title: Federal Judge Sentences Raleigh Drug Kingpin Who Convinced Former Youth Football Coach to Transport Over 13 Pounds of Cocaine to 50 Years in Federal Prison

component: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

body_text: Duplin County Sheriff's Office 8/22/2022 RALEIGH, N.C. – On December 11, 2025, a federal judge sentenced a Raleigh man to 600 months, which is 50 years, in federal prison for leading a large-scale drug trafficking organization responsible for distributing cocaine, crack cocaine, fentanyl, and other narcotics throughout the Raleigh area. Earlier this year a federal jury convicted Akeem Netron Holder Evans, age 36, of multiple counts of conspiracy, possession, and intent to distribute illegal drugs. “This dealer ran a large-scale drug operation, exploited people he trusted, and pumped deadly drugs into our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle. “This sentence, spending the next 50 years in federal prison, makes it crystal clear: if you sell drugs here, we will find you, we will convict you, and you will spend decades behind bars. This Big Shark Bad Boy won’t hurt our families and children for a long time.” “For years, Akeem Evans peddled poison to his own community without a second thought. He’ll have the next 50 years in federal prison to reflect on his actions. This case is a direct result of the FBI's relentless determination to partner with state and local departments to rid our neighborhoods of drug-fueled gang violence," said James C. Barnacle Jr., the FBI Special Agent in Charge in North Carolina. "The sentencing of Akeem Evans brings closure to a deeply disturbing case. We are pleased that justice has been served and that those who distribute deadly substances into our community are being held accountable. This outcome reflects the strong collaborative efforts between the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Raleigh Police Department. We are sincerely grateful for this partnership, as well as for the continued support and dedication of our local, state, and federal partners whose work was instrumental in this case," said Raleigh Police Chief Rico Boyce. According to court documents and other information presented in court, Evans operated a long-running drug trafficking organization out of multiple residences in Raleigh and the surrounding areas. Investigators determined that Evans’ organization distributed at least 11 kilograms of cocaine, more than 4.8 kilograms of crack cocaine (35 pounds combined), fentanyl, oxycodone, and marijuana, and that Evans orchestrated others in storing, transporting, cooking, and selling drugs. As part of the operation, Evans exploited personal relationships to help sell drugs. He even convinced his former childhood football coach to transport kilogram quantities of cocaine into the Raleigh area for distribution, demonstrating the depths he would sink to insulate himself and expand the tentacles of his gang. The investigation revealed that Evans and his co-conspirators used stash houses, encrypted communications, and counter measures in a vain attempt to evade law enforcement. Investigators also identified Evans as coordinating drug deals with multiple customers and directing them where to purchase drugs. In March 2022, during the execution of a search warrant, officers recovered several kilograms of cocaine, hundreds of grams of crack cocaine, fentanyl pills, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and firearms from multiple locations connected to Evans and his dirty gang of drug peddlers. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley H. Foxx, Toby Lathan, and Robert Dodson prosecuted the case. The Federal Bureau of Investigations and the Raleigh Police Department investigated the case. Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:22-CR-140-D-1.


title: Life Sentence for Highs RICO Defendant Who Murdered Innocent Bystander

component: USAO - Minnesota

body_text: MINNEAPOLIS – This morning, United States District Judge Nancy Brasel sentenced Gregory Hamilton, age 29, to life imprisonment, announced U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen. Hamilton is a violent member of the Minneapolis criminal street gang known as the Highs. He was convicted after a three-week trial of RICO Conspiracy and Premeditated Murder for his involvement in the Highs and the August 8, 2021 murder of Darryl Wells, Jr., an innocent bystander who was mistaken for a gang member. This is the second life sentence secured by the U.S. Attorney’s Office as a part of the RICO prosecutions aimed at disrupting and dismantling the violent and murderous street gangs of Minneapolis. To date, the office has charged well over 100 gang members with federal crimes, including charging 39 members of the Highs with RICO conspiracy, narcotics trafficking, firearms trafficking, and related offenses. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Hamilton, of Minneapolis, Minnesota, was a member of the Highs—a criminal enterprise that controlled territory north of West Broadway Avenue in Minneapolis. Evidence at trial proved that members of the Highs committed murders, narcotics trafficking, weapons violations, burglaries, assaults, and robberies on behalf of the enterprise. As members of the Highs, the defendants were expected to retaliate against the rival Lows gang, which operated south of West Broadway Avenue. On August 7, 2021, a prominent Highs member was shot and killed by a Lows member at the Winner gas station, a Highs hangout. The following day, August 8, 2021, Highs members organized a memorial for the deceased member at the gas station, where they distributed firearms and encouraged one another to retaliate against Lows members. Defendant Hamilton attended the memorial. Later that day, Hamilton and a second convicted defendant, Dantrell Johnson, drove to a Lows hangout—Wally’s Foods—and shot a Lows associate, who survived his injuries. Approximately two hours later, Johnson, Hamilton, and another convicted defendant, Keon Pruitt, drove to Skyline Market, another known Lows hangout. The were “hunting” Lows and wanted to shoot Lows members. They mistakenly believed Wells was a Lows member—he was not—and the store’s cameras captured them shooting Wells inside the store. Wells ran from the store. Pruitt, who was driving two juveniles in a stolen Porsche, chased Wells a short distance. The two juveniles then jumped out of the car, chased Wells into a nearby alley, and fired additional shots at him. All told, Wells was shot at least eight times. The jury convicted Hamilton, Johnson, and Pruitt of Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Conspiracy and Using a Firearm to Cause Death. Today, Judge Brasel imposed what the government requested at sentencing—a life sentence. In doing so, Judge Brasel observed, “This was gang revenge, pure and simple.” Judge Brasel noted that the evidence at trial showed that Hamilton is “a shooter for the Highs” and that he killed Darryl Wells “in a horrific and barbaric manner.” She explained that the victims of the Highs violence—which turned North Minneapolis into “an open-air shooting range”—were not just Wells but also the many members of the community who were also bystanders to this violence. In imposing the life sentence, Judge Brasel concluded, “A lesser sentence would not honor and protect members of this neighborhood who were terrorized” by the violence of the Highs. As one concerned community member wrote to the Court, “Whether it be from violence with guns, drug sales, a combination of both, we have been preyed upon enough as a community.” These cases against the Highs are a result of an investigation conducted by the ATF, the FBI, the Minneapolis Police Department, IRS Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and the Minnesota Department of Corrections, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, the DEA, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, Dakota County Sheriff’s Office, St. Paul Police Department, and numerous other law enforcement agencies contributed to this investigation through reports or evidence control. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Lopez-Calhoun, Albania Concepcion, Rebecca Kline, and Carla Baumel of the District of Minnesota, and Trial Attorneys Brian Lynch and Alyssa Levey-Weinstein of the Justice Department’s Violent Crime & Racketeering Section, prosecuted these cases.


title: Acoma Man Charged with Sexual Abusing Minors

component: USAO - New Mexico

body_text: ALBUQUERQUE – An Acoma man has been indicted on federal charges for sexually abusing two minors. According to court documents, in December 2024 and January 2025, Bryan Gachupin , 21, an enrolled member of the Acoma Pueblo, engaged in sexual acts with two different minors in separate incidents. Gachupin is charged with two counts of sexual abuse of a minor and will remain on conditions of release pending trial, which has not yet been scheduled. If convicted, Gachupin faces up to fifteen years in prison. Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison made the announcement today. The Bureau of Indian Affairs investigated this case with assistance from the Acoma Police Department and the Regional Computer Forensics Laboratory (RCFL). Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Marshall is prosecuting the case. An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.


title: Honduran Man Sentenced To 25 Months In Federal Prison For Aggravated Identity Theft And Related Fraud Charges

component: USAO - Florida, Middle

body_text: Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven today sentenced Juan Ariel Molina-Salles (35, Honduras) to two years and one month in federal prison for aggravated identity theft, false representation of a Social Security number, and making a false claim of United States citizenship for employment purposes. The court ordered the sentence to run consecutive to his 12-year state sentence in case no. 22-CF-09348 in the Sixth Judicial Circuit Court in Pinellas County for leaving the scene of a crash involving death. Molina-Salles pleaded guilty on September 15, 2025. According to court documents, Archer Western-de Moya Group Joint Venture II (Joint Venture) is enrolled in E-Verify, a web-based system through which employers electronically confirm the employment eligibility of their employees. Molina-Salles is an illegal alien from Honduras with no lawful status in the United States. On February 16, 2022, Molina-Salles applied for employment with the Joint Venture in Pinellas County and filled out an I-9 form for use in the E-Verify system. On that form, Molina-Salles falsely identified himself as a United States citizen and used another person’s means of identification to defeat the E-Verify system. Molina-Salles provided no documents or other proof that he was trained or qualified to operate a front-end loader or other heavy construction equipment. Molina-Salles was working at the Joint Venture’s highway construction site in Pinellas County under the stolen identity on the evening of September 22, 2022. That night, while operating a front-end loader, he struck and killed Deputy Michael Hartwick, a 19-year veteran of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. Rather than staying at the scene and attempting to assist Deputy Hartwick, first responders, and investigators, Molina-Salles handed his construction helmet and safety vest to a co-worker, told the co-worker to get rid of those items, and fled. On September 23, 2022, Molina-Salles was arrested in connection with Deputy Hartwick’s death. This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Department of Transportation – Office of Inspector General, the Social Security Administration–Office of the Inspector General, the United States Border Patrol, the Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher F. Murray.


title: Fort Dodge Man Pleads Guilty to Meth Conspiracy

component: USAO - Iowa, Northern

body_text: Melvin Boone, 46, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, pled guilty December 15, 2025, in federal court in Sioux City, to one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a protected location. At the plea hearing, Boone admitted that between October 2023, and March 2025, he and others conspired to distribute over 5 pounds of methamphetamine in the Fort Dodge area. Evidence also showed that in July 2024, Boone distributed 2 ounces of methamphetamine to an individual cooperating with law enforcement within 1,000 feet of St. Edmond Catholic School in Fort Dodge. Boone admitted to receiving and distributing methamphetamine with a number of individuals in Fort Dodge. Sentencing before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand [will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Boone remains in custody of the United States Marshal pending sentencing. Boone faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of life imprisonment, a $20,000,000 fine, and at least ten years of supervised release following any imprisonment. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by the Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement, the Webster County Sheriff’s Office, the Fort Dodge Police Department, and the Iowa DCI Criminalistic Laboratory. Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl . The case file number is 25-3027. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.


title: Illegal Alien Sentenced to Federal Prison for Illegal Reentry

body_text: On November 25, 2025, Carlos Zamudio-Hernandez, 43, from Mexico, was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment. Zamudio-Hernandez pled guilty on September 10, 2025, to illegal re-entry of a previously removed alien, in federal court in Sioux City. Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that Zamudio-Hernandez is a citizen of Mexico. Zamudio-Hernandez was previously deported from the United States in September 2020, after serving a 10-year term in federal prison for methamphetamine trafficking. Zamudio-Hernandez admitted that he illegally reentered the United States and was later found in the United States in November 2024 in Twin Falls, Idaho, then in June 2025 in California. Sentencing was held before United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand. Zamudio-Hernandez was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment and must serve a three-year term of supervised release following imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. Zamudio-Hernandez remains in custody of the United States Marshal until he can be transported to a federal prison. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Shawn S. Wehde and was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl . The case file number is 25-4049. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.


title: Former Harvard Morgue Manager And Wife Sentenced For Trafficking Stolen Human Remains

component: USAO - Pennsylvania, Middle

body_text: SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Cedric Lodge, age 58, and Denise Lodge, age 65, both of Goffstown, New Hampshire, were sentenced on December 16, 2025, by Chief United States District Judge Matthew W. Brann to interstate transport of stolen human remains. Cedric Lodge was sentenced to 96 months in prison and Denise Lodge received a sentence of 12 months and a day in prison. According to United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, from 2018 through at least March 2020, Cedric Lodge participated in the sale and interstate transport of human remains stolen from Harvard Medical School morgue, located in Boston, Massachusetts. Cedric Lodge, who was then employed as the manager of the Harvard Medical School Morgue, removed human remains, including organs, brains, skin, hands, faces, dissected heads, and other parts, from donated cadavers after they had been used for research and teaching purposes but before they could be disposed of according to the anatomical gift donation agreement between the donor and the school. Cedric Lodge took the remains without the knowledge or permission of his employer, the donor, or the donor’s family, and transported the remains to his home in New Hampshire. After he and his wife Denise Lodge sold the remains, they would ship the remains to the buyers in other states or the buyer would take possession directly and transport the remains themselves. Remains stolen and sold by the Lodges were transported from the morgue in Boston to locations in Salem, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania. Lodge sold remains to Joshua Taylor and Andrew Ensanian, among others. Many of the remains purchased from Lodge were resold for a profit, including to Jeremy Pauley, who previously entered a guilty plea to conspiracy and interstate transportation of stolen human remains and is scheduled for sentencing on December 22, 2025. “The trafficking of stolen human remains through the US Mail is a disturbing act that victimizes already grieving families while also creating a potentially hazardous situation for Postal employees and customers,” said Christopher Nielsen, the Inspector in Charge of the Philadelphia Division of the Postal Inspection Service. “I hope our efforts, and these sentencings, bring some amount of closure to those affected by this terrible crime.” “Today’s sentencing is another step forward in ensuring those who orchestrated and executed this heinous crime are brought to justice” said Wayne A. Jacobs, special agent in charge of FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office. “I want to thank our partners at the Postal Inspection Service and the United States Attorney's Office for their diligent efforts in this case.” Several other defendants have previously entered guilty pleas in related cases, including Joshua Taylor, Andrew Ensanian, Matthew Lampi, Katrina Maclean and Angelo Pereyra. Lampi was sentenced to 15 months in prison and Pereyra was sentenced to 18 months. Joshua Taylor is awaiting sentencing. Additionally, Candace Chapman-Scott, who stole remains from an Arkansas crematorium where she was employed and sold them to Pauley in Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty in Arkansas federal court and was sentenced to 15 years in prison. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the East Pennsboro Township Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alisan Martin is prosecuting the case. # # #


title: California man, who operated call centers that falsely claimed to help distressed homeowners, sentenced to ten years in prison

component: USAO - Washington, Western

body_text: Seattle – The operator of a web of boiler-room-type call centers was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to ten years in prison for defrauding nearly 1,000 distressed homeowners facing foreclosure, announced U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. Mohammed Zafaranchi, 43, aka ‘Mike’ was convicted following a week-long trial of all twelve federal charges he faced: conspiracy to commit wire fraud, five counts of wire fraud, five counts of money laundering, and obstruction of justice. At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour ordered Zafaranchi to begin serving his sentence immediately, saying the sentence was based “on the evidence the court heard at trial and the substantial number of victims and the severe hardship the victims suffered.” “This defendant lined his pockets with some $2.6 million while preying on vulnerable homeowners,” said U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd. “Of more than 900 victims, many lost their homes to foreclosure, and all were in worse financial shape due to the ‘help’ his company never provided. This is a significant sentence for a fraud case, and one that is deserved by the trail of financial hardship this defendant left in his wake.” “Like many fraudsters, Mr. Zafaranchi took advantage of a vulnerable population: in this case, homeowners facing foreclosure,” said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office. “He then tailored a scheme to prey on their financial difficulties by offering them false hope in return for a hefty fee to supposedly reduce their debt and interest rate. As consequence for his actions, Mr. Zafaranchi now has a decade in prison to consider the harm he’s done and, hopefully, resolve to change his ways.” Zafaranchi’s fraud scheme involved purchasing data that identified homeowners who were behind on their mortgages and at risk of losing their homes. Each week, Zafaranchi sent thousands of solicitation mailers falsely telling the distressed homeowners they were eligible for government programs that would reduce their mortgage debt by 30% and reduce their interest rate to 2%. The mailers told homeowners to call a phone number before a made-up deadline to get the mortgage modification. When homeowners called the call centers, operators followed a series of scripts telling homeowners that lawyers and underwriters had vetted their case and negotiated a modification with their lender. The scripts instructed operators to place callers on hold for a pre-determined amount of time to build suspense and make it appear a review was underway. The operator would then return to the line and tell each victim he or she was one of the very select few who qualified for the program—but only if the homeowner paid the call center a $3,000 legal fee to “finalize” the modification. In fact, Zafaranchi’s businesses had no legal or underwriting staff. Instead, untrained workers simply scanned the homeowners’ financial records, completed a basic application form, and sent the documents to the banks. The homeowners did not receive the modifications promised in the mailers, and some lost their homes. After taking the victims’ money, Zafaranchi laundered the funds through shell bank accounts and withdrew the proceeds in cash. He was convicted of money laundering for this conduct. On March 29, 2018, the FBI served a search warrant on the call center in Everett Washington. After learning of this search, Zafaranchi told his California employees to remove the computers and other evidence from his California offices. That night, Zafaranchi destroyed all records associated with three email accounts he used to operate the businesses. For that conduct, Zafaranchi was convicted of obstruction of justice. In asking for a 12-year sentence prosecutors wrote to the court, “Although the theft of nearly $3 million is horrific no matter the circumstances, the money that Zafaranchi stole was taken from people who desperately needed it. Stealing $3,000 from families, retirees, or other vulnerable individuals who are desperately fighting to keep their homes is appalling. And Zafaranchi did that day, after day, after day, to more than 900 people until he was finally caught—an average of nearly a victim a day for three years. Indeed, given that Zafaranchi exploited more than 900 victims, a sentence of 144 months would amount to less than 1 week of incarceration for each of his victims.” Today, Judge Coughenour ordered Zafaranchi to turn himself in to the U.S. Marshal Office at the federal courthouse to being serving his ten-year sentence immediately. Zafaranchi will be on three years of supervised release following prison. The amount of restitution Zafaranchi must pay to his victims will be determined at a future hearing. Zafaranchi’s two coconspirators, Mark Lezama and Josh Herrera both pleaded guilty and will be sentenced in early 2026. The case was investigated by the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Seth Wilkinson, Lauren Watts Staniar, and Dane A. Westermeyer. The Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General provided support in the case.


title: FCI-Greenville inmate sentenced to additional prison time for possessing contraband

body_text: EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – A district judge added 24 additional months to an FCI-Greenville inmate’s sentence for possessing a makeshift weapon. Raekwon M. Patton, 27, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of contraband in prison. “For the inmates who didn’t learn the first time, let us be clear—additional crime means additional time,” said U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft. “Inmates in possession of weapons put correctional officers, prison staff, other inmates and themselves at risk, and this criminal conduct will lead to additional prison time.” On June 29, 2024, a correctional officer at FCI-Greenville conducted a pat search on Patton and discovered a makeshift weapon in his waistband. The weapon was a sharp, pointed piece of metal, approximately 7.5 inches in length and affixed to a wooden handle wrapped in a black cord. "Contraband possession presents an unacceptable risk to everyone in a prison facility,” said FBI Springfield Special Agent in Charge Christopher J.S. Johnson. “We commend the hard work of the correctional officers whose diligence led to the discovery of the makeshift weapon. This outcome clearly demonstrates that further criminal activity will only result in further incarceration." In June 2024, Patton was serving a 300-month sentence at FCI-Greenville in Greenville, Illinois. FBI Springfield led the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Dean prosecuted the case.


title: Florida Man Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud, Identity Theft

component: USAO - Maine

body_text: PORTLAND, Maine: A Florida man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Portland to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. According to court records, Richard Harris , 23, and a coconspirator, Paul Logugune, broke into unattended vehicles to steal purses and wallets to obtain driver’s licenses and checkbooks. Harris and Logugune forged checks using the stolen checkbooks and made the checks payable to the names on the stolen licenses. They then recruited others to cash the forged checks at credit unions throughout Cumberland County using the stolen IDs to impersonate the ID theft victims. Logugune pleaded guilty to his role in the offense and has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Harris faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a maximum term of supervised release of five years. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigative report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The FBI investigated the case. ###


title: Waterbury Drug Trafficker Who Carried Firearm Sentenced to 5 Years in Federal Prison

component: USAO - Connecticut

body_text: David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MALIK WRIGHT, 22, of Waterbury, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven to 60 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised for a firearm possession offense. According to court documents and statements made in court, in July and August 2024, Waterbury Police made a controlled purchase of narcotics from Wright and observed him conducting additional hand-to-hand drug sales. On August 29, 2024, investigators saw Wright stash a satchel in the tire area of an abandoned car in a vacant lot near Coe Street and High Street, and then conduct another apparent drug sale. Officers took Wright into custody and located the satchel, which contained fentanyl and cocaine, a scale, and a loaded .40 caliber handgun with a 23-round magazine. Wright has been detained since his arrest. On August 6, 2025, he pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Waterbury Police Department, and the Connecticut State Police. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Natasha Freismuth through Project Safe Neighborhoods (“PSN”), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.


title: Carter County Resident Pleads Guilty To Illegally Possessing Ammunition

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

body_text: MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Lacey Marie Robinson, age 33, of Autry, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to one count of Felon in Possession of Ammunition, punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The Indictment alleged that on August 15, 2025, having been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year, and knowing of such conviction, Robinson knowingly possessed two rounds of .22 caliber ammunition and one .22 caliber lead bullet. The charge arose from an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Carter County Sheriff’s Office. The Honorable Gerald L. Jackson, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report. A U.S. District Court Judge will determine the sentence to be imposed after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Robinson will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lewis M. Reagan represented the United States.


title: U.S. Attorney’s Office and 24-Hour Fitness resolve allegations it violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

body_text: Seattle – The U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Washington and 24-Hour Fitness, a nine-state exercise facility business, this week resolved allegations it failed to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, announced U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. The chain will embark on new training and policies to ensure compliance with the ADA and will pay the complainant $2,000. The fitness chain denies any wrongdoing. According to the settlement agreement, the complainant was a member at the Vancouver, Washington, Mill Plain Boulevard, 24-Hour Fitness. She complained that the accessible shower in the women’s locker room had not been available for months. An investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed the accessible shower was unusable for several months due to ongoing repairs and maintenance. While not agreeing that it violated the ADA, 24-Hour Fitness will make new draft policies regarding ADA compliance at all 24-Hour Fitness locations and submit them to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for review. The new policies will require surveys every six months of all 24-Hour Fitness facilities, with an eye to ADA compliance. The policies will also establish a protocol to conduct daily observations of accessible features to ensure usability and address maintenance and repair issues. The company agrees to post its ADA compliance commitment at all Washington locations and will maintain a complaint process for all facilities to address concerns or allegations of discrimination based on disability. If the U.S. Attorney’s Office receives any additional complaints it will provide them to attorneys for the company with the expectation that the company will respond in five business days. The clubs will train all its employees on ADA compliance and will keep records of facility repairs related to ADA compliance. The clubs will report on compliance regarding the Washington facilities to the U.S. Attorney’s Office every twelve months for a two-year period. In addition to paying $2,000 to the complainant, 24-Hour Fitness agrees to pay $10,000 to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. However, that payment will be suspended if 24-Hour Fitness successfully meets all the requirements of the settlement over a two-year period. The settlement was negotiated by Assistant United States Attorney Susan Kas, Civil Rights Coordinator in the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.


title: Sumter Man Sentenced to 11 Years in Federal Prison for Weapons and Drugs Charges

body_text: COLUMBIA, S.C. — Kendall Kyleek Dow, 28, of Sumter, was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition and possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes. Evidence presented in court revealed that agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, in coordination with the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office and the Sumter Police Department, working as part of a joint initiative targeting violent crime and drug trafficking in Sumter, identified Dow as being involved in illegal firearms trafficking and narcotics distribution. Between February and May 2023, Dow sold 17 firearms, fentanyl, and ammunition to law enforcement. The firearms sold included semi-automatic weapons, multiple stolen firearms, firearms capable of accepting large-capacity magazines, two machine gun conversion devices—designed to convert semiautomatic firearms into fully automatic machine guns—and firearms without serial numbers, along with approximately 170 rounds of ammunition. In addition to the firearms offenses, Dow distributed more than 153 grams of fentanyl during the same three-month period. Dow has prior felony convictions and is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law. United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis sentenced Dow to 132 months imprisonment to be followed by five years of court ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, and the Sumter Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ariyana Gore is prosecuting the case. ###


title: Honduran National Sentenced for Illegal Reentry and Possession of a Firearm

component: USAO - Louisiana, Eastern

body_text: NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – Acting United States Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that BRYAN JAVIER PEREZ-ESPINOZA (“PEREZ-ESPINOZA ,”), age 33, a native of Honduras, was sentenced on December 3, 2025, to 21 months in federal prison. According to court documents, PEREZ-ESPINOZA , an illegal alien previously removed to Honduras on September 30, 2022, was found in Orleans Parish on March 23, 2024. He was later charged in a superseding indictment on May 22, 2025, with reentry of a removed alien, in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326(a), and illegal alien in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(5)(A) and 924(a)(8). This prosecution was part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative aimed at repelling illegal immigration, dismantling transnational criminal organizations, and protecting communities from violent crime. The operation unites the resources of the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) programs. Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security, as well as their local and federal law enforcement partners, for their handling of this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Spiro G. Latsis of the General Crimes Unit prosecuted the case. * * *


title: Fayette County Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Gun Crime

component: USAO - West Virginia, Southern

body_text: BECKLEY, W.Va. – Paul Jeremiah Buckner, 37, of Oak Hill, pleaded guilty today to being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to court documents and statements made in court, on October 7, 2024, a law enforcement officer in Glade Creek conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle in which Buckner was a passenger. The officer found that Buckner possessed a Taurus TPC .380-caliber pistol during the traffic stop. Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from possessing a firearm or ammunition. As part of his guilty plea, Buckner admitted that he knew he was prohibited from possession the firearm because of his prior felony conviction for delivery of a controlled substance in Fayette County Circuit Court on January 14, 2014. Buckner is scheduled to be sentenced on April 24,2026, and faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison, at up three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000. United States Attorney Moore Capito made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the National Park Service. United States Magistrate Judge Omar J. Aboulhosn presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorney Brian D. Parsons is prosecuting the case. This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:25-cr-58.


title: Brooklyn Church Pastor Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion Scheme

component: USAO - New York, Eastern

body_text: Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Paul Mitchell, the lead pastor of a church and president of a daycare, pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging him with tax evasion. The proceeding was held before United States Chief Magistrate Judge Vera M. Scanlon. When sentenced, Mitchell faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison as well as restitution and monetary penalties. Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Matthew R. Galeotti, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Harry T. Chavis, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, New York (IRS-CI), announced the guilty plea. “The defendant treated his organizations’ accounts as his own personal piggy bank, stealing millions of dollars and betraying the trust of his congregation and those dependent on the services provided to the community,” stated United States Attorney Nocella. “Our Office will always be vigilant in protecting houses of worship from criminality that threatens the important work they do.” “Paul Mitchell was trusted by his parishioners to use their donations for good, not to fatten his wallet. His deceit was at many levels, as he also evaded paying millions in tax revenue that benefits the good of all Americans. With today's plea, Mitchell decided to take a step forward to right his wrongs, and will face justice for his actions,” stated IRS-CI New York Special Agent in Charge Chavis. As alleged in court filings, Mitchell was the founder of a church (Organization‑1), and an educational daycare (Organization‑2), both located in Brooklyn, New York. Mitchell served as the lead pastor at Organization‑1 and the president of Organization‑2. Between 2015 and 2022, Mitchell using credit cards for Organization-1 and Organization-2 to pay for his personal expenses, including men’s clothing, jewelry, luxury accessories, and life insurance premiums. He also wrote checks from Organization‑1’s bank accounts to pay his own credit card bills; frequently withdrew large amounts of cash from bank accounts for Organization‑1 and Organization‑2; and transferred funds from those accounts into his own bank accounts. Mitchell failed to report his use of funds stolen from Organization‑1 and Organization‑2 as income on his personal income tax returns, thereby reducing his tax burden and evading the payment of personal income taxes. As a result of his conduct, Mitchell caused a tax loss of approximately $2,906,072 to the IRS and of approximately $316,699 to New York State between 2015 and 2022. The government’s case is being handled by Office’s Public Integrity Section. Assistant United States Attorney Miranda Gonzalez and Trial Attorney Catriona M. Coppler of the Justice Department’s Tax Section of the Criminal Division are in charge of the prosecution. The Defendant : PAUL MITCHELL Age: 60 West Hempstead, New York E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-CR-374 (NRM)


title: Denver Man Indicted On 21 Counts Including Robbery of United States Postal Service Worker, Bank Fraud

component: USAO - Colorado

body_text: DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Avian Mayo, 25, of Denver, was indicted by a federal grand on jury on 21 counts including postal robbery, brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, bank fraud, and aggravated identity theft. According to the indictment, on March 4, 2024, Mayo—along with Brisa Sierra-Silva and Christopher Johnson, who are charged in a separate federal indictment—attempted to rob a postal carrier and then, later that same day, robbed a second postal carrier. Sierra-Silva and Johnson were indicted and made court appearances in the spring of 2025. The charges contained in the indictments are allegations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The case is being investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the FBI Denver Field Office. Assistant United States Attorney Albert Buchman is handling the prosecution. Case Numbers: 25-cr-00313-RMR (Mayo); 25-cr-00132-CNS (Sierra-Silva and Johnson)


title: Pierre Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Escape

component: USAO - South Dakota

body_text: SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange has sentenced a Pierre, South Dakota, man convicted of Escape. The sentencing took place on December 15, 2025. James Dubray, age 22, was sentenced to 12 months and a day in federal prison, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100. Dubray was indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2025. He pleaded guilty on October 14, 2025. The conviction stemmed from an incident on May 5, 2025 when Dubray, who was in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons pursuant to a conviction for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and serving part of his sentence at Dismas Charities Residential Reentry Center in Sioux Falls, escaped from the facility by leaving without authorization and failing to return. This case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service. Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Connie Larson prosecuted the case. Dubray was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.


title: Oklahoma man guilty of transporting children for sexual exploitation

body_text: TYLER, Texas – A Lawton, Oklahoma man has pleaded guilty to child exploitation charges in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs. Rolando Alexis Bravo, 44, pleaded guilty on December 16, 2025, to being involved in a conspiracy to transport minors before U.S. Magistrate Judge K. Nicole Mitchell. According to court documents, on November 16, 2023, Bravo transported three minors from Lawton, Oklahoma, to Dallas where he met a co-conspirator, who then transported the children to Tyler. The co-conspirator obtained hotel rooms in Tyler where the children engaged in prostitution with others. Bravo faces up to life in federal prison. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office. This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. This case is being investigated by the FBI and the Tyler Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alan Jackson and Emil Mikkelson. ###


component: Criminal Division

body_text: Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, Paul Mitchell, the lead pastor of a church and president of a daycare pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging him with one count of tax evasion. Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. for the Eastern District of New York and Special Agent in Charge Harry T. Chavis Jr. of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) New York announced the guilty plea. According to court filings, Mitchell was the founder of a church and an educational daycare, both located in Brooklyn, where he served as the lead pastor at the church and the president of the daycare. Between 2015 and 2022, Mitchell used the organizations’ credit cards to pay for his personal expenses, including men’s clothing, thousands of dollars in jewelry, luxury watches, and life insurance premiums. He also wrote checks from the church’s bank accounts to pay his own credit card bills and personal income taxes. As part of the scheme, Mitchell frequently withdrew large amounts of cash from bank accounts for the church and the daycare and transferred funds from those accounts into his own bank accounts. He failed to report his use of the stolen funds as income on his personal income tax returns, which significantly reduced his tax burden and allowed him to evade the payment of personal income taxes. As a result of his conduct, Mitchell caused a tax loss of approximately $2,906,072 to the IRS and approximately $316,699 to New York State between 2015 and 2022. Mitchell faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, restitution, and fines of up to $250,000. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The government’s case is being handled by the Public Integrity Section. Assistant U.S. Attorney Miranda Gonzalez for the Eastern District of New York and Trial Attorney Catriona M. Coppler of the Justice Department’s Tax Section of the Criminal Division are prosecuting this case.


title: Federal Jury Convicts Fugitive in 2018 Kidnapping and Carjacking After Seven Years on the Run

body_text: ALBUQUERQUE – A federal jury convicted Jose Ramirez for his role in the brutal 2018 kidnapping and carjacking of his former employer in Placitas, New Mexico, following a five-day trial and approximately three hours of deliberation. The conviction comes after Ramirez evaded capture for seven years before being apprehended by law enforcement in California. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Jose Ramirez , 37, orchestrated the violent attack on July 26, 2018. A day before the incident, Ramirez met with his co-defendants in Albuquerque to recruit them for what he described as a job to “get back at his boss for firing him” and “take his boss for all he had.” At the time of the crime, Ramirez was under court supervision and wearing a GPS ankle monitoring bracelet. Hours before the kidnapping, Ramirez cut off his ankle monitor. In the early morning hours of July 26, 2018, Ramirez and his co-defendant ambushed the victim as he left his Placitas residence. Ramirez placed the victim in a headlock with a knife to his throat while his co-defendant pistol-whipped him multiple times in the face. The victim was bound, placed in the bed of his own Ford Ranger truck, and driven to a remote compound on Pajarito Mesa. There, Ramirez held the victim captive in a shed for approximately 15 hours while attempting to extort ransom money from the victim’s family and force wire transfers to Mexico. Late that evening, the victim was dropped off in southwest Albuquerque. He walked to a nearby gas station and asked the clerk to call 911. Following the crime, Ramirez fled and evaded capture for seven years before being arrested by law enforcement in California for drug possession. Ramirez was convicted of conspiracy to kidnap, kidnapping, conspiracy to carjack, carjacking, using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, and extortion. Following the verdict, the Court ordered that Ramirez remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled. At sentencing, Ramirez faces no less than five years and up to life in prison. Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today. The FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office, Albuquerque Police Department and New Mexico Corrections Department Probation and Parole. Assistant United States Attorneys Jack E. Burkhead and Sarah Mease are prosecuting the case.


title: Twenty-Four Defendants Charged in Major Cocaine Trafficking Conspiracy in South Florida

component: USAO - Florida, Southern

body_text: MIAMI – A federal grand jury in Miami has returned a superseding indictment unsealed today charging 24 defendants with conspiring to traffic large quantities of cocaine in and around Miami-Dade County and elsewhere in the Southern District of Florida. The eight-count superseding indictment charges the following defendants—each a resident of Miami unless otherwise indicated—with drug trafficking conspiracy and related offenses: Bienvenido Leo Rodriguez, 73; Roberto Rodriguez, 52; Alberto Leandro Curiel, 72; Pedro Gonzalez Alvarez, 48; Claudio Alberto Barrios, 55, of Miami Beach; Raimundo Antonio Roca-Naranjo, 72, of Miami Lakes; Roberto Jimenez, 53; Luis Alejandro Salcedo Rey, 54; Rolando Rodriguez Lugo, 57; Diego Diaz De La Cruz, 47; Lucia Cuadrado, 65, of Hialeah; Jorge Mahique Pareta, 64, of Hialeah; Miguel Marquez Romero, 29, of Naples; Heinrich Castillo Diaz, 47; Jose Arnaldo Bermudez, Jr., 42; Paulo Sabon Montero, 54, of Naples; Valerio Alvarez Abreu, 73, of Hialeah; Santos Saavedra, 81; Eustaquio Luis Cardoso Veliz, 63; Glenis Perez Martinez, 54; Yovanis Fernandez, 51, of Hialeah; Manuel Nuez, 55; Livan Padron Duque, 49; and Jorge Falla, 50. “This indictment reflects months of coordinated investigative work by federal agents and the City of Miami Police Department, under Chief Morales’s leadership, targeting a large-scale cocaine trafficking conspiracy operating in South Florida,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “Through close, sustained collaboration, investigators disrupted a network that moved multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine, trafficked in cash and firearms, and posed a real threat to public safety. The seizures in this case and the early intervention to prevent further violence demonstrate the effectiveness of focused, partnership-driven enforcement and our shared commitment to protecting this community.” “This takedown sends a clear and unmistakable message: drug trafficking and the violence that follows it will not be tolerated in Miami,” said Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales of the Miami Police Department. “I am extremely proud of our narcotics detectives from the Special Investigations Section and grateful for the hundreds of hours of tireless, often undercover work that led to today’s safe and successful operation. Their dedication, combined with outstanding collaboration with our partners at the FBI, the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, and State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle and her team at the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office, made these results possible.” According to court records, including previously filed criminal complaints, the defendants conspired to distribute multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine throughout South Florida. During the investigation, law enforcement seized approximately seven kilograms of cocaine on April 1 and an additional 10 kilograms of cocaine on May 27. The investigation also resulted in the seizure of significant proceeds and firearms. From Bienvenido Rodriguez’s residence, law enforcement recovered $58,214 in cash and two firearms. From Roca-Naranjo’s residence, agents seized $62,520 in cash, two firearms, and more than 100 rounds of assorted ammunition. Roca-Naranjo, a previously convicted felon, is additionally charged with unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. The superseding indictment also contains a general forfeiture allegation seeking the forfeiture of proceeds and property traceable to the charged offenses. If convicted, Bienvenido Rodriguez, Roberto Rodriguez, Curiel, Gonzalez Alvarez, Barrios, Jimenez, Marquez Romero, Castillo Diaz, Bermudez, Jr., Cardoso Veliz, Perez Martinez, and Fernandez face up to life imprisonment. If convicted, Salcedo Rey, Rodriguez Lugo, Diaz De La Cruz, Cuadrado, Mahique Pareta, Alvarez Abreu, and Nuez face up to 40 years in prison. If convicted, Roca-Naranjo, Sabon Montero, Saavedra, Padron Duque, and Falla face up to 20 years in prison. The investigation also disrupted a murder-for-hire plot in Fort Myers. According to court documents filed in the Middle District of Florida, between April 16 and 17, Marquez Romero and Sabon Montero discussed killing an individual identified by a co-conspirator in exchange for up to $30,000. Investigators learned that the co-conspirator had been hired by the intended victim’s brother to carry out the plot. Marquez Romero, Sabon Montero, and the co-conspirator exchanged multiple phone calls and arranged an in-person meeting to discuss the plan. On April 17, the conspirators met in a grocery store parking lot in Naples, where they were apprehended by the FBI with the assistance of law enforcement partners. U.S. Attorney Reding Quiñones, Acting Assistant Attorney General Galeotti, Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of FBI, Miami Field Office, and Chief of Police Manuel A. Morales of the Miami Police Department made the announcement. FBI Miami is investigating the case in conjunction with the City of Miami Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. Emery for the Southern District of Florida and Trial Attorneys Jessica A. Massey and Alieu Kargbo of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section are prosecuting the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney G. Raemy Charest-Turken is handling asset forfeiture. This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Miami comprises agents and officers from the FBI and the City of Miami Police Department with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida. This case is also part of DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Violent Crime Initiative to prosecute violent crimes in Miami. The Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida have partnered, along with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, to confront violent crimes committed by gang members and associates through the enforcement of federal laws and use of federal resources to prosecute offenders and prevent violence. An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov , under case number 25-cr-20253. ###


title: Woman Sentenced to 7 Years in Federal Prison for Trafficking Cocaine

body_text: David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that TASHIA BRIDGES, also known as “Cheena,” 35, of Torrington and Waterbury, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 84 months of imprisonment and four years of supervised release for her role in a drug trafficking conspiracy that operated out of New Britain car dealership. According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2024, the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force and New Britain Police Department conducted an investigation into a drug trafficking organization, headed by Wilfredo Ortiz and Michael Luisi, that was operating out of Supreme Automotive, a car dealership located at 494 Main Street in New Britain. The investigation included the use of court-authorized wiretaps, physical and electronic surveillance, and controlled purchases of narcotics, primarily cocaine. The investigation revealed that Bridges regularly purchased approximately 400 to 500 grams of cocaine from Luisi and then sold crack and powder cocaine to her own customers. Bridges, Ortiz, Luisi, and several other co-conspirators were arrested on November 14, 2024. On that date, investigators conducted court authorized searches of Supreme Automotive and other locations connected to the drug trafficking organization and seized more than five kilograms of cocaine, more than 200 grams of fentanyl, approximately 30 grams of heroin, a kilogram press, seven firearms, ammunition, approximately $75,000 in cash, and 26 vehicles. Searches of Bridges’ residences in Torrington and Waterbury revealed nearly 250 grams of crack cocaine, a small quantity of powder cocaine, a digital scale, a 9mm firearm with an obliterated serial number, and more than $14,000 in cash. On March 6, 2025, Bridges pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. She has been detained since September 11, 2025, when her federal bond was revoked after she was arrested by the Connecticut State Police and charged with drug distribution and related offenses. Ortiz and Luisi have pleaded guilty and await sentencing. This investigation has been conducted by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force, Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Marshal Service, the Connecticut State Police, the Connecticut Department of Correction, the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles Police, and the New Britain, Hartford, West Hartford, Waterbury, Naugatuck, East Hartford, Brookfield, Milford, Norwich, Orange, North Haven, Meriden, Berlin, and Manchester Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Natasha Freismuth, Reed Durham, and David Nelson.


title: Florida man sentenced to 13 years for leading a Fairbanks drug trafficking organization

component: USAO - Alaska

body_text: FAIRBANKS, Alaska – A Florida man was sentenced last week to 13 years in prison for leading a conspiracy to distribute controlled substances in Fairbanks. According to court documents, Willie Lewis Wilson Jr., 41, of Madison, Florida, conspired with others to operate a drug trafficking organization in Fairbanks. Wilson was the leader of the organization and set up several residences for his co-conspirators to sell cocaine and methamphetamine. In April 2025, multiple search warrants were authorized for various locations associated with the organization. Law enforcement discovered a safe maintained by Wilson filled with over 3,000 grams of methamphetamine and cocaine. Wilson used his stockpile to supply other members of the organization. “Mr. Wilson moved from Florida to Alaska intending to operate a drug trafficking organization and profit at the expense of our communities. That was a mistake. He will now spend over a dozen years behind bars,” said U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman for the District of Alaska. “My office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and exhaust all available resources to stop the flow of dangerous drugs into Alaska.” “Drug traffickers like Mr. Wilson prey on our communities for money and without regard for the lives they ruin,” said David F. Reames, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Seattle. “This time, the ruined life was his own as he spends the next 13 years paying his debt to society.” Wilson’s co-defendants in this case are as follows: Tremain Wilson, 38, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances on Oct. 30, 2025, and is scheduled to be sentenced for their role in the conspiracy on Jan. 30, 2026. Jarkese Pridgeon, 29, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances on Oct. 30, 2025, and is scheduled to be sentenced for their role in the conspiracy on January 30, 2026. The DEA Anchorage District Office investigated the case, with assistance from the North Pole Police Department, Fairbanks Police Department, High-Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Fairbanks Areawide Narcotics Team (FANT) and Anchorage Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Carly Vosacek prosecuted the case. ###


title: Pittsburg County Resident Pleads Guilty To Federal Drug And Firearm Charges

body_text: MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Samuel James King, age 25, of Indianola, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and one count of Felon in Possession of Firearm and Ammunition, punishable by up to 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The Indictment alleged that on May 12, 2025, King knowingly and intentionally possessed less than fifty kilograms of marijuana with intent to distribute it. The Indictment also alleged that on May 12, 2025, having been convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year and knowing of such conviction, King knowingly possessed a rifle, a semi-automatic pistol, two revolvers, and multiple rounds of assorted ammunition. The charges arose from an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the McAlester Police Department. The Honorable D. Edward Snow, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report. A U.S. District Court Judge will determine the sentence to be imposed after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. King will remain in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Edith A. Singer represented the United States.


title: Warwick Man Pleads Guilty to Sexual Exploitation of a Minor

component: USAO - Rhode Island

body_text: PROVIDENCE – A Warwick man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Rhode Island for production and possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), announced Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom. Jeremy Giguere, 38, pleaded guilty on December 11, 2025, to four counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of prepubescent child pornography. Giguere will be sentenced on February 26, 2026. The sentences imposed will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. According to court documents, in September 2024, the Rhode Island Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force received a report regarding disturbing CSAM videos uploaded to Giguere’s online photo storage account, linked to devices belonging to the defendant. A state search warrant was executed at his residence on October 16, 2024. As a result of the search and through their investigation, almost five hundred CSAM videos and images were found on the defendant’s personal devices. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Julie M. White. The matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Rhode Island State Police, and the Rhode Island Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc To report suspected online child sexual exploitation and/or abuse, call the Know2Project Tipline at 1-833-591-KNOW (5669) or visit the NCMEC CyberTipline® at https://report.cybertip.org/ .


title: Irish National Pleads Guilty to Multi-State Home Repair Fraud Scheme

body_text: PROVIDENCE – An Irish National who was living unlawfully in the United States has pleaded guilty in federal court in Rhode Island on charges related to his role in a scheme to defraud homeowners in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, said Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom. John O’Brien, 28, pleaded guilty on December 10,2025, to wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. O’Brien will be sentenced on March 11, 2026. The sentence imposed will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. According to court documents, O’Brien and his co-conspirators induced homeowners to pay for home repairs that were unnecessary and often not completed. O’Brien falsely claimed structural problems, overstated repair needs, and misrepresented the need for the repairs and services, as well as the qualifications of his purported construction companies, including Traditional Masonry & Construction. Investigators estimate that the scheme defrauded homeowners of more than $1.5 million. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Taylor A. Dean and Sandra R. Hebert. The matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Warwick and East Providence Police Departments. This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Rhode Island comprises agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Marshals Service, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, U.S. Department of Labor-Office of Inspector General, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Intelligence & Analysis, and Rhode Island Police Departments in Warwick, Newport, Providence, East Providence, and Lincoln, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Rhode Island.


title: Former Missouri State Trooper Admits Searching Women’s Phones for Nude Images

component: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

body_text: CAPE GIRARDEAU – A former Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper on Tuesday admitted unlawfully searching women’s cell phones during traffic stops to find nude pictures. David McKnight, 40, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to nine counts of deprivation of rights under color of law, namely the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure. He admitted unlawfully searching and seizing photographs from the cell phones of seven women and unlawfully searching the phones of two more women from Sept. 12, 2023, to July 30, 2024, while on duty, in uniform and traveling in a marked Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) vehicle. During separate traffic stops of five of the victims, McKnight took their cell phones away from them and to his patrol car, claiming that he needed to confirm their identification or insurance coverage. He arrested another woman and took possession of her cellular phone incident to her arrest. He encountered another after an accident, one after a breakdown and one when she reported a careless driver. McKnight searched their phones without a warrant or probable cause to find nude images of the victims or their loved ones and then used his own cell phone to take photographs of some of the images he found. After two victims became suspicious of his actions, they reported him to the MSHP. Forensic analysis revealed that McKnight had searched through their phones going into folders that contained nude photographs of them. Subsequent investigation revealed evidence of the other victims. McKnight is scheduled to be sentenced on March 24, 2026. The Missouri State Highway Patrol and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Krug is prosecuting the case.


title: East Peoria Man Charged with Wire Fraud and Identity Theft

body_text: PEORIA, Ill. – A grand jury today returned an indictment charging Stephen H. Keith, 35, of East Peoria, Illinois, for allegedly perpetrating a wire fraud and identity theft scheme starting as early as August 2020 and continuing to August 2024. The indictment alleges that Keith claimed to run a company called DeviceLyfe that was never registered with the State of Illinois. According to the indictment, Keith used that purported company to gain access to individuals’ homes and electronic devices, facilitating the theft of personal information. Keith also allegedly downloaded others’ personal and financial information via the internet, collecting and storing information for tens of millions of individuals. Keith is alleged to have use this information to create and attempt to create false identification documents, to access his victims’ accounts, to steal funds, and to impersonate his victims. The indictment charges Keith with wire fraud (Counts One through Four), obtaining information by computer from a financial institution (Count Five), possession of a means of identification (Counts Six through Eight), aggravated identity theft (Counts Nine through Ten), and making a false statement (Count Eleven). Keith was initially charged by federal criminal complaint in December 2025. He was detained and remains in federal custody. If convicted, the maximum statutory penalties for the alleged crimes charged are up to 20 years’ imprisonment for each count of wire fraud and up to five years’ imprisonment on each of the counts of obtaining information by computer from a financial institution, possession of a means of identification, and making a false statement. Keith also faces a mandatory sentence of two consecutive years’ imprisonment on each of the aggravated identity theft counts. Additional penalties, including fines and forfeiture of assets, may be imposed. Agencies participating in the investigation include the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Springfield Field Office. Assistant United States Attorney Douglas F. McMeyer is representing the government in the prosecution. Members of the public are reminded that an indictment is merely an accusation; the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.


title: Bomber Who Targeted Banks, Store, and a Supermarket Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison

body_text: WASHINGTON – Cahlyl Rollins, 25, of the District of Columbia. was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 60 months in prison for his role in a spree of four bombings in which he detonated explosive devices during the early morning hours outside four separate businesses in Maryland and the District causing thousands of dollars in damage, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro. Rollins and his co-defendant W Garrett Bragg, 36, pleaded guilty on Sept. 25, 2024, to four counts of malicious use of explosive materials. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya S. Chutkan ordered Rollins to serve three years of supervised release. Bragg was sentenced on May 20, 2025, to 84 months in federal prison. Joining in the announcement were ATF Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives - Washington Division, FBI Assistant Director in Charge Darren B. Cox of the Washington Field Office, and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department. According to court documents, at each of the four locations Rollins was the trigger man. He carried the explosive to the detonation site, lit the device, and then planted it. Bragg and Rollins appeared to be beta-testing a method for robbing ATMs and other stores. Surveillance video, license-plate readers, and cell site location data reflect that Bragg and Rollins traveled between the four locations in a metallic Acura sedan with Maryland license plates. On July 2, 2023, Bragg and Rollins targeted an ATM at 3:53 a.m. at the Bank of America on the 5400 block of Silver Hill Road in District Heights, Maryland. The blast destroyed the vestibule and the structure surrounding the teller machine. About a half-hour later, the men struck again, and detonated an explosive device at the Truist Bank branch on the 2300 block of Washington Place NE. The blast destroyed the vestibule, the structure around multiple teller machines, and caused a total of $35,933 in damages. The spree of bombings continued six minutes later when they exploded another device at the Nike Store on the 700 block of H Street, NE. The bomb destroyed the Nike Store’s front vestibule and caused more than $10,300 in damage. At 4:44 a.m., the conspirators set off a device at the Safeway supermarket on the 300 block of N. 40 th St. NE, as employees inside the store cleaned and prepared for the store to open. The blast destroyed parts of the entry way and caused $9,900 in damage. The Acura sedan used in the bombing bore Maryland license plate 17971CK. That license plate was provided by the state of Maryland to a private company that is authorized to sell titling papers and license plates but has never been registered to a vehicle. Despite concerted law enforcement efforts to locate the vehicle, it has not been seen since the morning of July 2, 2023. Since the offense, this license plate has been placed on other cars, including a gray Dodge Durango that was used to rob an ATM from a 7-Eleven in Crofton, Maryland. On Sept. 29, 2023, law enforcement executed a search warrant at a residence on the 1600 block of U Street, SE. Officers recovered a firearm on the porch, an extended magazine in the home, a bag of key fobs, a device that can be used to copy fobs to steal vehicles, and a backpack of burglary tools including headlamps, handheld radios, and hand tools. Officers found a vehicle outside registered to Rollins. The vehicle was fitted with a device that could extend a cover over the license plate to obscure it with the touch of a button. While Rollins waited outside during the search warrant, an officer offered to provide him with shoes. Rollins indicated that he had a bunch of shoes in the living room. Among the shoes in the living room was a pair of black Crocs consistent with those Rollins had been videotaped wearing during the bombings. Officers searched a storage unit which Rollins had accessed before and after the bombings. Inside the unit, officers recovered 38 license plates, thousands of rounds of assorted ammunition (weighing more than 200 pounds), and additional burglary tools. Of the 38 license plates, many had been involved in other crimes in the area. Robbins was arrested Oct. 30, 2023, in Washington D.C. U.S. Marshals arrested Bragg on Jan. 1, 2024, in Washington D.C. This case was investigated by the ATF, the FBI, and the Metropolitan Police Department. The matter was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Helfand and former Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cameron Tepfer and Alexander Schneider for the District of Columbia. On July 2, 2023, Bragg and Rollins targeted an ATM at 3:53 a.m. at the Bank of America in District Heights. The blast destroyed the vestibule and the structure around the teller machine. At the Truist Bank branch on the 2300 block of Washington Place NE, the blast destroyed the vestibule, the structure around multiple teller machines, and caused a total $35,933 in damages. 23cr359


title: Pennsylvania Man Sentenced to Prison for Creating and Distributing Videos Depicting Animal Torture and Mutilation

component: Energy and Natural Resources Division

body_text: A Pennsylvania man was sentenced today to 38 months in prison and three years of supervised release in connection with his involvement with online groups dedicated to creating and distributing videos depicting acts of extreme violence and sexual abuse against animals. Robert Berndt, of Philadelphia, pleaded guilty on May 6 to conspiring to create and distribute so-called “animal crush videos.” According to court documents, Berndt conspired with others to create and distribute videos depicting acts of sadistic violence against baby and adult monkeys. The conspirators used encrypted chat applications to direct money to individuals in Indonesia willing to commit the requested acts of torture on camera. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD) and U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II for the Southern District of Ohio made the announcement. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and FBI investigated the case. Trial Attorney Mark Romley and Senior Trial Attorney Adam Cullman of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Pakiz for the Southern District of Ohio are prosecuting the case.


title: Jamestown man pleads guilty to selling drugs that caused serious bodily injury

component: USAO - New York, Western

body_text: BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that David Sekerak Ledesma, 52, of Jamestown, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. to distribution of controlled substances causing serious bodily injury, which carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 20 years in prison, a maximum of life, and a fine of $1,000,000. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua A. Violanti and Nicholas A. Testani, who are handling the case, stated that between 2020 and 2023, Ledesma conspired with others to sell narcotics for profit, utilizing social media to conduct his drug trafficking activities. Ledesma and co-defendant Susan Walker also maintained two Lafayette Street residences in Jamestown for their drug trafficking activities. In July 2020, Ledesma sold drugs to an individual identified as A.R., who overdosed and suffered seriously bodily injury. In April 2021, Ledesma was pulled over by a Pennsylvania State Trooper, who search the vehicle and recovered a bag containing heroin and fentanyl. He was convicted of a felony in Pennsylvania. During the investigation, investigators conducted several controlled purchases from Ledesma. In July 2021, a search warrant was executed at the Lafayette Street residences associated with Ledesma, during which cash, a quantity of heroin and a cell phone was seized. In April 2023, another search warrant was executed at one of the Lafayette Street residences. During that search, drug paraphernalia, cellular phones, and cash were seized. Charges remain pending against Susan Walker. This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. 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 plea is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Frank Tarentino, III, New York Field Division, the Jamestown Metro Drug Task Force, under the direction of Jamestown Police Chief Timothy Jackson, and the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff James Quattrone. Sentencing is scheduled for June 10, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. before Judge Sinatra. # # # #


title: Jamestown woman pleads guilty to drug and gun charges

body_text: BUFFALO, N.Y. - U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Alisha Klinger, 45, Jamestown, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, which carry The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 17 years in prison and a maximum of life. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua A. Violanti, who is handling the case, stated that Klinger conspired with co-defendant Jacob Snow and others to sell heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine in the Jamestown area. Conspiracy members utilized acts of violence to collect alleged drug debts. On December 24, 2020, Klinger and an individual identified as D.R. went to the residence of Holly Berenguer, associate of Klinger to collect on an alleged debt. D.R. struck Berenguer in the face with a handgun, causing a facial fracture, orbital fracture, and multiple contusions. The handgun discharged, but the bullet did not strike Berenguer. On January 2, 2021, a vehicle Klinger and Snow were riding in was stopped by Jamestown Police. A search of the vehicle recovered $8,648, a blue crystal-like substance, and cell phones. A search of Klinger’s person recovered approximately 41 grams of fentanyl. On May 24, 2021, Klinger participated in the robbery of Victim 1. Klinger and D.R. took Victim 1 from a residence at gunpoint and drove to a wooded area in Jamestown, where they were joined by co-defendant Snow. Victim 1 was assaulted in retaliation for stealing approximately $10,000 of heroin/fentanyl and methamphetamine from Snow. Victim 1 was made to take off her clothes and walk back to town. On June 24, 2021, a search warrant was executed at Klinger’s residence, during which methamphetamine, fentanyl, drug paraphernalia, and $29,316 in cash was recovered. On November 19, 2021, Klinger and two others, brandishing weapons, robbed Victim 2, who owed Klinger money for drugs. Victim 2 was hit in the face with a gun and zip tied. Jacob Snow was previously convicted and is awaiting sentencing. This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Buffalo comprises agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations and the Federal bureau of Investigation. This indictment is a result of an investigation by the Jamestown Police Department, under the direction of Chief Timothy Jackson, the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Frank A. Tarentino III, New York Field Division, and the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff James Quattrone. Sentencing is scheduled for February 26, 2026, before Judge Vilardo. # # # #


title: Palmyra man going to prison for producing child pornography

body_text: ROCHESTER, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that John C. Aldrich, IV, 55, of Palmyra, NY, who was convicted of production of child pornography, was sentenced to serve 30 years prison and 10 years of supervised release by Chief U.S. District Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle P. Rossi, who handled the case, stated that law enforcement began investigating Aldrich in March 2024, after receiving information that he had engaged in the ongoing physical and sexual abuse of a minor victim in Palmyra, NY. Investigators recovered messages between Aldrich and the victim, which revealed that Aldrich had been involved in an ongoing pattern of abuse, during which he sexually abused the victim and produced child pornography. The abuse took place on a weekly basis over a period of more than one year, beginning when the victim was only 14 years old. The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the New York State Police, Lyons, under the direction of Major Kevin Sucher, and Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan. # # # #


title: Repeat offender going to prison for more than 20 years on new child pornography charge

body_text: BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Brandon G. Uber, 25, of Jamestown, NY, who was convicted of possession of child pornography involving a prepubescent minor, was sentenced to serve 168 months in prison and lifetime supervised release by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo. Uber will serve 36 months of his sentence consecutive to previous sentence of 210 months for a total of 246 months. At the time of the current offense, Uber was awaiting sentencing on a distribution of child pornography charge and was subsequently sentenced to serve 210 months on that charge. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who handled the case, stated that on August 22, 2024, a federal search warrant was executed at Uber’s residence because of child pornography files he uploaded to a KIK application server. During the search, various electronic devices were seized, including three tablets and a laptop. At the time, Uber was a member of a KIK chat forum used to trade child pornography with other users. Uber used the forum to distribute child pornography to other users and was a moderator of the forum at one point. Subsequent examination of the seized devices recovered approximately 33 images and five videos of child pornography, some of which depicted the sexual exploitation of an infant or toddler and violence against children. The sentencing is the result of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Erin Keegan, the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Amie Feroleto, and the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff James Quattrone. # # # #


title: Georgia Woman Sentenced to 100 Months in Prison for Defrauding Widower

component: USAO - Missouri, Eastern

body_text: ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Matthew T. Schelp on Tuesday sentenced a woman to 100 months in prison for fraudulently taking over the finances of a 74-year-old widower in a nursing home to steal $453,000. Judge Schelp also ordered Shanita Gray, 52, to repay the money and had her immediately taken into custody. Judge Schelp compared Gray to a shark that sensed a vulnerable victim and took full advantage “with the relentless desire to fulfill your greed.” He said she continued to lie even after pleading guilty to her crime by falsely claiming that a bogus power of attorney was legitimate. She has also filed complaints and lawsuits against those who tried to stop the fraud. “You’ll say and do whatever it takes to benefit yourself,” he told Gray. In her August plea agreement, Gray admitted approaching a licensed notary public in Georgia to notarize a document seeking guardianship of the victim and altering it to appear as if the victim was present at the time. She appended that altered page to the first twelve pages of a durable financial power of attorney form to give the appearance that she had the authority to conduct financial transactions on his behalf. She admitted using that counterfeit power of attorney form to access his medical records and cause him “substantial financial hardship.” In a sentencing memo, Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry wrote that less than 48 hours after receiving notice of the death of the victim’s eldest son, Gray traveled to St. Louis from Georgia and began pillaging the victim’s home to compile the personal identifying information and account information of the victim and his deceased wife and mother. During the scheme, she used the victim’s assets to pay for first-class travel to the Dominican Republic and Hawaii and made direct transfers of cash to herself and relatives and purchases from Queen’s Jewelry, Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Versace, the memo says. The nursing home’s former director testified Tuesday that the victim did not want contact with Gray, did not want her in his home and did not want her to have access to his finances, which he wanted to preserve for his youngest son. The Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General and the Maryland Heights Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Berry prosecuted the case.


title: Coordinated Federal-Local Law Enforcement Efforts Lead Surge In Arrests, Drug Seizures, And Federal Drug Trafficking Charges In San Francisco

component: USAO - California, Northern

body_text: SAN FRANCISCO – The U.S. Attorney’s Office and federal law enforcement partners announced today the results of a surge in federal drug enforcement measures in San Francisco over the past two months. Coordinated federal and local law enforcement efforts resulted in the seizure of over 1.04 kilograms of fentanyl—alone enough to kill nearly half a million people—over 623 grams of methamphetamine, over 140 grams of powder cocaine, over 277 grams of cocaine base, and over 250 grams of heroin and approximately 55 arrests from early October to early December 2025. Over the same period, the U.S. Attorney’s Office brought federal criminal charges against 22 defendants for drug trafficking in San Francisco. “San Francisco is fast becoming a model for what can be accomplished when federal law enforcement works together with our local partners to serve the public. The days of open-air drug markets on every corner and rampant overdose deaths are over. Anyone who thinks about coming to San Francisco to sell drugs must understand this: if you deal drugs, you will be arrested and prosecuted, and you will face serious consequences. We will continue to work tirelessly alongside our federal and local law enforcement partners to take fentanyl, methamphetamine, and other deadly drugs off the street and to protect the residents of this great city,” said United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian. “Thanks to increased enforcement and intensified efforts, our strategic partnerships with local law enforcement plays a critical role in eradicating this poison from our communities. With continued urgency, we will disrupt the fentanyl supply chain, reducing its availability along with other drugs. We remain committed to protecting and saving American lives,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Bob P. Beris. “Since early October, the FBI has coordinated with SFPD and our other local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to intensify our efforts targeting narcotics activity in and around San Francisco’s Tenderloin District. These collaborative efforts have resulted in a significant number of arrests and major seizures of illegal drugs,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani. “San Francisco residents deserve safe streets, free from deadly drugs. We are united, we are persistent, and we are committed to keeping our neighborhoods safe.” “The San Francisco Police Department is committed to working collaboratively to combat the drug crisis on our streets,” said Interim SFPD Chief Paul Yep. “Anyone dealing or using drugs in our city will be held accountable. I want to thank our hard-working officers as well as our local state and federal partners for their assistance in this effort.” These efforts expand upon the U.S. Attorney’s Office-led “ All Hands on Deck ” law enforcement initiative to address endemic drug dealing in the Tenderloin District of San Francisco, in particular of fentanyl. Since its inception, the initiative has resulted in approximately 191 federal drug prosecutions and 158 convictions. Among the defendants prosecuted in connection with the All Hands on Deck initiative was Gustavo Erazo, who was sentenced on December 10, 2025, to 60 months of imprisonment for conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A)-(B). The case arose out of a larger investigation into individuals traveling from the East Bay into the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco to deal drugs. Law enforcement seized 15 pounds of fentanyl as a result, along with two firearms and over $50,000 in U.S. currency. Erazo was extradited in December 2024 from Honduras to face charges. The recent increased operations involved coordination among the U.S. Attorney’s Office, DEA, FBI, ATF, IRS Criminal Investigations, the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office, the San Francisco Police Department, and California Highway Patrol. Additional operations are planned in the coming months. Many of the recently charged federal cases involve large quantities of drugs and carry potential mandatory minimum sentences for the offenders under federal drug statutes. Examples include: Rodrigo Parra-Lara was indicted by a federal grand jury on November 12, 2025, on charges of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B). Law enforcement seized around 2.4 kilograms of methamphetamine, two firearms and ammunition, along with over $14,000 in U.S. currency. The case stemmed from a larger investigation, with arrests in San Francisco and Oakland, of a Bay Area drug-trafficking organization with connections to the Sinaloa Cartel. Javier Velasquez Antunes was indicted by a federal grand jury on November 12, 2025, on charges of distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C) and for being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g). Antunes, along with two other individuals, allegedly trafficked drugs out of a vehicle while in possession of firearms and ammunition in the Mission neighborhood of San Francisco. Duc Pham was indicted by a federal grand jury on December 2, 2025, on charges of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A)-(C). The case involved multi-ounce purchases over a six-month period in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco. A criminal complaint or indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.