title: Par Funding CEO Sentenced to 15½ Years in Prison for RICO Conspiracy, Securities Fraud, Tax Crimes, and Related Offenses

body_text: PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Joseph LaForte, 54, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Mark A. Kearney to 186 months in prison and three years of supervised release, to include 12 months in home confinement, for numerous crimes arising from the defendant’s operation of a fraudulent investment vehicle known as Complete Business Solutions Group Inc. d/b/a Par Funding (“Par Funding”). In addition, LaForte was sentenced to forfeit various assets, including a private jet and an investment account totaling approximately $20 million, along with a $120 million forfeiture money judgment, as well as restitution in the amount of $314 million, and a $50,000 fine. In January 2025, the Court found the Par Funding fraud scheme caused an actual fraud loss of approximately $404,000,000, which it reduced to $288,395,088 after factoring in credit for collateral that federal authorities seized from Par Funding when the investigation became public in July 2020, upon the SEC placing Par Funding in receivership. The defendant, who functioned as Par Funding’s president and CEO, his brother James LaForte, Par Funding’s “enforcer,” and Joseph Cole Barleta, Par Funding’s chief financial officer, were charged in a February 2024 amended second superseding indictment with racketeering conspiracy and related crimes. In September 2024, Joseph LaForte pleaded guilty to the RICO charge, securities fraud, tax crimes, and perjury. He also pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice for his role in aiding and abetting James LaForte’s violent assault on one of the receivership’s Philadelphia attorneys, and to a gun possession charge for firearms found in his former residence during the execution of a search warrant. James LaForte pleaded guilty in September 2024 to racketeering conspiracy, securities fraud, and extortionate collection of debt, as well as obstruction of justice, for his assault on the receivership attorney, and retaliation, for threatening several government witnesses. He was sentenced earlier this month to 11½ years in prison. Barleta pleaded guilty in October 2024 to one count of racketeering conspiracy and is scheduled to be sentenced on June 2, 2025. *** As detailed in court filings, the defendant served as the undisputed leader of a years-long criminal enterprise consisting of his codefendants and others. The principal purpose of this enterprise was to generate money for its leadership and members, primarily by defrauding the investors in Par Funding, which the enterprise controlled until it was placed in receivership. Joseph LaForte and his conspirators caused false and misleading information to be conveyed to investors regarding various issues, including: ▪ Joseph LaForte’s true name, his role at Par Funding, and his criminal history; ▪ Par Funding’s underwriting process; ▪ the diversity of the company’s MCA portfolio; ▪ Par Funding’s default rate; ▪ Par Funding’s financial success and profitability; ▪ the company’s insurance; and ▪ the defendants’ self-dealing. Par Funding’s principal means of generating income was to “advance” money to businesses (known as merchant cash advance or “MCA” customers) that were in need of short-term financing at high rates of return. The enterprise would use threats of violence to collect money from customers whose payments were overdue. James LaForte admitted that, in threatening one particular Par Funding customer, he told the customer that he must repay the company immediately because James LaForte was not to be messed with and had previously torched people’s cars and kicked people’s teeth in. Another Par Funding collector admitted to extorting multiple customers at Joseph LaForte’s direction, including through threats of physical harm to the customers or their families if the debt was not paid back. And as established at his sentencing hearing, Joseph LaForte also threatened and extorted customers who fell behind in their payments, such as by telling a Par Funding customer to keep paying her debts or he would bomb her car, kidnap her children, and outfit her with “cement shoes” to sink her to the bottom of the Hudson River. The reality hidden from Par Funding’s investors was that, during every year from 2016 through mid-2020, Par Funding’s MCA business was not profitable enough to repay the money owed to Par Funding’s investors while also covering its operating expenses (including tens of millions of dollars Joseph LaForte was paying himself annually). LaForte thus needed to acquire increasingly large injections of new investor money just to keep the lights on and the business running, a hallmark of a traditional Ponzi scheme. From 2015 until the unraveling of the fraud in mid-2020, Joseph LaForte caused Par Funding to pay him and his wife more than $120,000,000 in fraudulent proceeds, with which he purchased homes, vacation properties, vehicles, artwork, jewelry, dozens of investment properties, a boat, and a private jet. LaForte rewarded the loyalty of co-conspirators, including James LaForte and Cole Barleta, by making each of them multi-millionaires. For years, the defendant committed a variety of tax crimes related to his fraudulent proceeds, including conspiring to defraud the IRS and filing false tax returns, as well as employment tax fraud. The total federal tax loss stemming from LaForte’s crimes exceeds $8 million. He also caused $1.6 million in state tax loss to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue by falsely reporting that he and his wife were residents of Florida from 2013 through 2019, when in fact they resided in Pennsylvania. “Joe LaForte is a career grifter,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “He has spent his adult life lying, cheating, and stealing his way to a lavish lifestyle paid for with other people’s money. Consider LaForte’s vast criminality here: a decade’s worth of financial and tax crimes, acts of obstruction, perjury, extortionate threats, the aiding and abetting of his brother’s violent assault on an attorney, and the illegal possession of multiple guns. He has earned every day of his prison sentence. My office is committed to prosecuting these complex financial cases, to bring fraud victims some relief and the crooks who victimized them to justice.” “Today’s sentencing holds Joseph LaForte accountable for the full scope of his criminal conduct in leading a long-running fraudulent enterprise,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office. “The FBI and our partners remain unwavering in our commitment to uncover, investigate, and dismantle complex financial fraud schemes — and to pursue justice and restitution for the victims they leave behind.” “This case exemplifies how cooperative law enforcement efforts lead to the exposure of individuals and groups seeking to circumvent our laws for financial gain,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agent in Charge Yury Kruty. “An investigation such as this takes a dedicated team of investigators and prosecutors many hours of hard work and sacrifice to bring to a successful conclusion.” “Today’s sentencing brings Joseph LaForte to justice for operating a fraudulent investment vehicle that he and his co-conspirators used to generate hundreds of millions of dollars illegally, while harming Par Funding’s numerous investors,” said Patricia Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General (FDIC OIG), New York Region. “The FDIC OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who deceive investors for their own selfish gain and threaten the safety and soundness of our Nation’s financial system.” The case was investigated by the FBI, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Matthew Newcomer, Samuel Dalke, and Eric Gill, as well as Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Boscia and DOJ Trial Attorney Ezra Spiro on the tax portion of the prosecution. The SEC in Florida investigated and litigated the civil securities fraud charges, which formed the basis of a portion of the criminal prosecution.


title: Former Stoughton Water Department Employee Pleads Guilty to Tampering with Drinking Water

component: USAO - Massachusetts

body_text: BOSTON – A former Stoughton Water Department employee pleaded guilty today to tampering with the Stoughton drinking water supply. Robert J. Bullock, Sr., 60, of Brockton, pleaded guilty to one count of tampering with a water system. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for June 25, 2025. Bullock was indicted by a federal grand jury on March 5, 2024, Bullock. According to the charging documents, Bullock is a former employee of the Water Department in Stoughton. On the evening of Nov. 29, 2022, Bullock went into one of the Water Department’s pumping stations and turned off the pump that introduces chlorine into drinking water. As a result, insufficiently disinfected water was introduced into the drinking water system. The charge of tampering with a water system provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case. United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Boston Division; and Kathryn Rivera, Acting Assistant Special Agent in Charge of Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division in Boston made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Stoughton and Brockton Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Tolkoff of the Criminal Division is prosecuting the case.


title: Newburyport Man Pleads Guilty to Scheme to Defraud Home Repair Insurance Provider

body_text: BOSTON – A Newburyport man pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to defrauding a home repair insurance provider by billing for purported repair jobs that never were performed. Christian Decristofaro, 40, pleaded guilty to an Information charging him with wire fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani scheduled sentencing for June 23, 2025. In October 2024, Decristofaro was arrested and charged by criminal complaint. According to the charging documents, Decristofaro caused NE Premier Home Services LLC (NE Premier) – a purported home repair company he controlled – to enroll as a contractor with a home repair insurance provider (the victim). Decristofaro used false identities to enroll non-existent homeowners in insurance plans with the victim insurance provider. Decristofaro then reported fictitious home emergencies to the victim on behalf of the purported homeowners and requested that NE Premier be assigned to perform the repairs. He then caused NE Premier to bill the victim insurance provider for the repair jobs, even though there was no repair work done. As a result of these fraudulent billings, between approximately October 2020 and June 2023, the victim insurance provider paid NE Premier approximately $2,196,323 for services that NE Premier had not rendered. The charge of wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, a fine of up to $250,000, or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, restitution and forfeiture. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case. United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meghan C. Cleary and Leslie A. Wright of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.


title: International Law Enforcement Cooperation Leads to Takedown of U.S.- and Brazil-Based Alien Smugglers and Immigration Arrests

component: Criminal Division

body_text: View the criminal complaint. Earlier today, extensive coordination and cooperation efforts between U.S. and Brazilian law enforcement and prosecution authorities culminated in a significant enforcement operation to dismantle a transnational criminal organization allegedly responsible for the illicit smuggling of hundreds of individuals from Brazil to the United States. The enforcement operation included the arrest on U.S. charges of a previously convicted alien smuggler who allegedly re-entered the United States illegally after deportation to Brazil and was residing in Worcester, Massachusetts. The Brazilian Federal Police (PF) executed multiple search warrants in Brazil and arrested an alleged Brazil-based human smuggler. Flavio Alexandre Alves, also known as “Ronaldo,” 41, was arrested in Worcester, Massachusetts on a criminal complaint charging him with conspiracy to bring aliens to and transport aliens within the United States for the purpose of commercial or financial gain in violation of law. Alves will appeared in federal court in Worcester earlier today and was temporarily detained pending a detention hearing on Friday. According to court documents, Alves conspired with others to transport aliens from Brazil, through Mexico, and then into the United States. Once the aliens arrived in the United States, Alves allegedly purchased airline tickets for the aliens to other U.S. destinations. Alves also allegedly transferred money from the United States to aliens and smugglers located in Mexico to pay for expenses associated with transit into the United States and collected fees from aliens for being smuggled into the United States. Alves was previously convicted of human smuggling in the Central District of California in 2004 and was deported to Brazil in February 2005. Court documents indicate that Alves has been residing in the United States without immigration status after illegally re-entering the United States. It is alleged that between May 2021 and August 2022, Alves purchased more than 100 individual airline tickets from Tucson or Phoenix to destination cities in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania (Boston, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia). Some of these purchases were for migrants who had recently had encounters with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers or were recently released from detention. Additionally, HSI offices in Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, and Philadelphia, supported by other partner law enforcement agencies, detained four individuals today associated with the alien smuggling organization on administrative immigration violations. The investigation and arrest of Alves was coordinated under Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA) and the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) program. JTFA, a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has been elevated and expanded by the Attorney General with a mandate to target cartels and transnational criminal organizations to eliminate human smuggling and trafficking networks operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, and Colombia that impact public safety and the security of our borders. JTFA currently comprises detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the southwest border. Dedicated support is provided by numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, led by the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and supported by the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, the Office of Enforcement Operations, and the Office of International Affairs (OIA), among others. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 355 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling; more than 315 U.S. convictions; more than 260 significant jail sentences imposed; and forfeitures of substantial assets. The ECT program is a partnership between the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and HSI and focuses on human smuggling networks that may present particular national security or public safety risks or grave humanitarian concerns. ECT has dedicated investigative, intelligence, and prosecutorial resources. ECT also coordinates and receives assistance from other U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities. HSI New England led U.S. investigative efforts, working in concert with HSI Brasilia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia and the HSI Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C. HSI received substantial assistance from CBP’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force. OIA provided crucial assistance in this matter. Trial Attorney Alexandra Skinnion and Acting Deputy Chief Frank Rangoussis of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Noto for the District of Massachusetts are prosecuting the case. A criminal complaint is merely an allegation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.


title: Memphis Man Sentenced to 22 Years of Federal Imprisonment for Drug Distribution and Possession of Firearms

component: USAO - Tennessee, Western

body_text: Memphis, TN – A federal judge has sentenced Claibon Burrus , 51 , of Memphis, to 260 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute drugs and possession of firearms. Reagan Fondren, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the sentence today. According to the information presented in court, on January 19, 2021, detectives with the Memphis Police Department served a search warrant at a residence in Memphis, Tennessee pursuant to an overdose death investigation. They discovered that Burrus was in possession of large amounts of methamphetamine, cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and marijuana. He was also in possession of multiple firearms. He admitted to officers he was engaging in drug distribution. Following Burrus’s arrest, he directed other individuals to move additional drugs and firearms from storage units he rented to avoid seizure by law enforcement. In July 2024, Burrus pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. On March 25, 2025, United States District Judge John T. Fowlkes, Jr. sentenced Burrus to 260 months of federal imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. This case was investigated by detectives with the Memphis Police Department Heroin/Opioid Response Team and Organized Crime Unit (OCU). Acting United States Attorney Fondren thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer Musselwhite and Greg Allen, who prosecuted this case, as well as the law enforcement partners who investigated the case. ### 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: Final Member of Multi-State Poly-Drug Conspiracy Sentenced

body_text: Jackson, TN – A federal judge has sentenced Anthony Hines, 46 , of Memphis, TN, to over ten years in federal prison for his role in an organized drug trafficking scheme in West Tennessee. Hines was the final defendant of multi-defendant and multi-state drug conspiracy. Reagan Fondren, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the sentence today. According to the evidence presented in court, in early 2019, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), along with the Henry County Metro Narcotics task force, began an investigation into the illegal distribution of narcotics in the Western District of Tennessee. The investigation revealed that Terry Smith, 38, of Memphis, arranged for large quantities of methamphetamine, marijuana, cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl to be shipped into the West Tennessee. Smith used contraband cellular devices from Texas, Arizona, and California to arrange the shipments. The drugs were delivered for redistribution by Smith’s network of co-conspirators, including Hines, in locations that ranged from Western Kentucky to Northwest Mississippi. Ultimately, law enforcement agents determined that Smith and his co-conspirators were responsible for distributing approximately 119 pounds of methamphetamine, 10,000 fentanyl pills, 20 ounces of heroin/fentanyl mix, 2 ounces of fentanyl and 40 pounds of marijuana throughout West Tennessee and surrounding areas. Agents physically seized a total of 17.24 kilograms of actual methamphetamine, 141.76 grams of marijuana, 68.645 grams of Heroin/Fentanyl mixture and 10.845 grams of Fentanyl. On May 15, 2023, Hines pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. On March 24, 2025, United States District Court Judge S. Thomas Anderson sentenced Hines to 125 months in federal prison and five years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. The following co-conspirators have already pled guilty and have been sentenced: Terry Smith, 38 , of Memphis, Tennessee: 240 months and a 5-year period of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. Rodney Ayers, 51 , of Memphis, Tennessee: 180 months and a 5-year period of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. James Dumas, 49 , of Lansing, Michigan: 150 months and a 5-year period of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. Kayla Henderson, 31 , of Memphis, Tennessee: 80 months and a 5-year period of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. Dustin Chambers, 38, of Jackson, Tennessee: 120 months and a 5-year period of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. Horace McNeary, 37 , of Paris, Tennessee: 130 months and a 5-year period of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine. Brianna Norsworthy, 25 , of Murray, Kentucky: 110 months and a 5-year period of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine, as well as possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Jessica Vestal, 34 , of Hendersonville, Tennessee: 80 months and a 5-year period of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine, as well as possession with the intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Michael Broady, 51 , of Memphis, Tennessee: a time served period of 13 months and a 3-year period of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. Jermichael Buggs, 37 , of Grand Junction, Tennessee: 84 months and a 3-year period of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. Christopher Hamilton, 49 , of Memphis, Tennessee: 60 months and a 4-year period of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine. Teddy Reed, 43, of Memphis, Tennessee: 63 moths and a 4-year period of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. Aerielle Coleman, 34 , of Memphis, Tennessee: 30 months and a 2-year period of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine. Danielle Cunningham, 38 , of Memphis, Tennessee: time served and a 3-year period of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine. Tracy Coleman, 50 , of Memphis, Tennessee: a time served period of 18 months and a 2-year period of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute marijuana Johnnie McGhee, 51 , of Olive Branch, Mississippi: 60 days and a 2-year period of supervised release for conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute marijuana. This investigation was conducted as part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. The DEA; West Tennessee Drug Task Force; Jackson Police Department; Jackson-Madison County Metro-Narcotics; Madison County Sheriff’s Department, Paris, Tennessee Police Department; Henry County Sheriff’s Department; Murray, Kentucky Police Department; Kentucky State Police; Arkansas State Police; and the U.S. Marshals Service investigated this case. Acting U.S. Attorney Reagan Fondren thanked Assistant United States Attorneys Adam Davis and Hillary Parham, who prosecuted this case, as well as the law enforcement partners who investigated the case. ### 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: Starkville Man Sentenced to Ten Years for Violating Federal Firearms Laws

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

body_text: Greenville, MS – A Starkville man was sentenced today to 10 years in prison for violation of federal firearms laws. According to court documents, Antonio Johnson, 49, pled guilty to possession of one or more firearms by a previously convicted felon as well as possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. U.S. District Judge Debra M. Brown sentenced Johnson today to 120 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Johnson was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals following sentencing. “The public has every right to expect repeat offenders to receive significant sentences, and this defendant will now have 10 years in a federal prison to reconsider his actions,” said U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner. “AUSA Robert Mims and our partners at the FBI, ATF and Starkville Police Department worked seamlessly to bring justice to an individual who earned every day of this sentence.” “Protecting the safety of our communities is one of the cornerstones of what ATF seeks to accomplish every day,” said ATF New Orleans Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson. “To convicted felons and others making our streets unsafe with gun violence and drugs – law enforcement is here. No matter how long it takes, we will investigate, arrest, prosecute and ensure you are held accountable for your actions.” “Mr. Johnson’s sentencing demonstrates a steadfast commitment of the FBI and our law enforcement partners to protect the public from those individuals who illegally possess firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes,” stated FBI Jackson Field Office Special Agent in Charge Robert Eikhoff. “Criminals possessing and using firearms in the commission of any crime are threats to our communities, for those who seek to threaten and intimidate Mississippians through these egregious crimes will be aggressively pursued by the FBI and brought to justice. We will continue our collective efforts through the Project Safe Neighborhoods program, to reduce violent crime and gun violence in our communities across Mississippi.” "Strong convictions matter; they have a lasting impact and require hard work,” said Chief Mark Ballard of the Starkville Police Department. “Our community is safer as a result of these agencies’ efforts. On behalf of the Starkville Police Department, we are very thankful for our working relationship with FBI Jackson, the ATF New Orleans, and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Mississippi." This case was investigated by the FBI, the Starkville Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Mims prosecuted 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.


title: Hot Springs Man Sentenced to 12 Years in Federal Prison for Drug Possession

component: USAO - Arkansas, Western


title: Joshawa Max Estrada Sentenced to Federal Prison for His Role in the  Murder of Jedidah Iesha Moreno

component: USAO - Washington, Eastern

body_text: Yakima, Washington – Acting United States Attorney Richard R. Barker announced today that Chief United States District Judge Stanley A. Bastian sentenced Joshawa Max Estrada, age 27, to 100 months in federal prison on one count of Accessory After the Fact for his role in the October 2018 murder of Jedidah Iesha Moreno. According to court documents and evidence presented at the sentencing hearing, Jedidah Iesha Moreno shot and killed Rosenda Strong on or about October 5, 2018, following an argument at a residence, known as the House of Souls in Wapato, Washington. Following the murder, Moreno asked for help disposing of Strong’s body, which was placed in a freezer and dumped near a towing service in Toppenish, Washington. The following day, October 6, 2018, Moreno and Andrew Norris Zack got into an argument at a residence known as the Estrada Ranch located in Wapato, Washington. Moreno took out a gun and fired multiple gunshots into a garage, where Zack was in the bathroom. One of these shots struck Zack’s hand. Around the same time that Zack was shot, Uriel Balentin Badillo was at Legends Casino. Badillo received a call that Zack was in trouble, and Badillo drove out to the residence, where he found Moreno standing in a field. When Badillo asked about Zack, Moreno was unresponsive. Badillo then drove Moreno to the House of Souls (where Rosenda Strong had been killed the day before), to look for Zack. When Badillo and Moreno arrived, a female came out of the House of Souls and said, “gag the bitch up.” After a sock was placed into Moreno’s mouth, Badillo and the female drove Moreno back to the Estrada Ranch. There, Moreno was physically restrained, bound with a cargo strap and duct tape, and forced into a Chevrolet Impala. Badillo then shot into the trunk of the car several times with a .45 caliber pistol, striking Moreno. Later that day, two juveniles transported Moreno’s body to another location on the Yakama Nation. One of the juveniles then fired additional rounds into Moreno’s body. The next day, Estrada spoke to Badillo, Zack, and the juvenile. When Estrada learned that Badillo had murdered Moreno and that her body had been dumped in a non-discrete location. Estrada teased the juvenile for dumping the body in such a visible place. Badillo then asked Estrada to move Moreno’s body and get rid of the cargo strap around her body because Badillo was worried he might have left his DNA and/or fingerprints on the cargo strap. Estrada and the one of the juveniles then located Moreno’s body and moved it to a more secluded location near White Swan, Washington. As directed by Badillo, Estrada also removed the cargo strap from Moreno’s body. After moving the body to a more concealed location, the juvenile fired additional gunshots into Moreno’s body. Later that same day, Estrada and the juvenile traveled back to Wapato to meet with Zack and Badillo. Estrada handed Badillo the cargo strap that had been removed from Moreno’s body so that Badillo could destroy the evidence. On November 28, 2018, a citizen discovered Moreno’s remains and immediately contacted law enforcement. “The families in the Rosenda Strong and Jedidah Iesha Moreno cases have waited years to obtain some measure of justice on behalf of their loved ones,” stated Acting U.S. Attorney Barker. “I am grateful for the eyewitnesses, who came forward in this case and helped the FBI and Yakama Nation Tribal Police identify those responsible for these terrible murders. To those who have information about unsolved missing or murdered indigenous people cases, I implore you to come forward and help bring a measure of closure to the families that continue to grieve.” “Mr. Estrada is yet another defendant to be held accountable in this tragic case, which the FBI and our partners have been investigating since 2018.” said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office. “While prison sentences can bring justice and a sense of closure for loved ones, ultimately nothing can bring back the victims of the multiple homicides in which the defendant played a role. I commend the investigators in this case and others involving violent crime on our state’s reservations. They consistently pursue justice, no matter how long it takes.” This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the Yakama Nation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Thomas J. Hanlon and Michael D. Murphy. Defendants Andrew Norris Zack, Jamaal Antwan Pimms, Kevin Todd Brehm , and Uriel Balentin Badillo have all pleaded guilty to charges in this case. Michael Lee Moody pleaded guilty to charges in this case and was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison.


title: Indictment Charges Assault with Intent to Kill While Armed for November 10, 2024 Stabbing

component: USAO - District of Columbia

body_text: WASHINGTON – Maurice Felder, 53, of Washington, D.C., was indicted today on assault with intent to kill while armed and other charges stemming from a stabbing on November 10, 2024, announced U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr. and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Felder was indicted by a grand jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on charges of assault with intent to kill while armed, aggravated assault while armed, assault with a dangerous weapon, assault with significant bodily injury while armed, and possession of a prohibited weapon. Felder is to be arraigned on March 28, 2025, at a hearing before the Honorable Judith Pipe. According to the government’s evidence, on November 10, 2024, at about 1:00 a.m., the victim and his friends were walking near the intersection of 7 th Street, N.W., and T Street, N.W. The victim and his friends were visiting Washington, D.C., for a weekend from Pennsylvania. The defendant followed the victim and his group down the sidewalk and began verbally arguing with the group. The victim got in between the defendant and other members of his friend group, telling the defendant to leave. The defendant asked the victim, “do you want to die,” pulled out a knife, and stabbed the victim in his chest. The victim sustained a stab wound 2 centimeters from his heart and required urgent medical care. The defendant was apprehended shortly thereafter, approximately one block from the location of incident. At the time of arrest, defendant matched the provided lookout description for the stabbing suspect. A knife was recovered from defendant’s pants pocket. Felder has been in custody since his arrest. This case is being investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by AUSA Valerie Tsesarenko of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.


title: United States Files Civil Forfeiture Complaint for $47 Million in Proceeds from the Sale of 1 Million Barrels of Iranian Oil

component: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

body_text: A civil forfeiture complaint was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia alleging that $47 million in proceeds from the sale of nearly one million barrels of Iranian petroleum is forfeitable as property of, or affording a person a source of influence over, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) or its Qods Force (IRGC-QF), designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). The forfeiture complaint alleges a scheme between 2022 and 2024 to facilitate the shipment, storage, and sale of Iranian petroleum product for the benefit of the IRGC and IRGC-QF. The facilitators used deceptive practices to masquerade the Iranian oil as Malaysian, including by manipulating the tanker’s automatic identification system (AIS) to conceal that it onboarded the oil from a port in Iran. The facilitators presented falsified documents to the Croatian storage and port facility, claiming that the oil was Malaysian. The facilitators paid for storage fees associated with the oil’s storage in Croatia in U.S. dollars, transactions that were conducted through U.S. financial institutions that would have refused the transactions had they known they were associated with Iranian oil. The petroleum product was sold in 2024, and the United States seized $47 million in proceeds from that sale. The civil forfeiture complaint further alleges that the petroleum product constitutes the property of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), which has perpetuated a federal crime of terrorism by providing material support to the IRGC and IRGC-QF. As alleged, profits from petroleum product sales support the IRGC’s full range of malign activities, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, support for terrorism, and both domestic and international human rights abuses. Funds successfully forfeited with a connection to a state sponsor of terrorism may in whole or in part be directed to the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund. FBI Minneapolis Field Office and Homeland Security Investigations New York are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen P. Seifert, Maeghan O. Mikorski, and Brian Hudak for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Adam Small of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are litigating the case. They received assistance from former Paralegal Specialist Brian Rickers and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs. A civil forfeiture complaint is merely an allegation. The burden to prove forfeitability in a civil forfeiture proceeding is upon the government.


title: Deforest Business Owner Sentenced to 9 Years for Cocaine Trafficking

component: USAO - Wisconsin, Western

body_text: MADISON, WIS. – Timothy M. O’Shea, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin announced that Luis Angel Rios, 50, of DeForest, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by Chief U.S. District Judge James D. Peterson to 9 years in federal prison for attempting to distribute a large quantity of cocaine and maintaining a place for storing and distributing cocaine. Rios pleaded guilty to these charges on January 10, 2025. In late 2022 and early 2023, investigators with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration began investigating a cocaine trafficking organization operating in Dane County. During an investigation that included the interception of communications between Rios and other participants in the trafficking, investigators determined that Rios was obtaining and selling multiple kilograms of cocaine, and at times cooperating with another local kilogram-level cocaine trafficker to assist in maintaining a drug supply. On June 1, 2023, as a result of phone interceptions and surveillance, investigators intercepted a half-kilogram delivery of cocaine intended for one of Rios’s customers. Rios was the owner of a cleaning and maintenance business in DeForest. During the sentencing, Judge Peterson credited Rios with being a hard-working family man, with no criminal history, but observed that the investigation demonstrated that he also applied his hard-working efforts to managing his ability to secure and distribute large quantities of cocaine. The court found that Rios brought more than 15 kilograms of cocaine into the community in a short period of time, which exploited those who had addictions and served to feed other crimes created by drug use. Rios’s co-defendant, Braulio Martinez Salazar, was sentenced by Judge Peterson on March 11, 2025, to 3 years for his role in the cocaine trafficking operation. The charges against Rios were the result of an investigation conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation, Dane County Narcotics Task Force, and Madison Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Anderson and William M. Levins prosecuted this case. The investigation was conducted and funded by the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), a multi-agency task force that coordinates long-term narcotics trafficking investigations.


title: Stamford Man Indicted for Defrauding Mars, Inc. out of Millions of Dollars

component: USAO - Connecticut

body_text: Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Anish Shukla, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Harry Chavis, Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, and Charmeka Parker, Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Region of the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General today announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven has returned a nine-count indictment charging PAUL R. STEED , 58, of Stamford, with fraud and tax offenses stemming from his alleged commission of multiple frauds against his former employer Mars, Inc. The indictment was returned yesterday, and Steed was arrested this morning. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti in Bridgeport, pleaded not guilty, and is currently detained. The indictment alleges that, between approximately 2011 and 2023, Steed was employed by Mars Wrigley, a subsidiary of Mars. Inc. (“Mars”), working remotely from his home in Stamford. Steed served as Global Price Risk Manager for Mars Wrigley’s Global Cocoa Enterprise. As part of his employment, Steed was responsible for managing Mars Wrigley’s participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) Sugar-Containing Products Re-Export Program. In approximately 2016, Steed created a company, MCNA LLC, to mimic an actual Mars entity, Mars Chocolate North America. He then diverted millions of dollars in Mars assets to a bank account he set up in MCNA’s name by directing sugar refineries purchasing Mars’s re-export credits, obtained through the USDA program, to pay MCNA LLC as if it were a legitimate Mars entity. The indictment also alleges that Mars had an ownership interest in Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (“ICE”), a financial services company that operated financial exchanges and clearing houses, and received quarterly dividends in connection with that ownership. In 2017, Steed directed Computershare Limited (“Computershare”), a company that ICE utilized for stock-related services, to pay MCNA LLC for Mars’s dividends from its ownership shares in ICE. As a result, more than $700,000 in dividend payments were diverted to the MCNA LLC account. In 2023, after Steed had used a fraudulent letter purportedly from the Mars Treasurer authorizing him to trade ICE shares, Steed directed Computershare to sell Mars’s ICE shares entirely. Computershare issued a check in the amount of more than $11.3 million, which Steed deposited into the MCNA LLC account. The indictment further alleges that, from 2013 through 2020, Steed used a company he owned called Ibera LLC to invoice Mars for services Mars did not receive. Mars paid Ibera LLC approximately $580,000 through this scheme. The indictment charges Steed with seven counts of wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment on each count. Steed is also charged with two counts of tax evasion, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of five years on each count, for failing to report and pay taxes on his stolen income, as alleged. According to statements made in court, Steed is alleged to have stolen more than $28 million from Mars and through his schemes. More than $18 million was seized today for forfeiture, and the government is seeking to forfeit a Greenwich home that Steed is alleged to have purchased with nearly $2.3 million in stolen funds. It is alleged that another $2 million was sent by Steed to Argentina, where he is a dual citizen, has family ties, and owns a ranch. Acting U.S. Attorney Silverman stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Office of Inspector General, with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David E. Novick.


title: Tunica County Man Convicted for Possession of Ammunition in Connection to a Homicide

body_text: Oxford, MS – A federal jury convicted a Tunica County Man today for illegally possessing ammunition after having been convicted of a felony. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Korea McKay, 44, shot and killed Davao Thomas on February 18, 2023. McKay killed Mr. Thomas after Mr. Thomas told him to slow down in the Kirby Estates apartment complex. Two shell casings were recovered at the scene. McKay fled the scene in his truck. A few days later, local investigators discovered the truck hidden behind a trailer in Dundee, Mississippi. After being released from state custody on the state arrest warrant for Murder, a federal complaint was issued, and McKay was arrested for felon-in-possession of a firearm related to a prior Desoto County arrest in 2020. McKay was detained and held without bond in federal custody. In May 2023, he was indicted for felon-in-possession of ammunition stemming from the homicide. McKay is currently serving a 48-month sentence on the Desoto County case. He will be sentenced on the felon-in-possession of ammunition on July 17, 2025. Records reflect that at the time McKay possessed the ammunition, he had multiple prior felony convictions, including convictions for assault of a police officer and a federal drug conviction. He faces up to 15-years imprisonment. “We appreciate the jury’s careful deliberation of the evidence and their guilty verdict, and we hope this brings some sense of justice to the victim’s family,” said U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to prosecute violent felons in our communities who possess weapons and ammunition, and we will use all of the tools at our disposal to prosecute those individuals to the maximum extent allowed by law.” The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Tunica County Sheriff’s Department, and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Samuel Stringfellow and Julie Addison are prosecuting 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: United States Files Civil Forfeiture Complaint for $47 Million in Proceeds from the Sale of Iranian Oil

body_text: WASHINGTON – A civil forfeiture complaint was filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia alleging that $47 million in proceeds from the sale of nearly one million barrels of Iranian petroleum is forfeitable as property of, or affording a person a source of influence over, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) or its Qods Force (IRGC-QF), designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO). The forfeiture was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., Sue J. Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, FBI Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston, Sr. of the Minneapolis Field Office, and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Alfonso of the New York Office. The forfeiture complaint alleges a scheme between 2022 and 2024 to facilitate the shipment, storage, and sale of Iranian petroleum product for the benefit of the IRGC and IRGC-QF. The facilitators used deceptive practices to masquerade the Iranian oil as Malaysian, including by manipulating the tanker’s automatic identification system (AIS) to conceal that it onboarded the oil from a port in Iran. The facilitators presented falsified documents to the Croatian storage facility and port authority, claiming that the oil was Malaysian. The facilitators paid for storage fees associated with the oil’s storage at the Croatian facility in U.S. dollars, transactions that were conducted through U.S. financial institutions that would have refused the transactions had they known they were associated with Iranian oil. The petroleum product was sold in 2024, and the United States seized $47 million in proceeds from that sale. The civil forfeiture complaint further alleges that the petroleum product constitutes the property of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), which has perpetuated a federal crime of terrorism by providing material support to the IRGC and IRGC-QF. As alleged, profits from petroleum product sales support the IRGC’s full range of malign activities, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, support for terrorism, and both domestic and international human rights abuses. “We will aggressively enforce U.S. sanctions against Iran, in furtherance of President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign,” said U.S. Attorney Martin. “With the continued seizures of Iranian oil and U.S. dollar profits, we are sending a clear message to Iran that bypassing the sanctions put in place by the U.S. Government is not as easy as playing a shell game with tankers filled with oil. We remain committed to thwarting Iran’s devious attempts, and to deprive its terrorists of the funding they desire.” “The FBI will not allow hostile regimes to evade U.S. sanctions or exploit our financial systems to fund designated terrorist organizations,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Winston. “The FBI, alongside our partners, will relentlessly enforce U.S. sanctions against Iran and safeguard U.S. national security by disrupting illicit networks that seek to profit from sanctioned oil sales.” “Through the work of HSI’s Counterproliferation Investigations group, alongside the FBI, the U.S. government has seized $47 million worth of funds allegedly meant for terrorist groups intent on causing catastrophic harm," said HSI Acting Special Agent in Charge Alfonso. "The expertise of HSI personnel, coupled with federal law enforcement’s whole-of-government approach, ensures the wellbeing of the United States and our innocent foreign counterparts, alike. We are relentlessly utilizing every tool at our disposal in pursuit of any and all security threats.” Funds successfully forfeited with a connection to a state sponsor of terrorism may in whole or in part be directed to the U.S. Victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Fund. FBI Minneapolis Field Office and Homeland Security Investigations New York are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Karen P. Seifert, Maeghan O. Mikorski, and Brian Hudak for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Adam Small of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are litigating the case. They received assistance from former Paralegal Specialist Brian Rickers and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs. A civil forfeiture complaint is merely an allegation. The burden to prove forfeitability in a civil forfeiture proceeding is upon the government. 47million_-_forfeiture_complaint.pdf


title: Executive Pleads Guilty to a Seven-Count Indictment Two Weeks Before Trial, Admits to Longstanding Antitrust and Wire Fraud Conspiracies Affecting Wildfire Services

component: Antitrust Division

body_text: The owner of a contractor company that provided fuel truck services to the U.S. Forest Service’s wildfire fighters pleaded guilty to a seven-count indictment yesterday for his role in schemes to rig bids, allocate territories, and commit wire fraud over an eight-year period. Kris Bird, 62, pleaded guilty to all charges against him two weeks before trial, with no assurances from the government as to the sentence prosecutors will recommend to the judge. The plea follows a judicially authorized wiretap investigation that led to the indictment of two executives in December 2023. Both executives pleaded guilty and are now scheduled to be sentenced in June 2025. As set out in the factual basis filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho, Bird admitted to conspiring with Ike Tomlinson, 61, and others to rig bids and allocate territories in the market for wildfire-fighting fuel truck services for certain dispatch centers of the U.S. Forest Service’s Great Basin wildfire dispatch region between March 2015 and March 2023, in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. Bird further admitted to conspiring to commit wire fraud during the same period, and to committing five acts of wire fraud. At the change-of-plea hearing, Bird also admitted to the forfeiture allegations in the indictment. “Bid-rigging and other collusive, anticompetitive agreements are neither sophisticated nor lawful. As the defendants have now conceded, they selfishly damaged essential taxpayer-funded services critical to protecting the American public from wildfires,” said Assistant Attorney General Abigail Slater of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The meticulous investigation led by the Antitrust Division’s Procurement Collusion Strike Force and its law enforcement partners left the defendant with little choice but to plead to the indictment. The Justice Department will not treat bid-rigging as business as usual.” “Citizens and Idaho businesses must have access to fair competition for government contracts,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Justin Whatcott for the District of Idaho. “The guilty pleas in this case help ensure equal opportunities for all Idaho businesses and protects taxpayers from paying inflated contract prices.” "The defendant illegally profited from American taxpayer money," said Special Agent in Charge Mehtab Syed of the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office. "The FBI and our partners are committed to rooting out fraud and protecting fair competition in the bidding for government contracts." "We will continue working with our law enforcement partners to fight fraud in federal contracting,” said Assistant Inspector General for Investigations James Adams of the General Services Administration Office of Inspector General. A violation of the Sherman Act carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $1 million fine for individuals and a maximum penalty of a $100 million fine for corporations. The maximum fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by victims if either amount is greater than the maximum. A violation of the wire fraud statute carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The Antitrust Division’s San Francisco Office, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho, FBI Salt Lake City Field Office, Boise Resident Agency, and General Services Administration Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant Chief Christopher J. Carlberg and Trial Attorneys Elena A. Goldstein, Daniel B. Twomey, and Matthew Chou of the Antitrust Division's San Francisco Office, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean M. Mazorol for the District of Idaho are prosecuting the case. Anyone with information about this investigation or other procurement fraud schemes should notify the PCSF at www.justice.gov/atr/webform/pcsf-citizen-complaint . The Justice Department created the PCSF in November 2019. It is a joint law enforcement effort to combat antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes that impact government procurement, grant and program funding at all levels of government—federal, state and local. For more information, visit www.justice.gov/procurement-collusion-strike-force .


title: Fort Dodge, Iowa, Man Pleads Guilty to  Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine

component: USAO - Iowa, Northern

body_text: Christopher Lee Caquelin age 41, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, pled guilty March 26, 2025, to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and one count of distribution of a controlled substance. At the plea hearing, evidence showed that from January 1, 2023, and continuing to on or about October 31, 2024, Caquelin was part of an ongoing drug conspiracy based in Fort Dodge, Iowa to distribute 50 grams or more of pure methamphetamine. Caquelin and others sold methamphetamine to people in the Fort Dodge area as well as sources working with law enforcement. Sentencing before United States District Court Chief Judge Leonard T. Strand will be set after a presentence report is prepared. Caquelin remains in custody of the United States Marshal, pending sentencing. Caquelin faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years’ imprisonment and a possible maximum sentence of up to life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, and 5 years to life of supervised release following any imprisonment. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Fletcher and Jack Lammers and was investigated by Webster County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Dodge Police Department, and Iowa Division of Narcotics Enforcement. Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl . The case file number is 24-CR-03049. Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.


title: Woman Who Mailed Fentanyl from Arizona to Dubuque Sentenced to Nearly Six Years in Federal Prison

body_text: A woman who mailed fentanyl powder, pills containing fentanyl, and “ice” methamphetamine from Arizona to Dubuque, Iowa, was sentenced today to 57 months in federal prison for her involvement in a conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Tiffani Katrina Bradley, age 42, from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, received the prison term after an October 30, 2024 guilty plea to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. From March 2023 through December 2023, Bradley mailed re-distribution quantities of controlled substances from Arizona to Dubuque to her co-conspirator, Alexander John Chapman. During this time, Bradley mailed Chapman over $4,000 worth of fentanyl powder, pills containing fentanyl, and methamphetamine. Bradley was sentenced in Cedar Rapids by United States District Court Chief Judge C.J. Williams. Bradley was sentenced to 57 months’ imprisonment. She must also serve a six-year term of supervised release after the prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. Bradley is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until she can be transported to a federal prison. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Nicole L. Nagin, and it was investigated by the Dubuque Drug Task Force and the United States Postal Inspection Service, at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl . The case file number is 24-CR-01003. Follow us on Twitter @USAO_NDIA.


title: Indiana Man Sentenced for Illegal Firearms

component: USAO - Missouri, Western

body_text: KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Hammond, Ind., man was sentenced in federal court today for illegally possessing three firearms. Roosevelt Nevels, Jr., 35, formerly of Kansas City, Mo., was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips to 8 years in federal prison without parole. On Nov. 7, 2024, Nevels, Jr. pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of firearms. On Nov. 7, 2021, officers of the Kansas City, Mo. Police Department were dispatched to Research Medical Center regarding a reported shooting. Nevels, Jr., who was the injured person, reported he was caught in between two vehicles shooting at one another at 7033 Prospect Ave., Kansas City, Mo. Nevels, Jr. reported that he was shot in the hand. Officers investigated Nevels Jr.’s account and were not able to locate evidence or witnesses to support his report of the shooting. Upon further investigation, officers responded to Nevels, Jr.’s residence in Kansas City, Mo., where they located a blood trail in front of the house, leading to the door. The officers knocked on the front door, and a juvenile answered. The officers observed more blood on the living room floor of the residence. The officers entered the residence to ensure no one inside was injured. They observed an AR-style pistol and a large amount of blood in a bedroom. Investigators were granted a search warrant for the residence. While executing the search warrant, investigators recovered three firearms: a SCCY CPX-1, 9mm, pistol; a SCCY CPX-2, 9mm, pistol; and an FM-9, AR-style pistol. All the firearms were loaded. The AR-style pistol had damage near the trigger guard, appearing that the trigger guard was shot. The live round of ammunition in the chamber had blood on it. Investigators also located a bullet fragment and two spent 9mm shell casings in the bedroom where the firearms were located and two cases containing 50 live .22 caliber rounds of ammunition in the kitchen. Forensic investigators determined DNA samples recovered from the grips and trigger guards of all three firearms implicated Nevels, Jr. as a major contributor. Under federal law, it is illegal for anyone who is convicted of a felony to be in possession of any firearm or ammunition. Nevels, Jr. was convicted of the felony offenses of endangering the welfare of a child and resisting arrest in 2018. Nevels, Jr. also has felony convictions for unlawful use of a weapon – carrying concealed and unlawful use of a weapon – discharge/shoot firearm at a motor vehicle. This case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica L. Jennings. It was investigated by the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Project Safe Neighborhoods This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.


title: Brazilian National Living in Worcester Arrested for Alleged Role in Large-Scale Human Smuggling Ring

body_text: BOSTON – A Brazilian national illegally residing in Worcester, Mass., was arrested today as part of an international law enforcement operation targeting a transnational criminal organization allegedly responsible for the illicit smuggling of hundreds of individuals from Brazil to the United States. Flavio Alexandra Alves, a/k/a “Ronaldo,” 41, a Brazilian national illegally residing in Worcester, Mass., was arrested on a criminal complaint charging him with conspiracy to bring aliens to and transport aliens within the United States in violation of law. Following an initial appearance in federal court in Worcester, Alves was detained pending a hearing scheduled for March 28, 2025 at 9 a.m. According to the charging documents , Alves was previously convicted of human smuggling offenses in the Central District of California in 2004 and subsequently deported to Brazil in February 2005. It is alleged that, sometime after his removal, Alves illegally re-entered the United States and has been residing in the United States without immigration status. In April 2022, an investigation began into a human smuggling organization (HSO) operating in the United States, Brazil and Mexico, that smuggles Brazilian nationals through Mexico, across the U.S.-Mexico border and into the United States for financial gain and laundering the proceeds. The investigation identified Alves as an alleged domestic-based smuggler for the HSO who joined the organization in mid-2021. It is alleged that Alves coordinated with co-conspirators in Brazil and Mexico to facilitate the transportation of aliens from Brazil into the United States; to launder funds to Mexico to support the HSO; and collect smuggling fees paid by or on behalf of the Brazilian nationals being smuggled. Specifically, it is alleged that Alves was responsible for purchasing airline tickets for aliens – including families and groups – to various places within the United States. This included allegedly purchasing airline tickets for Brazilian nationals to travel from border cities to other locations across the United States shortly after the aliens were encountered by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and released from detention. It is alleged that between May 2021 and August 2022, Alves purchased more than 100 individual airline tickets from Tucson or Phoenix shortly after CBP encounters, to destination cities in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania (Boston, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia). It is further alleged that Alves sent money to aliens and smugglers located in Mexico to pay for expenses associated with transit into the United States. Bank and financial records obtained during the investigation revealed that Alves allegedly sent hundreds of thousands of dollars in money transfers to facilitate the travel of aliens who were later encountered by immigration authorities illegally crossing into the United States, and paid smugglers in Mexico for their role in the HSO. Additionally, Alves allegedly utilized different methods to conceal the nature and frequency of the transfers, including using in-person money transfer services at various locations throughout Massachusetts; providing different variations of his name and home address; and having other close associates conduct the transactions on his behalf. Alves also allegedly collected payments from aliens as the fee for being smuggled into the United States – taking a percentage of the fee as his “cut” before transferring the remainder of the money to other members of the HSO based in Mexico. Additionally, HSI offices in Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia, supported by other partner law enforcement agencies, detained four individuals today associated with the alien smuggling organization on administrative immigration violations. The investigation and arrest of Alves was coordinated under Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA) and the Extraterritorial Criminal Travel Strike Force (ECT) Program. JTFA, a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has been elevated and expanded by the Attorney General with a mandate to target cartels and transnational criminal organizations to eliminate human smuggling and trafficking networks operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama and Colombia that impact public safety and the security of our borders. JTFA is comprised of detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the southwest border. Dedicated support is provided by numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, led by the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and supported by the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, Office of Enforcement Operations and the Office of International Affairs, among others. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, FBI, DEA and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 355 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers and significant facilitators of alien smuggling; more than 315 U.S. convictions; more than 260 significant jail sentences imposed; and forfeitures of substantial assets. The ECT program is a partnership between the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and HSI and focuses on human smuggling networks that may present particular national security or public safety risks, or present grave humanitarian concerns. ECT has dedicated investigative, intelligence and prosecutorial resources. ECT also coordinates and receives assistance from other U.S. government agencies and foreign law enforcement authorities. This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN). United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Michael J. Krol, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Brasília, Brazil Attaché Troy Clausen for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations made the announcement today. Substantial assistance was provided by HSI Offices in Brasilia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia; HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C; U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force; and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Noto of the Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case along with Trial Attorney Alexandra Skinnion and Acting Deputy Chief Frank Rangoussis of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights & Special Prosecutions Section. The charge of conspiracy to bring aliens to, or transport an alien within, the United States in violation of law provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The defendant is subject to deportation proceedings upon completion of any sentence imposed. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case. The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.


title: Behavioral Healthcare Company Executive Sentenced for Healthcare Fraud

body_text: BOSTON – The Chief Executive Officer of Dana Group Associates, who is also the former Chief Operating Officer of Prime Behavioral Health, was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for a scheme to defraud health care benefit programs by directing false billing for patient visits. Miguel Saravia, 42, of Hanson, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs to three and a half months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release. Saravia was also ordered to pay $561,141.89 in restitution. In September 2024, Saravia pleaded guilty to six counts of health care fraud. From approximately 2017 to 2022, Saravia directed a group of individuals with no billing or medical training to enter Current Procedural Terminology codes (CPT) for therapy services that were not provided and to upcode CPT codes used for psychotherapy visits. Saravia submitted, or directed the submission of, false claims for treatment that was not provided or for more complex and expensive treatment than was provided. United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Roberto Coviello, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Insurance Fraud Bureau Executive Director Anthony DiPaolo; and Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly B. Lawrence and Mackenzie A. Queenin of the Health Care Fraud Unit and Lindsey Ross and Steven Sharobem of the Affirmative Civil Enforcement Unit prosecuted the case.


title: Omak Man Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison for Violently Assaulting His Intimate Partner

body_text: Spokane, Washington – Acting United States Attorney Richard R. Barker announced that Louis Lee Zacherle, age 37, of Omak, Washington, was sentenced for Assault Resulting in Substantial Bodily Injury to a Spouse, Intimate Partner, or Dating Partner in Indian Country. Zacherle was convicted on August 13, 2024, following a jury trial. United States District Judge Thomas O. Rice imposed a sentence of 60 months in federal prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. According to court documents and information presented at the trial and sentencing, on the evening of December 7, 2023, Zacherle began arguing with his intimate partner at a home on the Colville Indian Reservation. During the argument, Zacherle went out to the shed, grabbed an ax, came back into the kitchen, and began smashing the kitchen cabinets. Zacherle then hit his intimate partner in the face, knocking her down. Zacherle, who was wearing boots, proceeded to kick the victim several times as she was lying on the ground. At the hospital, doctors treated the victim for injuries to her face and scalp, as well as two broken ribs. The victim also had to be treated for a condition in which air leaked out of her lung and into her chest wall. “Domestic violence is one of the root causes underlying the Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons crisis impacting Native American Communities,” stated Acting United States Attorney Rich Barker. “Through DOJ’s Office on Violence Against Women, our office has a dedicated Special Assistant United States Attorney, Michael Vander Giessen, who handles many of the domestic violence cases that arise on Tribal land in Eastern Washington. With SAUSA Vander Giessen in this role – and as a result of our close partnerships with the Kalispel, Spokane, and Colville Tribes – the U.S. Attorney’s Office is able to seek justice in more of these cases, ensuring domestic violence victims are heard before it is too late.” “What began as a disagreement quickly turned into a brutal assault resulting in serious injury.” said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Seattle field office. “Fortunately, the victim survived and stood up for herself, leading to Mr. Zacherle being held accountable for his violence with a federal prison sentence. The FBI and our partners will not tolerate domestic violence on our state’s reservations, and it is a crime we will vigorously investigate.” This case was investigated by the FBI and the Colville Tribal Police Department. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Michael L. Vander Giessen and former Assistant United States Attorney Timothy J. Ohms. 2:24-cr-00044-TOR


title: Hartford Man Pleads Guilty to Oxycodone Distribution and Gun Possession Offenses

body_text: Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ANGEL BENITEZ, 38, of Hartford, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford to drug distribution and firearm possession offenses. According to court documents and statements made in court, a DEA New Haven Tactical Diversion Squad investigation revealed that Benitez and a co-conspirator were illegally selling oxycodone pills that were prescribed to his co-conspirator. In August and September 2024, investigators made controlled purchases of oxycodone pills from Benitez and his co-conspirator. Benitez was arrested on November 6, 2024. On that date, a search of his residence revealed a Smith and Wesson .40 caliber semiautomatic pistol that had been reported stolen in West Hartford. Benitez’s criminal history includes state assault, burglary, and larceny convictions. It is a violation of federal law for a person previously convicted of a felony offense to possess a firearm or ammunition that has moved in interstate or foreign commerce. Benitez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, oxycodone, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 15 years. Judge Oliver scheduled sentencing for June 20. Benitez has been detained since his arrest. This matter is being investigated by the DEA New Haven Tactical Diversion Squad, which is composed of personnel from the DEA, the Connecticut State Police, and the Bristol, West Haven, Hamden, Fairfield, Manchester, and Seymour Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Patricia Stolfi Collins.


title: Alien smuggling group dismantled

component: USAO - Texas, Southern

body_text: LAREDO, Texas – A group of five Laredoans have now been sentenced for operating an alien smuggling organization, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. Jaquon Davis is the last to be sentenced and pleaded guilty Oct. 10, 2024. U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo determined him to be the leader of the conspiracy and sentenced him to 44 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by three years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court heard additional evidence that showed Davis was a long-time alien smuggler who recruited several people. “This case demonstrates the Southern District of Texas’ commitment to stopping the flow of illegal aliens into our country,” said Ganjei. “That means prosecuting not only illegal aliens, but also those who support and help them in breaking our laws.” On March 19, 2024, Davis and four others travelled in three cars around the I-35 checkpoint north of Laredo using the access road in an attempt to avoid law enforcement. One car was used as a scout and the other two cars carried illegal aliens. Authorities ultimately pulled them over and discovered a total of 12 illegal aliens in the vehicles. One was concealed in a box located in a truck bed. Two of the illegal aliens claimed they had arranged to be smuggled to cities in Texas for large amounts of money. They had crossed the Rio Grande River and stayed at a stash house before being picked up by someone in the group. The investigation revealed the smugglers had stayed in a local motel and coordinated the event from there. Davis was the leader and coordinator of this event and had paid for the hotel rooms. Carlota Herrera, 34, and Ruben Campos, 30, previously received 21 and 37 months, respectively, for transporting the illegal aliens. Bobby Vaughan Hoodye, 40, was sentenced to six months for his role in providing one of the cars that was used to transport the illegal aliens, while Jakhalib Fisher, 21, was ordered to serve 33 months for coordinating and overseeing the smuggling event. Davis has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future. Border Patrol conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Bryan L. Oliver prosecuted the case.


title: Illegal Alien and Convicted Criminal Felon Charged With Firearm Crimes

component: USAO - Texas, Northern

body_text: An illegal alien and convicted felon was charged with federal firearm crimes, announced Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham. Manuel Najera-Garcia, a Mexican citizen and illegal alien, was indicted by a federal grand jury on February 26, 2025 with one count of possession of a firearm by an illegal alien and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Najera-Garcia made his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Rebecca Rutherford on Wednesday, March 26, 2025 and was ordered detained. According to the indictment, on December 22, 2024, Najera-Garcia possessed a .38-caliber revolver after having been convicted of a felony offense in 2012. After his felony conviction, Najera-Garcia returned to Mexico. However, it is alleged that sometime thereafter Najera-Garcia re-entered the United States prior to possessing the firearm on December 22, 2024. An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Mr. Najera-Garcia is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. If convicted, Najera-Garcia faces up to 15 years in federal prison on each count. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives Dallas Field Division and the Dallas Police Department conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ted Hocter is prosecuting the case. This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).


title: United States Secures Forfeiture of Over $5 Million Traceable to Business Email Compromise Scheme Targeting Massachusetts Workers Union

body_text: BOSTON – The United States Attorney’s Office has announced that, pursuant to a court-ordered default judgment and final order of forfeiture entered today, it has secured the forfeiture of approximately $5,315,746 of proceeds of a business email compromise (BEC) scheme and property involved in the subsequent laundering of the proceeds. The judgment is the result of a civil forfeiture complaint filed by the United States in June 2024 seeking the forfeiture of the funds. “This case underscores the sophisticated and global nature of financial fraud schemes that prey on organizations and their hard-earned resources,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley. “Thanks to the diligent efforts of our law enforcement partners, we have successfully traced and recovered millions of dollars stolen through deception. This forfeiture serves as a stark warning: We will relentlessly pursue stolen funds – no matter where cybercriminals operate.” As alleged in the complaint, in January 2023, a workers union based in Dorchester, Mass., was defrauded out of $6.4 million after it received a spoofed email, which appeared to be from its investment manager. The email, which had the intended effect of misleading the workers union into transferring funds to a bank account controlled by someone other than the intended recipient, changed the beneficiary bank account of the $6.4 million payment. After the workers union sent the payment, the fraudulently-obtained funds were transferred through a series of intermediary bank accounts, with some funds transferred, or attempted to be transferred, to a cryptocurrency exchange and to various bank accounts located in Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Nigeria. Investigators traced proceeds of the scheme to seven domestically held bank accounts, the contents of which were subsequently seized. United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Deputy Assistant Attorney General Josh Goldfoot of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; and William Mancino, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Criminal Investigative Division, Washington Field Office made the announcement. The civil forfeiture action was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Lyons of the Office’s Asset Recovery Unit along with Trial Attorneys Jasmin Salehi Fashami and Adrienne Rosen of the Justice Department’s Money Laundering & Asset Recovery Section.


title: More than Two Dozen Sentenced in Connection with Prison-Based Drug Ring

body_text: NASHVILLE – Today, the United States concluded the prosecution of 27 defendants in connection with an extensive drug and money laundering conspiracy that operated in middle Tennessee and elsewhere between 2018 and 2021, announced Robert E. McGuire, Acting United States Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee. The prosecution originated from an extensive multi-agency investigation of a prison-based drug ring, led by Humberto Morales, a Tennessee state prisoner, that culminated in a series of federal charges. “For years, our office has worked diligently to break up this deadly criminal organization and hold its members accountable,” said Acting United States Attorney Robert E. McGuire. “These dangerous criminals who plagued our community are behind bars, some for decades. Thanks to the dedication of our prosecutors and our law enforcement partners, their day is over, and justice has been served.” According to court records, as part of that investigation, federal law enforcement agents identified numerous U.S. Mail parcels containing substantial quantities of methamphetamine, heroin, and fentanyl, as well as marijuana, which were related to a largescale drug trafficking conspiracy being operated from within the Tennessee state prison system by Humberto Morales. The investigation, which included the review of the contents of dozens of contraband cellular phones seized from prison facilities, witness interviews, drug seizures, and other evidence, revealed that the conspiracy led by Morales operated in various counties in the Middle District of Tennessee, as well as in other states, namely California, and Mexico from at least 2018 to 2021. Morales and his co-conspirators routinely used encrypted communication services, principally WhatsApp, to communicate regarding drug trafficking, drug proceeds, firearms, and, in some instances, related armed violence. These communications included WhatsApp text and voice messages and drug-related photographs and videos. During the conspiracy, Morales, a ranking Surenos gang member who was serving a decades-long sentence in the Tennessee Department of Correction in connection with a home invasion in Williamson County, Tennessee, arranged for and coordinated the delivery of kilogram quantities of the identified dangerous drugs from Mexico to California, using numerous co-conspirators. Those drugs were then transported or mailed at Morales’ direction to specific locations in middle Tennessee and elsewhere for distribution. Morales principally directed these activities by utilizing cell phones smuggled into the prisons. In the course of this conspiracy, Morales recruited dozens of co-conspirators to carry out his scheme. At his direction, members of the conspiracy routinely sent wire transfers consisting of drug proceeds totaling, at a minimum, hundreds of thousands of dollars to Mexico – primarily Sinaloa, Mexico, and sometimes to locations within the United States, to pay for controlled substances and to promote the continued operation of his drug enterprise. At Morales’ direction, co-conspirators also wire transferred money to other members of the conspiracy to pay for the transportation and expenses related to the trafficking of controlled substances and the transferring of drug proceeds using electronic services, such as Cash App. Further, co-conspirators deposited drug proceeds into bank accounts, purchased money orders with drug proceeds, and collected and delivered drug proceeds, often thousands of dollars in bulk cash, either by hand or by mail to other members of the conspiracy. The conspiracy resulted in the delivery of massive quantities of drugs into middle Tennessee, as evidenced by numerous drug seizures of kilogram quantities of methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl during the investigation and by messages reviewed by investigators detailing discussions among co-conspirators about the drugs being received and distributed in this area. Those prosecuted in this investigation and their resulting sentences include the following: Humberto Morales, a/k/a “Pelon” – age 33 – life imprisonment and 10 years of supervised release Armando Lopez, age 48, 324 months’ imprisonment and 7 years of supervised release Jennifer Montejo, age 37, 300 months’ imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release Avigael Cruz, age 33, 264 months’ imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release Jose Alvarado, age 48, 240 months’ imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release Kevin Oliva-Hernandez, age 35, 216 months’ imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release Jesse Sanchez, age 35, 216 months’ imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release Jacob Lee, age 29, 216 months’ imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release Billy Cruz, age 30, 204 months’ imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release Phillip Christopher Smith, age 45, 204 months’ imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release Mario Garcia Flores, age 37, 180 months’ imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release Terrance Marquette Bobo, age 32, 180 months’ imprisonment in two cases and 5 years of supervised release Austin Dodd, age 29, 180 months’ imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release Justin Blake Lee, age 30, 168 months’ imprisonment and 10 years of supervised release Jairo Rostran, age 32, 156 months’ imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release Grecia Rocio Barrios, age 37, 156 months’ imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release Ricardo Davalos Martinez, age 32, 144 months’ imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release Kevin Tidwell, age 31, 120 months’ imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release Kim Lamont Birdsong, age 53, 100 months’ imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release Tiffany Messick, age 30, 84 months’ imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release Jasmine Taylor, age 30, 78 months’ imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release David Ku, age 49, 66 months’ imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release Oscar Avelar Anguiano, age 37, 66 months’ imprisonment and 1 year of supervised release Luis Ramirez Escudero, age 32, 60 months’ imprisonment and 1 year of supervised release Melinda Tidwell, age 35, 50 months’ imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release Stacy Owens, age 35, 12 months’ imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release, followed by an additional 11-month sentence in a related matter. Korrine Parker, age 47, time served and 5 years of supervised release. Six of these defendants, who are native to Mexico, are expected to face deportation proceedings at the conclusion of their sentences. Two defendants charged in this case remain fugitives from justice – Erika Vasquez, a/k/a “Chula,” and Magdiel Pina Ramirez, a/k/a “Big Show.” Another half-dozen individuals associated with Morales were also charged and convicted in separate cases. “With both law enforcement and financial investigation expertise, our special agents are uniquely qualified to partner with state and federal agencies with these types of cases,” said Special Agent in Charge Donald “Trey” Eakins, Charlotte Field Office, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. “IRS CI is proud to provide its financial expertise as we work alongside our law enforcement partners to bring criminals to justice” “Postal Inspectors tirelessly work to rid the mail of illegal drug trafficking and its accompanying violence,” said Acting U.S. Postal Inspector in Charge Jessica Wagner, Atlanta Division, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS). “These sentencings highlight the effectiveness of the collaboration between USPIS and our law enforcement partners, and the commitment of Postal Inspectors to provide a safe environment for postal employees and Postal Service customers – the American public.” “The collaboration between HSI and IRS-CI exemplifies the relentless pursuit of justice, even when crimes are committed behind prison walls,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Nashville Special Agent in Charge Rana Saoud. “Together with our partners, HSI will continue to disrupt criminal networks, ensuring that we hold these violent gangs accountable, regardless of where they operate.” “These sentences are a victory for the dedicated men and women in law enforcement, combining efforts of Federal, State and Local partnerships to perfect a case that will have a lasting effect in the community. ATF is committed to these partnerships in its fight against violent crime,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jason Stankiewicz of the Nashville Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Several other law enforcement agencies contributed to the investigation, including the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) – Office of Investigations and Conduct, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP), Metropolitan Nashville Police Department (MNPD), Clarksville Police Department (CPD), and Rutherford County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO). Assistant U.S. Attorneys Philip H. Wehby and Juliet E. Aldridge prosecuted the case for the United States. # # # # #


title: Justice Department Secures Forfeiture of Over $5M of Funds Traceable to Business Email Compromise Scheme Targeting Massachusetts Workers Union

body_text: The Department of Justice announced today that, pursuant to a court-ordered default judgment and final order of forfeiture entered today, it has secured the forfeiture of approximately $5,315,746.29 of proceeds of a business email compromise (BEC) scheme and property involved in the subsequent laundering of the proceeds. The judgment is the result of a civil forfeiture complaint filed by the United States in June 2024 seeking the forfeiture of the funds. As alleged in the complaint, in January 2023, a workers union based in Dorchester, Massachusetts, was defrauded out of $6.4 million after it received a spoofed email that appeared to be from its investment manager. The email misled the workers union into transferring the funds to the wrong bank account, which was controlled by a third party. After the workers union sent the payment, the fraudulently obtained funds were transferred through several intermediary bank accounts, with some funds transferred, or attempted to be transferred, to a cryptocurrency exchange and to various foreign bank accounts located in Hong Kong, China, Singapore, and Nigeria. Investigators also traced proceeds of the scheme to seven domestically held bank accounts, the contents of which were subsequently seized. Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley for the District of Massachusetts; and Special Agent in Charge William Mancino of the U.S. Secret Service made the announcement. The United States Secret Service investigated the case. Trial Attorneys Jasmin Salehi Fashami and Adrienne Rosen of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Lyons for the District of Massachusetts prosecuted the case.