantas stole more than $10 million in goods, including liquor and commercial-grade copper, from interstate shipments.
Federal Judge Sentences Man to Four Years in Prison for $2 Million COVID-Relief Fraud
James Townsend schemed to fraudulently obtain more than $2 million in small business loans under the CARES Act. Under the leadership of U.S. Attorney Boutros and consistent with the Administration’s priorities to identify, investigate, and prosecute criminal fraud in the federal government entitlement and benefit programs, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois has been taking a fresh look at Covid-19 fraud.
Illinois Investment Advisor Indicted on Fraud Charges for Allegedly Swindling Clients in Ponzi Scheme
Paaris Kopsaftis, who operated Illinois-based Blackwater Assets, Inc., allegedly used investor funds to pay his bills.
Former CEO of Chicago Charter School Network Charged With Misappropriating More Than $103,000
Timothy King allegedly embezzled $103,833 from Urban Prep Academies to pay off his personal credit card.
Two Plead Guilty to Operating Nearly $12 Million Fraudulent Loan Program Harming Dozens of Victims
Mark Carroll and Luke Curry operated a scheme that caused borrowers, lenders, and investors to turn over nearly $12 million through sham loan programs and investments.
Public Corruption
Former Suburban Chicago Police Officer Sentenced to More Than Five Years in Prison on Corruption Charges
Antoine Larry was serving as a patrol officer for the Phoenix, Ill. Police Department when he conspired with another officer to corruptly solicit cash and drugs from the occupants of vehicles during traffic stops.
Deputy District Director to United States Congressman Indicted for Fraudulently Obtaining Covid-Relief Benefits
Gerard Moorer allegedly fraudulently pocketed nearly $32,000 in benefits under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program.
Federal Indictment Charges Former Chicago Housing Authority Director and Construction Company Owner With Engaging in $4.8 Million Kickback Scheme
Ryan Ross, a former property director for the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA), was allegedly given more than $421,000 in kickbacks from the owner of a construction company in exchange for steering that owner more than $4.8 million in construction and renovation work at CHA properties.
Former Federal Prison Employee Convicted of Sexually Abusing Two Inmates
Danny Spyker abused two male inmates at the Federal Correctional Institute in Thomson, Ill. Spyker worked as a cook supervisor when he knowingly engaged in sexual acts with the two inmates.
Immigration
Illegal Alien Facing State Murder Charge Now Charged in Federal Court With Illegally Possessing Firearm in Chicago
An illegal alien unlawfully residing in the United States, who is charged in state court with murdering an 18-year-old Loyola University student, was charged in federal court with illegally possessing a firearm. “Given the senseless, cold-blooded nature of the murder of a young student with a bright future ahead of her, the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office will take no chances that this illegal alien perpetrator will be released back into our community,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros.
Suburban Chicago Man Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison for Immigration Fraud, Possession of Child Pornography, and Tax Offenses
Jose Gregorio Sosa Cardona fabricated foreign law enforcement reports and other documents to falsely corroborate his clients’ asylum claims. A court-authorized search of Sosa Cardona’s electronic devices turned up thousands of photos and videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Illegal Alien With Extensive Criminal Record Sentenced to 14 Months in Prison for Unlawfully Re-Entering United States After Multiple Deportations
Manuel Alberto Cortes Cuan was unlawfully present in the United States on June 17, 2025, when he was arrested in Lyons, Ill. Cortes Cuan was previously deported from the United States on five occasions. Each deportation occurred after Cortes Cuan sustained criminal convictions while unlawfully present here. The prior offenses of convictions included theft, escape, trespassing, aggravated assault, and aggravated DUI.
Illegal Alien With Violent Criminal Record Sentenced to Prison for Unlawfully Re-Entering United States After Seven Deportations
Jefry Estrada-Pastrana was unlawfully present in the United States on Jan. 20, 2026, when he was arrested in Chicago. Estrada-Pastrana was previously deported from the United States on seven occasions. During the times in which he was illegally present in the United States, Estrada-Pastrana was convicted of criminal offenses including robbery and aggravated fleeing. Estrada-Pastrana was sentenced to ten months in prison for his illegal re-entry conviction.
Illegal Alien Who Possessed a Dangerous Weapon in Cook County Jail and Committed an Attempted Vehicular Hijacking Indicted for Allegedly Unlawfully Re-Entering U.S. After Deportation
Hector Daniel Gamboa-Mantalvo, a Mexican national who resided in Palatine, Ill., was removed from the United States in July 2020. Gamboa-Mantalvo was later discovered in the United States in 2023 when he was arrested for committing an attempted vehicular hijacking. In April, he was indicted on federal immigration charges.
Foreign National Residing in Chicago Suburb Indicted for Allegedly Bringing Illegal Aliens Into United States and Forcing Them To Work
Fredy Hernandez allegedly brought four individuals from Honduras into the U.S. in 2022 and 2023 and forced them to work for his private financial gain.
Healthcare Fraud
United States Attorney Andrew S. Boutros Announces Charges Against Two Chicago-Area Defendants as Part of Department of Justice’s National Healthcare Fraud Takedown
In the first matter, a defendant was charged with participating in a scheme to defraud Medicare out of approximately $240 million in reimbursements for over-the-counter Covid-19 test kits that were either never provided or never requested by Medicare beneficiaries, all within a span of less than six months. In the second matter, a healthcare provider was charged with orchestrating a scheme to defraud the Illinois Medicaid program out of more than $75 million for purported behavioral health counseling and therapy services that were never provided.
The charges filed in federal court in Chicago were part of the Department of Justice’s 2026 National Healthcare Fraud Takedown. The charges continue the trend of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago as well as the Midwest Strike Force to bring criminal healthcare fraud prosecutions, especially against gatekeepers, that dismantle significant schemes that syphon taxpayer funds from Medicare and Medicaid. Two Foreign Nationals Indicted in Chicago as Part of $10 Million Health Care Fraud Scheme
Burhan Mirza and Kashif Iqbal allegedly used nominee-owned laboratories and durable medical equipment providers to submit fraudulent claims to Medicare and private healthcare benefit programs for items and services that were not provided. “Every fraudulent submission in this case diverts much needed monies from senior citizens and disabled persons who rely on Medicare to fund critically important health needs,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros. “The defendants didn’t just steal from a government program; they did damage to the promise of healthcare in this country and the peace of mind that comes with it.”
Suburban Chicago Chiropractor Convicted of Healthcare Fraud
Seung Han Lim and his clinic fraudulently billed more than $600,000 to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois for services not rendered.
PDF version of the Mid-Year Report is available here: NDIL USAO Mid-Year Report_July 2026.pdf
Mescalero Man Charged with Assault and Child AbuseRead the Press Release
ALBUQUERQUE – A Mescalero man has been charged in federal court with assault arising from an alleged February 2026 incident and prior assaults.
According to court documents, on February 25, 2026, Bradley Isaiah Davis, 36, an enrolled member of the Mescalero Apache Tribe, allegedly assaulted the victim during an argument. Davis allegedly struck the victim multiple times in the face with a closed fist, and strangled the victim. The victim sought medical treatment.
Medical records showed the victim suffered a fractured nasal bone, a head contusion, facial swelling, bruising, and nosebleeds.
During a post-arrest interview with investigators, Davis allegedly admitted to striking the victim in the face and admitted to choking the victim.
Davis is charged with assault causing serious bodily injury, assault by strangling and/or suffocating and child abuse and will remain in custody pending trial, which has not been scheduled. If convicted of the current charge, Davis faces up to 13 years in prison.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison made the announcement today.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Justice Services investigated this case with assistance from the Zuni Police Department. The Las Cruces Branch Office of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico is prosecuting the case.
A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Men Sentenced to Federal Prison for Roles in Death of 18-Year-Old Nebraska Woman and Related ChargesRead the Press Release
Two men with lengthy criminal histories were sentenced today to a combined 45 years in federal prison for their roles in the disappearance of an 18-year-old Nebraska woman. Floyd Clifford Coates, Jr., and Dennis Lawson, former brothers-in-law, were convicted by a jury of drug and obstruction-of-justice charges on November 25, 2025, after an eleven-day trial.
Coates, a.k.a. Cliff Coates, age 48, from St. Francis, Kansas, and Strubel, Iowa, was convicted of six counts, including drug trafficking, unlawful possession of firearms, and obstruction of justice. He was acquitted of two obstruction-of-justice charges related to allegations involving threatening witnesses.
Lawson, age 60, from Whiting, Iowa, was convicted of one obstruction-of-justice charge for threatening a witness. He was acquitted of drug-trafficking and other obstruction-of-justice charges.
Evidence at trial showed that in the spring of 2019, Coates was a member of a drug-trafficking organization that funneled pounds of methamphetamine from Colorado to multiple locations, including Iowa. Coates possessed firearms to protect his illegal drug operation.
On Easter weekend 2019, Coates arranged to make a drug resupply run to Kansas City, Missouri. He convinced an Iowa woman to drive from Sioux City, Iowa, and meet him in Blair, Nebraska, to help him with the drug run. She was then supposed to drive him to Kansas City and back. Coates traveled to Blair from Trenton, Nebraska, with another woman, 18-year-old Sunny Sramek. Coates and Sramek left Trenton in his wife’s white Ford Explorer. Sramek told friends and family that she was going to be on a day trip to Omaha with Coates and made no mention of going to Kansas City.
Coates and Sramek arrived in Blair. Coates left the Explorer and went into a home, but Sramek did not. Coates’ driver arrived at the home from Sioux City. Coates said nothing to her about Sramek. As the driver and Coates left the home, the driver saw Sramek’s motionless body in the Explorer. Sramek looked to the driver as if she had overdosed: fluids were coming out of her mouth and running down the center console, her bare foot was on the dashboard, and the front window was broken as if Sramek had kicked it violently as she died. Coates told the driver that he had given Sramek methamphetamine and that Sramek must have overdosed.
Coates abandoned his plan to make a drug run to Kansas City. He told the Sioux City driver to go to the home of his brother-in-law Dennis Lawson near Whiting, Iowa, on the banks of the Missouri River. The pair drove the apparently dead Sramek to Lawson’s home. The driver testified that after they arrived at Lawson’s residence, Lawson and Coates disappeared for a time. When they returned, Sramek’s body was gone. The driver testified that she and Coates then cleaned out the car, and that Lawson threatened her, saying that if she told anyone, “it would be her funeral.”
Coates later told other individuals that Sramek had overdosed. While detained awaiting trial, he told cellmates he that he had killed Sramek after raping her. In both versions, however, he told people he had thrown Sramek’s body into the Missouri River to conceal evidence of his crimes. Coates told one person “no body, no case” and asked another “you can’t get charged with murder if there is no body, can you?”
Law-enforcement officers immediately gathered evidence tying Coates to Sramek’s disappearance. He had been the last to see her alive. Forensic analysis of the Ford Explorer revealed that it contained Sramek’s DNA. The analysis also suggested that she had struggled in that car. An FBI geologist testified the window had been broken from the inside by three blunt-force impacts, consistent with a foot kicking it. A medical examiner testified that such convulsions were consistent with a person dying from a methamphetamine overdose. There was also evidence that someone, possibly Sramek, had bled in the Explorer. Further, the story Coates told to law enforcement about his movement that day was contradicted by other evidence. For example, he said that Sramek abandoned him while they were at the casino in Carter Lake, Iowa, but cell-phone location information showed he hadn’t been there.
Coates had previously been convicted of multiple crimes including burglary, false imprisonment, assault by a confined person, distribution of a controlled substance, possession of a deadly weapon by a felon, and witness intimidation. Lawson had previously been convicted of multiple crimes including domestic abuse assault, aggravated domestic abuse assault, and robbing the Onawa, Iowa, Pizza Hut.
Coates and Lawson were sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Coates was sentenced to 420 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term.
Lawson was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Seven years and three months ago after Sunny Sramek left home, a thuggish coward and a cowardly thug are going to prison for their roles in her death,” said United States Attorney Leif Olson. “The agents, officers, and deputies who investigated this case never stopped their efforts to find the truth. Their patience and dedication built a case that allowed us to call more than four dozen witnesses and introduce dozens and dozens of exhibits. Thanks to their work, Sunny’s family and the communities that these criminals abused have finally received a measure of justice.”
“The sentences imposed on Coates and Lawson today are a direct result of the tenacity and relentlessness of the FBI agents, law enforcement officers, and prosecutors who led the search for Sunny and the effort to apprehend those responsible for her death,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Eugene Kowel. “The trafficking of drugs into our communities is not a victimless crime. It has a destructive effect on our neighborhoods and families. The efforts by Coates and Lawson to conceal their actions never broke our resolve to investigate this horrific crime. Although today’s sentencings will not bring Sunny back, we hope they will bring some measure of comfort and closure to everyone who knew and loved Sunny.”
Coates and Lawson remain in the United States Marshal’s custody until they can be transported to a federal prison.
The case was investigated by a number of federal, state, and local law-enforcement agencies:
- Department of Justice (DOJ) Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives;
- DOJ Federal Bureau of Investigation;
- Goodland, Kansas, Police Department;
- Hitchcock County, Nebraska, Sheriff’s Office;
- Iowa Department of Natural Resources;
- Iowa Department of Public Safety (DPS) Division of Criminal Investigation;
- Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner;
- Nebraska State Patrol;
- O’Brien County, Iowa, Sheriff’s Office;
- Plymouth County, Iowa, Sheriff’s Office; and
- Tri-State Drug Task Force based in Sioux City, which consists of personnel from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DOJ); Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement (DPS); Iowa National Guard; Nebraska State Patrol; Sioux City Police Department; South Sioux City, Nebraska, Police Department; South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation; United States Marshals Service; United States Homeland Security Investigations; Woodbury County, Iowa, Attorney’s Office; and Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Forde Fairchild.
Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl. The case number is 24-4021.
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Member of Drug Trafficking Organization Sentenced to 104 Months for Fentanyl, Heroin, and Cocaine TraffickingRead the Press Release
NEWARK, N.J. – A dual citizen of Mexico and the United States who trafficked multi-kilogram quantities of fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine was sentenced on July 14, 2026, to 104 months in prison and four years of supervised release before U.S. District Judge Michael E. Farbiarz in Newark federal court, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
Edgar Lopez Razo, Jr., 30, previously pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine. Lopez Razo admitted that, from approximately February 2022 through March 2024, he participated in a scheme to traffic large quantities of controlled substances by booking a series of short-term property rentals that he and his coconspirators would use to receive deliveries of narcotics.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
Lopez Razo participated in a sophisticated large-scale drug-trafficking conspiracy. Lopez Razo and a coconspirator booked a series of short-term property rentals that they would systematically use to receive multi-kilogram deliveries of narcotics. Through this scheme, the coconspirators continually changed the address receiving the narcotics as a technique to evade detection by law enforcement. Lopez Razo and a coconspirator booked at least 27 rental properties to receive shipments of narcotics, in multiple locations throughout New Jersey and other states. The investigation resulted in the seizure of over 31 kilograms of cocaine, over 9 kilograms of fentanyl, and nearly 5 kilograms of heroin.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas in Newark with the investigation that led to the charges and conviction.
This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Newark comprises agents and officers from FBI, HSI, IRS and local law enforcement officers with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel H. Rosenblum of the Narcotics & International Trafficking Unit in Newark.
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Defense counsel: John H. Yauch, Esq.
Man Sentenced to 30 Months’ Imprisonment for Role in $3 Million Tax Fraud ConspiracyRead the Press Release
ST. PAUL – United States Attorney Daniel N. Rosen Minnesota announced that Henry Remington Herod, 43, was sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment and ordered to pay $1.18 million in restitution for his role in preparing and filing false, fictitious, and fraudulent federal income tax returns claiming refunds.
Herod was sentenced before Chief United States District Court Judge Eric C. Tostrud on July 16, 2026.
According to court documents, beginning in or about April 2022 and continuing through at least May 2023, Herod conspired with Matthew McDowell and others to defraud the Internal Revenue Service by obtaining and aiding to obtain the payment of false, fictitious, and fraudulent claims. Matthew McDowell was separately sentenced on April 6, 2026.
As part of the conspiracy, Herod devised and participated in a scheme to obtain money from the United States government by filing false federal income tax returns claiming refunds. He solicited others to provide their names, addresses, and Social Security numbers and used false employment, income, and tax credit information to defraud the United States through fraudulent tax filings.
For tax year 2021, Herod knowingly and willfully completed and filed false tax returns claiming refundable sick and family leave tax credits available to certain self‑employed individuals due to COVID-19-related care. Herod charged filing co‑conspirators a portion of their fraudulent refunds as a fee. Herod also personally prepared and filed false claims for refunds on behalf of individuals for tax year 2022. These claims included false refundable fuel tax credits.
In total, Herod filed forty‑two fraudulent returns for tax year 2021, claiming $1,290,267 in refunds, and sixty fraudulent returns for tax year 2022, claiming $1,460,143 in refunds. Herod also taught McDowell how to prepare fraudulent tax returns, including how to falsely claim refundable fuel tax credits, in exchange for $400. With Herod’s assistance, McDowell prepared and filed thirteen fraudulent 2022 income tax returns claiming $282,429 in refunds. Together, they knowingly and willfully completed and filed 115 fraudulent federal income tax returns, falsely claiming the filers were entitled to approximately $3,032,839 in refunds.
“Stealing from the United States is stealing from hardworking Americans. We are grateful for the strong partnership with IRS Criminal Investigations in bringing this case forward, and we will continue working to find and prosecute those who steal from the American taxpayers,” said United States Attorney Daniel N. Rosen.
“This sentencing is yet another example of the sheer greed that plagued COVID-19-era benefit programs intended to help alleviate the hardships individuals and businesses were experiencing during the pandemic,” said Adam Jobes, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Chicago Field Office. “Henry Herod’s scheme to defraud American taxpayers through blatantly false claims for tax credits and refunds and his involvement of others to carry out his fraud scheme was foiled by diligent IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agents. The fraud tactics change from program to program, but the tenacity of our investigators never lets up.”
Assistant United States Attorney Matthew C. Murphy is prosecuting the case.
Note: Previous press release detailing the indictment here.
Local Home Healthcare Company Owner Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison for $210,000 FraudRead the Press Release
ST. LOUIS – The owner of a home healthcare company was sentenced to 18 months in prison Tuesday for defrauding the Missouri Medicaid Program and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs out of $210,000.
U.S. District Judge Maria A. Lanahan also ordered Natavia Boyd-Wells, 42, to repay the money.
While owner of Touch of the Heart Home Health Care LLC, Boyd-Wells submitted hundreds of fraudulent reimbursement claims to the Missouri Medicaid Program and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Community Care Network. Missouri Medicaid and the VA pay for home healthcare services so patients can remain in their homes instead of hospitals and nursing homes.
Boyd-Wells submitted claims for services on dates when the veterans were in the hospital and could not have received home services. She also submitted claims knowing services were not provided and that she did not have any documentation of the services.
In February of 2022, Missouri Medicaid officials conducting an audit requested documentation of the services that Boyd-Wells claimed were provided to a Medicaid patient. No documentation existed so Boyd-Wells caused fraudulent documentation to be submitted to Medicaid in response to their request.
Boyd-Wells pleaded guilty in February to one count of wire fraud.
The Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Inspector General and the Missouri Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Derek Wiseman is prosecuting the case.
Leaders, Members, and Associates of BB7 Trinitarios Charged in 15-Count Indictment for Five MurdersRead the Press Release
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, Assistant Director in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), James C. Barnacle, Jr., Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), Jessica S. Tisch, Westchester County District Attorney, Susan Cacace, Bronx District Attorney, Darcel D. Clarke, Bergen County Prosecutor, Mark Musella, and Commissioner of the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, Terrance Raynor, announced today the unsealing of a 15-count Indictment charging 11 defendants (the “BB7 Defendants”) with racketeering conspiracy in connection with their membership in or association with the “Bad Boys” (“BB7”) set of the Trinitarios street gang, as well as with a spate of other BB7-related violent crimes committed between September 2023 and September 2025—including five murders and multiple assaults and armed robberies. A 12th defendant, JAROL LEDESMA, a/k/a “El Nueve,” a/k/a “Lil Nueve,” was charged with Hobbs Act robbery and interstate stalking offenses in connection with the gunpoint robbery of a prominent international music artist, which was allegedly carried out with members and associates of BB7 in June 2025. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Philip M. Halpern.
“As alleged, the BB7 Trinitarios, operating from their historical headquarters in the Bronx, terrorized communities in New York City, Westchester, and northern New Jersey, night after night,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “This indictment reflects a broad-based effort by SDNY and our dedicated federal and local partners to stop the violence and bring relief to affected communities across the tri-state area. Collectively, we are committed to holding gang leaders and their deadly associates accountable for their truly brutal conduct. This is what our New York families want us to do—and we applaud the FBI, the Westchester County Police Department, the New York City Police Department, the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office for their efforts to bring justice and safety to the streets of the New York metropolitan area.”
“Members of the BB7 criminal organization allegedly carried out a campaign of violence that left victims and families suffering unimaginable loss,” said FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle, Jr. “Today's outcome sends a clear message: this type of violence will never be tolerated in New York. The FBI New York Safe Streets Task Force remains steadfast in our mission to dismantle violent gangs, protect the American public, and deliver justice for the victims.”
“These defendants, members of the Trinitarios gang, took part in a wave of violence and crime that claimed multiple lives and terrorized neighborhoods,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. “This takedown is the result of the NYPD’s precision policing strategy and our relentless work targeting dangerous gangs and guns. I thank our NYPD investigators and law enforcement partners for their commitment to dismantling these groups and making our streets safer.”
“Dismantling this network of organized violent criminals would hardly have been possible without one of the most extensive interagency partnerships in Westchester’s recent history,” said Westchester County DA Susan Cacace. “I am proud of the significant role my office played in identifying and apprehending the individuals who murdered Ariela Mejia-Polanco last year in an act of unconscionable violence. Either the highways of this county belong to the criminal gangs, or they belong to the public; through these charges, we are reaffirming that the rights of the law-abiding public will always come first. We can never allow our streets to be overtaken by organized criminal activity, and I thank all of our interagency partners for working in tandem to ensure this remains a durable promise.”
“I commend the outstanding work of the members of my office, the Southern District of New York, the New York City Police Department, and the FBI,” said Bronx DA Darcel D. Clarke. “Their close collaboration resulted in the federal indictment of these defendants and demonstrates the power of coordinated law enforcement. By holding violent offenders accountable, we are helping make our neighborhoods safer. To the families of the three men who lost their lives in these Bronx cases—Frankelis Tavarez, Adam Waldropt, and Gabriel Alvarez—I hope you find some measure of comfort in knowing that local and federal law enforcement are working together tirelessly to seek justice for your loved ones. My office remains committed to pursuing justice with integrity while protecting our communities from violent crime.”
“Organized street gangs are not just a local problem,” said Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella. “They are a regional public safety threat. When criminals are willing to cross state lines to destroy lives, our response must be equally coordinated, equally determined, and completely relentless. I am proud to say that in this case, cooperation among agencies and a dogged commitment by all involved brought us to this moment.”
“The scope of work that was done by police and prosecutors to bring down this criminal enterprise is nothing short of outstanding,” said Westchester County Department of Public Safety Commissioner Terrance Raynor. “I would like to commend the detectives from our General Investigations Unit, Forensic Investigations Unit, and our Real Time Crime Center—and all of our law enforcement partners—for their exemplary work. Inter-agency collaboration and technology were the keys to a successful conclusion in this particular homicide investigation.”
As alleged in the Indictment and other documents filed in federal court:(1)
From at least in or about September 2023 through September 2025, the BB7 Defendants, and others known and unknown, were members and associates of BB7, a “set” of the Trinitarios street and prison gang. Members and associates of BB7 engaged in, among other activities, acts involving murder, assault, robbery, carjacking, narcotics trafficking, and wire fraud in and around the greater metropolitan area of New York City, including the Bronx and northern New Jersey. In addition to racketeering conspiracy, the Indictment charges all of the BB7 Defendants with additional offenses, including:
On or about March 30, 2024, in the Bronx, SOSA and MANON murdered Frankelis Tavarez.
From on or about June 27, 2025, through on or about June 28, 2025, several of the defendants, including MARTHA, MERCEDES MARTE, PERALTA GOMEZ, PEÑA, and LEDESMA, used, among other means, a GPS tracker to stalk several victims by car from Massachusetts through Westchester County, the Bronx, and Manhattan to a hotel parking lot in the vicinity of Fort Lee, New Jersey. There, while brandishing multiple firearms, they robbed a prominent international music artist in the middle of a U.S. tour of, among other things, high-value jewelry.
On or about July 28, 2025, PLACENCIA, MERCEDES MARTE, PERALTA GOMEZ, CARBUCCIA, and PEÑA organized, planned, and carried out a retaliatory shooting targeting rival gang members in the vicinity of Paterson, New Jersey.
On or about July 28, 2025, at a car meet in the Bronx, MARTINEZ murdered Gabriel Alvarez and Adam Waldropt.
On or about August 2, 2025, in the vicinity of Newark, New Jersey, SOSA, PLACENCIA, MERCEDES MARTE, PERALTA GOMEZ, ABAD RIVAS, CARBUCCIA, and PEÑA murdered Alvis Perez Liriano.
On or about August 16, 2025, in the Bronx, MARTHA, MERCEDES MARTE, and CARBUCCIA planned, directed, and conducted an attempted armed robbery, during which CARBUCCIA and other members and associates of BB7 used firearms to shoot and seriously injure two victims.
On or about August 17, 2025, in the vicinity of Mount Vernon, New York, MARTHA, MERCEDES MARTE, PERALTA GOMEZ, ABAD RIVAS, CARBUCCIA, and PORTES GUABA, together with other members and associates of BB7, attempted to commit an armed carjacking of a black Mercedes-Benz G63 AMG SUV driven by Ariela Mejia-Polanco north from upper Manhattan through the Bronx into Westchester, where they shot and killed Mejia-Polanco during a high-speed pursuit on the Cross County Parkway.
* * *
A chart containing the names, charges, and minimum and maximum penalties for the defendants is set forth below.
The minimum and maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI. He also thanked the NYPD, the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, the Bergen County Prosecutor’s Office, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Westchester County Department of Public Safety, the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, the Paterson Police Department, and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carmi Schickler, John Sarlitto, and Christopher Morel are in charge of the prosecution. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Timothy Ly and Patrick Moroney of the Office’s Violent Organizations and Crime Unit investigated the March 2024 murder of Frankelis Tavarez.
The charges in the Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty.
CHARGE
DEFENDANTS
MINIMUM AND MAXIMUM PENALTIES
Count One
Racketeering Conspiracy
Title 18, United States Code, Section 1962(d)
CHELDRID SOSA
ERICK PLACENCIA
JUSTIN MARTHA
MICHAEL MERCEDES MARTE
JOSE PERALTA GOMEZ
MANUEL ABAD RIVAS
WILFREN CARBUCCIA
JEILIN PORTES GUABA
JAVIER PEÑA
ANGEL MANON
DARWIN MARTINEZ
Maximum: life in prisonCount Two
Murder in Aid of Racketeering
Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1959(a)(1), and 2
CHELDRID SOSA
ANGEL MANON
Maximum: life in prison or death
Minimum: life in prison
Count Three
Interstate Stalking
Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2261A(1), 2261(b)(3), and 2
JUSTIN MARTHA
MICHAEL MERCEDES MARTE
JOSE PERALTA GOMEZ
JAVIER PEÑA
JAROL LEDESMA
Maximum: 10 years in prisonCount Four
Interstate Stalking
Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2261A(2), 2261(b)(3), and 2
JUSTIN MARTHA
MICHAEL MERCEDES MARTE
JOSE PERALTA GOMEZ
JAVIER PEÑA
JAROL LEDESMA
Maximum: 10 years in prisonCount Five
Hobbs Act Robbery
Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1951, and 2
JUSTIN MARTHA
MICHAEL MERCEDES MARTE
JOSE PERALTA GOMEZ
JAVIER PEÑA
JAROL LEDESMA
Maximum: 20 years in prisonCount Six
Conspiracy to Commit Hobbs Act Robbery
Title 18, United States Code, Section 1951
JUSTIN MARTHA
MICHAEL MERCEDES MARTE
JOSE PERALTA GOMEZ
JAVIER PEÑA
JAROL LEDESMA
Maximum: 20 years in prisonCount Seven
Firearm Use, Carrying, and Possession
Title 18, United States Code, Sections 924(c)(1)(A)(i) and (ii), and 2
JUSTIN MARTHA
MICHAEL MERCEDES MARTE
JOSE PERALTA GOMEZ
JAVIER PEÑA
JAROL LEDESMA
Maximum: life in prison
Minimum: seven years in prison, which must be consecutive to any other term imposed.
Count Eight
Attempted Murder in Aid of Racketeering
Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1959(a)(5), and 2
ERICK PLACENCIA
MICHAEL MERCEDES MARTE
JOSE PERALTA GOMEZ
WILFREN CARBUCCIA
JAVIER PEÑA
Maximum: 10 years in prisonCount Nine
Murder in Aid of Racketeering
Title 18, United States Code, Section 1959(a)(1)
DARWIN MARTINEZMaximum: life in prison or death
Minimum: life in prison
Count Ten
Murder in Aid of Racketeering
Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1959(a)(1), and 2
DARWIN MARTINEZMaximum: life in prison or death
Minimum: life in prison
Count Eleven
Murder in Aid of Racketeering
Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1959(a)(1), and 2
CHELDRID SOSA
ERICK PLACENCIA
MICHAEL MERCEDES MARTE
JOSE PERALTA GOMEZ
MANUEL ABAD RIVAS
WILFREN CARBUCCIA
JAVIER PEÑA
Maximum: life in prison or death
Minimum: life in prison
Count Twelve
Assault with a Dangerous Weapon and Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury in Aid of Racketeering
Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1959(a)(3), and 2
JUSTIN MARTHA
MICHAEL MERCEDES MARTE
WILFREN CARBUCCIA
Maximum: 20 years in prisonCount Thirteen
Firearm Use, Carrying, and Possession
Title 18, United States Code, Sections 924(c)(1)(A)(i), (ii), and (iii), and 2
JUSTIN MARTHA
MICHAEL MERCEDES MARTE
WILFREN CARBUCCIA
Maximum: life in prison
Minimum: 10 years in prison, which must be consecutive to any other term imposed.
Count Fourteen
Murder in Aid of Racketeering
Title 18, United States Code, Sections 1959(a)(1), and 2
JUSTIN MARTHA
MICHAEL MERCEDES MARTE
JOSE PERALTA GOMEZ
MANUEL ABAD RIVAS
WILFREN CARBUCCIA
JEILIN PORTES GUABA
Maximum: life in prison or death
Minimum: life in prison
Count Fifteen
Attempted Carjacking Resulting in Death
Title 18, United States Code, Sections 2119(3), and 2
JUSTIN MARTHA
MICHAEL MERCEDES MARTE
JOSE PERALTA GOMEZ
MANUEL ABAD RIVAS
WILFREN CARBUCCIA
JEILIN PORTES GUABA
Maximum: life in prison or death^
As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Indictment and the description of the Indictment set forth in this release constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.
Justice Department Moves to Revoke U.S. Citizenship from 10 Naturalized Criminals Including Child Molesters, Scammers, and Drug DealersRead the Press Release
The Department of Justice announced today that it filed denaturalization actions in various U.S. district courts against 10 individuals accused of serious offenses—including sexual abuse of a child, health care and wire fraud, immigration fraud, and conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. The complaints were filed over the last 30 days.
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a naturalized U.S. citizen’s citizenship may be revoked, and certificate of naturalization canceled, if the naturalization was illegally procured or procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation.
“These ten criminal aliens — including child sex abusers, a $900,000 Medicare fraudster, and a cocaine trafficker — lied their way into U.S. citizenship,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Each of these individuals lacked the good moral character required by law and procured citizenship through willful misrepresentations and concealment of their crimes. Under President Trump’s leadership, this Department of Justice will continue to aggressively pursue denaturalization to restore integrity to America’s naturalization process.”
“When you commit fraud during the naturalization process, you forfeit the right to keep your U.S. citizenship,” said Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “These criminal aliens, comprised of drug traffickers, pedophiles, and fraudsters, lost that right and exploited our immigration system—harming real U.S. citizens. DHS is committed to ensuring we denaturalize and remove these fraudsters with every tool at our disposal.”
“We refuse to give a free pass to criminals who cheated their way into American citizenship,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Under this administration, if you defrauded the naturalization process, you will face the full force of the Justice Department. We’ve only scratched the surface — many more complaints are coming.”
- Yoskmaikel Rodriguez Perez (Age 45/Cuba): Rodriguez Perez, a native of Cuba, became a lawful permanent resident in 2004 and naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2018. Before obtaining citizenship, however, Rodriguez Perez operated a purported medical clinic and submitted false and fraudulent claims to Medicare in excess of $886,694. Rodriguez Perez concealed this criminal conduct throughout the naturalization process and provided false testimony under oath to a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officer. Rodriguez Perez later pleaded guilty and was convicted of conspiracy to commit healthcare and wire fraud. On June 18, 2026, the United States filed a four-count denaturalization action in the Southern District of Florida. The complaint alleges that Rodriguez Perez illegally procured his citizenship because he lacked the good moral character required for naturalization given his crime of moral turpitude, unlawful acts, and false testimony under oath during the naturalization process; and because he procured U.S. citizenship through the concealment of material facts and willful misrepresentations.
- Ceflo Luviano-Mojica (Age 60/Mexico): On July 14, 2026, the United States brought a denaturalization action against Ceflo Luviano-Mojica, a native of Mexico, who misrepresented his prior arrest for Carrying a Concealed Firearm and for Grand Theft, for which he spent 30 days in jail. In 1998, Luviano pleaded guilty and was convicted in the Northern District of Georgia of, inter alia, Providing False Information in a Naturalization Application, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1015. Luviano admitted he had made a false statement both on his naturalization application and during his interview, when he testified under oath that he had never been arrested, charged, or imprisoned for breaking or violating any law. The United States filed a two-count denaturalization action in the Northern District of Georgia alleging that Luviano illegally procured his citizenship by lacking the good moral character required for naturalization and procuring U.S. citizenship through the concealment of material facts and willful misrepresentations.
- Urbano Vazquez Ortega (Age 53/Mexico): On July 10, 2026, the United States brought a denaturalization action against Urbano Vazquez Ortega, who sexually assaulted children while employed as a priest in a Washington, D.C. church. Mr. Vazquez Ortega is a native of Mexico and was naturalized as a U.S. citizen on July 11, 2017. Mr. Vazquez Ortega was charged with and convicted in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia of multiple counts of Second-Degree Child Sexual Abuse. Between 2015 to 2017, Mr. Vazquez Ortega touched the breasts, genitalia, and buttocks of his victims and in one instance thrusted his tongue into the mouth of a minor female victim. In 2019, Mr. Vazquez Ortega was sentenced to fifteen years in prison and is presently incarcerated. The United States filed a five-count complaint against Mr. Vazquez Ortega to revoke his naturalized citizenship as he committed these crimes before, during, and after his naturalization as a U.S. citizen.
- Murtaza Ali (Age 65/Pakistan): Ali is a native of Pakistan who filed multiple applications for immigration benefits under different aliases until he obtained a grant of an immigration benefit under the alias “Muhammad Iqbal.” Ali, through the grant of the immigration benefit, obtained permanent residency under the alias “Muhammad Iqbal” and thereafter naturalized under this alias in 2009. Following Ali’s naturalization, a fingerprint expert determined that the fingerprints provided with immigration benefits applications filed under the names “Mortaza Ali” and “Muhammad Iqbal” were made by the same person. As a result, the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas charged Ali with making False Material Statements to an Agency of the United States in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1001. In 2014, Ali pleaded guilty as charged, admitting that he had filed three separate applications for immigration benefits using three different identities. On July 14, 2026, the United States filed a four-count denaturalization action in the Northern District of Texas alleging that Ali procured his citizenship by committing immigration fraud, engaging in unlawful acts that reflect adversely on his moral character, providing false testimony under oath during the naturalization process, and procuring citizenship through the concealment of material facts and willful misrepresentations.
- Jimmy Aguero (Age 51/Peru): Mr. Aguero repeatedly sexually abused his minor stepdaughter prior naturalizing as a U.S. citizen on October 6, 2015. A jury found Aguero guilty on eight counts of the sexual abuse of a minor, and he was sentenced to ten years of imprisonment. The Department of Justice filed a complaint alleging that Mr. Aguero was statutorily barred from showing that he was a person of good moral character because of his convictions. The Department also alleged that he procured his naturalization by concealment of material facts.
- Antonio Alcantara-Ruiz (Age 53/Mexico): On June 23, 2026, the United States brought a denaturalization action against Antonio Alcantara-Ruiz, a/k/a Emiliano Quintana-Gonzalez, a/k/a Antonio Quinn Alcantara, who misrepresented his identity to secure citizenship. Prior to the naturalization process, Alcantara purchased identity documents from a fellow Mexican citizen and used those documents to secure a replacement permanent resident card which contained Alcantara-Ruiz’s picture and fingerprint. Alcantara-Ruiz then used the false documents in support of his naturalization. The United States filed a 4-count complaint against Alcantara-Ruiz seeking to cancel his naturalized citizenship.
- Omar Cantu-Montalvo (Age 44/Mexico): Cantu-Montalvo was admitted to the United States in March 1996 and subsequently obtained permanent residence. When he applied to naturalize in July 2005, Mr. Cantu-Montalvo stated in his application that he had never committed a crime or offense for which he had not been arrested. He later repeated that claim during his naturalization interview. His application was approved, and he naturalized in December 2005. In April 2016, however, Mr. Cantu-Montalvo pleaded guilty in federal district court to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine—a conspiracy he joined in April 2005, just a few months before he applied for naturalization. For his crime, the court sentenced Mr. Cantu-Montalvo to 100 months of imprisonment followed by a five-year term of supervised release. On June 15, 2026, the United States filed a complaint seeking to revoke Mr. Cantu-Montalvo’s citizenship because he illegally procured his citizenship as he was unable to demonstrate good moral character in light of his commission of a controlled substance offense. Additionally, Mr. Cantu-Montalvo is subject to denaturalization because he willfully misrepresented or concealed his offense while seeking United States citizenship.
- Francisco Montano (Age 59/Mexico): Montano was legally admitted to the United States in February of 1987, but when he applied to naturalize in 1997, Montano failed to divulge that he had sexual abused a child during the mandatory five-year good moral character period prior to the naturalization process. Montano was later convicted in a Texas State court of two counts of Aggravated Sexual assault and four counts of Indecency with a Child that occurred during the five-year period. As Montano should not have been naturalized, the United States filed a complaint on June 30 in the Southern District of Texas to revoke his illegally-obtained citizenship.
- Marcin Stanislaw Garbacz (Age 47/Poland): Garbacz, a native of Poland and former Roman Catholic priest, became a lawful permanent resident in 2008 and naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2014. Before obtaining citizenship, Garbacz engaged in a scheme to steal approximately $259,696 in cash collections from three parishes within the Diocese of Rapid City, South Dakota. Garbacz also secretly recorded a 17-year-old showering during a church trip to Poland. Garbacz concealed this criminal conduct throughout the naturalization process. Garbacz was later convicted of multiple federal offenses, including wire fraud, making and subscribing a false tax return, and engaging in illicit sexual conduct in a foreign place involving a minor. On July 6, 2026, the United States filed a four-count denaturalization action in the Western District of Washington alleging that Garbacz illegally procured his citizenship by lacking the good moral character required for naturalization, providing false testimony under oath during the naturalization process, and procuring U.S. citizenship through the concealment of material facts and willful misrepresentations.
- Martin Garcia Cardie (Age 60/Mexico): On July 6, 2026, the United States filed a Complaint in the District of Utah seeking the denaturalization of Martin Garcia Cardiel. Garcia Cardiel was admitted to the United States in December 2000 and subsequently obtained permanent residence. When he applied to naturalize in 2011, Mr. Garcia Cardiel wrote in his application that he had never committed a crime for which he had not been arrested. He further indicated in his application that he had never given false or misleading information to any United States government official while applying for any immigration benefit. He naturalized in October 2011. However, in 2022, a petit jury in the State of Utah convicted Mr. Garcia Cardiel of nineteen counts of aggravated sexual abuse of a child based on acts the defendant committed in 2007. Evidence at trial indicated that the two victims were his neighbors, sisters who were 7 and 8 years old when the abuse began. Garcia Cardiel was sentenced to consecutive terms of imprisonment of 15 years to life.
These complaints were filed in the Southern District of Florida, Northern District of Georgia, Southern District of Iowa, District of Maryland, Western District of Pennsylvania, Northern District of Texas, Southern District of Texas, District of Utah, and Western District of Washington.
The claims made in the complaints are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Justice Department Launches Investigation to Determine Whether Harvard’s China-Based Financial Aid Programs Discriminate Against American StudentsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced today it is opening a compliance review into Harvard University to determine whether its China-based financial aid programs and practices exclude American-citizen students, in violation Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of national origin.
“Every American student should have an equal opportunity to compete for college scholarships, grants, and other kinds of financial aid and benefits,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Schools cannot take federal dollars and then turn around and accept money from foreign sources to give financial aid that deliberately excludes American citizens — doing so is illegal, and we will stop it wherever we find it.”
Under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, institutions of higher education, such as Harvard, must self-report gifts and contracts valued at $250,000 or more. Harvard’s disclosures indicate that it is the American university receiving the most funding from foreign sources, having disclosed nearly $4.5 billion in foreign funding. Harvard’s disclosures also confirm that its greatest source of foreign funding comes from sources based in China, which account for more than $630 million.
The Civil Rights Division’s audit of Harvard’s disclosures raised concerns about Harvard’s compliance with Title VI’s antidiscrimination requirements. Specifically, these China-based sources restrict Harvard’s use of their funds and require that Harvard support or establish financial aid programs “with preference given to students from particular countries.”
Harvard appears to be accepting these funds and, in adherence to their restrictions, providing student financial aid to foreign students, presumably Chinese, based on their national origin — to the potential detriment of students of other national origins, including American citizens.
The Civil Rights Division has not reached any conclusions about the subject matter of the investigation.
The public may inspect Harvard’s disclosures at www.foreignfundinghighered.gov, which is run by the Department of Education.
Note: Read the Department’s Notice Letter here.
Justice Department Finds University of California San Diego Medical School Discriminates Based on Race in AdmissionsRead the Press Release
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced today a finding that the University of California San Diego School of Medicine (San Diego Med) used race in its admissions process in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin, and the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA), which banned race discrimination in higher education.
“Rather than rely on MCAT scores or GPA, San Diego Med’s shadow application process unlawfully judged applicants for admission based on their race,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “San Diego Med’s blatant efforts to prioritize race are illegal, and we will end these practices.”
The Department’s investigation found that San Diego Med manipulated applicant data to achieve greater racial diversity in student admissions. San Diego Med’s documents show that admissions staff used purportedly “race-neutral” subjective criteria to deliberately increase admission of so-called “underrepresented minorities in medicine” (URM), which includes black and Hispanic applicants. In fact, San Diego Med used racial proxies, which, under SFFA, are banned by Title VI.
One example includes San Diego Med’s admissions staff using answers to “hardship” application questions — which allow applicants to address how they “overcame” certain disadvantages — to help determine which students were URM applicants. Thereafter, the admissions staff sorted applicants into six categories: Groups A-C — from highest to lowest MCAT scores and GPA, with “hardship” subgroups for each group. Each group and its subgroup were combined (e.g., “Group A” plus “Group A with hardship”), further sorted into “batches” of 30, and then rated for the interview stage. By giving reviewers access to the applicant’s race during this stage for certain admissions cycles post-SFFA, San Diego Med ensured that more URM applicants would be invited to interview. Thus, San Diego Med deliberately used the “hardship” categorization to skirt SFFA, by putting more URMs into the subgroups, which ensured that more URMs received interviews.
The result of San Diego Med’s manipulation: white and Asian applicants were denied admission in favor of lower-credentialed black and Hispanic applicants.
Medical schools receive substantial federal financial assistance and are subject to federal non-discrimination laws. The Department will continue to monitor and ensure their compliance with Title VI and SFFA’s prohibition on race-conscious admissions. Where a violation has been found, the Department is engaging in settlement negotiations to ensure the school’s admissions practices are brought into compliance. If those efforts fail, the Department will file suit.
Note: Read the Department’s Findings Letter here.
Illegal Alien from Mexico and Two Utah Residents Charged with Drug Crimes after Law Enforcement Seized Approximately 20,000 Fentanyl PillsRead the Press Release
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City returned an indictment charging an illegal alien from Sinaloa, Mexico, and two Weber County, Utah, residents with drug crimes after law enforcement located and seized a large quantity of blue M30 fentanyl pills during two separate seizures following an alleged drug transaction in Tooele County, Utah.
Luis Angel Camacho-Soto, 26, found illegally in Tooele, Utah; Fabiola Garcia, 34, of Ogden, Utah; and Joseph Anthony Gomez, 37, of Ogden, Utah, were originally charged by complaint on June 30, 2026.
According to court documents, on June 25, 2026, during an investigation, law enforcement observed an alleged drug transaction after a Ford stopped at a gas station in Tooele and a woman, later identified as Garcia, approached a semi-truck. After the alleged transaction, Garcia got back into the passenger side of the vehicle and the driver of the Ford, later identified as Gomez, drove to a nearby hotel. Law enforcement detained both Garcia and Gomez. Tooele City Police Department responded with a K9 unit and conducted a sniff around the Ford, and a K-9 alerted positive for the presence of narcotics. During a search of the vehicle, law enforcement located and seized approximately 10,000 small blue pills marked “M30,” which field-tested positive for fentanyl. The pills were located in a large plastic bag inside a black fanny pack that appeared to be the same fanny pack Garcia had after she approached the semi-truck. The suspected fentanyl pills weighed approximately 1,170 grams.
Concurrently, law enforcement detained Camacho from the semi-truck and a K-9 alerted positive to the presence of narcotics within the semi-truck. Law enforcement seized approximately 10,000 small blue pills marked “M30,” which field-tested positive for fentanyl and weighed more than 400 grams.
According to court documents, Camacho is not a citizen of the United States.
Camacho-Soto is charged with distribution of fentanyl, and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. Garcia and Gomez are charged with possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. A four-day jury trial is scheduled for September 22, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. in courtroom 7.3 before a U.S. District Court Judge at the Orrin G. Hatch United States Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City.
United States Attorney Melissa Holyoak of the District of Utah made the announcement.
The case is being investigated jointly by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Metro Narcotics Task Force (MNTF), and the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI). Special assistance was provided by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Tooele City Police Department.
Special Assistant United States Attorney Ian K. Ross for the District of Utah is prosecuting the case.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.
An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Illegal Alien Previously Convicted of Drug Trafficking and Identity Theft Pleads Guilty to Illegal ReentryRead the Press Release
BOSTON – A Dominican national who unlawfully resided in Dorchester, Mass. pleaded guilty on July 16, 2026 in federal court in Boston to illegally reentering the United States after having been deported on three separate occasions. The defendant has previously been convicted of drug trafficking, aggravated identity theft and wire fraud dating as far back as 1997.
Wilson Radhames Peguero Brea, a/k/a Jose Perez Antonio, 57, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien with a prior felony conviction. U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun schedules sentencing for Sept. 16, 2026. The defendant was previously charged by criminal complaint in February 2026 and indicted in April 2026. He is currently in ICE custody.
According to the charging documents, Peguero has illegally entered the United States at least four times, and used numerous aliases, including aliases belonging to U.S. citizen victims. In 1997, under an alias associated with a U.S. citizen victim, Peguero was convicted of drug trafficking. He was removed from the United States in 2005 and thereafter illegally reentered the country. In 2016, Peguero was arrested and charged by the state with possession of a fraudulently obtained driver’s license. That criminal case remains in default status. He was removed from the U.S. a second time in 2016.
After Peguero illegally entered the U.S. a third time, he was charged in Dorchester District Court with trafficking cocaine and fentanyl in a criminal case that remains in warrant status. According to court documents, his Massachusetts criminal history is associated with his alias Jose Perez Antonio.
In 2021, Peguero was arrested and charged with his true name in federal court for aggravated identity theft and wire fraud. He was convicted of both charges on Jan. 11, 2023, and sentenced to more than two years in federal prison. In 2023, Peguero was removed from the United States a third time. Peguero then illegally reentered the United States a fourth time and was encountered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials on Feb. 5, 2026, while using a false identity document.
The charge of illegal reentry by an alien with a prior aggravated felony conviction provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $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 David T. Wesling, Acting Field Office Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julissa Walsh of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.
Howland Man Pleads Guilty to Illegally Possessing FirearmRead the Press Release
BANGOR, Maine: A Howland man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Bangor to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
According to court records, in September 2025, several individuals reported seeing Ralph Nason, 65, in possession of a firearm. Based on this information, investigators executed a search warrant at Nason’s home in Howland. During the warrant’s execution, investigators located a black semi-automatic handgun under a sweatshirt on the dining room table and ammunition. Nason is prohibited from possessing firearms as a result of prior felony convictions, including a federal conviction in Massachusetts.
Nason faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years, up to a $250,000 fine, and a term of supervised release of up to three years. 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.
Homeland Security Investigations; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Penobscot County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case.
Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the Department of Justice’s nationwide initiative that brings federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public safety partners together to coordinate efforts to combat violent crime and make communities safe. Coordinated by U.S. Attorneys’ offices in each of the 94 federal districts, PSN is tailored to particular communities to strategically address specific violent crime and public safety challenges. As a key component of Operation Take Back America, PSN serves a central role in the Department’s commitment to making our country safe. PSN emphasizes three core principles: rapid federal response to violent crime and criminal offenders; strong, strategic partnerships among law enforcement at all levels; and accountability and deterrence through the prosecution of the most serious, readily provable offenses and other strategies. These efforts complement and strengthen President Trump’s Homeland Security Task Forces, ensuring a comprehensive federal response to the most pressing public safety issues facing communities.
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Honduran Illegal Alien Pleads Guilty to Witness TamperingRead the Press Release
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – An illegal alien from Honduras pled guilty to witness tampering after threatening the victim in a sexual exploitation case charged earlier this year in the Western District of Virginia.
Dania Orellana-Gamez, 20, was arrested earlier this year on a criminal complaint.
Orellana-Gamez is the girlfriend of Bryan Sixto Arias-Chicas, who was charged in October 2025 with the May 2025 sexual exploitation of a 16-year-old Albemarle County, Virginia girl. Arias-Chicas is accused of getting the girl, Minor Victim 1 (MV1), so intoxicated that she could not walk and repeatedly having sex with her, as well as taking photos and videos of himself have sex with MV1. Gustavo Quintero was charged in January 2026 with the repeated sexual exploitation of MV1 in the months following the May 2025 sexual assault. In addition to sexual exploitation charges, Quintero has also been charged with assaulting a federal law enforcement officer. Arias-Chicas pled guilty earlier this month.
According to court documents, in February 2026, Orellana-Gamez contacted MV1 via Facebook Messenger and began harassing and threatening her.
Orellana-Gamez told MV1 it was in her best interest to “keep quiet” and threatened to “upload all those videos and put your name on them,” referring to the videos that Arias-Chicas had recorded of the sexual assault of MV1.
Orellana-Gamez also threatened to post the videos “everywhere.”
MV1 reported the contact to law enforcement and felt Orellana was attempting to scare her into not testifying in court.
First Assistant United States Attorney Robert N. Tracci and Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Eric Weindorf made the announcement.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jason Scheff Sally Sullivan are prosecuting the case.