title: Insurance Brokerage Executive Agrees to Plead Guilty to Making Tens of Thousands of Dollars in Illegal Campaign Contributions

component: USAO - California, Central

body_text: LOS ANGELES – An insurance brokerage executive was charged today with breaking federal campaign laws by making so-called “conduit” campaign contributions –contributions illegally made in the name of another person – to a joint fundraising committee that included a U.S. Senator’s principal campaign committee. Teena Maria Hostovich, 66, of La Cañada Flintridge, is charged in a single-count information with making contributions in the name of another aggregating to more than $10,000 in a year, a felony that carries a statutory maximum sentence of two years in federal prison. In a related filing today, Hostovich has agreed to plead guilty to the federal criminal charge and agreed to pay a fine of $43,500. Hostovich is expected to make her initial appearance in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles in the coming weeks. According to her plea agreement, from May 2020 through 2023, Hostovich knowingly and willfully made a total of $75,700 in contributions to federal candidates’ principal campaign committees and federal joint fundraising committees in the names of other people. For the calendar years 2021 through 2023, Hostovich’s conduit contributions aggregated to more than $10,000 during each of those years. To make these illegal campaign contributions, Hostovich used 11 different people – including employees at the insurance brokerage that employed her, family members of those employees, and individuals who performed personal services for Hostovich and her family. As part of the scheme, Hostovich contacted one of these individuals or their family members and asked them to contribute individually or have one of their family members contribute to a particular candidate’s campaign or fundraising committee. Hostovich then paid the person the funds via PayPal either before the contribution was made or reimbursed them afterward. To execute these conduit contributions, Hostovich sometimes explicitly stated that she would advance the money for the contribution or pay the person back for that contribution. Other times, the person had an implicit understanding that Hostovich would advance the money or reimburse them based on her history of advancements and reimbursements of political contributions. Hostovich generally advanced or reimbursed these individuals in amounts that exceeded the exact contribution amount but often the amounts were very close to the contribution amount. Hostovich admitted in her plea agreement that one of the reasons she engaged in conduit contributions was to secure an appointment to the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees in Washington, D.C. She did not obtain this position. The recipients of the illegal contributions included a joint fundraising committee that included a United States senator’s principal campaign committee, a principal campaign committee for a U.S. senatorial candidate, principal campaign committees for two members of the U.S. House of Representatives, and a joint fundraising committee that included the principal campaign for a presidential candidate. At no time did Hostovich reveal to any of these candidate committees or joint fundraising committees that she was the true source of the funds donated by the 11 individuals. Hostovich further admitted that she knew it was unlawful to make conduit contributions and that, before executing this scheme, she made numerous political contributions to federal candidates and served as a host for political fundraisers. The FBI investigated this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Thomas F. Rybarczyk of the Public Corruption and Civil Rights Section is prosecuting this case.


title: St. Petersburg Man Deported From The Philippines To The United States Sentenced To Three Years For Threatening To Kill A Political Rival

component: USAO - Florida, Middle

body_text: Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge William F. Jung today sentenced William Robert Braddock, III (41, St. Petersburg) to three years in federal prison for interstate transmission of threat to injure. Braddock pled guilty on February 3, 2025. According to court documents and evidence discussed in open court, in 2021 Braddock and Victim-1 were candidates in the primary election to represent the 13th Congressional District of Florida in the United States House of Representatives. Braddock viewed Victim-1, the Republican party frontrunner, as his only obstacle to winning that race. For months, Braddock disparaged Victim-1 with her peers and attempted to inject himself into her life. During a June 2021 telephone call with Victim-2, a private citizen and acquaintance of Victim-1, Braddock threatened to have Victim-1 murdered if she continued to poll well in the race for the 13th District. Specifically, Braddock threatened, in part, to “call up my Russian-Ukrainian hit squad” and make Victim-1 “disappear.” Braddock further stated, “I will be the next congressman for this District. Period. End of discussion. And anybody going up against me is f---ing [expletive] ignorant for doing so. [Victim-1]’s ignorant so I don’t have a problem taking her out, but I’m not going to do that dirty work myself obviously.” In November 2021, Braddock flew to Thailand on a one-way ticket, and ultimately settled in the area of Santa Rosa, Laguna, Philippines. He remained in the Philippines until self-surrendering to authorities in Manila in June 2023. Braddock remained in foreign custody until being transported to the United States in September 2024. This investigation was led by the FBI Tampa Division and the St. Petersburg Police Department. The United States Marshals Service provided substantial assistance. The investigation also benefited from foreign law enforcement cooperation provided by the Philippine Department of Justice, the Philippine Bureau of Immigration, and the Manila Office of the Legal Attaché. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carlton C. Gammons and Trial Attorney Alexandre Dempsey of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.


title: Former Defense Contractor Pleads Guilty to Tax Crimes

component: Tax Division

body_text: A former defense contractor pleaded guilty today to tax crimes related to his scheme to defraud the United States and evade taxes on income that he earned from his contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense. The following is according to court documents and statements made in court: Douglas Edelman founded and owned 50% of Mina Corp. and Red Star Enterprises (Mina/Red Star), a defense contracting business that received more than $7 billion from contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense to provide jet fuel in the United States’ post-9/11 military efforts in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Working with others, Edelman engaged in a lengthy scheme to hide his Mina/Red Star profits to evade U.S. taxes, including by concealing his income in undisclosed foreign bank accounts, creating false documents and making false statements that one of his co-conspirators — a French citizen residing abroad and without U.S. tax obligations — founded and owned Mina/Red Star. For example, when the company became profitable in 2005, Edelman began taking distributions which he deposited into Swiss bank accounts, primarily at Credit Suisse, in the name of other companies he owned. In 2008, Credit Suisse informed Edelman that he had to either close his accounts or disclose them to U.S. authorities. Rather than come into compliance with his tax and reporting obligations, Edelman closed his accounts and opened new ones at Bank Julius Baer in Singapore in the name of a nominee entity, the beneficiaries of which were purportedly Edelman’s daughters. He then directed the subject income he earned from Mina/Red Star to those bank accounts. In 2010 the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform’s Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs began investigating allegations of corruption in connection with Mina/Red Star’s contracts with the Department of Defense. As part of this inquiry, the subcommittee became interested in the identity of Mina/Red Star’s owners. At this time, Edelman had not filed U.S. tax returns to report the millions of dollars he had earned from Mina/Red Star and had not paid U.S. taxes on his income. Rather than disclose his ownership, Edelman caused his attorneys to tell Congress a false story that a French co-conspirator who had no U.S. tax or reporting obligations founded and co-owed Mina/Red Star with another individual. To corroborate the false story, Edelman and a co-conspirator caused false and backdated paperwork to be created. To continue the scheme, Edelman conveyed the false story about Mina/Red Star’s ownership to other arms of the U.S. government, including to the Department of Defense during contract negotiations in 2010 and 2011, to the IRS in a 2016 application to the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, and to the Justice Department in a 2018 presentation. In conjunction with his 2016 application to the IRS’s Voluntary Disclosure Program, Edelman filed false tax returns for several prior years that only reported income from gifts or purported consulting payments, continuing to conceal the millions he had earned from his company. On the returns, he also concealed profits he had earned from a separate business to provide internet service to members of the armed forces at Kandahar Air Base in Afghanistan. Instead of paying the taxes that he knew he owed, Edelman used the money to fund his lifestyle and additional investments. He invested in a music television franchise in Eastern Europe, a land venture in Tulum, Mexico, and a farm in Kenya, and purchased property around Europe, including a home in Ibiza, Spain, and a townhouse in London. Edelman faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each count to which he has pleaded. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro for the District of Columbia, and Executive Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter of the Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Washington, D.C., Field Office made the announcement. Special agents from IRS-CI’s International Tax & Financial Crimes specialty group, a team based out of Washington, D.C., that is dedicated to uncovering international tax crimes, along with the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction are investigating the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs assisted in the investigation. Also providing assistance were His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs of the United Kingdom; the Australian Federal Police; the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (J5), which brings together the taxing authorities of Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States; and authorities from Belize, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Israel, and Singapore. The Government of the Kingdom of Spain arrested and extradited Edelman to the United States. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided substantial assistance in securing Edelman’s arrest and extradition and assisted with securing evidence from abroad, including through mutual legal assistance requests. Assistant Chief Sarah Ranney and Trial Attorney Ezra Spiro of the Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Gold for the District of Columbia are prosecuting the case.


title: Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud in Connection with Theft of Vehicle from Local Dealership

component: Department of Justice

body_text: Jackson, Mississippi – A Texas man pleaded guilty today to wire fraud in connection with the fraudulent purchase of a 2023 Ford Shelby F-150 valued at $130,850 from a local automobile dealership. According to court documents and statements made in court, in May 2023, Mario Martinez Smiley, 56, of Fort Worth, Texas, fraudulently obtained an expensive truck from a Jackson dealership by representing himself to be another individual and using someone else’s credit card number to make a $5,000 down payment on the truck. Smiley was recruited by an individual in Texas to pick up vehicles in exchange for $1,000 each. Smiley induced a salesperson from the dealership to meet him in Ruston, Louisiana, where he took possession of the truck after posing for a photograph with it. Smiley was indicted by a federal grand jury on February 4, 2025. Smiley pleaded guilty to wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 27, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Acting U.S. Attorney Patrick A. Lemon of the Southern District of Mississippi, U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Patrick Davis, and Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch made the announcement. The United States Secret Service and the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office are investigating the case through their partnership in the Cyber Fraud Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly T. Purdie is prosecuting the case.


title: Former Secretary of Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Indicted by Federal Grand Jury

component: Criminal - Public Integrity Section

body_text: LAFAYETTE, La. – Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that Jack Montoucet , former Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), has been indicted on federal charges. A federal grand jury in Lafayette has returned an indictment charging Montoucet with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery and wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The indictment alleges that LDWF was an agency of the State of Louisiana that received benefits under federal programs involving grants, contracts, and other forms of assistance. While Secretary of the LDWF, Montoucet was the chief executive and empowered to enter contracts on LDWF’s behalf. Dusty J. Guidry was a Commissioner on the LDWF Commission which was charged with the control and supervision of the wildlife of the State of Louisiana and operated as a policy-making and budgetary control board. It is alleged that Guidry was placed on the Commission by and would take actions as directed by Montoucet. Leonard C. Franques, IV was a resident of the State of Louisiana and owned DGL1, LLC, a business created to provide online educational courses to be used by LDWF and was registered with the State of Louisiana in May 2020; Franques also owned LWF, LLC, (LWF) a Louisiana company registered with the State of Louisiana in June 2020. It is alleged in the indictment that from approximately May 2020 until June 2022, Montoucet knowingly and unlawfully conspired with Guidry and Franques, and others known and unknown to the grand jury, to accept and agree to accept kickbacks from Franques in return for being influenced in connection with awarding a state contract to DGL1. The indictment further alleges that Montoucet and Guidry used their official positions at LDWF to award a state contract to DGL1 and under the contract, DGL1 would provide online hunters’ education and boaters’ education courses and the education courses to resolve LDWF citations. It is alleged that DGL1 would keep a portion of the revenue generated from providing those services and in exchange, Franques agreed to provide, and Montoucet and Guidry agreed to accept, kickbacks and other things of value. It is alleged that as part of their conspiracy, Franques attempted to conceal the true source and nature of payments to Montoucet and Guidry. According to the indictment, from on or about November 10, 2021, until June 10, 2022, LDWF received $454,174.14 from the LWF contract signed by Montoucet, of which $122,507.96 was held as a kickback for Montoucet, to be paid after he completed his term as LDWF Secretary. The indictment alleges that Montoucet, Guidry, and Franques agreed that after Montoucet’s retirement from LDWF, they would hire Montoucet and pay his kickbacks as a purported “signing bonus,” in order to conceal the true nature of these funds. If convicted, Montoucet faces a sentence of not more than 5 years in prison on the conspiracy count, and up to 20 years in prison on the wire fraud and money laundering counts, and a fine of up to $1,000,000. The case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Myers P. Namie, Lauren L. Gardner, and LaDonte A. Murphy, along with Trial Attorneys Trevor Wilmot and Steven Loew of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section of the Department of Justice. An indictment is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. # # #


title: Five Romanians Admit Bank Fraud Involving ATM Skimming Devices

component: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

body_text: ST. LOUIS – Five Romanian nationals have admitted installing skimming devices on St. Louis area ATMs to harvest bank account information from customers and commit fraud. Mihai Vlaicu, 48, and Mihai Florin Marinescu, 37, pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Courtin St. Louis to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Laurentiu Miguel Ivan, 33, pleaded guilty to the same charge in March and Nelu Nae, 37, and Venera Isabelle Dumitru, 28, pleaded guilty to the charge in April. A sixth person indicted in the case, Ianus Nita, 53, has not yet been arrested. In their plea agreements, the five admit stealing bank account information via skimming devices and then using, or attempting to use, that information to withdraw money from ATMs. Around January of 2024, Vlaicu and Marinescu installed skimming devices on at least two bank ATMs, one in Clayton and one in Frontenac. They obtained the information of at least six victims, and then used cloned cards to try and withdraw cash. On five days in April, Dumitru and Ivan used account information from two other victims to withdraw cash from ATMs in St. Louis. Ivan obtained $1,421 and Dumitru obtained $1,070.50. On April 25, Dumitru and Ivan tried to withdraw cash from a St. Louis County ATM using an account number belonging to another victim. On April 30, Vlaicu tried to withdraw money from a St. Louis County ATM using the banking information of six victims. On May 2, Marinescu unsuccessfully tried to install a skimming device on an ATM in south St. Louis County. Nae retrieved the device the next day. On May 9, Marinescu installed a skimming device on an ATM in Wildwood. On May 11, Nita withdrew cash belonging to two victims from a St. Louis County ATM. On May 28, Marinescu and Nae installed a skimming device on an ATM in St. Louis, which was located and removed by law enforcement before Nita and Vlaicu could retrieve it. The conspirators were using an Airbnb in St. Louis County as a base for their criminal activity. Investigators found a laptop computer there containing hundreds of videos of customers entering their PINs when they used an ATM outfitted with a skimming device. They also found skimming devices, installation tools, a large amount of cash and numerous gift cards at the rented residence. Ivan is scheduled to be sentenced June 25, Dumitru on July 10, Nae on July 23 and Marinescu and Vlaicu on August 20. The charge carries a penalty of up to 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine or both prison and a fine. Ivan, Dumitru, Marinescu are not legally in the United States. The FBI, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the Webster Groves Police Department, the Clayton Police Department and the Frontenac Police Department investigated the case with assistance from the St. Louis County Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gwen Carroll is prosecuting the case.


title: Vidor man sentenced to over 15 years in federal prison for child pornography violations

component: USAO - Texas, Eastern

body_text: BEAUMONT, Texas – A Vidor man has been sentenced to over 15 years in federal prison for child pornography violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr. David Dwane Parker, 54, pleaded guilty to transportation of child pornography and was sentenced to 188 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on May 21, 2025. According to information presented in court, in April 2024, local law enforcement received a CyberTip which had been submitted to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) by a computer search engine. According to the CyberTip, 2,500 files had been uploaded, of which 1,605 files contained apparent child pornography. The information provided came back to Parker with a 409-area code. Further investigation revealed an internet protocol (IP) address, which included a date-of-birth and driver’s license number, leading authorities to a Vidor residence. A search warrant was issued for that residence, where Parker was located. During the search, a preview of Parker’s cellular phone and a computer revealed child pornography images. A forensic analysis discovered over 34,000 images of child pornography. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov. This case was investigated by the Vidor Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Grove. ###


title: Former Tutor from New York Sentenced to 65 Years in Prison for Enticement of Minors to Engage in Sexual Activity

body_text: ALEXANDRIA, La. – Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced that Stephen Andrew Cipkin , 38, a former tutor from Suffolk County in New York, has been sentenced by United States District Judge Dee D. Drell to 65 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for two counts of enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. Cipkin was charged in a Bill of Information and Indictment with enticement of minors to engage in sexual activity and pleaded guilty to the charge on August 13, 2024. At the guilty plea hearing, Cipkin admitted that from January 2022, through April 23, 2022, he used a smart phone and computer to knowingly persuade, induce, entice, and coerce a minor female under the age of 18 years old to engage in sexual activity. Cipkin, posing as an adolescent female seeking a friendship, used an online catfish account to contact the minor victim. He later admitted to being a male and began an online relationship with the minor victim after gaining her trust. During this relationship, Cipkin asked the minor victim to send sexually explicit photographs of herself to him and also asked her to meet up with him for sexual intercourse. After receiving the photographs and videos, he used them as blackmail to extort and threaten the minor victim. From April 16, 2022, through April 23, 2022, Cipkin traveled from the State of New York to Natchitoches, Louisiana, to meet with the minor victim. Cipkin picked up the minor victim from her home and brought her to a hotel in the Western District of Louisiana where they engaged in sexual intercourse. Cipkin also admitted that between January 1, 2021, and continuing through January 1, 2022, in the Northern District of Tennessee, he used his smart phone and computer to persuade, induce, entice, and coerce another minor female under the age of 18 years old to engage in illegal sexual activity. Cipkin reached out to the minor female victim using an online account that he had created and began an online relationship with the minor female victim, asking her to send sexually explicit photographs to him and to meet with him for sexual intercourse. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Natchitoches Parish Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Casey N. Stelly in the Western District of Louisiana. # # #


title: Mexican National Sentenced for Illegally Reentering the United States and Possession of a Firearm

component: USAO - Missouri, Western

body_text: KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Mexican National illegally residing in Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced in federal court today for Illegal Re-entry by an Alien Previously Removed and the Illegal Possession of Firearm. Jehu Jaziel Carranza-Rangel, 33, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to four years and six months in federal prison without parole followed by three years of supervised release. On November 22, 2024, Carranza-Rangel pleaded guilty to illegally re-entering the United States after previously being removed, and possession of a firearm by an illegal alien. Carranza-Rangel admitted he knew he did not have permission to enter or remain in the United States lawfully and that, as an illegal alien, he knew he was prohibited from possessing a firearm. Under federal law it is illegal for an alien to knowingly re-enter the United States without permission after being removed. Carranza-Rangel had previously been removed from the country on four separate occasions in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2020. He unlawfully returned sometime after his 2020 removal and was found in the Western District of Missouri after being arrested in July of 2024. At the time of his arrest, Carranza-Rangel was in possession of live ammunition. Under federal law it is illegal for an alien to possess a firearm or ammunition. Carranza-Rangel also has a previous conviction for possessing a firearm in Kansas in 2020. This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Amanda Hanson. It was investigated by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations. 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. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).


title: Illegal Firearm Possession Lands Oklahoma City Man in Federal Prison for Six Years Following Domestic Calls to Law Enforcement

component: USAO - Oklahoma, Western

body_text: OKLAHOMA CITY – AARON JOELRAYEL TURNER , 27, of Oklahoma City, has been sentenced to serve 72 months in federal prison for illegal possession of firearms after a previous felony conviction, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester. On February 25, 2025, Turner was charged by Superseding Information with three counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to public record, in 2024, Turner had three separate interactions with the Oklahoma City Police Department (OCPD). During the first incident on June 19, 2024, OCPD officers responded to a home on reports of a domestic dispute. Once at the home, the victim told police Turner gained entry into her residence despite a recent emergency VPO issued against Turner, and that Turner had struck her in the face before leaving the house. OCPD located and arrested Turner shortly after and discovered a firearm in his pocket. The second encounter with OCPD took place on August 23, 2024, after OCPD officers encountered Turner again at the same residence and seized two more pistols possessed by Turner. The third encounter with OCPD took place on October 23, 2024, after officers responded to another home on a welfare check. The calling party advised OCPD that Turner was in the home with a firearm, and that Turner had been having domestic issues with the calling party’s granddaughter. OCPD officers received consent to search the home, and seized two firearms and several live rounds of ammunition possessed by Turner. On February 25, 2025, Turner pleaded guilty to the Superseding Information and admitted he possessed a firearm on the three instances noted above, despite his previous felony convictions. On May 19, 2025, U.S. District Judge Bernard M. Jones sentenced Turner to serve 72 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. In announcing his sentence, Judge Jones noted Turner’s history of illegal firearm possession as well as his extensive criminal history. Public record reflects that Turner has previous felony convictions in Oklahoma County District Court that include two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm in case numbers CF-2020-1985 and CF-2017-5873. This case is the result of an investigation by the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office and the Oklahoma City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary E. Walters prosecuted the case. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a Department of Justice program to reduce violent crime. This case is also part of “Operation 922,” the Western District of Oklahoma’s implementation of PSN, which prioritizes prosecution of federal crimes connected to domestic violence. For more information about PSN, please visit https://justice.gov/psn and https://justice.gov/usao-wdok . Reference is made to public filings for additional information.


title: Oklahoma City Doctor Surrenders Dispensing Authority and Pays $130,000 to Settle Civil Penalty Claims Stemming from Allegations of Recordkeeping Violations

body_text: OKLAHOMA CITY – Richard Swenson, M.D. (“Dr. Swenson”), paid $130,000 to settle civil penalty claims stemming from allegations that he violated the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970 (“Act”) and its regulations, announced United States Attorney Robert J. Troester. Dr. Swenson also agreed to permanently cease dispensing and administering controlled substances as of April 3, 2025. Recordkeeping is a vital part of managing controlled substances. A registrant who purchases controlled substances must comply with the purchase record requirements contained in the regulations implementing the Act. Maintaining complete and accurate records help avoid diversions and losses of controlled drugs. Failure to do so subjects the registrant to civil monetary penalties. During the relevant time, Dr. Swenson practiced medicine at Accident Care and Treatment Center, Inc. in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The United States alleges that from April 2022, through April 2024, Dr. Swenson failed to maintain DEA Forms 222 for certain purchases of Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen, which is an opioid and a Schedule II controlled substance. During this time period, the United States further alleges that Dr. Swenson also failed to maintain records for certain purchases of Schedule III and Schedule IV controlled substances. To resolve these allegations, Dr. Swenson agreed to pay $130,000 to the United States and to permanently refrain from dispensing and administering controlled substances. Dr. Swenson is still permitted to prescribe controlled substances consistent with his DEA Registration. In reaching this settlement, Dr. Swenson did not admit liability, and the government did not make any concessions about the legitimacy of the claims. The agreement allows the parties to avoid the delay, expense, inconvenience, and uncertainty involved in litigating the case. This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Office of Diversion Control. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amanda R. Johnson and Ronald R. Gallegos prosecuted the case.


title: Port Orange Man Charged With Threatening To Murder A Federal Official

body_text: Orlando, Florida –United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces an indictment charging Tranard Dell (21, Port Orange) with influencing, impeding, and interfering with a federal official by threat to murder. If convicted, Dell faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. According to the indictment, on April 24, 2025, Dell threatened to murder federal law enforcement officer J.E. with intent to impede, intimidate, and interfere with J.E. while engaged in the performance of official duties. An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty. This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service, with valuable assistance provided by the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office and the Port Orange Police Department. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Risha Asokan.


title: Kansas City Man Charged for Illegal Firearm

body_text: KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man was charged in a federal criminal complaint with being a felon in possession of a firearm. Vinol Wilson, 50, made his first appearance in federal court after his arrest on May 20, 2025. The affidavit in support of the complaint alleges that the Jackson County Drug Task Force (JCDTF) initiated an investigation into drug sales in the Kansas City metro area. The JCDTF identified Wilson as being a source of supply of MDMA/methamphetamine and cocaine. Additionally, since 2022, Wilson has been an ongoing target of a dog fighting investigation by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). The affidavit in support of the complaint also alleges that on May 20, 2025, a search warrant was executed at Wilson’s residence with the assistance of the Kansas City Police Department. Inside the residence, investigators located a Stag Arms AR pistol, .556 caliber, with a round in the chamber and 29 rounds in the magazine inside the primary bedroom. Wilson is a prohibited person because he previously pleaded guilty to a federal drug charge in the District of Kansas. In 2010, Wilson was sentenced to 121 months in prison on that case. Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who has been convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. The charges contained in this complaint are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul Becker and David Barnes. It was investigated by the Jackson County Drug Task Force, the United States Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General, and the United States Marshals Service. Project Safe Neighborhoods This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.


title: U.S. Attorney’s Office recovers approximately $450,000 for victims of Missoula fraudster

component: USAO - Montana

body_text: BILLINGS — The U.S. Attorney’s Office recently recovered approximately $450,000 from a Missoula man who defrauded his victims out of almost $1 million by fraudulently inducing them to invest in his transportation and logistics companies, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said today. The defendant, Jason L. Matheny, was convicted of wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1343 on November 22, 2019. The court sentenced him to five years of probation, subject to several conditions, and ordered him to pay $994,521.16 in restitution to his victims. In late 2024, Matheny sold a commercial property in Missoula and, because of its restitution lien, the government secured $448,965.36 to be paid to his victims. “The collection of restitution for victims of fraud is an essential part of the criminal justice system and a priority for the Department of Justice. Collection from convicted felons can be exceedingly difficult because money is often spent, invested, and moved around. Through the dedication and hard work of the Financial Litigation Program, the U.S. Attorney’s Office was able to execute against Mr. Matheny’s business property. This allowed the proceeds of that sale to be routed to Mr. Matheny’s victims rather than to him.” U.S. Attorney Alme said. In September 2024, U.S. Probation requested a summons for revocation of Matheny’s term of probation, alleging he had violated the terms of his sentence by failing to provide requested financial information. Matheny admitted the violation in November 2024 and the Court extended his probation for an additional year. XXX


title: Jamestown man going to prison for selling meth

component: USAO - New York, Western

body_text: BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Richard S. Dean, 49, of Jamestown, NY, who was convicted of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute, and distributing, 500 grams of methamphetamine, was sentenced to serve 70 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua A. Violanti, who handled the case, stated that the defendant was a drug trafficking associate of co-defendant Douglas Beardsley. During the conspiracy, Dean would go over to Beardsley’s residences on Linden and Forest Avenues in Jamestown several times a week and pick up ounces of methamphetamine and grams of heroin to sell for Beardsley. At times, Beardsley would “front” the narcotics to the defendant to sell. Dean and Beardsley would often communicate about their drug trafficking, including through their Facebook accounts. On January 6, 2019, local law enforcement observed a suspicious male, later identified as the defendant. Dean became evasive and ran from officers. Shortly thereafter, the defendant was taken into custody and arrested on an outstanding warrant. Dean was transported to the Jamestown City jail where a subsequent search revealed that he possessed methamphetamine, heroin, plastic baggies, a digital scale, and Dimethyl Sulfone, a common cutting agent for methamphetamine. On March 21, 2019, the defendant pleaded guilty in Chautauqua County Court to Criminal Possession Controlled Substance-5th: Intent To Sell and Criminal Sale Controlled Substance-5th Degree. Douglas Beardsley was previously convicted and sentenced to serve 176 months in prison. This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF . The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Bryan Miller, New York Field Division; the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Frank Tarentino, New York Field Division; and the Jamestown Police Department, under the direction of Chief Timothy Jackson. # # # #


title: City of Miami Police Officer Pleads Guilty to COVID-19 Relief Fraud

component: USAO - Florida, Southern

body_text: MIAMI – Yesterday, Tramaine Liptrot, 43, a police officer with the City of Miami Police Department (MPD) who has been relieved of duty, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in connection with fraudulent applications for two Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans totaling over $200,000. Liptrot entered his guilty plea in Miami before U.S. District Judge Beth Bloom. According to the facts admitted at the change of plea hearing, Liptrot, along with being an MPD Police Officer, was the owner and President of Liptrots Tax Services L.L.C (Liptrots Tax). With the assistance of an associate, Liptrot fraudulently obtained two PPP loans in the name of Liptrots Tax. On June 22, 2020, working with the associate, Liptrot caused the submission of a false and fraudulent PPP loan application on behalf of Liptrots Tax, falsely claiming that Liptrots Tax had an average monthly payroll of $36,700 for four employees, and a fraudulent IRS Form 944 in support thereof, falsely claiming that Liptrots Tax paid its employees $440,397 during 2019. As a result of this fraudulent PPP application, Liptrots Tax obtained approximately $91,750 in PPP loan proceeds from an SBA approved PPP lender. On March 3, 2021, again working with the associate, Liptrot caused the submission of a false and fraudulent second-draw PPP loan application on behalf of Liptrots Tax, falsely claiming that Liptrots Tax had an average monthly payroll of $43,369, and including as part of the application process, a fraudulent IRS Form 944, falsely claiming that Liptrots Tax paid $496,428 in wages and other compensation in 2020. As a result of this fraudulent second-draw PPP application, Liptrots Tax obtained approximately $108,422 in PPP loan proceeds from a different SBA approved PPP lender. Liptrot is scheduled for sentencing on August 6, 2025, at 10:30 a.m., where he faces a possible maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison. U.S. Attorney Hayden P. O’Byrne for the Southern District of Florida, acting Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of FBI Miami and Special Agent in Charge Amaleka McCall-Brathwaite, U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG), Eastern Region, announced the guilty plea. FBI Miami’s Area Corruption Task Force, which includes task force officers from the City of Miami Police Department’s Internal Affairs Section, and SBA-OIG investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward N. Stamm is prosecuting the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Gabrielle Raemy Charest-Turken is handling asset forfeiture. In March 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was enacted. It was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to the millions of Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among other sources of relief, the CARES Act authorized and provided funding to the SBA to provide Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDLs) to eligible small businesses, including sole proprietorships and independent contractors, experiencing substantial financial disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic to allow them to meet financial obligations and operating expenses that could otherwise have been met had the disaster not occurred. EIDL applications were submitted directly to the SBA via the SBA’s on-line application website, and the applications were processed and the loans funded for qualifying applicants directly by the SBA. On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus . On September 15, 2022, the Attorney General selected the Southern District of Florida’s U.S. Attorney’s Office to head one of three national COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams. The Department of Justice established the Strike Force to enhance existing efforts to combat and prevent COVID-19 related financial fraud. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please click here . Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form . Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov , under case number 23-cr-20155. ###


title: Three time convicted federal felon sentenced for wire fraud

body_text: BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Steven D. Blumhagen, 74, of Buffalo, NY, who was convicted of wire fraud, was sentenced to serve five years in prison by U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul E. Bonanno, who handled the case, stated that between April 2016, and January 2020, Blumhagen defrauded three investors out of $400,000, by soliciting the victims to purchase interests in entities he claimed to own, manage, or control. Blumhagen told victims that their investments would enable those entities to finance legal marijuana operations, real estate developments, and an investment technology, and that they could expect significant returns on their investments. Instead of using the money as promised, Blumhagen used some or all of the money for personal expenses. He also used the investment of one victim to pay back previous victims. Part of the scheme involved a limited liability company allegedly owned by Blumhagen’s children, which they knew nothing about. As a result of the scheme, at least one victim experienced a substantial financial hardship, withdrawing funds from a retirement account, resulting in substantial penalties. Blumhagen has two prior federal convictions in the Western District of New York. In 2006, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud for bilking investors out of more than $10,000,000 related to his sale of shares in the golf course project Tee-to-Green, and was sentenced to serve 57 months in prison and ordered to pay more than $10,000,000 in restitution. In 2018, Blumhagen pleaded guilty to bank theft for his involvement in a bond scheme, which raised more than $1,400,000 from potential investors. Blumhagen was sentenced to time served and ordered to pay more than $1,200,000 in restitution. Blumhagen was on pre-trial release for the bank theft charge when he committed the wire fraud. The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia. # # # #


title: U.S. Attorney Charges Eastchester Man With Sexual Exploitation Of A Child And Receipt And Distribution Of Child Pornography

component: USAO - New York, Southern

body_text: Jay Clayton, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today the arrest of THOMAS JAMES PUCCINI, 28. PUCCINI is charged with the sexual exploitation of three minors and with receiving and distributing child pornography. PUCCINI was arrested today and presented today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy in White Plains federal court and detained. “Thomas James Puccini’s alleged crimes are every parent’s nightmare,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “Puccini, a football coach, held himself out as a trusted member of his school community, yet he was preying on our most innocent and vulnerable. The women and men of the Southern District will use every tool available to bring to justice those who exploit our children.” HSI New York Acting Special Agent in Charge James Manning said: “As alleged, the defendant violated parents’ and students’ trust through his vile acts against children. A wolf in sheep’s clothing, he worked closely with kids and teenagers nearly every day, all allegedly while hiding his shameful dark side of exploitation, and committing crimes against the same minors placed under his care. The abhorrent crimes of which he is accused have no place in our society, and I commend HSI New York’s Hudson Valley investigators, alongside our law enforcement partners, for placing the safety of vulnerable New Yorkers above all else.” Westchester County District Attorney Susan Cacace said: “For months, our criminal investigators worked hard to build the strongest possible case against the defendant, and today’s federal charges are the product of these efforts. I extend my thanks to U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Jay Clayton for his collaboration and partnership on this case. Our office will continue to assist S.D.N.Y. throughout all phases of Mr. Puccini’s prosecution.” As alleged in the Complaint filed on May 20, 2025 in White Plains federal court and statements made in court [1] : THOMAS JAMES PUCCINI worked as a football coach for a high school (“School-1”) in Westchester County. In July of 2024, PUCCINI became the interim athletic director for the school district in which the high school was located. Victim-1 : In November 2021, Victim-1, who was 17 years old and a student at School-1, was contacted by a Snapchat account with the name “alex_fundi2.” Victim-1 received a nude image of a female from “alex_fundi2” and believed that he was communicating with a female. “She” told him that she knew him and went to School-1. Victim-1 sent “her” nude photos of himself, including photos showing his penis. After sending images for approximately a week or two, Victim-1 blocked the “alex_fundi2” account. Then, Victim-1 received messages from a CashApp account (“CashTag-1”) directing Victim-1 to add “alex_fundi2” back. The messages stated, among other things, “I have your pics and vids,” and told Victim-1 to “add me or I send your pics.” Victim-1 unblocked “alex_fundi2” and sent “alex_fundi2” sexually explicit images of Victim-1. Victim-1 continued to send sexually explicit images to “alex_fundi2” until in or about 2023, when Victim-1 was a freshman in college. The user of CashTag-1 provided CashApp with the name "Thomas Puccini," PUCCINI’s date of birth, and PUCCINI’s address in Westchester. Records from Snapchat relating to the “alex_fundi2” account show that an IP address that returned to PUCCINI’s residence in Westchester County was used over 13,000 times to access the "alex_fundi2" account. Further, the “alex_fundi2” account is associated with an email that begins with “puccini01” and ends in “.edu.” Victim- 2: Victim-2 and other middle-schoolers used School-1’s weight room to prepare for Junior Varsity football. PUCCINI supervised them in the weight room. Beginning when Victim-2 was 13 years old and in eighth grade, PUCCINI communicated with Victim-2 through Snapchat, using a Snapchat account with the user name, “tommytutts66,” and requested that Victim-2 take and send PUCCINI photos and videos of Victim-2’s penis. PUCCINI also sent Victim-2 photos of his penis. PUCCINI specified exactly what he wanted Victim-2 to show him, and, based on his instructions, Victim-2, on numerous occasions, took and sent PUCCINI photos and videos showing various angles of Victim-2’s penis, showing Victim-2 masturbating, showing Victim-2 “finishing” ( i.e. , ejaculating) with the audio on, and showing Victim-2 laying with his semen on his chest. On numerous occasions, at PUCCINI’s request, PUCCINI and Victim-2 would “race” to see who could masturbate to ejaculation first. The winner would have to send a video or photo capturing the “finish.” A search warrant executed at PUCCINI’s residence on November 1, 2024 resulted in the seizure of, among other things, PUCCINI’s desktop computer. The computer contained an iCloud backup with approximately 8000 messages to or from Victim-2 between January 2017 and December 2020. In hundreds of these messages, PUCCINI referred to masturbating, to Victim-2’s penis, and/or requested that Victim-2 take and send him photos of his penis. Victim-3 : Victim-3, who was 16 years old, and “alex_fundi2” communicated via Snapchat in 2023. Victim-3 took and transmitted sexually explicit images to “alex_fundi2” in exchange for the promise of expensive gifts. On January 10, 2023, at approximately 11:24 p.m., “alex_fundi2” told Victim-3, “If I send you for the jacket, I’m going to need you to send those 2 vids and then…. As many vids as I want and of anything that I want until Monday.” At 11:25 p.m., Victim-3 responded, “monday” and “jesus” and “and as long as it doesn’t involve ass stuff.” Thereafter, Victim-3 transmitted numerous files to “alex_fundi2” containing sexually explicit images of Victim-3. Victim-4 : Victim-4 and “alex_fundi2” communicated via Snapchat in 2023. Victim-4 told “alex_fundi2” that he was 18 years old and “alex_fundi2” told Victim-4 that he was similarly aged. “Alex_fundi2” asked Victim-4 for sexually explicit images of Victim-4 when he was 15 or 16. On June 11, 2023, at approximately 1:50 p.m., Victim-4 transmitted a sexually explicit photo and a sexually explicit video of Victim-4 to “alex_fundi2.” In both the photo and video, Victim-4 was 15. In November 2024, PUCCINI was charged in Westchester County, New York with Grand Larceny in the Fourth Degree. On an occasion in February 2022, the “alex_fundi2” account engaged in a conversation with a user (“User-1”) on Snapchat and asked, “Can I give you a snapchat to add and you try to get pics/vids from the account?” User-1 told “alex_fundi2,” “Sure” and “I don’t mind being yo undercover bud.” Thereafter, “alex_fundi2” transmitted a Snapchat user name to User-1. The Snapchat user name belonged to a student who had attended School-1 from 2015 to 2019. PUCCINI’s desk top computer contained thousands of messages with that student from in or about August 2015 to September 2020. Many of the messages contained requests for sexually explicit images from the student. PUCCINI changed the display name of the “alex_fundi2” account on multiple occasions and the various display names he used included, Young & Horny,” “Young NY Vers Bottom Horny,” “Zach,” “Alexandra Fundi,” “Alex Fundi,” “Horny Twink,” and “zach _parker0.” There may be more victims of this alleged conduct. If you have information to report or you had contact with the Snapchat accounts, “alex_fundi2,” “tommytuts66,” or any of the display names described above contact Homeland Security Investigations through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form . Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing-impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196. * * * PUCCINI, 28, of Eastchester, New York is charged in Counts One, Two and Three with sexual exploitation of a minor. Counts One, Two and Three each carry a maximum sentence of thirty years’ imprisonment and a mandatory minimum of fifteen years’ imprisonment. Count Four carries a maximum of twenty years’ imprisonment and a mandatory minimum of five years. The statutory maximum sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge. Mr. Clayton praised the efforts of Homeland Security Investigations, the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office , the Westchester County Police Department, the Eastchester Police Department, the Rockland Police Department, the Lake Forest Police Department, and the Cullman County Sheriff’s Office. The prosecution is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant United States Attorney Marcia S. Cohen is in charge of the prosecution. complaint.pdf [1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint and the description of the Complaint set forth herein constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation.


body_text: WASHINGTON – Douglas Edelman, 73, a former defense contractor, pleaded guilty today to tax crimes related to a scheme to defraud the United States and evade taxes on income he earned from his contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense. The sentence was announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division, and Special Agent in Charge Kareem A. Carter with IRS-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Washington, D.C. Field Office. Edelman pleaded guilty to 10 felony counts: conspiracy to defraud the United States, seven counts of tax evasion, and two counts of making a false statement. U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly scheduled a hearing on issues related to sentencing on Nov. 17, 2026. Trial on the remaining counts of the indictment will be in 2026. According to court documents and statements made in court, Edelman founded and owned 50% of Mina Corp. and Red Star Enterprises (Mina/Red Star), a defense contracting business that received more than $7 billion from contracts with the U.S. Department of Defense to provide jet fuel in the United States’ post-9/11 military efforts in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Working with others, Edelman engaged in a lengthy scheme to hide his Mina/Red Star profits to evade U.S. taxes, including by concealing his income in undisclosed foreign bank accounts, creating false documents and making false statements that one of his co-conspirators — a French citizen residing abroad and without U.S. tax obligations — founded and owned Mina/Red Star. For example, when the company became profitable in 2005, Edelman began taking distributions which he deposited into Swiss bank accounts, primarily at Credit Suisse, in the name of other companies he owned. In 2008, Credit Suisse informed Edelman that he had to either close his accounts or disclose them to U.S. authorities. Rather than come into compliance with his tax and reporting obligations, Edelman closed his accounts and opened new ones at Bank Julius Baer in Singapore in the name of a nominee entity, the beneficiaries of which were purportedly Edelman’s daughters. He then directed the subject income he earned from Mina/Red Star to those bank accounts. In 2010 the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform’s Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs began investigating allegations of corruption in connection with Mina/Red Star’s contracts with the Department of Defense. As part of this inquiry, the subcommittee became interested in the identity of Mina/Red Star’s owners. At this time, Edelman had not filed U.S. tax returns to report the millions of dollars he had earned from Mina/Red Star and had not paid U.S. taxes on his income. Rather than disclose his ownership, Edelman caused his attorneys to tell Congress a false story that a French co-conspirator who had no U.S. tax or reporting obligations founded and co-owed Mina/Red Star with another individual. To corroborate the false story, Edelman and a co-conspirator caused false and backdated paperwork to be created. To continue the scheme, Edelman conveyed the false story about Mina/Red Star’s ownership to other arms of the U.S. government, including to the Department of Defense during contract negotiations in 2010 and 2011, to the IRS in a 2016 application to the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, and to the Justice Department in a 2018 presentation. In conjunction with his 2016 application to the IRS’s Voluntary Disclosure Program, Edelman filed false tax returns for several prior years that only reported income from gifts or purported consulting payments, continuing to conceal the millions he had earned from his company. On the returns, he also concealed profits he had earned from a separate business to provide internet service to members of the armed forces at Kandahar Air Base in Afghanistan. Instead of paying the taxes that he knew he owed, Edelman used the money to fund his lifestyle and additional investments. He invested in a music television franchise in Eastern Europe, a land venture in Tulum, Mexico, and a farm in Kenya, and purchased property around Europe, including a home in Ibiza, Spain, and a townhouse in London. Edelman faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each of the 10 counts to which he has pleaded. He also faces a period of supervised release, restitution, and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. This case is being investigated by special agents from IRS-CI’s International Tax & Financial Crimes specialty group, a team based out of Washington, D.C., that is dedicated to uncovering international tax crimes, along with the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs assisted in the investigation. His Majesty’s Revenue & Customs of the United Kingdom also provided assistance, as did the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (J5), which brings together the taxing authorities of Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States; and authorities from Belize, Cyprus, Gibraltar, Israel, and Singapore. The Government of the Kingdom of Spain arrested and extradited Edelman to the United States. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs also provided substantial assistance in securing Edelman’s arrest and extradition and assisted with securing evidence from abroad, including through mutual legal assistance requests. 24cr239


title: Student Pilot in Highway 76 Emergency Plane Landing Sentenced to 30 Months for Drug Trafficking

component: USAO - California, Southern

body_text: SAN DIEGO – Troy Othneil Smith, a student pilot whose drug trafficking activity was discovered when his plane was forced to make an emergency landing on State Route 76 in Oceanside last fall, was sentenced in federal court today to 30 months in prison. Smith pleaded guilty in January to two counts of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute – one count in connection with the emergency landing that occurred around 1:39 a.m. on September 26, 2024 and his attempt to hide a package of cocaine from responding officers; and the other in connection with Smith’s mailing of cocaine through the United States Postal Service in 2023. In his plea agreement, Smith also admitted to relevant conduct discovered during the course of the investigation of at least two other occasions wherein Smith mailed cocaine through the U.S. Postal Service. “Aviation privileges come with immense responsibility,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon. “When those privileges are abused to facilitate drug trafficking, it undermines public safety and the trust placed in those who operate in our skies. We remain committed to working with our partners to detect, disrupt, and prosecute this kind of criminal activity wherever it occurs.” This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lyndzie M. Carter and Joseph Orabona. DEFENDANT Case Number 24-MJ-03788 Troy Othneil Smith Age: 36 Oceanside, CA SUMMARY OF CHARGES Possession of Cocaine with the Intent to Distribute– Title 21, U.S.C., Section 841(a)(1) Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and $1 million fine INVESTIGATING AGENCIES Drug Enforcement Administration United States Postal Inspectors San Diego Field Division Narcotics Task Force Team 6 North County Narcotics Task Force Oceanside Police Department


title: Texas Doctor Who Falsely Diagnosed Patients Sentenced to 10 Years’ Imprisonment in Connection with $118M in Fraudulent Health Care Claims

component: Criminal Division

body_text: A Texas rheumatologist was sentenced to 10 years in prison and three years of supervised release for perpetrating a health care fraud scheme involving over $118 million in false claims and the payment of over $28 million by insurers as a result of him falsely diagnosing patients with chronic illnesses to bill for tests and treatments that the patients did not need. Jorge Zamora-Quezada, M.D., 68, of Mission, also falsified patient records to support the false diagnoses after receiving a federal grand jury subpoena. Following a 25-day trial, Zamora-Quezada was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, seven counts of health care fraud, and one count of conspiracy to obstruct justice. In addition to his prison term, Zamora-Quezada was ordered to forfeit $28,245,454, including 13 real estate properties, a jet, and a Maserati GranTurismo. According to the evidence presented at trial, Zamora-Quezada falsely diagnosed his patients with rheumatoid arthritis and administered toxic medications in order to defraud Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and Blue Cross Blue Shield. The fraudulent diagnoses made the defendant’s patients believe that they had a life-long, incurable condition that required regular treatment at his offices. After falsely diagnosing his patients, Zamora-Quezada administered unnecessary treatments and ordered unnecessary testing on them, including a variety of injections, infusions, x-rays, MRIs, and other procedures—all with potentially harmful and even deadly side effects. To receive payment for these expensive services, Zamora-Quezada fabricated medical records and lied about the patients’ condition to insurers. “Dr. Zamora-Quezada funded his luxurious lifestyle for two decades by traumatizing his patients, abusing his employees, lying to insurers, and stealing taxpayer money,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “His depraved conduct represents a profound betrayal of trust toward vulnerable patients who depend on care and integrity from their doctors. Today’s sentence is not just a punishment—it’s a warning. Medical professionals who harm Americans for personal enrichment will be aggressively pursued and held accountable to protect our citizens and the public fisc.” “Through the false diagnoses and excessive false billing, Dr. Zamora-Quezada abused both patient trust and public resources,” said Special Agent in Charge Jason E. Meadows of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “It is imperative to investigate and address this form of fraud — not only to protect vulnerable individuals from harm but to uphold the integrity of the federal health care system and safeguard the use of public funds.” “The FBI is dedicated to working with all of our partners to address health care fraud,” said Special Agent in Charge Aaron Tapp of the FBI's San Antonio Field Office. “This case was not only a concern to us because of the financial loss — the physical and emotional harm suffered by the patients and their families was alarming and profound. We hope this significant sentence will help bring closure to the many victims in this case.” Evidence at trial established that Dr. Zamora-Quezada falsely diagnosed patients in order to defraud insurers and enrich himself. Other rheumatologists in the Rio Grande Valley testified at trial that they saw hundreds of patients previously diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis by Zamora-Quezada who did not have the condition, prompting one physician to explain that for “most” it was “obvious that the patient did not have rheumatoid arthritis.” Zamora-Quezada’s false diagnoses and powerful medications caused debilitating side effects on his patients, including strokes, necrosis of the jawbone, hair loss, liver damage, and pain so severe that basic tasks of everyday life, such as bathing, cooking, and driving, became difficult. As one patient testified, “Constantly being in bed and being unable to get up from bed alone, and being pumped with medication, I didn’t feel like my life had any meaning.” One mother described how she felt that her child served as a “lab rat,” and others described abandoning plans for college or feeling like they were “living a life in the body of an elderly person.” Former employees detailed how Zamora-Quezada imposed strict quotas for procedures, leading to a climate of fear. Zamora-Quezada referred to himself as the “ eminencia ” — or eminence, threw a paperweight at an employee who failed to generate enough unnecessary procedures, hired employees he could manipulate because they were on J-1 visas and their immigration status could be jeopardized if they lost their jobs, and fired those who challenged him. Testimony also revealed Zamora-Quezada’s obstruction of insurer audits by fabricating missing patient files, including by taking ultrasounds of employees and using those images as documentation in the patient records. Testimony at trial established that Zamora-Quezada told employees to “ aparecer ” the missing records — “to make them appear.” Former employees also recounted being sent to a dilapidated barn to attempt to retrieve records. There, files were saturated with feces and urine, rodents, and termites that infested not only the records but also the structure. Zamora-Quezada’s patient file storage facility Zamora-Quezada used proceeds from his crimes to fund a lavish lifestyle, replete with real estate properties across the country and in Mexico, a jet, and a Maserati. One of Zamora-Quezada’s luxury properties Zamora-Quezada’s jet FBI, HHS-OIG, Texas HHS-OIG, and the Texas Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated the case, with assistance from the Defense Criminal Investigative Service. Principal Assistant Chief Jacob Foster and Assistant Chiefs Rebecca Yuan and Emily Gurskis of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura Garcia for the Southern District of Texas prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristine Rollinson handled asset forfeiture. Fraud Section Assistant Chief Kevin Lowell initially handled the prosecution. The prosecution team thanks the Fraud Section’s Data Analytics Team, whose work initiated the investigation, Victim Witness Specialist Olga De La Rosa of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas, and the Texas Department of Insurance. The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, 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 .


title: Jury convicts home health agency owner in Medicare fraud and identity theft scheme

component: USAO - Texas, Southern

body_text: HOUSTON – A 64-year-old man has been convicted of all counts as charged for leading a Medicare fraud scheme involving the submission of falsified medical records, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. The jury deliberated for less than two hours before convicting Paul Njoku following a three-day trial. Njoku owned and operated a home health care agency called Opnet Health Care Services Inc. doing business as P & P Health Care Services. Njoku was the owner and CEO. The jury heard testimony from witnesses that Njoku, or others working at his direction, forged signatures of doctors and nurses. Specifically, Njoku and others cut out old signatures and taped them onto newly created doctors’ orders, nursing notes and nursing assessments. Medicare required home health agencies to maintain these documents to obtain payment for providing home health services. Njoku then submitted the falsified records in response to a request for records from Medicare. The jury also heard about a registered nurse who had departed Opnet in 2017. Njoku continued using her signature on nursing notes and assessments in 2018 and 2019 without her knowledge or consent. A witness also testified that Njoku bribed a doctor in exchange for approving home health services. From 2015 to 2019, Opnet billed Medicare over $400,000 in claims for home health services and received over $360,000. Opnet did not maintain the required documentation for many of them and later falsified records to support the claims. During the trial, a representative testified that Medicare would not have paid these claims had Medicare known there was no documentation or that they were based on falsified records. “It is absolutely paramount that Americans—both as patients and as taxpayers—have confidence in the integrity of medical providers that receive Medicare funds. Here, the defendant unrepentantly abused that trust by engaging in bribery and stealing from Medicare,” said Ganjei. “With today’s guilty verdict, the Southern District of Texas aims to restore some of that lost trust. I thank the jury for their time and attention to this important case.” The defense attempted to blame another person for the fraud. The jury did not believe those claims and found him guilty as charged. U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennett presided over the trial and will set sentencing at a later date. At that time, Njoku will face a maximum of 10 years for conspiracy to commit health care fraud, five years for two counts of false statements relating to health care matters as well as another two years for the identity theft which must be served consecutively to any other prison term imposed. The convictions also carry a possible $250,000 fine for each count. He was permitted to remain on bond pending sentencing. The FBI, Department of Health and Human Services-Office of the Inspector General and Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christian Latham and Kathryn Olson are prosecuting the case.


title: Chief Executive Officer of Digital Asset Company Found Guilty in Multi-Million Dollar Crypto-Fraud Scheme

component: USAO - New York, Eastern

body_text: Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, a federal jury convicted Braden John Karony on all counts of a three-count indictment charging him with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering. The charges arose from the defendant’s and his co-conspirators’ roles in defrauding investors in a decentralized finance digital asset called “SafeMoon,” issued by their company SafeMoon LLC. As alleged, the defendant agreed with his co-conspirators to lie to SafeMoon investors about whether SafeMoon executives could access the liquidity pool and whether they were using the assets from the liquidity pool for their personal benefit. As SafeMoon’s market capitalization grew to more than $8 billion, the defendant fraudulently diverted and misappropriated millions of dollars’ worth of liquidity from the SafeMoon liquidity pool for their personal benefit. The verdict followed a 12-day trial before United States District Judge Eric R. Komitee. When sentenced, Karony faces up to 45 years in prison. The jury also issued a verdict to forfeit one residential property and the proceeds from the sale of another residential property, amounting to approximately $2 million. Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York; Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI); Harry T. Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS-CI); and Darren B. McCormack, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI New York) announced the verdict. “As proven at trial, the SafeMoon digital asset was anything but safe and turned out to be pie in the sky for investors who were deliberately misled by Karony, a man who sought to get rich quick by stealing and diverting millions of dollars,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “Karony used his scheme to purchase multiple homes, sports cars, custom trucks, and other luxury goods. Today’s guilty verdict should serve as a warning to all would-be fraudsters that my Office will vigorously prosecute individuals like the defendant who victimize digital asset investors and undermine investor confidence in digital assets markets, thereby threatening the stability and growth of these emerging technologies.” Mr. Nocella expressed his appreciation to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for its work on the case. “Braden Karony, the CEO of SafeMoon, exploited his company’s digital portfolio with fictional success stories and stole millions of dollars in crypto-assets to finance luxury purchases,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia. “Along with his co-conspirators, Karony violated his clients’ trust and wallets while attempting to conceal his misconduct through discreet transactions. May today’s conviction emphasize the FBI’s commitment to securing all markets and protecting the American people from individuals who abuse their position to satisfy personal greed.” “Braden Karony misled investors; intentionally diverted and misappropriated millions in cryptocurrency for his personal benefit; and lined the driveways of his million dollar homes with luxury cars. While the name of his company is SafeMoon, there was nothing safe about this investment that was just a front for theft. By following the money with complex cryptocurrency tracing, IRS-CI New York’s Cyber and J5 groups worked with our investigative partners to see that this conman is held accountable for his greedy acts,” stated IRS-CI New York Special Agent in Charge Chavis. “The Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (J5) is a global partnership that works together to gather information, share intelligence, and conduct coordinated operations against transnational financial crimes. The J5 includes the Australian Taxation Office, the Canada Revenue Agency, the Dutch Fiscal Intelligence and Investigation Service, His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs from the U.K. and IRS-CI from the U.S.” “Steered by his selfish desires and insatiable greed, Braden John Karony treated millions of dollars in investors’ funds as his own personal bank account,” stated HSI New York Acting Special Agent in Charge McCormack. “The defendant will soon be trading his sprawling real estate and luxury vehicles for a jail cell within the four walls of a federal penitentiary. As reflected by today’s conviction, whether it involves fiat or crypto, HSI New York’s El Dorado Task Force will relentlessly pursue individuals intent on exploiting investors and the American financial system for their own gain.” Background on SafeMoon As proven at trial, SafeMoon tokens were digital assets first issued in March 2021 by SafeMoon LLC on a public blockchain. Through the operation of SafeMoon’s smart contract, every transaction in SafeMoon was automatically subject to a 10% tax, meaning, for example, that if a holder of SafeMoon transferred 10 SafeMoon to another user, 1 SafeMoon would automatically be retained from the transfer as a tax and the remaining 9 SafeMoon would be received by the other party. As marketed to SafeMoon investors, the proceeds of SafeMoon’s 10% tax were split into two 5% tranches, the proceeds of which were supposed to benefit holders of SafeMoon in specific ways. The first 5% tranche of the tax proceeds would be “reflected” back to, and distributed among, all SafeMoon holders in proportion to their current SafeMoon holdings and thereby increase the total quantity of SafeMoon held by every SafeMoon investor automatically. The remaining 5% tranche of SafeMoon tax proceeds would be deposited into designated SafeMoon liquidity pools. The larger the SafeMoon liquidity pool, the greater the liquidity in the market for SafeMoon. In the months after its launch in March 2021, SafeMoon grew to have millions of holders and a market capitalization of more than $8 billion. The Defendants’ Fraudulent Scheme Karony and his co-conspirators misrepresented various material aspects of the SafeMoon offering to investors. Such misrepresentations included that SafeMoon relied on “locked” liquidity pools that would automatically increase in size due to a 10% tax imposed on every SafeMoon transaction; that the “locked” SafeMoon liquidity pool prevented the defendants and other insiders at SafeMoon from being able to “rug pull”—a type of crypto fraud— SafeMoon investors by removing liquidity from the SafeMoon liquidity pool; that tokens in the liquidity pool would only be used for limited pre-defined business purposes, not personal enrichment; that the defendants would manually add token pairs to the SafeMoon liquidity pool when transactions of SafeMoon occurred on specific centralized exchanges; and that the developers were not and had not been holding and trading SafeMoon for their benefit. In reality, Karony and his co-conspirators retained access to the SafeMoon liquidity pools and used that access to intentionally divert and misappropriate millions of dollars’ worth of tokens for their personal benefit. In addition, although they publicly denied that they personally held or traded SafeMoon, they repeatedly bought and sold SafeMoon, sometimes at the height of SafeMoon market price, which generated millions of dollars in profits. Karony and his co-conspirators masked their movement of the fraudulent proceeds via numerous private un-hosted crypto wallet addresses, complex transaction routing, and pseudonymous centralized exchange accounts. Karony acquired over $9 million in crypto assets from the scheme and used some of the proceeds to purchase luxury vehicles and real estate, including a $2.2 million home in Utah, additional homes in Utah and Kansas, a $277,000 Audi R8 sports car, another Audi R8, a Tesla, and custom Ford F-550 and Jeep Gladiator pickup trucks. Co-conspirator Thomas Smith previously pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing. Co-conspirator Kyle Nagy remains at large. The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Business and Securities Fraud Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Dana Rehnquist, Sara K. Winik, and Jessica K. Weigel are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Paralegal Specialists Asher Martin-Rosenthal and Madison Bates. Assistant United States Attorney Laura Mantell is handling forfeiture matters. The Defendant : BRADEN JOHN KARONY 29 Provo, Utah E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-433 (EK)


title: Great Falls man sentenced to 20 years in prison for drug and money laundering charges

body_text: GREAT FALLS – A Great Falls man who distributed significant amounts of methamphetamine was sentenced today to 240 months in prison to be followed by 5 years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said. Daniel Allen Wakeford, 61, pleaded guilty in October 2024 to one count of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of money laundering. Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided. The government alleged in court documents that law enforcement learned Daniel Wakeford had been involved in the distribution of methamphetamine in Great Falls and elsewhere for several years. A witness informed law enforcement they received methamphetamine from Wakeford for resale since 2020. Prior to 2021, the witness had received approximately two pounds of methamphetamine from Wakeford. In March 2021, however, law enforcement learned Wakeford provided the witness with roughly five pounds of methamphetamine for resale. Surveillance conducted by law enforcement corroborated the witness’s account. Law enforcement spoke with numerous individuals who received methamphetamine from Wakeford between approximately 2020 and 2024. Those individuals outlined how Wakeford and others would provide them with methamphetamine for resale. In February 2024, an individual referred to here as John Doe was apprehended in Billings, Montana with approximately 78 grams of methamphetamine in his possession. He outlined how, among other things, he had recently assisted Wakeford with packaging several hundred thousand dollars in cash, how John Doe received the methamphetamine from Wakeford in Great Falls, and that Wakeford made statements indicating he was conspiring to distribute a significant amount of methamphetamine. Law enforcement determined that during the time of the conspiracy Wakeford did not have a significant source of legitimate income. However, on November 21, 2022, Wakeford paid $16,534 in cash for a new 2022 snowmobile in Great Falls. Following the original indictment in this case, law enforcement conducted a search of Wakeford’s home in Great Falls, Montana and located paperwork for a storage unit that Wakeford leased in Phoenix, Arizona. Wakeford was arrested in Utah on a federal warrant while driving a motorhome valued at over $40,000. Inside the motorhome, officers located over $62,000 in cash, as well as additional paperwork related to the storage unit in Arizona. Federal agents in Arizona obtained a warrant to search the storage unit and located over 100 pounds of methamphetamine and a firearm (both pictured below). Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zeno Baucus and Jeff Starnes prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted by the Russell Country Drug Task Force. The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information about Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces, please visit Justice.gov/OCDETF . XXX


title: Anchorage attorney arrested, charged with drug trafficking, firearm offenses

component: USAO - Alaska

body_text: ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A suspended member of the Alaska Bar was arrested today after a federal grand jury in Alaska returned an indictment charging him with maintaining a drug-involved premise for the purpose of distributing and using controlled substances, and with possessing firearms as a prohibited person and in furtherance of drug trafficking. According to court documents, in June 2023, law enforcement became aware of Justin Facey, 44, and his alleged facilitation of a drug trafficking organization run by a California prisoner, Heraclio Sanchez-Rodriguez. Sanchez-Rodriguez was indicted on federal drug trafficking and murder charges in October 2023, and to date, over 60 other defendants have been charged in connection with the Sanchez-Rodriquez drug trafficking organization. Facey allegedly continued his own drug trafficking operations after the indictment of Sanchez-Rodriguez and other co-conspirators. The indictment against Facey alleges that between April 2024 and 2025, he utilized his residence in Anchorage to distribute and use controlled substances, namely fentanyl and methamphetamine. It also alleges that on April 30, 2025, Facey possessed four firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes. The indictment further alleges that Facey unlawfully possessed firearms knowing that he was addicted to methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance. Court documents explain that Facey was suspended from practicing law on Feb. 24, 2025, following numerous bar complaints. Facey is charged with one count of maintaining a drug-involved premises, one count of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and one count of possession of firearms by a prohibited person. The defendant is scheduled to make his initial court appearance on May 22, 2025, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kyle F. Reardon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska. If convicted, he faces between five years to life in prison. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Acting U.S. Attorney William Narus of the District of Oregon, Special Agent in Charge David Reames of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Seattle Field Division and Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day of the FBI Anchorage Field Office made the announcement. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska has been recused from this case with the exception of certain personnel. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven D. Clymer from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of New York has been appointed as Special Attorney to the United States Attorney General to assist with this and other recused cases. He reports to and acts under the direction of the Deputy Attorney General, or his delegee, or Acting U.S. Attorney Narus in these cases. Special Attorney Clymer supervises personnel from the District of Alaska who have been exempted from the recusal. The DEA Anchorage District Office and FBI Anchorage Field Office, with assistance from the Anchorage Police Department, are investigating the case. If anyone has information concerning Facey’s alleged actions, please contact the FBI Anchorage Field Office at (907) 276-4441 or anonymously at tips.fbi.gov Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Alexander and Jennifer Ivers are prosecuting the case. An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. ###


title: Nicaraguan National Charged With Assaulting Deportation Officer At ICE Facility In San Jose

component: USAO - California, Northern

body_text: SAN JOSE – Francisco De-Jesus Morales has been charged with one count of forcibly assaulting a deportation officer with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). According to a criminal complaint and court documents filed today, Morales, 25, a national of Nicaragua, assaulted the deportation officer at an ICE facility in San Jose on May 2, 2025, when the deportation officer and two other officers attempted to take Morales into custody pursuant to a warrant for Morales’s removal and deportation from the United States. Morales allegedly physically resisted arrest and attempted to flee from the deportation officers, resulting in a struggle and injuries to Morales and the officers. All three deportation officers and Morales received medical treatment for injuries sustained during the physical altercation. The deportation officers’ injuries include bruising, scrapes, an ankle stress fracture/strain, a chest contusion, and a groin injury. Morales is charged with forcibly assaulting one of the deportation officers, causing significant groin bruising. Morales is currently in ICE custody pending removal pursuant to his deportation order. Acting United States Attorney Patrick D. Robbins and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Tatum King made the announcement. A criminal complaint merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the count of assault on a federal officer inflicting bodily injury in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 111(a)(1) and (b). Any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Taylor Lord and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeff Nedrow are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Susan Kreider. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by HSI.


title: Man Sentenced To Over Three Years In Federal Prison For Stealing More Than $1.3 Million From San Francisco Law Firms

body_text: SAN FRANCISCO – Tony Archuleta-Perkins, 49, of Palm Springs, was sentenced today to 37 months in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley handed down the sentence. Archuleta-Perkins, who was indicted in June 2024, pleaded guilty in December 2024 to one count of bank fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344(2) and one count of engaging in monetary transactions in property derived from specified unlawful activity (money laundering) in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1957. Archuleta-Perkins was hired in 2017 by a San Francisco law firm and eventually became the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of that firm as well as a related law firm. As the CFO, Archuleta-Perkins was in a position of trust and had access to the law firms’ payroll systems and end-to-end payments automation platforms. He used his position to embezzle more than $1 million while he worked at the firms. From 2017 through 2023, Archuleta-Perkins stole more than $1.3 million and used that money for, among other things, improvements to and mortgages on three houses he owned. Acting United States Attorney Patrick D. Robbins and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani made the announcement. In addition to the prison term, Judge Corley also sentenced Archuleta-Perkins to a three-year period of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution in the amount of $1,321,752.72. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nikhil Bhagat is prosecuting the case. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI.


title: Americus Man Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Possessing Firearms

component: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

body_text: ALBANY, Ga. – An Americus, Georgia, resident who was under investigation for distributing fentanyl in the community was sentenced to federal prison for illegally possessing several firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime as he attempted to evade arrest. Juan Antonious Boone, 36, of Americus, Georgia, was sentenced to serve 181 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release by Chief U.S. District Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner on May 21. Boone previously pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime on Oct. 9, 2024. There is no parole in the federal system. “Armed repeat felons distributing fentanyl and other dangerous illegal substances will find their cases in federal court,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney C. Shanelle Booker. “We are grateful that no one was injured when the defendant recklessly sped away in his car while attempting to evade arrest. I want to thank the teams from the Americus Police Department, GBI and ATF for helping us hold the defendant accountable for his crimes and their tireless efforts to make our communities safer.” “Let me be clear—if you’re a convicted felon pushing fentanyl and carrying illegal firearms, the ATF will find you, and you will face the full force of federal prosecution,” said ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Beau Kolodka of the Atlanta Field Division. “Fentanyl distribution and armed criminal activity pose a grave threat to public safety,” said GBI Director Chris Hosey. “This sentencing sends a clear message: individuals who choose to traffic deadly drugs and illegally possess firearms will be met with the full force of the law. We remain steadfast in our mission to protect Georgia communities through strong partnerships and relentless investigative work.” “The Americus Police Department appreciates the teamwork between local, state and federal law enforcement partners that helps to get dangerous criminals like this off our streets. We are all in the fight together against violent offenders who are flooding our streets with fentanyl and other dangerous narcotics,” said Americus Police Chief Mark Scott. According to court documents and statements made in court, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) utilized a confidential informant (CI) between June 13, 2023, and Aug. 7, 2023, to purchase small quantities of narcotics, including fentanyl, from Boone in the Americus area. On Jan. 8, 2024, GBI conducted surveillance of Boone at the Days Inn in Americus as he departed the hotel. Boone, who was wanted on an active probation warrant, was pulled over by Americus Police Department (APD) officers. Rather than exiting the vehicle as instructed, Boone placed the vehicle in drive and drove away at a high speed, almost striking an APD officer. APD officers pursued Boone to a nearby apartment complex; when he got to a dead-end, he got out of the car and ran away. Boone had a firearm in his hand and one in his waistband; he was safely apprehended. Boone, who has several felony convictions, was illegally possessing two stolen 9mm pistols. Inside his car, police found approximately 24 grams of fentanyl, 79.743 grams of methamphetamine, 251 grams of cocaine, a large quantity of marijuana and a 9mm semiautomatic pistol. Boone has several prior felonies, including two convictions for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and a conviction for possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony. This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN). The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) and the Americus Police Department (APD). Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Redavid prosecuted the case for the Government.