title: North Carolina Man Who Caused Dubuque Man’s Death Sentenced to Over 30 Years in Prison

component: USAO - Iowa, Northern

body_text: A North Carolina man who sold fentanyl to a Dubuque, Iowa, man who overdosed and died was sentenced today to more than 30 years in prison. James Adam Earwood, age 39, of Rutherfordton, North Carolina, received the prison sentence after a jury found Earwood guilty on October 5, 2023, of distribution of a controlled substance, heroin and fentanyl, causing the death of the victim. Evidence introduced at trial and sentencing showed that on November 18, 2021, Earwood mailed a package of heroin and fentanyl to the victim. Earwood was living in North Carolina at the time and the victim was living in Dubuque. The victim used the heroin and fentanyl and overdosed in the parking lot of a local business. The victim survived the overdose. One month later, on December 17, 2021, the victim received another package of heroin and fentanyl in the mail from Earwood. The victim used the heroin and fentanyl and died shortly thereafter. He was found deceased by hotel staff in a hotel in Dubuque. Earwood operated what he deemed to be a business selling fentanyl for at least a year. The business had a name, which he marketed, and even included the business’s logo in packages of fentanyl that he sold. Earwood marketed his product to a private Facebook group for recovering heroin addicts. He asked his customers to leave positive reviews of his products. Earwood bragged about the quality of his product and even used the victim’s death to show how strong his product was. He would ship his product nationwide using the US Postal Service or would leave the product for local customers in discreet locations so the customer could later find it. Earwood was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by Chief United States District Court Judge C.J. Williams. Earwood was sentenced to 365 months’ imprisonment. He must also serve a 5-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Ashley Corkery, Patrick Reinert, and Devra Hake, and was investigated as part of the Northern Iowa Heroin Initiative and the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) program of the United States Department of Justice through a cooperative effort of the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Dubuque Drug Task Force which includes the Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office and the Dubuque Police Department, and the Rutherford County North Carolina Drug Task Force. Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl . The case file number is 22-CR-1024. Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.


title: Drunk Driver Sentenced to Eight Years in Vehicular Assault of Father and Child

component: USAO - District of Columbia

body_text: WASHINGTON – Thaniyyah Veney, 33, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced today by the Honorable Jason Park to 96 months in prison for driving a car into a five-year-old girl who was waiting for a bus with her father in July 2023. The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Veney pleaded guilty on December 19, 2023, to aggravated assault while armed with a deadly weapon in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. According to the government’s evidence, with which Veney agreed, on the afternoon of Saturday July 8, 2023, the five-year-old victim was standing with her father on the sidewalk in the 3200 block of Fourth Street, SE in Washington, D.C. At around 1:00 pm, Veney drove her car into the child and her father, and continued traveling until she struck the front steps of a home. When the vehicle stopped, Veney got out and walked to a nearby alley, leaving the child trapped beneath her car. When firefighters arrived, the child was still trapped under the vehicle. Firefighters had to use a ladder as a lever to enable them to raise the car enough to extract the child. The child was then airlifted to the hospital suffering life-threatening injuries. Witnesses pointed Veney out to police, who located and arrested Veney hours after the incident,.Veney’s breath was tested and found to contain an alcohol concentration above the per se threshold for intoxication. In addition to the prison term, Judge Park ordered Veney to serve five years of supervised release and pay $100 to the Superior Court’s Crime Victims Compensation Fund. This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ronald Chester of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, with valuable assistance from Victim/Witness Advocate Jennifer Clark.


title: Real estate developer convicted for spending over $500,000 of investor’s funds on vacations and mortgage

component: USAO - Texas, Southern

body_text: HOUSTON – A 47-year-old Houston resident has pleaded guilty to wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. Salek admitted to his involvement in a fraudulent scheme to obtain more than $1 million and falsely informing an investor the funds would be used to develop real estate. During the plea, Walter Salek admitted between 2019 and 2021, he entered into agreements with an investor to develop real estate in the Houston area. As per the agreement, Salek was to contribute real estate, and the investor was to provide cash to develop the properties. Once developed, properties were to be either leased or sold. The investor believed the funds would be used for the developments and deposited over $1 million into business bank accounts that Salek controlled through use of interstate wire communications. However, Salek diverted at least $571,000 of the investment funds for his own personal use on mortgage payments and luxury vacations. U.S. District Judge Sim Lake will impose sentencing July 11. At that time, Salek faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine. He was permitted to remain on bond pending that hearing. The FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Belinda Beek is prosecuting the case.


title: Madison Man Sentenced to More Than Seven Years in Prison for Trafficking Fentanyl While on Supervision for Prior Gun Offense

component: USAO - Wisconsin, Western

body_text: MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Kendal J. Harris, 30, Madison, Wisconsin, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to just over five years in federal prison for repeatedly selling fentanyl to an undercover police officer while out on bail in a state homicide case and while under federal supervision after serving a prison sentence for illegally possessing a firearm. Judge Conley sentenced Harris to an additional two years in prison after revoking his federal supervision for the prior firearm conviction. The prison terms will be followed by 5 years of supervised release. Harris pleaded guilty to the fentanyl distribution charge on January 10, 2024. Between July 11, 2023, and August 17, 2023, Harris sold fentanyl in increasingly larger quantities to an undercover police officer in Dane County, Wisconsin. The last buy involved Harris selling 49 grams of powdered fentanyl to the undercover officer. On August 24, 2023, Madison police officers executed a search warrant at Harris’s residence in Madison and found over 500 fentanyl pills in a drawer in a children’s bedroom. Officers found another 1,000 fentanyl pills in the kitchen closet, and a package of fentanyl pills in a toilet. At the time of these events, Harris was on federal supervision after serving over four years in prison for illegally possessing a firearm as a felon. Harris was also out on bond for a Dane County homicide case. The homicide case is still pending, and Harris is presumed innocent of the charge. Trial is set for August 5, 2024. At sentencing, Judge Conley highlighted Harris’ extensive history of violence and gang involvement. He noted that this was Harris’ second federal conviction in less than five years and that he got involved with drug dealing just months after getting out of prison. The charge against Harris was the result of an investigation conducted by the Dane County Narcotics Task Force and the Madison Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven P. Anderson prosecuted this case. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.


title: New Haven Man Charged with Firearm and Narcotics Offenses

component: USAO - Connecticut

body_text: Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, James Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge, ATF Boston Field Division, and New Haven Police Chief Karl Jacobson today announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven has returned a three-count indictment charging SHAYQUAN GRAY, also known as “Scooby,” 23, of New Haven, with firearm and ammunition possession and cocaine distribution offenses. The indictment was returned on March 26, 2024, and Gray appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert M. Spector in New Haven and pleaded not guilty to the charges. He has been detained since his arrest on March 14, 2024. As alleged in the indictment and statements made in court, on March 14, 2024, New Haven Police observed Gray, who had an active state arrest warrant, participating in a drug transaction. Gray was arrested, and he was found in possession of 80 individual bags of cocaine, a Polymer 80 “ghost gun” loaded with seven rounds of ammunition, and more than $1,200 in cash. It is alleged that Gray’s criminal history includes multiple felony convictions, including a state conviction for a firearm offense. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce. The indictment charges Gray with possession with intent to distribute cocaine, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years; unlawful possession of ammunition by a felon, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years; and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, which carries a mandatory consecutive term of imprisonment of at least five years. U.S. Attorney Avery stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. This matter is being investigated by the New Haven Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tara E. Levens and Christopher Lembo. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.


title: Brooklyn Man Sentenced to Life in Prison in First Prosecution of Federal Statute Criminalizing Murder in the Course of Sex Trafficking

component: USAO - New York, Eastern

body_text: Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Somorie Moses, also known as “Somorie Barfield,” “Sugar Bear,” “Bear” and “Daddy,” was sentenced by United States District Judge Carol Bagley Amon to 10 terms of life imprisonment to run concurrently for each of the 10 counts of conviction for sex trafficking eight women and for committing the January 2017 murder of one of the women, Leondra Foster. At the sentencing hearing, the Court heard victim impact statements from several of the defendant’s victims. This prosecution is the first use of the federal statute criminalizing murder in the course of sex trafficking. Moses pleaded guilty to the charges in September 2023. Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, James Smith, Assistant Director-in-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), and Edward A. Caban, Commissioner, New York City Police Department (NYPD), announced the sentence. “The life sentence imposed today on Somorie Moses is significant because it reflects the brutality and utter depravity of his crimes against vulnerable women and girls, which were committed over nearly two decades,” stated United States Attorney Breon Peace. “The defendant forced his victims into prostitution through violence and beatings, and then murdered and dismembered Leondra Foster. A lengthy prison sentence cannot undo the extreme and lasting harm Moses has inflicted on his victims, but incarceration will prevent this killer who clearly has no respect for human life from victimizing others. It is my hope that today’s sentence brings some closure to the victims and their families.” Mr. Peace also expressed his appreciation to the Kings County District Attorney’s Office for their assistance in this investigation and prosecution. “Today’s sentence reaffirms the commitment of the NYPD and our law enforcement partners to protect and support all the victims and survivors of sex trafficking, one of our society’s most exploitative and dehumanizing crimes,” stated NYPD Commissioner Caban. “The defendant’s numerous offenses, including the heinous murder of Leondra Foster, were truly despicable. I thank the NYPD and FBI investigators for their dedication, and I commend everyone at the U.S. Attorney’s office for their tireless efforts to secure this meaningful prison term.” Since at least 2003, Moses lured women and girls with false promises of love, but then used threats, violence, and psychological manipulation to force his victims into prostitution for his benefit. Moses kept all the money his victims earned as prostitutes and required many of his victims to have his first name, “Somorie,” tattooed on their bodies. Moses used brutal beatings, rape, torture, and threats to coerce his victims to work in prostitution in Brooklyn and Queens. Moses threatened to throw one victim, identified at the sentencing proceeding as Jane Doe #1, off a roof and raped her, and bit off a piece of her buttocks and spit it at her. As to another victim, identified as Jane Doe #2, Moses slashed her arms and back with a razor and beat her with a belt before pouring lemon juice on her wounds, leaving her with extensive scarring over much of her body, including her arms, head, legs and back. When a victim identified as Jane Doe #6 did not give Moses money as he demanded, Moses beat her with an extension cord, leaving her with numerous open, bleeding cuts, and told her that he “was a pimp, this is what [he] did.” When a victim identified as Jane Doe #7 told Moses she did not want to work as a prostitute, he put a shotgun in her mouth and threatened to kill her and her child. The Murder of Leondra Foster In the early morning of January 13, 2017, Moses murdered Leondra Foster, one of his sex trafficking victims, by beating her until she died. The defendant beat Foster all over her body, leaving bruises and abrasions on the front and back of her torso. Moses inflicted at least five blunt force injuries to Foster’s head, either by hitting her directly or by banging her head into another surface. The fatal blow was the blow to the back left of her head. She had been alive for all of the other injuries, but that last blow to her head fractured her skull, rendering her unconscious. Foster suffered a a seizure and died within minutes. The following morning, using a knife and a saw, Moses dismembered Foster’s body inside their shared apartment in Brooklyn. Moses brought another woman back to his apartment for a sexual encounter while Foster’s dismembered body was concealed in it. The woman later told law enforcement that there was a strong odor of bleach in the apartment. Four days later, on the morning of January 17, 2017, Moses transported Foster’s torso and limbs to the Bronx for disposal at a garbage transfer station. After disposing of most of Foster’s body parts, Moses texted another victim that he was on his way home from the Bronx and, “Just did 110 over the Brooklyn bridge.” Foster’s head, hands and feet — including a foot with the name “Somorie” tattooed on it — were subsequently recovered by law enforcement inside the freezer of Moses’s apartment. Foster was 32-years-old at the time of her murder. The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Civil Rights Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan Siegel and Tanya Hajjar are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Anna November. The Defendant : SOMORIE MOSES (also known as “Somorie Barfield,” “Sugar Bear,” “Bear” and “Daddy”) Age: 48 Brooklyn, New York E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 22-CR-232 (CBA)


title: Man Who Distributed Fentanyl that Resulted in Teenager’s Death Sentenced to More than 12 Years in Prison

component: USAO - California, Southern

body_text: NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – April 5, 2024 SAN DIEGO – Jose Daniel Ramirez of San Diego was sentenced in federal court today to 151 months in prison for selling the fentanyl pills that resulted in the fatal overdose of 18-year-old Poway resident Kole William Pearson on January 3, 2023. According to court documents, Ramirez sold “2 blues,” which were fentanyl pills disguised as oxycodone, to Pearson, who died of a fentanyl overdose after taking them. Ramirez learned of Pearson’s death and quickly changed his phone number, informed clients of his new number, and continued to sell fentanyl. About a month later, law enforcement officers arrested Ramirez, secured a warrant and searched his residence, where they found approximately 2,600 blue pills containing fentanyl, other drugs including cocaine, plus two Glock handguns and over 250 rounds of various ammunition. One of the handguns was fully loaded with a round of ammunition in the chamber. “The defendant knew his product had already taken one life, yet he continued to sell fentanyl pills from the same deadly batch,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath. “There is nothing we can do to bring Kole Pearson back, but we join his family and friends in lifting up his memory and pledge to continue our relentless pursuit of those who value profit more than human lives.” “HSI continues to work with our state, local and federal partners to identify, disrupt, and dismantle fentanyl trafficking networks through the HSI-led FAST task force,” said Christoper Davis, acting special agent in charge for HSI San Diego. “Members of FAST are fully committed to aggressively pursuing justice against the organizations and individuals who are responsible for dealing this deadly drug in San Diego and further into the United States.” HSI San Diego FAST is a multiagency task force comprising state, local, and federal partners and was first established in August 2022 focusing on the disruption and dismantlement of criminal organizations that smuggle and distribute fentanyl within San Diego County. HSI’s FAST targets fentanyl smuggling and distribution networks to counter the rising overdose rate and decrease the availability and accessibility of fentanyl. According to the government’s sentencing memo, which quoted victim impact statements, Pearson’s family described him as “a big guy with a huge personality and the biggest silly smile you’ve ever seen,” and a “very bright, thoughtful, and intelligent” guy who everyone liked. His sisters said they lost their “charming, funny, and goofy little brother.” His friends recognized his “kindness, funny antics, and genuine friendship.” Pearson worked at a Jersey Mike’s sandwich shop and planned to use his experience to attend culinary school or possibly a vocational program. The sentencing memo noted that Pearson’s death has touched everyone in his life deeply and will be felt for a lifetime. Even Pearson’s high school teacher memorializes him by keeping an empty seat in the class. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sean Van Demark and Dylan M. Aste. DEFENDANT Case Number 23cr00274-RBM Jose Daniel Ramirez Age: 21 San Diego, CA SUMMARY OF CHARGES Distribution of Fentanyl – Title 18, United States Code, Section 841(a)(1) Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison INVESTIGATING AGENCIES Homeland Security Investigations San Diego County Sheriff’s Department U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration


title: Farmington Hills Man Convicted of Conspiring to Steal Automobiles

component: USAO - Michigan, Eastern

body_text: DETROIT – A Farmington Hills man was convicted yesterday by a federal jury for conspiring to steal Volkswagen and Audi vehicles from a lot in Pontiac, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison. The charges stem from an investigation initiated by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Auto Theft Unit. Ison was joined in the announcement by Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the Detroit Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Sheriff Michael Bouchard of Oakland County. Romane Porter, 47, was convicted after a 13-day trial before United States District Judge Denise Page Hood in Detroit. The jurors returned guilty verdicts on all four charges: one count of conspiracy to transport stolen vehicles, and three counts of transportation of stolen vehicles. According to the evidence presented during the trial, beginning in March 2017 and continuing through September 2017, Porter and co-defendant Daniel Onorati, conspired with each other and others to steal approximately 61 recalled Volkswagen and Audi cars that were parked at the site of the former Pontiac Silverdome. The court has scheduled Porter’s sentencing hearing for August 8, 2024. The defendant’s convictions on three counts of interstate transportation of stolen vehicles each carries up to 10 years in prison, and his conviction on one count of conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen vehicles carries a maximum penalty up to 5 years in prison. Co-defendant Daniel Onorati pleaded guilty to participating in the scheme and received a sentence of 20 months on April 26, 2022. “Our office salutes the combined efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement to break up this car theft conspiracy and bring its ringleader to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Ison. “This defendant and his co-conspirators stole dozens of vehicles and transported them across state lines for sale, and the jury has now held him accountable for his crimes.” "Today's sentencing would not have been possible without the collaborative work of the FBI's Detroit Fraud & Financial Crimes Task Force and the Oakland County Sheriff Office's Auto-Theft Unit," said Cheyvoryea Gibson, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan. "Our office will continue to focus our investigative efforts on thwarting elaborate theft schemes and holding those accountable for their thievery." “I am grateful for the partnership between our Auto Theft Unit, the FBI, and the US Attorney’s Office who brought this organized auto theft activity to a close,” said Sheriff Michael J. Bouchard. “These individuals were bold in their behavior in stealing such a large volume of vehicles from a well-known location. These criminals deserve to be punished to the fullest extent of the law.” The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Auto Theft Unit. The team was also assisted by the Special Investigations Section, Office of Investigative Services of the Michigan Department of State, as well as the Hardin County Sheriff’s Office and the Kentucky State Police. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Trevor Broad and Louis Meizlish.


title: Fort Lauderdale Man Pleads Guilty to Assaulting a Federal Employee with a Hate Crime Enhancement

component: USAO - Florida, Southern

body_text: MIAMI - Today, Kenneth Pinkney, 47, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, pled guilty for his assault on a federal employee in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 111(a) and (b) which included a hate crime enhancement. The victim was employed as a United States Postal Service (USPS) worker at the time of her assault. The victim was a Muslim woman who wore a hijab, including when she delivered the mail from her postal truck. According to the Court record, to include a factual proffer in support of the plea, on or about Oct. 9, 2023, just two days after Hamas’ attack on Israel, the victim was wearing her hijab while delivering mail. She was visible to the public as she drove the postal vehicle along her route. On this day, the victim saw Pinkney looking at her in what she interpreted as an aggressive manner as she drove by him in her USPS vehicle. Two weeks later, on Oct. 24, 2023, the victim was on her postal route, stopped the USPS truck, and got out of the vehicle with mail to deliver. Pinkney approached on a bicycle and began to pass the victim. While still cycling, Pinkney made a hand gesture towards the victim in the shape of a firearm using two fingers to represent the barrel of a gun. Pinkney then turned his bicycle around and made the firearm gesture toward the victim more assertively. Pinkney rode his bicycle directly towards the victim, then got off the bicycle and walked toward the victim. Pinkney called the victim a “b----” and said, “If I had a gun,” and “go back to your country.” All this time, Pinkney continued to make the same menacing hand gesture, simulating a firearm. At a point, the victim turned and faced the USPS truck and heard Pinkney say, “go back to your country” multiple times while tapping the victim on the back of her head with two fingers. The victim entered the USPS truck and sat in the driver’s seat. Pinkney continued to call the victim a “b----” and say “go back to your country.” Pinkney also spit on the image of the eagle of the side of the USPS truck, and then spit on the victim. The victim was nervous and scared. Pinkney reached into the truck and pulled at the victim’s ankle and leg in an unsuccessful attempt to yank her from the USPS truck. Pinkney then entered the truck and grabbed at the victim’s neck with one hand and placed his other hand on her hijab. While in the vehicle, Pinkney tried to remove the hijab off the victim by pulling it down her face. She physically resisted. Unable to remove the hijab in this fashion, Pinkney then lifted the hijab up past the victim’s face toward the back of her head. Pinkney succeeded in removing the hijab and revealing the victim’s hair. Pinkney and the victim struggled over the hijab inside the vehicle. Pinkney eventually released the victim’s hijab, but then started pulling at her USPS apron. The victim put her hijab back on her head. The victim felt trapped, so she exited the vehicle. Pinkney followed suit. Once the victim and Pinkney were out of the vehicle, Pinkney said, “F-- Islam” and “You are a terrorist.” Pinkney and the victim continued to struggle, during which time the victim grabbed onto the collar of Pinkney’s shirt. Pinkney’s shirt ripped as they separated. Pinkney fled the scene and was later arrested. The victim sustained scratches on her face as a result of the assault. Pinkney pled guilty before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jared M. Strauss. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled before U.S. District Judge Roy K. Altman. U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, Chief of Police William Schultz of the Fort Lauderdale Police Department (FLPD), and Inspector in Charge Juan A. Vargas of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division made the announcement. FBI Miami, FLPD and USPIS investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Gilfarb is prosecuting the case. 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 24-cr-60014. ###


title: Indictment Charges Connecticut Operator of Prize Insurance Business with Fraud Offenses

body_text: Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Robert Fuller, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that a federal grand jury in Bridgeport returned a six-count indictment yesterday charging KEVIN KOLENDA, 66, of Norwalk, with fraud offenses related to his operation of a prize insurance business. Kolenda was arrested this morning. He appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti in Bridgeport, pleaded not guilty, and was released on a $50,000 bond. As alleged in the indictment, Kolenda owns and operates Hole-In-Won LLC (“Hole In Won”), which has provided prize insurance to customers who offered promotions or prizes at events, including golf tournaments and fishing contests. Hole In Won also used a promotional website, www.hole-in-won.com , to claim it to be “the most successful prize insurance company in the world” that had “paid out 1000’s of awards” to winners throughout the world. The indictment alleges that Kolenda has defrauded dozens of organizations and individuals out of nearly $1 million, including approximately $850,000 in insurance premiums paid under false pretenses and more than $100,000 in prize costs that Hole In Won failed to pay. As part of the scheme, victims, often charitable or civic organizations, obtained insurance from Kolenda and Hole In Won for one or more prizes at an event. For example, the host of a golf tournament might include a lucrative prize, such as a new car, for any player who hits a hole in one on a specific hole. The victim would complete an insurance contract and pay the insurance premium to Kolenda and Hole In Won, and Kolenda and Hole In Won would promise to pay out the insurance claim for the cost of the insured prize if there was a winner at the event. If no one won the insured prize at the event, Kolenda and Hole In Won would keep the premium. The indictment further alleges that if someone won the insured prize, Kolenda often used various fraudulent techniques to avoid payment of the claim. For example, Kolenda made excuses to victims as to why Hole In Won did not have to pay out the cost of the claim; referred victims to the Hole In Won “claims department,” at an office in Washington, D.C., which did not exist; and threatened victims with bogus legal action and reputational harm if they continued to seek payment of the claim. Ultimately, Kolenda would often stop responding to correspondence from victims and refused to pay out the cost of the insured prize. The victim host or organization, or its partners, often paid for the cost of the insured prize themselves in order to avoid reputational harm and potential legal action. The indictment charges Kolenda with six counts of wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count. U.S. Attorney Avery stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ross Weingarten. Individuals and organizations who believe that they may be victims of this alleged scheme are encouraged to contact the FBI’s New Haven Division at 203-777-6311.


title: Activity in the U.S. Attorney's Office

component: Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

body_text: Drug Trafficking Brenda Lee Sutton , 38, of Carpenter, Wyoming, was sentenced to 58 months’ imprisonment for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. According to court documents, on Apr. 6, 2023, agents conducted a controlled purchase of approximately 56 grams of methamphetamine from Sutton. She was indicted and pleaded guilty to the charge on Dec. 13, 2023. U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson imposed the sentence on Mar. 25. This crime was investigated by the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron J. Cook. Cesar Aldahir Lerma Hernandez, 41, of Mexico, was sentenced to 57 months’ imprisonment for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. According to court documents, a joint state and federal investigation showed that several individuals, including Hernandez, were acquiring large amounts of fentanyl in northern Colorado and distributing the drug in Laramie County, Wyoming. Hernandez was indicted and pleaded guilty on Dec. 18, 2023. Senior U.S. District Court Judge Nancy D. Freudenthal imposed the sentence on Apr. 4. The crime was investigated by the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office, the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation, and the United States Drug Enforcement Administration. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy J. Forwood. Domestic Violence Jonathan Michael Lee Wandel, 46, of Crystal, Michigan, was sentenced to two years of supervised probation for assault by strangulation. According to court documents, the FBI was contacted by the U.S. Air Force’s Office of Special Investigations (OSI) regarding a domestic violence incident that occurred on F.E. Warren Air Force Base. Wandel was charged and pleaded guilty on Jan. 9 to strangling the victim. U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson imposed the sentence on Apr. 4. The crime was investigated by the FBI and OSI. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy W. Gist. About the United States Attorney’s Office The United States Attorney’s Office is responsible for representing the federal government in virtually all litigation involving the United States in the District of Wyoming, including all criminal prosecutions for violations of federal law, civil lawsuits brought by or against the government, and actions to collect judgments and restitution on behalf of victims and taxpayers. The Office is involved in several programs designed to make our communities safer. They include: Environmental Justice The fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. Project Safe Childhood Project Safe Childhood (PSC) is a DOJ initiative that combats the proliferation of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation crimes against children. The threat of sexual predators soliciting children for sexual contact is well-known and serious. Project Safe Neighborhoods Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is a nationwide commitment to reducing gun and gang crime in America by networking existing local programs that target gun crime and providing these programs with additional tools necessary to be successful. Victim Witness Assistance The Victim Witness Coordinator for the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming is dedicated to making sure that victims of federal crimes and their family members are treated with compassion, fairness, and respect. To report a federal crime, go to: https://www.justice.gov/actioncenter/report-crime#trafficking


title: U.S. Court of Appeals Confirms Justice Department’s Authority to Investigate Potentially Anticompetitive Conduct by the National Association of Realtors

component: Antitrust Division

body_text: Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit lifted restrictions imposed by a lower court that had prevented the Justice Department from investigating potentially anticompetitive conduct by the National Association of Realtors (NAR). The D.C. Circuit’s decision confirms the United States’ position that it retains the authority to investigate NAR’s Participation Rule and Clear Cooperation Policy to protect competition for the benefit of homebuyers. “Real-estate commissions in the United States greatly exceed those in any other developed economy, and this decision restores the Antitrust Division’s ability to investigate potentially unlawful conduct by NAR that may be contributing to this problem,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The Antitrust Division is committed to fighting to lower the cost of buying and selling a home. I would like to commend the staff of the Antitrust Division and our colleagues in the department for achieving this important result.” The United States has filed several amicus briefs and statements of interest supporting competition in the real-estate industry and meaningful relief for homebuyers and sellers .


title: Beverly Hills Man Pleads Guilty to Causing Investors to Lose $18.4 Million via Cannabis-Related Cons and Bogus Bottling Company

component: USAO - California, Central

body_text: LOS ANGELES – A Beverly Hills man pleaded guilty today to federal criminal charges for causing investors more than $18 million in losses – while he was completing a sentence in a prior criminal case – by duping them with false claims about his companies that purportedly invested in hemp farms and cannabis-infused retail products as well as a sham bottling business. Mark Roy Anderson, 69, pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud. According to his plea agreement, Anderson engaged in two separate schemes that swindled victims, which he committed shortly after his release from federal prison but while on home confinement and, later, while on supervised release for a previous fraud conviction. Harvest Farm Group In the first scheme, from June 2020 to April 2021, Anderson tricked investors into providing funding for his company, called Harvest Farm Group, to harvest and process hemp grown on his farm into medical-grade cannabidiol (CBD) isolate – a chemical found in marijuana – to be sold for a substantial profit. Anderson convinced investors to invest in Harvest Farm Group by falsely representing that, through the company, he owned and operated a hemp farm in Kern County. He also lied that had already completed successful and profitable harvests of hemp from the farm. He also falsely said he was using his own machinery and equipment to convert the hemp into CBD isolate and Delta 8, a psychoactive substance that, like CBD isolate, could be used in consumer products ranging from olive oil to body cream. Anderson attempted to maintain a veneer of trustworthiness by taking steps to assure investors Harvest Farm Group was legitimate and he was not the “Mark Roy Anderson” with multiple prior fraud convictions. Anderson concealed that he had been convicted of multiple federal and state felony crimes, including mail fraud, wire fraud, grand theft, forgery, preparing false evidence, and money laundering. He also concealed that he was still serving a criminal sentence and was on supervised release at the time he was soliciting investments. To stall victim investors from making collection efforts and reporting him to law enforcement, Anderson falsely told them that sales of products derived from hemp grown at the farm had been delayed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, misleadingly promised that he would pay the victims money from purported sales he had made to Canadian companies, and falsely promised that he would otherwise return their money. Bio Pharma and Verta Bottling In the second scheme, which ran from April 2021 to May 2023, Anderson deceived investors by soliciting money for Bio Pharma and Verta Bottling, two of his sham companies, by claiming that these businesses successfully manufactured, bottled, and packaged commercial products. Specifically, Bio Pharma purportedly manufactured and sold products infused with CBD, including products such as CBD-infused avocado oil, olive oil, pain cream, gummies, tequila, and chili oil. Anderson also claimed that Verta Bottling manufactured and sold beverages and a variety of food products. Anderson falsely stated that his bottling companies owned and possessed millions of dollars’ worth of assets, including – in Bio Pharma’s case – hemp biomass, CBD isolate, CBD oil, and – in Verta Bottling’s case – manufacturing equipment and an assignable lease for a warehouse to manufacture and sell its products. Anderson’s other lies to investors included false claims that his bottling companies had at least $10 million in purchase-order contracts from suppliers. He drafted fake legal and business documents, which included fabricated purchase order contracts purporting to show agreements with third party companies to purchase tens of millions of dollars’ worth of products manufactured by the Anderson bottling companies. Anderson also provided victims samples of products purportedly manufactured by his purported bottling companies. Instead of investing victim funds as he promised, Anderson instead used their money on personal expenses. He has agreed to forfeit his ill-gotten gains from these schemes, including 15 cars – one of them a Ferrari – and real estate in Ojai. In total, Anderson solicited more than $18.8 million from 45 victims for both schemes, causing victims to lose approximately $18,376,150. United States District Judge Fernando L. Aenlle-Rocha scheduled a sentencing hearing for August 23, at which time Anderson will face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each count. The FBI is investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Kerry L. Quinn of the Major Frauds Section is prosecuting the case.


title: Florida Woman Sentenced To 42 Months In Prison For Defrauding Snap Recipients

component: USAO - New York, Southern

body_text: Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that GUYATREE SINGH was sentenced to 42 months in prison in connection with a years-long scheme to defraud at least approximately 120 low-income residents of New York City out of tens of thousands of dollars of their Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (“SNAP”) benefits. SINGH previously pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff, who also imposed today’s sentence, to one count of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Guyatree Singh stole SNAP benefits from at least approximately 120 low-income, primarily elderly, residents of New York City, leaving the victims without money to buy food. By preying on those using their benefits for basic needs for survival, Singh showed there was no line she would not cross for a quick buck. Today’s sentence demonstrates this Office’s commitment to ensuring that our justice system protects everyone from fraud, especially the most vulnerable New Yorkers.” According to the Indictment and other filings and statements made in court: From at least in or about April 2019 through at least May 2023, SINGH engaged in a scheme to defraud at least approximately 120 SNAP recipients living in the Southern District of New York — a majority of whom appear to be elderly — of their SNAP benefits. In total, SINGH defrauded the victims out of approximately $51,868.39 in benefits. SNAP provides low-income individuals with electronic benefits that can be used like cash to purchase food. People eligible for SNAP benefits are given an electronic benefits transfer (“EBT”) card, which looks like a debit card and gives a person access to his or her SNAP benefits, allowing the SNAP recipient to buy groceries and other items at participating stores. SINGH called SNAP recipients and pretended to be a New York State employee working for SNAP. SINGH then asked the victims for their personally identifiable information, including their dates of birth and social security numbers. Unbeknownst to the victims, SINGH then used this information to reset the personal identification numbers (“PIN”) on their EBT cards. Once the PINs were reset, SINGH used the victims’ EBT account numbers and new PINs to make purchases for herself at grocery stores in Florida using the victims’ SNAP funds. * * * In addition to her prison term, SINGH, 51, of West Palm Beach, Florida, was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $51,868.39 and forfeit the same amount. Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the New York City Department of Investigation and the Special Agents of the U.S. Attorney’s Office. This case is being handled by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Sowlati is in charge of the prosecution.


title: Indictment Charges 21-Year-Old in Daytime Shooting in Northeast Washington D.C.

component: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

body_text: WASHINGTON – Traquon McCalip, 21, of Washington D.C., was arraigned today in U.S. District Court on a six-count indictment charging him in a March 20, 2024, daylight shooting, in the 3900 block of Minnesota Avenue, NE, that left another man wounded. The indictment was announced today by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division, and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department. McCalip, aka “TwinGlock,” who was previously convicted of a firearm possession offense in Prince George’s County, Maryland, is charged with aggravated assault while armed; two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence; two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon; and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition, specifically, a Canik TP9SF Elite 9mm handgun and 9mm ammunition. On March 20, 2024, a Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer arrived on the scene of the shooting after hearing gunfire, and McCalip fled in a vehicle. A police pursuit by officers from the Fifth and Sixth districts, with use of FALCON, the MPD Air Support Unit, ultimately led to McCalip being stopped at 1805 Bladensburg Road, NE. A 9mm Canik magazine and additional ammunition was found in the driver’s seat of the car McCalip was driving, and a 9mm Canik handgun was recovered from the scene of the shooting. The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Ethan Cantor of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and Violence Reduction and Trafficking Offenses Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. An indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.


title: Picayune Man Sentenced to Over 13 Years in Prison  for Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine

body_text: Gulfport, Miss. – A Picayune man was sentenced to 159 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Corrie Montrell Hinton, 46, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Gulfport. According to court records, in 2015, an investigation began into a large-scale drug trafficking organization in Picayune, Mississippi. In 2019, DEA agents in Imperial County California along with DEA agents in Gulfport conducted an undercover purchase of five pounds of methamphetamine and arrested two drug traffickers in Riverside County California. One of those traffickers was identified as a source of supply for a drug trafficking conspiracy operating in Picayune. Cellphones belonging to one of the traffickers yielded communication between a trafficker and Corrie Montrell Hinton involving drug transactions, parcels, and account numbers for money transfers. Hinton pled guilty on October 4, 2023, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee and Special Agent in Charge Steven Hofer of the Drug Enforcement Administration made the announcement. The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and Homeland Security Investigations. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica Rose. This case is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor- led, intelligence driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.


title: Federal Court Permanently Enjoins Tax Return Preparer in Florida

component: Tax Division

body_text: The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida has permanently enjoined a Central Florida-based tax return preparer from preparing returns for others and from owning, managing or working at any tax return preparation business in the future. The United States will continue to pursue its claim for disgorgement against Kenia Rodriguez. Rodriguez consented to the permanent injunction. The terms of the permanent injunction require that Rodriguez, individually and under any business for which she conducts business, send notices of the injunction to each person for whom she prepared federal tax returns after Jan. 1, 2016, and post copies of the injunctions in places where she conducts business, including social media accounts and websites. The injunction also provides that the United States may conduct post-judgment discovery to monitor compliance. The civil complaint filed against Rodriguez alleged that she, through a fictitious entity called Rodriguez Tax Services, claimed extensive fraudulent deductions and credits on customers’ tax returns to purposely underreport their tax liabilities and claim refunds they were not entitled to receive. The complaint also alleged that Rodriguez hid her tax preparation activity by failing to properly identify herself on the tax returns that she prepared. Deputy Assistant Attorney General David A. Hubbert of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement. Taxpayers seeking a return preparer should remain vigilant against unscrupulous tax preparers. The IRS has information on its website for choosing a tax return preparer and has launched a free directory of federal tax preparers. The IRS also offers guidance on the credentials and qualifications that taxpayers should seek from their return preparer. In the past decade, the Justice Department’s Tax Division has obtained injunctions against hundreds of unscrupulous tax preparers. Information about these cases is available on the Justice Department’s website . An alphabetical listing of persons enjoined from preparing returns and promoting tax schemes can be found on this page . If you believe that one of the enjoined persons or businesses may be violating an injunction, please contact the Tax Division with details. Permanent Injunction Kenia Rodriguez.pdf


title: Santa Fe Man Pleads Guilty to Two Counts of Assaulting a Child

component: USAO - New Mexico

body_text: ALBUQUERQUE – A Santa Fe man pleaded guilty in federal court to two counts of assaulting a child under the age of 16. According to court documents, On June 19, 2021, Luis Xavier Rael , 36, was supervising his girlfriend’s 12-year-old son, who is a member of the Pueblo of Nambe. Rael made the child do a series of physical exercises, which he did not to complete to Rael’s satisfaction. Rael then hit the child with a tree branch and a belt on his butt, lower back, and upper legs. At sentencing, Rael faces up to two years in prison. He may also be ordered to pay restitution to his victim for expenses related to the crime. U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez made the announcement today. The Bureau of Indian Affairs investigated this case with assistance from the Santa Clara Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary Jones is prosecuting the case. # # #


title: Eleven Sioux Falls Men Charged with Online Sex Crimes

component: USAO - South Dakota

body_text: SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a joint online sex crimes operation, which ran from March 7, 2024, through March 12, 2024, has concluded with the arrest of 11 individuals. The operation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Sioux Falls Police Department, Watertown Police Department, Tea Police Department, Rapid City Police Department, Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, and the South Dakota Highway Patrol. As a result, the following individuals from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, were arrested and federally charged with Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet: Kyle Dean Bult, age 38; Kalvin Michael Frankus, age 37; Hunter Hill, age 22; Stacy Shannon Hoover, age 56; Ryan Nigro, age 32; Jorge Manual Rodriguez-Marroquin, age 47; Dylan Ryan, age 24; Gerber David Santos Gonzalez, age 25; William Danery Sebastian, age 33; Southy Thepmontry, age 69; and Carter Lee Tyree, age 20. The mandatory minimum penalty upon conviction is 10 years and a maximum of life in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine. The charges are merely accusations, and all Defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. “This operation demonstrates the unsettling reality that here in our own communities, there are individuals using the Internet to target young girls and boys for sex,” said U.S. Attorney Alison Ramsdell. “We are grateful to our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, who regularly collaborate to safeguard children across South Dakota. May it serve as a stark reminder to parents, guardians, and caretakers that the Internet can be a very dangerous place for children, particularly when their activity is left unmonitored.” “Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents work tirelessly to protect children from exploitation,” said Jamie Holt, HSI St. Paul Special Agent in Charge. “This successful online sex crimes operation shows the threat child predators pose in our communities and the importance of working hand-in-hand with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to bring individuals and networks who prey on vulnerable populations to justice.” The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey C. Clapper and Elizabeth A. Ebert. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc .


title: Sioux Falls Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Defrauding the Payroll Protection Program

body_text: SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, man convicted of Wire Fraud. The sentencing took place on April 1, 2024. Joshua Booth, age 27, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100. Booth was indicted by a federal grand jury in August of 2023. He pleaded guilty on January 10, 2024. The conviction stemmed from an incident in May of 2021, when Booth fraudulently submitted an application for a Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loan on behalf of his purported business through Fountainhead, a third-party participating lender in the PPP. In support of his application, Booth submitted a fraudulent Schedule C, an Internal Revenue Service form for profit or loss from a business, for “Booth cleaning service,” located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The business did not exist and the form contained false statements, which Booth knew were false, including the gross income of the purported business. As a result of Booth’s false and fraudulent application and supporting documentation, Booth received a PPP loan in the amount of $20,833 and then used the funds for his own purposes. This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security – Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann M. Hoffman prosecuted the case. On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form. Booth was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.


title: Groton Man Charged with Producing and Possessing Child Sex Abuse Material

body_text: Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Robert Fuller, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, today announced that a federal grand jury in Hartford has returned an indictment charging MICHAEL W. LANDON, 37, of Groton, with child exploitation offenses. The indictment charges Landon with production of child pornography, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years, and with possessing and accessing with intent to view child pornography, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. The indictment was returned on March 27, 2024, and Landon appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Maria E. Garcia in New Haven and pleaded not guilty. He has been detained since his arrest on related state charges on June 28, 2023. U.S. Attorney Avery stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Groton Town Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean P. Mahard through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc . U.S. Attorney Avery thanked the New London State Attorney’s Office for its cooperation in the investigation and prosecution of this case. To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com .


title: Pine Ridge Man Sentenced for Assaulting Officer

body_text: RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Pine Ridge, South Dakota, man convicted of Assault on a Federal Officer. The sentencing took place on March 29, 2024. Gregory Wayne Brewer, Jr., 25, was sentenced to two years and eleven months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Brewer was indicted for Assault on a Federal Officer by a federal grand jury in October of 2023. He pleaded guilty on January 5, 2024. The conviction stems from Brewer assaulting an Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety officer after the officer had arrested him for an unrelated matter. This case was investigated by the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Lindrooth prosecuted the case. Brewer was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.


title: Spearfish Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance

body_text: RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Spearfish, South Dakota, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. The sentencing took place on March 29, 2024. Erasmo Briseno, 32, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Briseno was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury in September of 2022. He pleaded guilty on March 29, 2024. Beginning in September of 2020 and continuing until his arrest in October of 2022, Briseno and five other co-conspirators knowingly conspired and agreed with each other to intentionally distribute cocaine. The conspiracy reached from Corpus Christi, Texas, to Spearfish, South Dakota. Cocaine was shipped through the U.S. Postal Service to South Dakota for the purposes of sale and distribution in South Dakota. The Spearfish Police Department and the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team conducted the investigation of the conspiracy. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian J. Murphy prosecuted the case. Briseno was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.


title: Hardin man admits charge in fatal shooting on Crow Indian Reservation

body_text: BILLINGS — A Hardin man today admitted that he assisted in hindering an investigation into the 2023 shooting death of another man on the Crow Indian Reservation, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said. The defendant, Garrell Robert Snell, 33, pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact as charged in a superseding information. Snell faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided. The court will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for Aug. 8. Snell’s detention was continued pending further proceedings. The government alleged in court documents that on Jan. 18, 2023 at Crow Agency, on the Crow Indian Reservation, a gunshot victim was driven to the emergency room at the IHS Crow/Northern Cheyenne Hospital, where the victim, a man, was pronounced dead upon arrival. The driver initially lied to law enforcement about where the driver had found the victim. Some days later, law enforcement learned that the victim was shot outside of a residence on Crow River Road. Law enforcement obtained a federal search warrant and analyzed an SD card from exterior security cameras on the residence. Initially, nothing of any evidentiary value was recovered from the SD card. But in February 2024, the SD card was again analyzed, and video was recovered. The video does not show the shooting but contains footage before and after the shooting. The government further alleged that the video shows the victim lying on snow-covered ground in the yard of the residence before he was picked up and put into the vehicle used to take him to the hospital. After the vehicle leaves, the video shows Snell and another individual cleaning the snow-covered area where the victim had been lying by moving snow with a shovel, broom, hands and feet. The footage also appears to show Snell and the other individual picking up items from the snow-covered area. Two bullets retrieved from the victim’s body and shell casings recovered from the area that was cleaned by Snell and the other individual were determined to have been fired from the same gun. The gun has not been recovered. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori Harper Suek is prosecuting the case. The FBI and Bureau of Indian Affairs conducted the investigation. XXX


title: Sioux Falls Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Prohibited Possession of a Firearm

body_text: SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, man convicted of Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person. The sentencing took place on April 1, 2024, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Timothy Joseph Cervantez, age 23, was sentenced to two years and nine months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He was ordered to pay $100 as a statutorily required special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Cervantez was indicted for Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person by a federal grand jury in August of 2023. He pleaded guilty on January 11, 2024. The conviction stems from an incident on June 10, 2023, when law enforcement received a report that an individual had discharged a firearm from the passenger window of a moving vehicle while traveling through a Sioux Falls neighborhood. When officers located the subject vehicle, a pursuit ensued, first by vehicle and later by foot. Officers eventually apprehended Cervantez and located a firearm he discarded while fleeing on foot. Cervantez admitted to possessing the firearm despite being prohibited due to a prior felony conviction. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms and the Sioux Falls Police Department. U.S. Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell prosecuted the case. Cervantez was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service to continue serving his sentence.


title: Porcupine Man Sentenced to Eight Years in Federal Prison

body_text: RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Porcupine, South Dakota, man convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter and Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury. The sentencing took place on March 29, 2024. Robert Cottier, 65, was sentenced to two eight-year terms in federal prison, to run concurrently, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund and restitution. Eight years is the statutory maximum for involuntary manslaughter. Cottier was indicted for Involuntary Manslaughter and four counts of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury by a federal grand jury in May of 2023. He pleaded guilty on January 3, 2024. The convictions stem from Cottier operating a motor vehicle on February 18, 2023, while under the influence of alcohol, causing a head-on collision with another vehicle. The collision killed one man and injured four others, three of which were minors. Cottier’s BAC was approximately between .128% and .198% at the time of the collision. This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in Federal court as opposed to State court. This case was investigated by the FBI and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Lindrooth prosecuted the case. Cottier was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.


title: Nevada Woman Found Guilty of Meth Trafficking

body_text: PIERRE - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a jury has convicted Dawn Eagle Feather Floyd, age 45, of Sparks, Nevada, of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance and Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance following a four-day jury trial in federal district court in Pierre, South Dakota. The verdict was returned on March 29, 2024. The charges carry a mandatory minimum term of five years in federal prison and a maximum penalty of 40 years in federal prison and/or a $5,000,000 fine, at least four years up to life of supervised release, and a $200 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Floyd was indicted by a federal grand jury in August of 2020. A superseding indictment was filed in May of 2023. Between January 1, 2019, and January 1, 2020, Floyd, knowingly and intentionally, agreed with others to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation. Floyd conspired with others to travel to Colorado where she obtained methamphetamine and brought it back to her home in Valentine, Nebraska, and then onto the Rosebud Reservation for distribution. Law enforcement recovered over 120 grams from Floyd’s residence, vehicle, and person during the investigation. This case was investigated by the FBI, the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services, the Northern Plains Safe Trails Drug Enforcement Task Force, and the Valentine Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meghan N. Dilges prosecuted the case. A presentence investigation was ordered and a sentencing date was set for June 24, 2024. The defendant was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.


title: Sioux Falls Duo Sentenced to Federal Prison for Making a False Statement in the Acquisition of a Firearm and Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person

body_text: SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced two Sioux Falls, South Dakota, men convicted of Making a False Statement in the Acquisition of a Firearm and Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person. Andrew Robert Gordon, age 38, and Deandre Arnell Burnett, age 23, were indicted for Making a False Statement in the Acquisition of a Firearm and Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person by a federal grand jury in December of 2022. Each defendant pleaded guilty in 2023. Burnett was sentenced on August 14, 2023, in Sioux Falls, for Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person and ordered to serve three years and one month in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He was ordered to pay $100 as a statutorily required special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Gordon was sentenced on March 25, 2024, in Sioux Falls, for Making a False Statement in the Acquisition of a Firearm and ordered to serve three years of probation. He was ordered to pay $100 as a statutorily required special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. In September of 2022, Burnett, a convicted felon, sought to purchase a firearm. Gordon agreed to purchase a firearm for Burnett at a premium. The entire transaction was captured on surveillance video of Burnett and Gordon at a licensed federal firearms business in Sioux Falls. Burnett picked out a gun, counted out and handed Gordon the cash, Gordon made the purchase of the firearm, then Gordon handed Burnett the firearm once they both exited the store. This transaction is commonly referred to as a “straw purchase.” This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. This case was investigated by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Department, and the Sioux Falls Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Ebert prosecuted the case. Burnett was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service to continue serving his sentence.


title: District Man Charged with Armed Robbery and Carjacking Ordered Detained Pending Trial

body_text: WASHINGTON – Michael Alan Hines, 36, of Washington, D.C., was ordered to be detained pending trial today, after the Honorable Heide Hermann found probable cause supported the carjacking and armed robbery charges, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela A. Smith. According to the government’s evidence at the preliminary hearing, Hines approached the first victim’s car on March 27, 2024, while she was at the pump of a gas station on Rhode Island Avenue in Northeast Washington, D.C. The defendant first tried to get into her car and, when he found the door locked, he asked the victim for money. She indicated she had none. Due to the victim’s proximity to her car, the doors unlocked automatically, and the defendant got in the driver’s seat. The victim jumped into the passenger seat and tried to stop the defendant, but he began to choke her. While choking the victim, the defendant put the car in reverse and took the victim’s phone from her hands. The victim freed herself and got out of her car. The defendant then abandoned his effort to take the car when he couldn’t drive it. An MPD detective responding to that complaint recognized the defendant as the suspect in an armed robbery at the same gas station several days earlier. In that case, the defendant had also walked up to a driver at a gas pump and asked for money before robbing him. The defendant grabbed that victim’s debit card from the pump and, when that victim struggled with the defendant over the card, the defendant threatened the victim with a knife. This case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacqueline Yarbro of the Major Crimes Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. A complaint is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.


title: Rapid City Man Sentenced to Probation

body_text: RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. Magistrate Judge Daneta L. Wollmann has sentenced a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Assault on a Federal Officer, a misdemeanor crime. The sentencing took place on April 3, 2024. Shadrach Franklin Howie, 40, was sentenced to three years of probation, 100 hours of community service, a $2,500 fine, and ordered to pay a $25 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Howie was indicted for Assault on a Federal Officer by a federal grand jury in July of 2023. He pleaded guilty on January 5, 2024. The conviction stems from Howie resisting and impeding a park ranger on February 2, 2021. At the time, the ranger was trying to take Howie into custody after a high-speed pursuit through Wind Cave National Park. This case was investigated by the National Park Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Lindrooth prosecuted the case.


title: Texas Man Sentenced for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance

body_text: RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Corpus Christi, Texas, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. The sentencing took place on March 29, 2024. Kevin Jarero, 23, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Jarero was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury in September of 2022. He pleaded guilty on March 29, 2024. Beginning in September of 2020 and continuing until his arrest in October of 2022, Jarero and five other co-conspirators knowingly conspired and agreed with each other to intentionally distribute cocaine. The conspiracy reached from Corpus Christi, Texas, to Spearfish, South Dakota. Cocaine was shipped through the U.S. Postal Service to South Dakota for the purposes of sale and distribution in South Dakota. The Spearfish Police Department and the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team conducted the investigation of the conspiracy. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian J. Murphy prosecuted the case. Jarero was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.


body_text: RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Corpus Christi, Texas, man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance. The sentencing took place on March 29, 2024. Darius Neal, 24, was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Neal was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury in September of 2022. He pleaded guilty on March 29, 2024. Beginning in September of 2020 and continuing until his arrest in October of 2022, Neal and five other co-conspirators knowingly conspired and agreed with each other to intentionally distribute cocaine. The conspiracy reached from Corpus Christi, Texas, to Spearfish, South Dakota. Cocaine was shipped through the U.S. Postal Service to South Dakota for the purposes of sale and distribution in South Dakota. The Spearfish Police Department and the Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team conducted the investigation of the conspiracy. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian J. Murphy prosecuted the case. Neal was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.


title: Federal Jury Convicts St. Francis Man of Illegally Possessing a Firearm

body_text: PIERRE - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that Tyson Quigley, a/k/a Tyson Stands, age 35, of St. Francis, South Dakota, was found guilty of Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm following a federal jury trial in Pierre, South Dakota. The verdict was returned on April 4, 2024. The charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison, and/or a $250,000 fine, three years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Quigley was indicted by a federal grand jury in February of 2023. The conviction stems from an incident that occurred on January 1, 2023, in Todd County, South Dakota. On that date, law enforcement was searching for Quigley based on an alleged home invasion that occurred that morning in St. Francis. Quigley was subsequently located in a parked vehicle at a residence near St. Francis. A .40 caliber pistol was found in the vehicle where he was sitting. Quigley has three prior felony convictions. In 2013, he was convicted of Domestic Assault of a Pregnant Woman in Platte County, Nebraska. In 2018, he was convicted of Felon in Possession of a Firearm in U.S. District Court for the District of South Dakota. In 2019, he was convicted of Possession of Methamphetamine in Madison County, Nebraska. As a result of these convictions, it is illegal for Quigley to possess firearms or ammunition. Quigley will forfeit ownership of the firearm to the United States. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. This case was investigated by the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson prosecuted the case. A presentence investigation was ordered, and a sentencing date has not been set. Quigley was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending sentencing.


title: Lakeville Man Pleads Guilty to Attempted Robbery of a Credit Union

component: USAO - Minnesota

body_text: ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Lakeville man has pleaded guilty to attempting to rob a credit union at gunpoint, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger. According to court documents, on February 9, 2023, Jeron Marvin Lee Davis, 29, attempted to rob at gunpoint a credit union located in Maplewood, Minnesota. Davis waited outside in a black Chevrolet sedan until the credit union’s manager closed the credit union and walked to his vehicle in the parking lot. Davis approached the manager’s vehicle, pointed a pistol-grip assault rifle at him, and directed him to exit the vehicle. Davis forced the manager at gunpoint to re-enter the credit union and access the vault. The manager explained to Davis that vault access required two employees. Davis threatened to kill the manager but eventually accepted the explanation. Davis stole the manager’s wallet and fled the scene in the black Chevrolet sedan. Davis pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court before Judge Eric C. Tostrud to one count of attempted bank robbery. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later time. This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Maplewood Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jordan L. Sing is prosecuting the case.


title: District Man Indicted on Enhanced Second-Degree Theft While on Release on Another Case for Retail Theft

component: USAO - District of Columbia

body_text: WASHINGTON – On April 3, 2024, Darryl Robinson, 37, of Washington, D.C., was indicted by a grand jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on three counts of second-degree theft (felony) and GPS tampering stemming from events occurring between February 4, 2024, and March 10, 2024, U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) announced. Robinson is to be arraigned on April 11, 2024, at a hearing before a Superior Court judge. According to the government’s evidence, on February 4, 2024, Robinson went into a CVS in Northwest Washington, D.C., took merchandise from the store shelves, and walked out of the store past all points of sale without paying. He then returned on February 9, 2024 to the same CVS and again took merchandise from the store shelves and walked out of the store past all points of sale. On March 5, 2024, Robinson was seen on ring camera taking a package off the front porch of a residence on 10th Street SE, Washington DC. Robinson was arrested on March 10, 2024, with a failed GPS tampering device. All of the offenses were committed while the defendant was on release in another Superior court case. Robinson has two or more prior theft convictions, though not from the same occasion, and therefore is subject to enhanced penalties for his alleged theft, including a mandatory minimum sentence of one year in jail for the count of theft for which he is indicted. Since September 1, 2023, including the aforementioned case, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia has indicted 37 cases involving a felony second-degree theft charge based on a defendant’s two or more prior theft convictions, not from the same occasion. This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rana Wahdan. An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.


title: Previously Convicted Killer from Maryland Sentenced to 19.5 Years for Drug Trafficking in D.C. and Discharging a Machinegun

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

body_text: WASHINGTON – Trenton Robinson, 28, of District Heights, Maryland, was sentenced today to 234 months in prison for his role as an enforcer for a D.C. street crew whose members distributed more than 100 kilograms of marijuana, as well as oxycodone and codeine, and used, carried, brandished, and discharged firearms during their drug trafficking crimes in the Congress Heights neighborhood of Southeast Washington, D.C. The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the Washington Field Office’s Criminal and Cyber Division, Special Agent in Charge Craig Kailimai of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Washington Field Division, and Chief Pamela A. Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). “This drug trafficker used a machine gun to spray bullets in the direction of a car passing through his drug dealing territory,” said U.S. Attorney Graves. “The hail of gunfire, which injured one person, miraculously did not kill anyone. Federally prosecuting those who, like this defendant, are driving violence is critical to protecting our community.” "Robinson not only distributed drugs but also used illegal firearms to fend off perceived threats to his co-conspirators and what they claimed as their territory,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Scott. “His lengthy sentence is the result of coordination between the FBI and our federal and local partners. We will continue to counter violent crime as a team to ensure that we prevail in bringing violent recidivists to justice." “This individual will learn a costly lesson as he serves a lengthy prison sentence. The usage of machine guns on our streets is sadly something that has gained much more traction since 2020,” said ATF Special Agent in Chargeailimai. “We hope that sentences such as this will serve as a deterrence to others seeking to possess and use illegal firearms more specifically machine gun conversion devices/ switches in our communities. We will continue to work alongside our partners to ensure that individuals like Robinson are held accountable for their actions.” Robinson, aka “Zulu,” pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson on October 24, 2023, to one count of brandishing a firearm in relation to drug trafficking, and one count of discharging a firearm in relation to drug trafficking. In addition to the 19.5-year prison sentence, Judge Berman Jackson ordered Robinson to serve five years of supervised release. Robinson, who regularly carried a fully automatic AR-Pistol machinegun, admitted as part of his plea agreement that he discharged that machinegun at the driver of a vehicle passing through the crew’s drug dealing territory on Easter Sunday, April 12, 2020. He also admitted that he and his crew possessed between 25 and 99 firearms between June of 2019 and September of 2020. Robinson committed the charged crimes while he was on supervised parole for second degree murder in Montgomery County. On December 21, 2010, Robinson and an accomplice murdered a 19-year old man while attempting to rob him. This case was investigated by the FBI, ATF, and MPD. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James B. Nelson.


title: Jury Finds District Man Guilty of Armed Robbery with a Knife in Northeast Washington

body_text: WASHINGTON – Kevon Lockerman, 29, of Washington, D.C., was found guilty today by a Superior Court jury of armed robbery, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). The verdict follows a two-day trial. According to the government’s evidence, on June 15, 2023, the defendant and another man, who was never identified, went into a smoke shop on West Virginia Avenue NE and tried to set up their own business inside, with a scale, a knife, and product they offered for sale. The store’s surveillance footage showed that when the complainant walked in, the defendant and his accomplice try to sell the complainant marijuana without success. The defendant handed a knife to his accomplice as the complainant spoke to the store’s clerk. When the complainant turned to leave the shop, the defendant and his accomplice blocked the complainant’s path. The accomplice gestured toward the knife, which he had tucked in the front of his pants, and the complainant handed the defendant cash. After the two men left together, the complainant turned to the store clerk with tears in his eyes, and told him he had been robbed. Police arrested the defendant roughly three weeks later near the same smoke shop. The Honorable Erik Christian has scheduled sentencing for June 27, 2024. In announcing the verdict, U.S. Attorney Graves and Chief Smith commended the work of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also commended the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Iris McCranie, who investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth Van Haasteren and Matthew Goldstein, who prosecuted the case.


title: Prison Terms Handed Down to the Trio Involved in Shooting Death of 17-Year-Old

body_text: WASHINGTON – Trey Prillerman, 19, Nelfy Hernandez, 20, both of Washington, D.C., and Deandre Levy, 22, of Gaithersburg, MD, were sentenced today for their roles in an August 2020 drive-by shooting that claimed the life of 17-year-old Taijhon Wyatt. The Honorable Maribeth Raffinan sentenced Prillerman to 17 years in prison; Hernandez to 13 years in prison; and Levy to eight years in prison. Defendants Prillerman and Hernandez pleaded guilty, in August of 2023, to second degree murder while armed; Levy pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter while armed. Hernandez, additionally, pleaded guilty to felony assault for assaulting a DYRS guard in a separate incident. According to the government’s evidence, on August 10, 2020, at approximately 9:30 p.m., the victim, Taijhon Wyatt, was walking with a group of friends in an alley near 9 th and Kennedy St., NW. A stolen vehicle driven by defendant Prillerman arrived at the mouth of the alley where defendants Hernandez and Levy opened fire into Taijhon’s group, killing him and wounding another individual who was with him. The three defendants fled the area in the stolen car, which was subsequently recovered outside of Baltimore. Officers arrived a short time after the shooting and discovered the teenager suffering from gunshot wounds. He died at the scene. This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for D.C. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rachel Forman and Dennis Clark.


title: Medina and Cleveland Men Charged with Fraudulently Obtaining $4.2 Million in Covid Relief Funds

body_text: CLEVELAND - A federal grand jury in Cleveland returned a 13-count indictment charging two individuals for their alleged roles in a scheme to fraudulently obtain approximately $4.2 million in COVID-19 relief funds guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Joseph Oloyede, 61, of Medina, Ohio and Edward Oluwasanmi, 61, of Willoughby, Ohio are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering offenses. According to the indictment, from in or around April 2020, and continuing through on or about February 28, 2022, Oloyede and Oluwasanmi devised a scheme to defraud the SBA and financial institutions by obtaining COVID-19 relief funds from the SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) under false pretenses. The indictment states that Oloyede and Oluwasanmi submitted PPP and EIDL loan applications containing false information for entities under their control and submitted falsified tax and wage documents to support these applications. The indictment alleges that they obtained approximately $1.2 million in SBA funds for Oluwasanmi’s entities and $1.7 million for Oloyede’s entities. Oloyede is also alleged to have submitted falsified PPP and EIDL loan applications in the names of other co-conspirators and confederate borrowers and their businesses, obtaining approximately $1.3 through those applications, for a total of at least $4.2 million obtained through the fraud. An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the Defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the Defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the Defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum, and in most cases, it will be less than the maximum. This investigation was conducted by the U.S. Department of Transportation – OIG, as part of the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee Fraud Task Force, Cleveland FBI, and IRS – Criminal Investigation. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Brydle.


title: Defendant sentenced to 10 years in prison for laundering drug proceeds to Mexico through local cell phone store fronts

component: USAO - Ohio, Southern

body_text: COLUMBUS, Ohio – A man who laundered drug proceeds from Columbus cell phone store fronts to Nayarit, Mexico, was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 120 months in prison. Cruz Alberto Perez-Nunez, 36, was the ninth federal defendant convicted in two related cases. He pleaded guilty in October 2023 to money laundering and conspiring to possess with intent to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin. The defendant orchestrated teams of drug dealers in central Ohio and laundered the proceeds to Mexico. In the fall of 2020 and spring 2021, eight original, federal defendants were sentenced to prison for the same conspiracy, in which they laundered $44 million in drug proceeds to Mexico through local cell phone store fronts. The stores sold few, if any, cell phones, and they conducted little, if any, legitimate business otherwise. The defendants received sentences ranging from five to 18 years in prison. Perez-Nunez was a drug trafficker and regular “customer” of the cell phone store fronts who laundered his drug proceeds from Columbus to Nayarit, Mexico. Perez-Nunez oversaw the narcotics-distribution operation of multiple teams of drug dealers in the Southern District of Ohio. In 2018, he oversaw the supply chain of heroin and directed and controlled drug-trafficking and money-laundering activities of individuals in and around Columbus. Perez-Nunez also set up living arrangements for the teams of drug traffickers. Perez-Nunez and others coordinated with the owners of Los Rosales on Shady Lane Road, Los Rosales 2 on East Main Street and Express Cellular on Eastland Square Drive to send bulk money transfers to lists of names in Mexico. Thousands of illicit wire transfers were completed per year. Drug dealers from multiple narcotics-trafficking cells would drop large amounts of narcotics money at the stores, after which the store owners would falsify money sender names, addresses and phone numbers on the wire transfers to Mexico to conceal the nature of the proceeds. In total, the joint state–federal efforts led to the prosecution of nine defendants federally and 35 defendants by the Franklin County Prosecutor’s Office. The investigation and prosecution of these defendants removed approximately 34 kilograms of heroin, 516 grams of cocaine, 76 grams of fentanyl and 250 pounds of marijuana from Central Ohio streets. Additionally, investigators seized $458,500 in U.S. currency and a home valued at nearly $248,000 as part of the investigation and prosecution of these cases. Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Karen Wingerd, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Cincinnati Field Office; Orville O. Greene, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Detroit Division; Franklin County Prosecutor Gary Tyack; Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant and officials with the Ohio HIDTA (High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area) and Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s Ohio Organized Crime Commission announced the sentence imposed today by Chief U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley. Assistant United States Attorneys S. Courter Shimeall and Jessica W. Knight are representing the United States in this case. Daniel J. Stanley, formerly with the office of Franklin County Prosecutor Gary Tyack, also represented the United States in this case as a Special Assistant United States Attorney. This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, and gangs that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. # # #