title: Convicted murderer already serving life in prison sentenced to additional 35 years for running drug distribution and money laundering operation from state custody

component: USAO - Georgia, Northern

body_text: ATLANTA - Jarvis Matthews has been sentenced to 35 years in federal prison for his role in leading a multi-million-dollar drug trafficking and money laundering operation from the confines of Calhoun State Prison. After a trial in October 2025, a federal jury found Matthews guilty of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl, five counts of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, and money laundering conspiracy. When he committed his federal crimes, Matthews was already serving sentences of life with possible parole for murder and felony murder convictions, following fatal shootings in 2001 and 2002 in Atlanta. The murders occurred during robberies at apartments where Matthews had lured victims expecting to buy tire rims and marijuana. “This convicted murderer brazenly used contraband cell phones behind prison bars to distribute millions of dollars of illegal drugs in our community and launder drug money for criminal cartels,” said U.S. Attorney Theodore S. Hertzberg. “The dogged work by our Homeland Security Task Force team of federal investigators, state officers, and local partners dismantled Matthews’s network and helped ensure the safety of our community.” “Georgia and the rest of the country is safer now that Jarvis Matthews will be locked away in federal prison, unable to run his vast drug and money laundering operation,” said FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Marlo Graham. “FBI Atlanta will continue to work with our local, state, and federal law enforcement partners to ensure that career criminals like Matthews and those who conspire with them are brought to justice.” According to U.S. Attorney Hertzberg, the charges, and other information presented in court: Jarvis Matthews, while imprisoned at Georgia Department of Corrections facilities, used contraband cellphones to coordinate the distribution of illegal drugs at houses in the Cleveland Avenue neighborhood of Atlanta. Matthews directed his fiancée, girlfriends, nephew, and two adult sons to distribute drugs and collect and launder money on his behalf. In early 2022, FBI agents identified a social media account that Matthews used to facilitate dozens of drug deals. In April of 2022, FBI agents made a controlled purchase of two kilograms of methamphetamine from Matthews through his son Charvis Harris, who previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced in this case. Ultimately, the FBI obtained a wiretap on Matthews’s phone and conducted surveillance at one of Matthews’s drug trap houses, which was operated by codefendant Alvin Edwards. With these tools, the FBI was able to apprehend Matthews’s drug customers after they met with Matthews’s sons, Harris and Javaris Mathews, to obtain drugs. Matthews conspired with others, such as codefendant Shabreya Brown, to transport drugs, and codefendant Miriam Modesti, to launder money. The evidence presented at trial showed that Matthews distributed hundreds of kilograms of illegal drugs in the Atlanta area and laundered hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug proceeds, including for drug suppliers in Colombia and California. On April 21, 2026, U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Geraghty sentenced Jarvis Matthews, 47, of Atlanta, Georgia, to 35 years in federal prison for his role in leading a multi-million-dollar drug trafficking and money laundering operation from the confines of Calhoun State Prison. Judge Geraghty ordered that the federal sentence run consecutively to Matthews’s state sentences of life imprisonment. The following defendants were previously sentenced in this case: Charvis Harris, 22, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to eight years and nine months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. Javaris Dasan Mathews, 24, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to six years in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. Alvin Edwards, 53, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. Miriam Modesti, 53, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. Shabreya Brown, 33, of Atlanta, Georgia, was sentenced to three years probation after pleading guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with valuable assistance provided by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office, the Dooly County Sheriff’s Office, the Fayetteville Police Department, the Georgia Department of Corrections, the Newton County Sheriff’s Office, and the Georgia State Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Johnny Baer and John DeGenova prosecuted the case. This prosecution is also part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. The Atlanta Wilhelm HSTF comprises agents and officers from ATF, CGIS, DEA, FBI, ICE-HSI, IRS-CI, DOL-OIG, DSS, USMS, USPIS, and USSS, as well as numerous state and local agencies, with the prosecution being led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia . For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga .


title: Kyle Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Stealing Checks

component: USAO - South Dakota

body_text: RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a Kyle, South Dakota, man convicted of Larceny. The sentencing took place on April 20, 2026. Lyle Dean Misun Tibbits, 33, was sentenced to one year in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. He was further ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund and $9,880.00 in restitution. Tibbits was indicted for Larceny by a federal grand jury in November 2025. He pleaded guilty on January 9, 2026. In June 2025, Tibbits, while working on a ranch in Kyle, stole several blank checks belonging to his employer. Between June and July 2025, he unlawfully wrote several checks totaling nearly $10,000.00 to himself and another person and then cashed the checks and used the proceeds for his own personal gain. This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in Federal court as opposed to State court. This case was investigated by the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Patterson prosecuted the case. Tibbits was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.


title: Burlington Man Sentenced to Over 25 Years in Federal Prison for Meth Charge

component: USAO - Iowa, Southern

body_text: DAVENPORT, Iowa – A Burlington man was sentenced on April 21, 2026, to 310 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. According to public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, Jason Lee Ringold, also known as “Ringo,” 47, sold over 600 grams of methamphetamine in the Burlington area between April and June 2024. Ringold displayed a gun and threatened one of his customers during a drug transaction. In 1999, Ringold was convicted in federal court for a drug conspiracy involving the manufacture of methamphetamine. After completing his term of imprisonment, Ringold will be required to serve a ten-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. United States Attorney David C. Waterman of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Burlington Police Department investigated the case.


title: Tallahassee Felon Indicted for Gun & Drug Crimes

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

body_text: Tallahassee, Florida – Christopher Lamar Daniels, 47, of Tallahassee, Florida, has been indicted in federal court for possession with intent to distribute multiple controlled substances, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida announced the charge. Daniels appeared in federal court for his arraignment before United States Magistrate Judge Martin A. Fitzpatrick in Tallahassee, Florida. Jury trial is scheduled for June 15, 2026, at 8:15 am before District Court Judge Robert L. Hinkle in Tallahassee, Florida. Daniels faces a minimum mandatory prison sentence of 10 years’, and up to life, imprisonment on the drug possession count, and a consecutive five years’ imprisonment for carrying a firearm during a drug-trafficking crime. If his prior felony convictions are determined to qualify him as an Armed Career Criminal, Davis faces a minimum mandatory 15 years’ imprisonment, and up to life, if convicted of possession of a firearm by a felon. The case is being jointly investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Tallahassee Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney James A. McCain. An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. This case is part of Operation Take Back America , a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl .


title: Federal jury convicts registered sex offender of sexually exploiting two minors

component: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

body_text: RICHMOND, Va. – A federal judge convicted a Gum Spring man yesterday on charges of production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), possession of CSAM, attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, and commission by a registered sex offender of a felony offense involving a minor. According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Richard Scott Tyson, 57, was convicted in 2002 of rape involving a child, for which he received 99 years of imprisonment with 86 years suspended. Between 2021 and 2023, Tyson sexually exploited two minor victims. Tyson met the first victim, identified as Minor Victim 1 or MV1, in 2021 and developed a relationship with MV1 and his family members. Tyson soon began taking MV1 on trips and paying for items such as video games, clothing, or activities on his behalf. MV1 then began staying overnight and on weekends at Tyson’s house. During a trip with MV1 to a trampoline park, MV1 met and befriended Tyson’s second victim, identified as Minor Victim 2 or MV2. Tyson communicated with both victims through Snapchat. MV2 joined Tyson and MV1 during activities and trips to hotels, resorts, and amusement parks, for which Tyson paid. During these activities and trips, as well as at Tyson’s home, Tyson engaged in sexual relations with MV2 and took pictures of both minor victims while they were nude or mostly undressed and posed in sexualized positions in exchange for money. Tyson faces a mandatory minimum of 35 years and up to life in prison when sentenced on July 29. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The FBI’s Richmond Field Office and the Powhatan County Sheriff’s Office investigated this case with assistance from the Goochland County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shea M. Gibbons and Thomas A. Garnett are prosecuting the case. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc . A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:24-cr-34. This release was revised on April 30, 2026, to correct the headline.


title: New York Man Indicted for Involvement in Stolen Identity and Access Device Fraud Ring

component: USAO - Florida, Northern

body_text: Pensacola, Florida – Dustin Lemmon Carpio, 33, of New York, New York, was indicted by a federal grand jury charging him with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, use of a counterfeit access device, possession of 15 or more counterfeit and unauthorized access devices, use of a false passport, and aggravated identity theft. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the charges today. Carpio appeared for his arraignment in federal court before United States Magistrate Judge Hope T. Cannon, in Pensacola, Florida. Jury trial is scheduled for May 18, 2026, before United States District Court Judge T. Kent Wetherell, II. If convicted, Carpio faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment on the conspiracy to commit wire fraud count; up to 10 years’ imprisonment on each of the use of a counterfeit access device, possession of 15 or more counterfeit and unauthorized access devices, and use of a false passport counts; and a mandatory two years’ imprisonment consecutive to any other sentence on the aggravated identity theft count. The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service and the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Alicia H. Forbes is prosecuting the case. An indictment is merely an allegation by a grand jury that a defendant has committed a violation of federal criminal law and is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial, during which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General. To access available public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndfl .


title: New York Man Charged with Narcotics Offense

component: USAO - Vermont

body_text: Burlington, Vermont – The Office of the United States Attorney for the District of Vermont announced that on April 16, 2026, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Errol Richards, 42, originally from Bronx, New York, with possession with the intent to distribute cocaine. Richards entered a plea of not guilty to the charges during an arraignment on April 22, 2026, before United States Magistrate Judge Kevin J. Doyle. Judge Doyle ordered that Richards be detained during the pendency of this matter. According to court records, the Defendant possessed approximately 47.2 grams of cocaine on September 11, 2025. Law enforcement found the cocaine as they arrested Richards on an outstanding state warrant. The United States Attorney’s Office emphasizes that an indictment contains allegations only and that Richards is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. Richards faces up to 20 years of imprisonment if convicted. The actual sentence, however, would be determined by the District Court with guidance from the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines and the statutory sentencing factors. First Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan A. Ophardt commended the investigatory efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Burlington Police Department. The prosecutor is Assistant United States Attorney Joshua L. Banker. Richards is represented by John-Claude Charbonneau, Esq.


title: Twice-Deported El Salvadoran National Charged with Illegal Reentry into the United States

component: USAO - Florida, Middle

body_text: Jacksonville, Florida – Jose Adilio Anaya-Alas (36, El Salvador) has been charged by federal indictment with illegal reentry into the United States by a previously deported alien. If convicted, Anaya-Alas faces up to two years in federal prison and subsequent deportation and removal from the United States. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement. According to the indictment, on September 16, 2015, and again on November 19, 2015, Anaya-Alas was removed from the United States by immigration authorities. On March 25, 2026, Anaya-Alas was found to be voluntarily back in the United States and was arrested in the Middle District of Florida. Records checks confirmed that he had not applied to U.S. immigration authorities for permission to lawfully reenter the United States after his prior removals. This case was investigated by the Florida Highway Patrol and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown. An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty. This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the United States Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect communities from the perpetrators of violent crime and human trafficking.


title: Kenton County Man Sentenced for Receiving Child Pornography

component: USAO - Kentucky, Eastern

body_text: COVINGTON, Ky. – A Crestview Hills, Ky., man, William Clark, 70, was sentenced on Thursday to 63 months by Chief U.S. District Judge David Bunning for receiving child pornography. According to his plea agreement, on July 13, 2024, law enforcement responded to a report that a man was taking photos of children in their swimsuits at a recreation center in Kenton County. Officers spoke to Clark who admitted that he possessed computer-generated depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct and that he had downloaded the material from two websites. Clark consented to the search of his electronic devices and law enforcement found approximately 885 digital images and three digital videos depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Law enforcement further found that hundreds of those files had been downloaded from websites including those the Defendant admitted visiting. Under federal law, Clark must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence. Upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for 5 years. Jason Parman, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Colin Jackson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); and Chief Mike Leming, Erlanger Police Department, announced the sentence. The investigation was conducted by the HSI and Erlanger Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Drew Spievack is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States. This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov . – END –


title: Vinita Man Convicted by Federal Jury for Raping a 16-Year-Old

body_text: TULSA, Okla. – After a three-day jury trial, a federal jury returned a guilty verdict convicting a Vinita man after he raped a 16-year-old in November 2025. Garret Lee Monroe, 37, of Vinita and a member of the Northern Arapaho Tribe of Wyoming, was convicted of Aggravated Sexual Abuse by Force in Indian Country. On November 30, 2025, Vinita Police officers were dispatched to a fight in progress. When officers arrived, they broke up a fight between Monroe and another man. Officers spoke with the man, who stated that he was contacted by the 16-year-old minor victim, who asked him to come home as soon as possible, because something bad had happened. The man explained that the minor victim told him that Monroe had strangled and raped her and threatened to kill her. The man confronted Monroe for raping the minor victim and a fight ensued. Officers then spoke with the 16-year-old minor victim. She told officers that Monroe woke her up in the middle of the night by covering her mouth and strangling her. When the minor victim testified, she explained to the jury that while Monroe was strangling her, she could not breathe and thought she was going to die. She began screaming and Monroe put a knife to her throat and threatened to kill her. Monroe then proceeded to rape the minor victim. After he was finished, Monroe told the victim he was afraid he was “gonna go to prison” and offered to pay the victim $500 a week not to tell anyone. When the SANE nurse testified, she went through her detailed reports and explained to the jury what the minor victim stated at the hospital. The nurse took DNA swabs and photographed the 16-year-old’s injuries. The photographs were shown to the jury, including photos of bruises and abrasions to her neck and of the petechiae in the victim’s eyes and on her face caused by the strangulation. During the trial, a DNA expert with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation confirmed that the swabs taken from the minor victim matched the victim and Monroe’s DNA. Court dockets show that Monroe is a prior felon and was previously convicted of serious offenses, including assault and battery on an officer, assault and battery with a deadly weapon, and robbery. When Monroe was sentenced in 2007 for robbery, he was sentenced to 20 years in the Department of Corrections, with 16 years suspended. Monroe did not comply with the terms of his release. His suspended sentence was revoked. The court docket shows that he was released seven months prior to the rape. The FBI, the Vinita Police Department, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, and the Tulsa Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stacey Todd and Blithe Cravens prosecuted the case. This case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, local, and tribal resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC .


title: Scam Center Strike Force Takes Major Actions Against Southeast Asian Scam Centers Targeting Americans

body_text: scsf_26-sz-27_signed_redacted_in_color.pdf jz_26-sz-27_jz_signed_redacted_in_color.pdf scsf_4_26-mj-17_wen_jie_ecf_7_redacted_complaint_and_affidavit.pdf scsf_3_26-mj-18_xingshan_ecf_11_redacted_complaint_and_affidavit.pdf scsf_x_26-sz-32_-_redacted_szw_package.pdf WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice, through U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Criminal Division, together with its partners, today announced a series of coordinated actions by the Scam Center Strike Force against Southeast Asian criminal organizations operating scam centers that have defrauded Americans of billions of dollars. The Scam Center Strike Force’s actions include criminal charges against two Chinese nationals who managed a cryptocurrency investment fraud compound in Burma and attempted to open another compound in Cambodia, the seizure of a Telegram messaging app channel used to recruit human trafficking victims to a scam compound in Cambodia in order to work a law enforcement impersonation scam, and the seizure of 503 fake investment websites, among other actions. Additionally, the Strike Force has continued to identify funds involved in money laundering from scam centers, seeking to seize and forfeit the same, and collectively the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Department’s Criminal Division, and their partners have restrained more than $700 million in cryptocurrency alleged to be tied to money laundering from cryptocurrency scams. Also today, in a coordinated interagency action, the Department of the Treasury announced sanctions against Cambodian scam center operators, and the Department of State announced rewards for information leading to the seizure or recovery of proceeds related to the Tai Chang scam center in Burma. “The President’s Executive Order Combating Cybercrime, Fraud, and Predatory Schemes Against American Citizens establishes a clear, whole-of-government strategy to confront cyber-enabled crime and transnational scam operations – bringing together law enforcement, intelligence, diplomatic, and financial tools in a unified effort,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “Building on that direction, the Scam Center Strike Force launched in November 2025 has delivered real operational results and reflects the kind of focused action this strategy demands. Together, these efforts are driving a coordinated campaign to disrupt and impose consequences on the transnational criminal organizations behind these schemes.” “Today we announce significant milestones in that fight,” Pirro continued. “We have charged the Chinese bosses who ran a scam compound in Burma, where trafficked workers were beaten and forced to steal from Americans. We have seized a Telegram channel that was luring workers into a forced labor compound in Cambodia where they were ordered to pose as U.S. banks and NYPD to steal American’s life savings. We have taken down more than 500 websites used to steal people’s savings. And my Office continues to work to identify funds stolen from victims, having now caused restraint of more than $700 million in cryptocurrency involved in money laundering from U.S. victims of fraud. This Administration is lock-step in combatting these scams, and we are not done.” “The Department’s Criminal Division is proud to partner with U.S. Attorney Pirro’s office on the latest enforcement actions of the Scam Center Strike Force to stop foreign-based criminal networks that exploit vulnerable Americans,” said Assistant Attorney General Duva. “Fraudsters who target Americans from overseas may believe that they cannot be reached, but the Department of Justice and our Strike Force partners are working to ensure that these criminals cannot operate with impunity, no matter where in the world they reside.” Joining today’s announcement were Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, FBI Co-Deputy Director Christopher Raia, U.S. Secret Service’s (USSS) Assistant Director Brent Daniels, Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) Senior Bureau Official Chris Landberg, and Department of the Treasury’s Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing Jonathan Burke. “Eliminating fraud is a top priority for the Trump Administration,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “Treasury will continue to target fraudsters and scam centers that steal billions of dollars from hardworking Americans, no matter where they operate or how well-connected they are.” "The FBI remains committed to protecting Americans from fraud, holding perpetrators accountable, and leveraging partnerships, intelligence, and enforcement to safeguard the public," said FBI Co-Deputy Director Christopher Raia. "These joint actions represent a significant blow to transnational criminal organizations preying upon our American citizens." “The Scam Center Strike Force has been a collaborative effort since its formation. The Secret Service is proud to be a part of this group, which is dedicated to pursuing the criminal networks that rely on our online and financial infrastructure to target American citizens,” said Assistant Director of Field Operations Brent Daniels, U.S. Secret Service. “The Department of State, in support of the Department of Justice’s Scam Center Strike Force, is announcing two reward offers under the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program to disrupt cyber scam centers in Southeast Asia and hold accountable those who prey on Americans online,” said Senior Bureau Chris Landberg of the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. “Under the leadership of Secretary Rubio, the State Department, together with our partners, will continue to protect the American people from cybercrime, fraud, and predatory schemes perpetrated by these insidious scam centers.” Background: Cyber-Enabled and Cryptocurrency Investment Fraud in Southeast Asian Scam Centers Cyber-enabled and cryptocurrency investment fraud (referred to by the scammers as “pig butchering”) is among the fastest-growing and most financially devastating forms of cybercrime targeting Americans. In these schemes, victims are cultivated over time and deceived into depositing funds into fraudulent investment platforms that appear to show substantial returns. In reality, all victim funds flow directly to the scammers. The scam continues until the victim runs out of money or discovers the fraud, at which point the scammers cease contact. According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center ( IC3 ), investment scams became the most commonly reported crime type in 2023, with cryptocurrency investment fraud comprising 83 percent of that category. Reported losses from these scams rose from $3.96 billion in 2023 to $5.8 billion in 2024. Reported losses rose 24 percent in 2025 to more than $7.2 billion, according to IC3’s newly released 2025 annual report. Those figures, based largely on victim reports, are believed to significantly underrepresent actual losses, as most victims do not report to law enforcement. According to the United States Institute of Peace, a conservative estimate of the annual value of funds stolen by scam syndicates worldwide approached $64 billion as of the end of 2023. Many of these schemes are run out of industrial-scale compounds along the Burma-Thailand border and in Cambodia. Criminal syndicates often lure workers to Thailand with promises of high-paying technical jobs, then seize their identification documents and traffic them to work in scam compounds. Within the compounds, trafficked workers are frequently forced to conduct fraud operations against victims in the United States and elsewhere under threat of violence. Public reporting on these compounds has documented beatings, electrocutions, and murder. Criminal Charges: Shunda Compound, Min Let Pan, Burma The Strike Force unsealed criminal complaints and arrest warrants against two Chinese nationals in connection with cryptocurrency investment fraud operations at the Shunda compound in Min Let Pan, Burma: two managers in the compound, Huang Xingshan, also known as “Ah Zhe” and “Huang Xing Saan,” and Jiang Wen Jie, also known as “Jiang Nan.” They are charged with wire fraud conspiracy. Aerial surveillance photo of the Shunda compound in Burma, where forced-labor conducted fraud operations under threat of violence. The Shunda compound operated from at least January 2025 until approximately November 2025, when it was seized by the Karen National Liberation Army of Burma. The compound used scam websites and mobile applications disguised as legitimate investment platforms to defraud victims, including Americans. Workers within the compound were trafficked individuals who were held against their will and forced to defraud victims under the threat of violence and torture. The FBI deployed personnel to Thailand following the compound’s seizure. Working with Thai authorities, including the Anti-Cyber Scam Center task force of the Royal Thai Police, FBI agents reviewed thousands of mobile devices and hard drives recovered from Shunda. Agents also interviewed tens of former compound workers. That investigation identified a hierarchical organization of Chinese operators running the compound and supported the charges against the two defendants. Phones seized at the Shunda compound. According to the investigation, Huang served at Shunda as a high-level manager and enforcer and personally participated in the physical punishment of trafficked compound workers. Jiang served as a team leader directly supervising workers who specifically targeted American victims. Under Jiang’s supervision, one of the people under his command successfully defrauded a single American victim of over $3 million utilizing a fraudulent investment platform. The theft was celebrated within the organization as a paradigm of success. Interior of one of the buildings at the Shunda compound. After the Shunda compound was seized, Huang and Jiang relocated to another scam compound located in Cambodia where they attempted to continue their cryptocurrency investment fraud operation. In early 2026, Huang and Jiang decided to return to Burma, traveling through Thailand. Huang and Jiang were arrested on immigration charges by Thai law enforcement in early 2026 in Thailand. The case is being investigated by FBI’s New York Field Office with substantial assistance from the FBI Legal Attaché in Bangkok and Thai authorities including the Anti-Cyber Scam Center task force of the Royal Thai Police. Telegram Channel Seizure The Strike Force conducted a first-of-its-kind seizure of a Telegram channel with more than 6,000 followers that was used to recruit individuals to travel to Cambodia under false promises of high-paying employment. Once there, recruited workers were held against their will and forced to defraud victims, including Americans, as part of a sophisticated law enforcement impersonation scheme. The Telegram channel included postings for jobs in Cambodia that were specifically for workers who spoke with “American” accents, would work a night shift (i.e., during U.S. daytime hours), and some specifically sought attractive female candidates. The Telegram channel was connected to a scam compound in rural Cambodia near the Thai border. Once at the scam compound, the scam workers specifically targeted U.S. persons. In the fraud scheme, victims received cold calls from individuals posing as bank representatives, including impersonators of “JPMorgan” or other U.S. bank customer service agents, warning them that their bank accounts had been used to purchase firearms from an actual U.S. gun store website. Victims then were transferred to individuals posing as “NYPD detectives” or other supposed law enforcement, and later sent to the “New York Supreme Court” or other purported prosecutorial officials. Through sustained pressure conducted over WhatsApp and Microsoft Teams, victims were induced to disclose their bank account information and ultimately transfer their savings to the scammers. The Telegram seizure case is being handled by FBI’s Miami Field Office, U.S. Secret Service Headquarters, and investigators at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. As part of the Strike Forces’s efforts at public-private collaboration on the scam center threat, after being alerted by law enforcement, JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, and Meta voluntarily took internal investigative measures to combat the fraud operating on their systems and occurring under their names. 503 Web Domain Seizures The Strike Force announced the seizure of more than 503 dot-com web domains identified through the Operation Level Up initiative as having been used to defraud U.S. victims. The seized domains all were disguised as legitimate “investment platforms,” which victims reported to law enforcement were causing them to unknowingly deposit cryptocurrency funds and view supposed “returns” on what they believed were legitimate investments. Operation Level Up, established in In January 2024, by FBI and the U.S. Secret Service is an ongoing proactive initiative to identify and notify victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud. As of March 2026: (i) the Operation Level Up has notified 8,935 victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud; (ii) 77% of those victims were unaware they were being scammed; (iii) the estimated savings to victims is $562,726,245 of monies they otherwise would have sent to their scammers; (iv) 93 victims have been referred to an FBI victim specialist for suicide intervention due to the devastating nature of these scams. Some victims have reported to law enforcement that—prior to being notified by the FBI about the scam—they were in the process of liquidating their 401K, selling their home, or obtaining a sizable loan. One elderly victim was surviving on disability pay; he had already paid the scammers $1,200 and would have cut into money he needed for food to pay more. Each of the 503 dot-com domains seized was identified by a victim contacted by Operation Level Up and involved in laundering that victim’s cryptocurrency funds. Visitors to these domains are now informed on a splash page that it has been seized by law enforcement. The investigation was conducted by the Operation Level Up Initiative, with the FBI’s Detroit and Phoenix Field Offices handling the seizure with support from investigators at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Marshals Service. Restraint of Cryptocurrency Involved in Money Laundering from Scams The Scam Center Strike Force continues its work to identify, seize, and forfeit funds involved in money laundering related to scams, so that funds can be returned to victims whenever possible. Under leadership from the FBI and the USSS, more than $701,962,392.15 in cryptocurrency has been identified as allegedly involved in laundering of funds stolen from victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud and restrained through voluntary actions of cryptocurrency providers, as well as U.S. legal process. The Strike Force is working tirelessly to forfeit funds with its goal of returning funds to victims, and it continues to support victims who have lost homes and life savings to these schemes. FBI San Francisco, San Diego, Washington, Seattle, Phoenix, Nashville, and Honolulu Field Offices, and the USSS Headquarters, San Francisco, Nashville, and Washington Field Offices investigated these matters and conducted associated seizures. State Department Rewards and Actions Related to Tai Chang Consistent with the Strike Force’s whole of government approach, in a coordinated action, the Department of State today announced a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the seizure or recovery of proceeds from fraud and money laundering schemes associated with the Tai Chang scam centers in Burma’s Karen State. The Strike Force also announced the seizure of the latest domain used by the Tai Chang scam centers, fortuneprimeglobalirts.com. The domain was a new iteration of the centers’ fraudulent investment platform and was launched after the Strike Force seized its predecessor domain, tickmilleas.com . The latest seized domain was designed and functioned similarly to its predecessor scam investment website. Visitors to the domain are now informed on a splash page that it has been seized by law enforcement, and victims are encouraged to submit complaints to the FBI. The Tai Chang scam centers were subject of web domain seizures by the Strike Force and individuals and entities associated with the Tai Chang scam centers were designated by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced in November 2025 . FBI’s San Diego Field Office is investigating the case in conjunction with the FBI Legal Attaché in Bangkok. Tips should be sent to them at TaiChangTIPS@fbi.gov . Treasury Department Sanctions Also in a coordinated action, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control today announced new sanctions against individuals and entities perpetrating cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes against Americans using forced labor and violence in Cambodia. The sanctions target Cambodian Senator Kok An, Cambodian businessman Rithy Raksmei, several associates, and their respective business empires, including holding companies for scam center operations. ********************************************** About the Scam Center Strike Force The Scam Center Strike Force was officially launched by U.S. Attorney Pirro in November 2025 to address the growing threat posed by Chinese organized crime syndicates operating scam centers primarily in Southeast Asia. The Strike Force targets cryptocurrency investment fraud, cyber-enabled fraud, human trafficking, and money laundering operations that have cost American victims billions of dollars. On March 6, 2026, President Trump signed an Executive Order directing the Administration to prioritize cybercrime, fraud, and predatory schemes draining American families of their life savings. Through the Executive Order, President Trump is unleashing every available tool to stop foreign-backed criminal networks that exploit vulnerable Americans through cyber-enabled fraud. The Scam Center Strike Force is a critical node in executing the mission outlined in the President’s Order. The Strike Force’s founding partners are the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, the FBI, and the U.S. Secret Service, who have now been joined by numerous additional law enforcement agencies, as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Districts of Alaska, Rhode Island, and Western Washington. The Strike Force works in collaboration with other agencies, including the Treasury and State Departments. The Strike Force works in strategic partnership with private industry and calls on all U.S. businesses to take more proactive steps to protect users from scam operations. The Scam Center Strike Force will use every tool available to help secure Main Street Americans from these scams. With its interagency and public partners, it will educate Americans on how to identify these scams, prevent generational wealth from flowing from America into the pockets of Chinese organized crime, and work with unwavering focus to return stolen funds to victims. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen P. Seifert for the District of Columbia directs the Strike Force, in consultation with Associate Counsel Richard Goldberg of the Department’s Criminal Division. The Shunda Compound cases are being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emma Ellenrieder for the District of Columbia. Cryptocurrency investigations and seizures were handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rick Blaylock and Jafer Aftab for the District of Columbia, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jahiel Baer for the Western District of Washington, and Trial Attorneys Ethan Cantor and Stefanie Schwartz of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. The Tai Chang case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jolie Zimmerman, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Raj Datta, all for the District of Columbia, and Trial Attorney Cantor. The Telegram and 503 domain seizures were handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seifert, Blaylock, and Ellenrieder. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Government of Thailand provided significant assistance on the Shunda Compound case. An indictment or a complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. If you have been defrauded out of your money by a Southeast Asian Scam Center scheme, please contact the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. 26sz27


title: 5 Indicted including SCDC Inmate for $1.1M Wire Fraud Scheme

body_text: COLUMBIA, S.C. — A federal grand jury in Columbia returned a 13-count indictment, presented by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, charging five individuals with wire fraud, aiding and abetting, and destruction of records related to PPP loans. Joshua Maiden, 42, an inmate currently incarcerated in the South Carolina Department of Corrections Julie Connelly, 36, of Milford, Delaware Crystal Adams, 48, of Harrington, Delaware Jillian Brooks, 38, of Dover, Delaware Tessa Hess, 43, of Murrells Inlet, S.C. The indictment alleges that from January to December 2021, the defendants engaged in a scheme to apply for PPP loans pursuant to the CARES Act, a program through which taxpayers provided relief to businesses suffering during the COVID-19 pandemic. In applying for the loans, Maiden, Connelly, Adams, and Brooks each falsely represented that they owned businesses that were eligible for PPP loans and subsequent loan forgiveness. However, the investigation revealed the defendants did not own the businesses they claimed in their PPP applications, and the documentation submitted in support of the loans was fraudulent. Maiden falsely claimed that he owned a landscaping business through which he earned more than $84,000 in revenue the previous year, and he collected a portion of his co-defendant’s fraudulent loans, all while being a state prisoner. The indictment further alleges that Hess possessed identification-making equipment used in the scheme and attempted to destroy the equipment when the FBI requested that she surrender it to authorities. In total, the defendants are alleged to have applied for fraudulent PPP loans totaling $1,182,832. Each defendant faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, a three-year term of supervised release and a $100 special assessment per count of conviction. The defendants are scheduled to be arraigned before the Honorable Thomas E. Rogers, III on May 5. The case was investigated by the FBI Columbia Field Office and the South Carolina Department of Corrections. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott Matthews is prosecuting the case. All charges in the indictment are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. ###


title: An Ivorian national has been extradited from France to the United States to face charges in the Eastern District of Texas related to a $14 million fraud scheme targeting travel agencies

component: Criminal - Office of International Affairs

body_text: TYLER, Texas – A national of Côte d’Ivoire has been extradited to the United States to face charges in the Eastern District of Texas related to a $14 million fraud scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs. Christian Marviv Ble, 39, was indicted by a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Texas and charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud; wire fraud; and unauthorized use of an access device. Ble arrived in the United States from France on April 21, 2026, and is in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. The three-count indictment alleges that Ble and his associates utilized an email phishing scheme to target victim travel agencies with deceptive emails. They sent emails claiming to be from the company that handles airline reservations for the travel agencies, stating there was a security update that required their login credentials. The emails included links to fake websites that closely resembled the real reservation company’s login page. When the travel agency employees entered their information, their credentials were stolen. The group then used the stolen credentials to access the legitimate reservation system and book airline tickets, charging the costs to the travel agencies’ accounts. In total, the scheme caused about $14 million in losses to approximately 430 travel agencies. On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The core mission of the Fraud Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars. Department of Justice efforts to combat fraud support President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs. This case is being investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Jackson. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs secured the arrest and extradition from France of Ble. A federal indictment is not evidence of guilt. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. ###


title: Jackson Man Sentenced to Over Six Years in Prison for Possession of Child Pornography

component: USAO - Tennessee, Western

body_text: Jackson, TN – Anthony Flowers, 59 , of Jackson, has been sentenced to 78 months in federal prison for possession of child pornography. D. Michael Dunavant, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the sentence today. In September 2025, an internal auditor with Gerdau Long Steel of North America discovered that an employee in its Jackson office was downloading large data files to his work computer. Using data loss prevention software, the auditor was able to determine that Flowers was the employee in question. The auditor found that Flowers had downloaded 90 data files over the previous week, at least nine of which contained blatant child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The auditor determined that Flowers utilized his work laptop at his residence and offloaded the data files to an external hard drive. The auditor subsequently notified the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) about the incident. A search warrant for Flowers’s residence in Jackson was later obtained and executed. During the search, Flowers agreed to speak with FBI agents regarding his activities. Flowers admitted to viewing CSAM on his work computer and transferring the material to an external hard drive, which he later deleted from the hard drive. FBI agents in Tampa, Florida were able to meet the auditor at Gerdau’s office in that area and obtained a thumb drive containing many of the files located during the internal audit. Upon reviewing the files, FBI agents discovered that Flowers had downloaded 40 images and nine videos that contained blatant CSAM, including images of prepubescent minors and minors under 12 years of age engaging in sexually explicit conduct, material that portrayed sadistic or masochistic conduct, and material that portrayed the sexual abuse or exploitation of infants and toddlers. Following Flowers’s guilty plea to a one-count criminal information charging him with possession of child pornography in November 2025, United States District Judge S. Thomas Anderson sentenced Flowers to 78 months in prison and five years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. Judge Anderson also ordered that Flowers pay a special assessment in the amount of $5,000 under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act. U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said: "Let this sentence serve notice on those who use the internet and electronic means to access materials that exploit, abuse, and victimize minor children: You cannot hide, we will track you down, and you will be held accountable for such disturbing and predatory criminal conduct." This case was investigated by members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Jackson Police Department, and the Madison County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Josh Morrow prosecuted this case on behalf of the government. ### For more information, please contact the Media Relations Team at USATNW.Media@usdoj.gov . Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Facebook or on X at @WDTNNews for office news and updates.


title: Former Pre-Kindergarten Teacher Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Attempting to Entice a 13-Year-Old Child to Engage in Sexual Activity

body_text: Jacksonville, Florida – Tony Leroy Bartley, Jr. (38, Jacksonville) has been sentenced by United States District Judge Jordan E. Pratt to 10 years in federal prison for using the internet to attempt to entice a 13-year-old child to engage in sexual activity. Bartley was also ordered to serve a 10-year term of supervised release and register as a sex offender. He pleaded on January 27, 2026. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made this announcement. At the time of his arrest in this case, Bartley was working as a pre-kindergarten teacher at a school in Ponte Vedra Beach. According to court documents, an FBI agent (UC) in Jacksonville was conducting an online undercover operation on a social media application to identify adults who were seeking to meet and engage in sexual activity with children. On July 25, 26, and 29, 2025, UC and app user “keven,” subsequently identified as Bartley, exchanged several private online messages on the app and by text messaging. After UC advised Bartley that the “child” was 13 years old, Bartley suggested that they engage in sexual activity. Bartley provided graphic descriptions of the sexual acts that he wanted to perform on the “child.” He also sent an explicit photo of himself to the “child.” On August 5, 2025, Bartley was arrested by FBI agents. During an interview with agents, Bartley admitted that he had recently communicated online with a girl who was “underage” and that he had discussed having sex with the “child.” Bartley added, “I should have stopped at 13 [years-old], and that’s on me.” Bartley also admitted sending the explicit photo to the “child,” adding, “I’m going away for a long time.” This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown. It is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify, rescue, and seek justice for child victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.


component: Criminal Division

body_text: Warrant to Seize Property Subject to Forfeiture by Telephone Jiang Wen Jie Criminal Complaint Huang Xingshan Criminal Complaint Application for a Warrant to Seize Property Subject to Forfeiture The Department of Justice, through U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro and Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Criminal Division, together with its partners, today announced a series of coordinated actions by the Scam Center Strike Force against Southeast Asian criminal organizations operating scam centers that have defrauded Americans of billions of dollars. The Scam Center Strike Force’s actions include criminal charges against two Chinese nationals who managed a cryptocurrency investment fraud compound in Burma and attempted to open another compound in Cambodia, the seizure of a Telegram messaging app channel used to recruit human trafficking victims to a scam compound in Cambodia in order to work a law enforcement impersonation scam, and the seizure of 503 fake invesment websites, among other actions. Additionally, the Strike Force has continued to identify funds involved in money laundering from scam centers, seeking to seize and forfeit the same, and collectively the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Department’s Criminal Division, and their partners have restrained more than $700 million in cryptocurrency alleged to be tied to money laundering from cryptocurrency scams. Also today, in a coordinated interagency action, the Department of the Treasury announced sanctions against Cambodian scam center operators, and the Department of State announced rewards for information leading to the seizure or recovery of proceeds related to the Tai Chang scam center in Burma. “The President’s Executive Order Combating Cybercrime, Fraud, and Predatory Schemes Against American Citizens establishes a clear, whole-of-government strategy to confront cyber-enabled crime and transnational scam operations – bringing together law enforcement, intelligence, diplomatic, and financial tools in a unified effort,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro for the District of Columbia. “Building on that direction, the Scam Center Strike Force launched in November 2025 has delivered real operational results and reflects the kind of focused action this strategy demands. Together, these efforts are driving a coordinated campaign to disrupt and impose consequences on the transnational criminal organizations behind these schemes.” “Today we announce significant milestones in that fight,” Pirro continued. “We have charged the Chinese bosses who ran a scam compound in Burma, where trafficked workers were beaten and forced to steal from Americans. We have seized a Telegram channel that was luring workers into a forced labor compound in Cambodia where they were ordered to pose as U.S. banks and NYPD to steal American’s life savings. We have taken down more than 500 websites used to steal people’s savings. And my Office continues to work to identify funds stolen from victims, having now caused restraint of more than $700 million in cryptocurrency involved in money laundering from U.S. victims of fraud. This Administration is lock-step in combatting these scams, and we are not done.” “The Department’s Criminal Division is proud to partner with U.S. Attorney Pirro’s office on the latest enforcement actions of the Scam Center Strike Force to stop foreign-based criminal networks that exploit vulnerable Americans,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Fraudsters who target Americans from overseas may believe that they cannot be reached, but the Department of Justice and our Strike Force partners are working to ensure that these criminals cannot operate with impunity, no matter where in the world they reside.” Joining today’s announcement were FBI Co-Deputy Director Christopher G. Raia, U.S. Secret Service’s (USSS) Assistant Director Brent Daniels, Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) Senior Bureau Official Chris Landberg, and Department of the Treasury’s Assistant Secretary for Terrorist Financing Jonathan Burke. “Eliminating fraud is a top priority for the Trump Administration,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “Treasury will continue to target fraudsters and scam centers that steal billions of dollars from hardworking Americans, no matter where they operate or how well-connected they are.” “The FBI remains committed to protecting Americans from fraud, holding perpetrators accountable, and leveraging partnerships, intelligence, and enforcement to safeguard the public,” said FBI Co-Deputy Director Christopher G. Raia. “These joint actions represent a significant blow to transnational criminal organizations preying upon our American citizens.” “The Scam Center Strike Force has been a collaborative effort since its formation,” said Assistant Director of Field Operations Brent Daniels of U.S. Secret Service. “The Secret Service is proud to be a part of this group, which is dedicated to pursuing the criminal networks that rely on our online and financial infrastructure to target American citizens.” “The Department of State, in support of the Department of Justice’s Scam Center Strike Force, is announcing two reward offers under the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program to disrupt cyber scam centers in Southeast Asia and hold accountable those who prey on Americans online,” said Senior Bureau Official Chris Landberg of the Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. “Under the leadership of Secretary Rubio, the State Department, together with our partners, will continue to protect the American people from cybercrime, fraud, and predatory schemes perpetrated by these insidious scam centers.” Background: Cyber-Enabled and Cryptocurrency Investment Fraud in Southeast Asian Scam Centers Cyber-enabled and cryptocurrency investment fraud (referred to by the scammers as “pig butchering”) is among the fastest growing and most financially devastating forms of cybercrime targeting Americans. In these schemes, victims are cultivated over time and deceived into depositing funds into fraudulent investment platforms that appear to show substantial returns. In reality, all victim funds flow directly to the scammers. The scam continues until the victim runs out of money or discovers the fraud, at which point the scammers cease contact. According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center ( IC3 ), investment scams became the most commonly reported crime type in 2023, with cryptocurrency investment fraud comprising 83 percent of that category. Reported losses from these scams rose from $3.96 billion in 2023 to $5.8 billion in 2024. Reported losses rose 24 percent in 2025 to over $7.2 billion, according to IC3’s newly released 2025 annual report. Those figures, based largely on victim reports, are believed to significantly underrepresent actual losses, as most victims do not report to law enforcement. According to the United States Institute of Peace, a conservative estimate of the annual value of funds stolen by scam syndicates worldwide approached $64 billion as of the end of 2023. Many of these schemes are run out of industrial-scale compounds along the Burma-Thailand border and in Cambodia. Criminal syndicates often lure workers to Thailand with promises of high-paying technical jobs, then seize their identification documents and traffic them to work in scam compounds. Within the compounds, trafficked workers are frequently forced to conduct fraud operations against victims in the United States and elsewhere under threat of violence. Public reporting on these compounds has documented beatings, electrocutions, and murder. Criminal Charges: Shunda Compound, Min Let Pan, Burma The Strike Force unsealed criminal complaints and arrest warrants against two Chinese nationals in connection with cryptocurrency investment fraud operations at the Shunda compound in Min Let Pan, Burma: two managers in the compound, Huang Xingshan, also known as “Ah Zhe,” and “Huang Xing Saan” and Jiang Wen Jie, also known as “Jiang Nan.” They are charged with wire fraud conspiracy. Aerial surveillance photo of the Shunda compound in Burma, where forced-labor conducted fraud operations under threat of violence. The Shunda compound operated from at least January 2025 until approximately November 2025, when it was seized by the Karen National Liberation Army of Burma. The compound used scam websites and mobile applications disguised as legitimate investment platforms to defraud victims, including Americans. Workers within the compound were trafficked individuals who were held against their will and forced to defraud victims under the threat of violence and torture. The FBI deployed personnel to Thailand following the compound’s seizure. Working with Thai authorities, including the Anti-Cyber Scam Center task force of the Royal Thai Police, FBI agents reviewed thousands of mobile devices and hard drives recovered from Shunda. Agents also interviewed tens of former compound workers. That investigation identified a hierarchical organization of Chinese operators running the compound and supported the charges against the two defendants. Phones seized from the Shunda compound. According to the investigation, Huang served at Shunda as a high-level manager and enforcer and personally participated in the physical punishment of trafficked compound workers. Jiang served as a team leader directly supervising workers who specifically targeted American victims. Under Jiang’s supervision, one of the people under his command successfully defrauded a single American victim of over $3 million utilizing a fraudulent investment platform. The theft was celebrated within the organization as a paradigm of success. The interior of one of the buildings in the Shunda compound in Burma. After the Shunda compound was seized, Huang and Jiang relocated to another scam compound located in Cambodia where they attempted to continue their cryptocurrency investment fraud operation. In early 2026, Huang and Jiang decided to return to Burma, traveling through Thailand. Huang and Jiang were arrested on immigration charges by Thai law enforcement in early 2026 in Thailand. The case is being investigated by FBI’s New York Field Office with substantial assistance from the FBI Legal Attaché in Bangkok and Thai authorities including the Anti-Cyber Scam Center task force of the Royal Thai Police. The Strike Force conducted a first-of-its-kind seizure of a Telegram channel with more than 6,000 followers that was used to recruit individuals to travel to Cambodia under false promises of high-paying employment. Once there, recruited workers were held against their will and forced to defraud victims, including Americans, as part of a sophisticated law enforcement impersonation scheme. The Telegram channel included postings for jobs in Cambodia that were specifically for workers who spoke with “American” accents, would work a night shift (i.e., during U.S. daytime hours), and some specifically sought attractive female candidates. The Telegram channel was connected to a scam compound in rural Cambodia near the Thai border. The Telegram channel that was used to recruit individuals to work in Cambodia. A job post on the Telegram channel. Once at the scam compound, the scam workers specifically targeted U.S. persons. In the fraud scheme, victims received cold calls from individuals posing as bank representatives, including impersonators of JPMorgan or other U.S. bank customer service agents, warning them that their bank accounts had been used to purchase firearms from an actual U.S. gun store website. Victims were then transferred to individuals posing as “NYPD detectives” or other supposed law enforcement, and later sent to the “New York Supreme Court” or other purported prosecutorial officials. Through sustained pressure conducted over WhatsApp and Microsoft Teams, victims were induced to disclose their bank account information and ultimately transfer their savings to the scammers. Individuals posed as bank representatives, worked from a script, and told their intended victims that their bank accounts had been used to purchase firearms from a gun store website. The Telegram seizure case is being handled by FBI’s Miami Field Office, USSS Headquarters, and investigators at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. As part of the Strike Forces’s efforts at public-private collaboration on the scam center threat, after being alerted by law enforcement, JPMorgan Chase, Microsoft, and Meta voluntarily took internal investigative measures to combat the fraud operating on their systems and occurring under their names. 503 Web Domain Seizures The Strike Force announced the seizure of more than 503 .com web domains identified through the Operation Level Up initiative as having been used to defraud U.S. victims. The seized domains all were disguised as legitimate “investment platforms,” which victims reported to law enforcement were causing them to unknowingly deposit cryptocurrency funds and view supposed “returns” on what they believed were legitimate investments. Operation Level Up, established in January 2024, by FBI and USSS is an ongoing proactive initiative to identify and notify victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud. As of March 2026: (i) Operation Level Up has notified 8,935 victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud; (ii) 77% of those victims were unaware they were being scammed; (iii) the estimated savings to victims is $562,726,245 of monies they otherwise would have sent to their scammers; and (iv) ninety-three victims have been referred to an FBI victim specialist for suicide intervention due to the devastating nature of these scams. Some victims have reported to law enforcement that—prior to being notified by the FBI about the scam—they were in the process of liquidating their 401K, selling their home, or obtaining a sizable loan. One elderly victim was surviving on disability pay; he had already paid the scammers $1,200 and would have cut into money he needed for food to pay more. Each of the 503 .com domains seized was identified by a victim contacted by Operation Level Up and involved in laundering that victim’s cryptocurrency funds. Visitors to these domains are now informed on a splash page that it has been seized by law enforcement. The investigation was conducted by the Operation Level Up Initiative, with the FBI’s Detroit and Phoenix Field Offices handling the seizure with support from investigators at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the U.S. Marshals Service. Examples of the seized domains that were disguised as legitimate investment platforms, causing victims to unknowingly deposit funds. Restraint of Cryptocurrency Involved in Money Laundering from Scams The Scam Center Strike Force continues its work to identify, seize, and forfeit funds involved in money laundering related to scams, so that funds can be returned to victims whenever possible. Under leadership from the FBI and the USSS, more than $701,962,392.15 million in cryptocurrency has been identified as allegedly involved in laundering of funds stolen from victims of cryptocurrency investment fraud and restrained through voluntary actions of cryptocurrency providers, as well as U.S. legal process. The Strike Force is working tirelessly to forfeit funds with its goal of returning funds to victims, and it continues to support victims who have lost homes and life savings to these schemes. FBI San Francisco, San Diego, Washington, Seattle, Phoenix, Nashville, and Honolulu Field Offices, and the USSS Headquarters, San Francisco, Nashville, and Washington Field Offices investigated these matters and conducted associated seizures. State Department Rewards and Actions Related to Tai Chang Consistent with the Strike Force’s whole of government approach, in a coordinated action, the Department of State today announced a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the seizure or recovery of proceeds from fraud and money laundering schemes associated with the Tai Chang scam centers in Burma’s Karen State. The Strike Force also announced the seizure of the latest domain used by the Tai Chang scam centers, fortuneprimeglobalirts.com. The domain was a new iteration of the centers’ fraudulent investment platform and was launched after the Strike Force seized its predecessor domain, tickmilleas.com . The latest seized domain was designed and functioned similarly to its predecessor scam investment website. Visitors to the domain are now informed on a splash page that it has been seized by law enforcement, and victims are encouraged to submit complaints to the FBI. The Tai Chang scam centers were subject of web domain seizures by the Strike Force and designations by the Department of Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced in November 2025 . FBI’s San Diego Field Office is investigating the case in conjuction with the FBI Law Enforcement Attaché in Bangkok. Tips should be sent to them at TaiChangTIPS@fbi.gov . Treasury Department Sanctions Also in a coordinated action, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today announced new sanctions against individuals and entities perpetrating cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes against Americans using forced labor and violence in Cambodia. The sanctions target Cambodian Senator Kok An, Cambodian businessman Rithy Raksmei, several associates, and their respective business empires, including holding companies for scam center operations. About the Scam Center Strike Force The Scam Center Strike Force was officially launched by U.S. Attorney Pirro in November 2025 to address the growing threat posed by Chinese organized crime syndicates operating scam centers primarily in Southeast Asia. The Strike Force targets cryptocurrency investment fraud, cyber-enabled fraud, human trafficking, and money laundering operations that have cost American victims billions of dollars. On March 6, 2026, President Trump signed an Executive Order directing the Administration to prioritize cybercrime, fraud, and predatory schemes draining American families of their life savings. Through the Executive Order, President Trump is unleashing every available tool to stop foreign-backed criminal networks that exploit vulnerable Americans through cyber-enabled fraud. The Scam Center Strike Force is a critical node in executing the mission outlined in the President’s Order. The Strike Force’s founding partners are the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division, the FBI, and the U.S. Secret Service, who have now been joined by numerous additional law enforcement agencies as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Districts of Alaska, Rhode Island, and Western Washington. The Strike Force works in collaboration with other agencies, including the Treasury and State Departments. The Strike Force works in strategic partnership with private industry and calls on all U.S. businesses to take more proactive steps to protect users from scam operations. The Scam Center Strike Force will use every tool available to help secure Main Street Americans from these scams. With its interagency and public partners, it will educate Americans on how to identify these scams, prevent generational wealth from flowing from America into the pockets of Chinese organized crime, and work with unwavering focus to return stolen funds to victims. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen P. Seifert for the District of Columbia directs the Strike Force, in consultation with Associate Counsel Richard Goldberg of the Department’s Criminal Division. The Shunda Compound cases are being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney (AUSA) Emma Ellenrieder for the District of Columbia. Cryptocurrency investigations and seizures were handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rick Blaylock and Jafer Aftab for the District of Columbia, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jehiel Baer for the Western District of Washington, and Trial Attorneys Ethan Cantor and Stefanie Schwartz of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section. The Tai Chang case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jolie Zimmerman, with assistance from Assistant U.S. Attorney Raj Datta, all for the District of Columbia, and Trial Attorney Cantor. The Telegram and 503 domain seizures were handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Seifert, Blaylock, and Ellenrieder. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Government of Thailand provided significant assistance on the Shunda Compound case. An indictment or a complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. If you have been defrauded out of your money by a Southeast Asian Scam Center scheme, please contact the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov. This press release has been updated to include more information about the assistance of Thai authorities.


title: City Man Sentenced to 11½ Years in Prison for Philadelphia, Upper Darby Carjackings

body_text: PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Legend Hall, 20, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to 138 months in prison, five years of supervised release, and $7,400 in restitution by United States District Judge Juan R. Sánchez for committing two armed carjackings. Hall was charged by superseding indictment in April of last year, in connection with a September 2024 carjacking in West Philadelphia, and charged separately by information with an October 2024 carjacking in Upper Darby, Pa. In July of last year, Hall entered a plea of guilty before United States Magistrate Judge Jose R. Arteaga to two counts of carjacking and one count of carrying, using, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. As described in the superseding indictment and other public filings, on September 17, 2024, Victim #1 parked on the 300 block of 62nd Street in Philadelphia and reported being immediately approached by three males, later identified by investigators as Hall and co-defendants Kristian Jackson, 20, also of Philadelphia, and Jalaal Claitt, 20, of Atlanta, Georgia. One of the defendants asked Victim #1 to drive them somewhere. When Victim #1 refused, two of the males took out handguns and told Victim #1 to get out of the car. The three males then got into Victim #1’s black Chevy Malibu and drove off with Victim #1’s iPhone 14 and approximately $500 that was in the car. As further detailed in court filings, on October 1, 2024, Hall, Claitt, and others placed an order for a pizza delivery at Slices and Moore in Upper Darby. When the delivery driver (Victim #2) attempted to make the delivery, the defendant and others pointed guns at him and took Victim #2’s wallet, phone, car keys, the proceeds of the pizza shop, and the rest of the money that Victim #2 had on him at the time. Hall and the others then jumped into Victim #2’s vehicle and fled the area. Co-defendant Jackson pleaded guilty to the West Philadelphia carjacking and was sentenced in February to eight and half years in prison. Co-defendant Claitt pleaded guilty to both the West Philadelphia and Upper Darby carjackings and is scheduled to be sentenced in July. This case was investigated by the FBI Philadelphia Violent Crimes Task Force and the Philadelphia Police Department, with assistance from the Upper Darby Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert E. Eckert and Samantha A. Arena.


title: Davenport Man Sentenced to Over 11 Years in Federal Prison for Gun Charges

body_text: DAVENPORT, Iowa – A Davenport man was sentenced on April 22, 2026, to 137 months in federal prison for possessing a firearm as a felon. According to public court documents and evidence presented at sentencing, Ricky Edward Kirk, Jr., 39, fled from officers during an attempted traffic stop in July 2024. During a foot chase Kirk repeatedly reached toward the firearm in his waistband, before being tased and falling to the ground. Officers recovered Kirk’s firearm from the ground after it fell out of his waistband while he was being handcuffed. Kirk has multiple felony convictions, including a 2022 conviction for possession with intent to deliver crack cocaine in the Iowa District Court for Scott County which he was on parole for at the time of this offense. After completing his term of imprisonment, Kirk will be required to serve a three-year term of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. United States Attorney David C. Waterman of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Davenport Police Department investigated the case. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN .


title: 43 Mexican Mafia Gangsters Arrested on Indictments Alleging Racketeering, Drug Trafficking, Kidnapping, Assault, and Murder

component: USAO - California, Central

body_text: SANTA ANA, California – Twenty-five members and associates of the Mexican Mafia prison gang were arrested today on three federal indictments charging them with committing scores of crimes in Orange County, including kidnapping, extortion, trafficking fentanyl and methamphetamine, running illegal gambling businesses, and murdering a victim last year at a gang-controlled Anaheim motel. The defendants arrested this morning include: Jaime Alvarado, 42, a.k.a. “Junior” and “Brian Barbas,” of Lake Elsinore; Karina Cesena, 32, also of Lake Elsinore; and Mario Flores, 40, a.k.a. “Happy,” of Anaheim. Senior gang members already in state custody who are expected to make their initial appearances and be arraigned in the coming weeks include: Luis Cardenas, 48, a.k.a. “Gangster,” “Pops” and “Tio,” an inmate at Ironwood State Prison; Jose Antonio Ochoa Madrigal, 41, a.k.a. “Sparky,” of Santa Ana, who incarcerated in an Orange County jail. “Gang members who murder, extort, kidnap, and traffic drugs and firearms are a menace to our communities and our way of life,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “Today’s arrests highlight the continuing cooperation between federal and local law enforcement against violent felons and our unyielding determination to crack down on organized crime in our prisons and our streets.” “The defendants accused of operating their own ‘Gangsta’s Paradise’ in Orange County by peddling illicit drugs and carrying out assault and murders, among other crimes, are being held accountable today,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office. “Orange County communities should be proud of their law enforcement professionals whose hard work and devotion to this case made the streets of Orange County safer today.” “This type of criminal activity has a direct impact on our neighborhoods and our residents,” said Anaheim Police Chief Manny Cid. “Through strong partnerships, we will continue to identify, disrupt, and hold those responsible accountable.” “These arrests send a clear message: Organized crime and violence will not be tolerated in Santa Ana,” said Santa Ana Police Chief Robert Rodriguez. “Through strong partnerships with local and federal counterparts, we will continue to target those who threaten the safety and well-being of our communities.” Fifteen defendants arrested today are expected to make their initial appearances and be arraigned this afternoon in United States District Court in Santa Ana. Ten defendants arrested today are expected to make their initial appearances and be arraigned this afternoon in United States District Court in Los Angeles. Twelve additional defendants are in state custody and are expected to make their initial appearances in United States District Court in Santa Ana in the coming weeks. In connection with this investigation, law enforcement has seized four kilograms (8.8 pounds) of fentanyl, 54.4 kilograms (120 pounds) of methamphetamine, 0.9 kilogram (two pounds) of heroin, three kilograms (6.6 pounds) of cocaine, 25 firearms, and more than $30,000 in cash. The Mexican Mafia, a.k.a. “La Eme,” is a U.S.-based prison gang that has immense control over Hispanic street gangs in Southern California, directing illegal activities from prisons and collecting a portion of the proceeds from drug trafficking, illegal gambling, and other crimes committed on the streets. The case’s main indictment charges 40 defendants with a series of felonies, including racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to operate an illegal gambling business, violent crimes in aid of racketeering, trafficking narcotics such as fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine, and using firearms during a crime of violence. According to this 66-count indictment, from June 2024 to April 2026, Cardenas oversaw the Mexican Mafia’s criminal activities in Orange County and within Orange County jail and prison facilities. Alvarado, Cesena, Madrigal, and Flores held the position of high-ranking associates for Cardenas. From his prison cell, Cardenas used an encrypted messaging application on contraband cell phones to direct Alvarado in the operation of the Mexican Mafia’s activities in Orange County. Cardenas directed others to kidnap and assault people in bad standing with him, and Alvarado, Cesena, and others carried out his directions. Defendants operating for the Mexican Mafia shot at and assaulted victims. The gang also sold narcotics – including fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, and cocaine – via slap houses (illegal gambling houses), gangs, and drug dealers in Orange County. It ran illegal gambling businesses within commercial strip malls and private residences. The gang collected extortionate taxes and provided security, including the use of violence, to protect the illegal gambling businesses. Alvarado oversaw gang-controlled motels and, along with Cesena, directed violent retaliation against slap houses that did not pay the gang’s extortionate “taxes.” On February 3, 2025, Matthew Kundrat, 29, a.k.a. “Bubba,” of Anaheim, and Manuel Ramos, 45, a.k.a. “Rhino,” of Santa Ana, murdered a victim at the Akua Inn, a gang-controlled motel in Anaheim. Kundrat and Ramos committed the murder for the purpose of gaining entrance to the Mexican Mafia and increasing their standing in the criminal enterprise. Both Kundrat and Ramos are charged with committing a violent crime in aid of racketeering activity and, if convicted, would face a mandatory sentence of life in federal prison and would be eligible for the death penalty. On March 14, 2025, Cardenas, Alvarado, Flores, and Cesena directed the kidnapping and assault of a victim who was an employee at a Cardenas-controlled slap house in Stanton. The penalty for kidnapping is life in federal prison. Alvarado and Cesena stored methamphetamine and firearms at a storage unit in Orange County as well as at local private residences. “When criminal organizations attempt to hide their profits behind violence, intimidation, and complex cash-based networks, IRS Criminal Investigation will uncover the truth,” said Darren Lian, Acting Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation’s Los Angeles Field Office. “Our agents followed the money through drug trafficking revenues, extortion schemes, and illegal gambling operations that fueled this enterprise’s power. By tracing and dismantling these financial pipelines, we cut directly into the organization’s ability to operate. IRS CI remains committed to protecting our communities by attacking the financial infrastructure that supports organized crime, no matter how deeply it is embedded.” An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until and unless proven guilty in court. If convicted, the defendants would face decades in federal prison. The FBI; the Anaheim Police Department; the Santa Ana Police Department; the Fullerton Police Department; IRS Criminal Investigation; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation; and United States Postal Inspection Service are investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorneys Greg Scally, Caitlin Campbell, and Erin Kiss of the Orange County Office are prosecuting this case.


title: Final Defendant Sentenced in Methamphetamine Trafficking Conspiracy

body_text: COVINGTON, Ky. – A Batavia, Ohio, woman, Stephanie Marie Terrell, 39, was sentenced on Thursday to 78 months by Chief U.S. District Judge David Bunning for aiding and abetting the attempted possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. According to her plea agreement, on May 23, 2025, the United States Postal Inspection Service intercepted a package containing over 220 grams of methamphetamine that was addressed to a residence in Covington and mailed from Houston, Texas. On May 27, 2025, law enforcement conducted a controlled delivery of the package to the Covington residence, and Scott Baxter, Terrell’s co-defendant, retrieved the package from the porch and brought it to a nearby vehicle driven by Terrell. Terrell began driving away from the residence, but law enforcement initiated a traffic stop. Dereco Lamont Evans, the front seat passenger and another co-defendant, opened the passenger door and threw the package out. Evans and Terrell were detained. Terrell admitted that she was retrieving the package, that the intended recipient was Timothy McCay, another co-defendant, that she knew the package contained drugs, and that she had facilitated McCay receiving the drugs from Joseph Felix Garza of Houston, another co-defendant. Terrell’s co-defendants were previously sentenced to the following: Joseph Felix Garza was sentenced to 132 months imprisonment and 5 years supervised release Timothy J. McCay was sentenced to 123 months imprisonment and 5 years supervised release Harry Smith was sentenced to 41 months imprisonment and 3 years supervised release Scott Baxter was sentenced to 36 months imprisonment and 3 years supervised release Dereco Lamont Evans was sentenced to 40 months imprisonment and 3 years supervised release Stephanie Marie Garcia was sentenced to time served (4 days) and 3 years supervised release Under federal law, Terrell and her co-defendants must serve 85 percent of their prison sentence. Upon her release from prison, Terrell will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for 5 years. Jason Parman, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Lesley Allison, Special Agent in Charge, United States Postal Inspection Service, Pittsburgh Field Division; and Scott Hardcorn, Director of the Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force, announced the sentence. The investigation was conducted by USPIS and the Northern Kentucky Drug Strike Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Spievack is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States. – END –


title: U.S. Attorney Capito to Hold Press Conference in Beckley to Announce Sentencing in Over $1 Million COVID-19 Fraud Case

component: National Fraud Enforcement Division

body_text: BECKLEY, W.Va. – United States Attorney Moore Capito will hold a press conference tomorrow, Friday, April 24, 2026, outside the Robert C. Byrd United States Courthouse and Federal Building in Beckley, following the sentencing of a Raleigh County man for theft of government money. Ross Jay Bailey, 51, of Cool Ridge, admitted that he obtained a $2 million loan through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act for his business and instead converted at least $1.4 million of the proceeds for his personal enrichment. Bailey is one of three family members who pleaded guilty to stealing a total of more than $4 million in COVID-19 relief fund proceeds. Capito will also provide an update on his office’s COVID-19 fraud prosecutions to date and announce the ongoing coordination with the recently established National Fraud Enforcement Division (NFED). WHAT: Press Conference WHEN: Friday, April 24, 2026, at 11:30 a.m. or following the conclusion of the sentencing hearing (sentencing hearing is scheduled for 10:00 a.m.) WHERE: East Portico, Robert C. Byrd United States Courthouse and Federal Building, 110 North Heber Street, Beckley. A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. ###