title: Utah Married Couple Running a Gun and Ammo Shop, Arrested and Indicted After Deceitfully Obtaining Over $600,000 from Customers

component: USAO - Utah

body_text: St. George, Utah – An indictment was unsealed today by the federal court in St. George following the arrest of a husband and wife in Utah County after a federal grand jury returned an indictment on April 9, 2024. The indictment charges the duo with financial crimes after they allegedly ran a gun and ammunition business and defrauded customers and financial firms of over $600,000. According to court documents, John Earl Donaldson, 31, and his wife, Carlie Elizabeth Winters, 29, of Saratoga Springs, Utah, conspired together from December 2021 through January 2023 to illegally obtain money from customers of Urban Armz, LLC. Donaldson and Winters owned and operated Urban Armz, LLC. Through false pretenses, Donaldson and Winters allegedly lied about Urban Armz’s inventory and ability to procure goods for which customers paid. Additionally, Donaldson and Winters fraudulently obtained money from financial firms through false pretenses. In furtherance of the crime, the Urban Armz website claimed that the business maintained an office in St. George, when it did not. The website also falsely claimed that the “company clients” included the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency. As alleged in the indictment, Donaldson falsely represented that he could sell large quantities of ammunition to potential customers for competitively low prices. In December 2021, a customer wired $90,000 to Urban Armz for 300,000 rounds of ammunition. Urban Armz never delivered the ammunition. Instead, Donaldson and Winters spent the customer’s funds on transfers to unrelated parties, shopping, credit card payments, and other withdrawals. In April 2022, a company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, paid Urban Armz $300,000 through wire transfers for body armor it intended to donate to Ukraine first responders in war zones. Urban Armz never delivered the body armor. In June 2022, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting Ukrainian immigrants and refugees living in the United States paid Urban Armz $217,098.98 for night vision goggles, thermal optics, and other equipment for Ukrainian first responders serving in war zones. Again, Urban Armz did not deliver the equipment and instead Donaldson and Winters spent the money on unrelated parties, shopping and other things. Donaldson and Winters are charged with wire fraud conspiracy and money laundering conspiracy. Their initial court appearance on the indictment was April 14, 2024, at the United States District Courthouse in St. George, Utah. U.S. Attorney, Trina A. Higgins, of the District of Utah made the announcement. The case is being investigated by the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office. Assistant United States Attorney Stephen P. Dent of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah is prosecuting the case. An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.


title: Albany Man Indicted for Distribution, Receipt and Possession of Child Pornography

component: USAO - New York, Northern

body_text: ALBANY, NEW YORK – Taykwun Smoaks, age 32, of Albany, was arraigned on Friday, April 12, on charges that he distributed, received, and possessed child pornography. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman, Matthew Scarpino, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Buffalo Field Office, and New York State Police (NYSP) Superintendent Steven G. James made the announcement. The indictment filed against Smoaks alleges that, from February to March 2023, he distributed and received images and videos of child pornography over the internet, and that he possessed images of child pornography on his computer and external hard drive on April 5, 2023. The charges in the indictment are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted of the charges, Smaoks faces at least 5 years and up to 20 years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a term of post-imprisonment supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors. Smoaks may also be ordered to pay restitution to the victims of his offenses and forfeit the devices used in the offenses. Smoaks would also have to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison. Smoaks was arraigned on Friday in Albany, before United States Magistrate Judge Christian F. Hummel, and detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for tomorrow, April 16. A trial will be scheduled before United States District Judge Anne M. Nardacci. HSI and NYSP are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander P. Wentworth-Ping is prosecuting the case. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney’s offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), and is designed to marshal federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc .


title: New Orleans Man Sentenced for Violating the Federal Controlled Substances and Federal Gun Control Acts

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

body_text: NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JEROME JONES, age 34, a resident of New Orleans, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown for violations of the Federal Controlled Substances Act and the Federal Gun Control Act, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans. According to court records, JONES pled guilty to Counts Three, Five, Six, and Seven of a seven-count superseding indictment. Count Three charged JONES with possessing, with the intent to distribute, more than 40 grams of fentanyl, more than 100 grams of heroin, and a quantity of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B), and (b)(1)(C). Count Five charged JONES with possessing, with the intent to distribute, a quantity of heroin, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C). Count Six charged JONES with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). Count Seven charged JONES with being a felon in possession of firearms, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). According to court records, the New Orleans Police Department had developed JONES, and his co-defendant, as suspects in an attempted French Quarter murder that occurred in January 2022. In February 2022, NOPD executed a search warrant at a home where JONES and the co-defendant stayed and found a large quantity of narcotics and distribution paraphernalia in the kitchen. The police also found clothing that the suspects had been seen wearing during the attempted murder. During a subsequent search, the police found a Glock Model 22, .40 caliber, semi-automatic pistol, bearing serial number MVF683, with a 50 round drum magazine and a Romarm/Cugir Model Mini Draco, caliber 7.62x39, semi-automatic pistol, bearing serial number PE-2617-2018RO, along with several banana clips and over 140 grams of heroin. JONES was not at the residence during the search and remained at large until October 2022, when he was arrested at the same residence. Chief Judge Brown sentenced JONES to a total of 165 months in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release. Specifically, Judge Brown sentenced JONES to 105 months imprisonment on each of Counts Three, Five, and Seven, to run concurrently, and to 60 months on Count Six, to run consecutively. Judge Brown also ordered JONES to pay a mandatory special assessment fee of $100 per count, for a total of $400. 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. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the New Orleans Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Haller, Senior Litigation Counsel.


title: Jefferson Parish Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Controlled Substances Act Violations

body_text: NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – RODNEY COOPER , age 33, a resident of Metairie, pleaded guilty on April 11, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Jane T. Milazzo to conspiracy to distribute and, possess with intent to distribute, heroin, tapentadol, and marijuana, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), 841(b)(1)(D), and 846; and possession with intent to distribute those substances, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), and 841(b)(1)(D). According to court documents, on January 6, 2022, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office (JPSO) conducted surveillance in the 500 block of N. Elm Street in Metairie. COOPER was observed selling drugs, both individually and with his co-conspirators, to arriving customers. When JPSO detectives made contact with COOPER , he fled and discarded a backpack containing heroin, tapentadol, and marijuana. COOPER faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $1,000,000, a minimum of three years of supervised release, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee on each count. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco, and Explosives and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David Berman of the Violent Crime Unit.


title: Man Charged for Over $70M Medicare Fraud Scheme

component: USAO - Florida, Middle

body_text: Tampa, FL – An indictment was unsealed in Tampa last week charging a Mississippi man for his alleged role in an over $70 million fraud scheme involving the payment of kickbacks and bribes to obtain doctors’ orders for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME). Joel Rufus French, 46, of Amory, made his initial appearance on April 11 in Oxford, Mississippi. According to court documents, French allegedly managed multiple DME companies without disclosing his role to Medicare. He and his co-conspirators allegedly used the DME companies to bill Medicare for orthotic braces that were obtained using doctors’ orders that were procured through illegal kickbacks and bribes, medically unnecessary, not provided as billed, and ineligible for Medicare reimbursement. French also allegedly obtained Medicare beneficiary information and paid kickbacks and bribes for doctors’ orders for DME. French allegedly generated and sold doctors’ orders for orthotic braces to suppliers and brokers in exchange for millions in kickbacks and bribes. Finally, French is alleged to have participated in a scheme to launder certain proceeds of his schemes. French is charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive illegal health care kickbacks, conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted, French faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the conspiracy to commit wire fraud and health care fraud count, as well as on the conspiracy to commit money laundering count. French faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on the conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive illegal health care kickbacks count. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida; Assistant Director Michael D. Nordwall of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division; and Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian J. Schrank of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement. The FBI Tampa Field Office and HHS-OIG are investigating the case. Trial Attorney Catherine Wagner of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Peresie for the Middle District of Florida are prosecuting the case. The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,400 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $27 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit . An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.


title: Jacksonville Convicted Child Sex Offender Pleads Guilty To Producing Photos Depicting The Sexual Abuse Of A Child

body_text: Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Andrew David Salas (36, Jacksonville) has pleaded guilty to producing photos depicting the sexual abuse of a minor child. Salas faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 25 years, up to 50 years, in federal prison, and a potential lifetime term of supervised release. Salas is a registered sex offender, having been convicted of carnal knowledge of a minor child in Virginia in 2008. Salas was arrested on November 3, 2022, and has been in custody since that time. A sentencing hearing for Salas is scheduled for July 16, 2024. According to court documents, in 2022, Salas used a web-based social media messaging platform to engage in an online conversation with a minor child who lived in Georgia. During this online conversation, Salas decided to drive from Florida to meet and pick up the child. On June 14, 2022, Salas drove from Jacksonville to an area near the child’s residence and met the child, who was on foot, at a particular intersection and invited the child into his car. The child entered Salas’s vehicle and told Salas that the child was underage. Salas then drove the child back to his residence in Jacksonville. For more than four months, the child remained in Salas’s residence, and Salas engaged in sexual activity with the child on several occasions. Salas also used and persuaded the child to pose for him as he took photos of the child in sexually explicit positions. He also took sexually explicit photos of the child while the child slept. In November 2022, FBI agents in Jacksonville obtained geolocation data showing that an electronic device linked to Salas had been near the child’s residence in Georgia on the evening of June 14, 2022. On November 3, 2022, an FBI agent and a detective with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office (JSO) went to Salas’s residence to make contact with Salas and attempt to locate the child. Salas was arrested and his cellphone was seized. Later that day, the child was located and rescued by law enforcement near Salas’s residence and was returned safely to the child’s family. JSO detectives obtained a search warrant for Salas’s residence and seized several computers and electronic devices. Meanwhile, the FBI obtained search warrants for, Salas’s cellphone. A review of the phone’s contents revealed information about the location of the child’s residence, as well as text messages exchanged between Salas and the child. Salas’s phone also contained sexually explicit photos of the child produced by Salas, as well as photos depicting other young children being sexually abused. This case was investigated by the Carroll County (Georgia) Sheriff’s Office, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Georgia Attorney General’s Office, the United States Marshals Service, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (Atlanta and Jacksonville), with assistance from the State Attorney’s Office in Jacksonville. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.


title: Federal Jury Finds Red Lake Woman Guilty in Child Abuse Case

component: USAO - Minnesota

body_text: MINNEAPOLIS – A federal jury found a Red Lake woman guilty of child neglect and endangerment on the Red Lake Indian Reservation, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger. Following a five-day trial before Judge Katherine M. Menendez, Bobbi Jo Johnson, aka Bobbi Jo Kingbird, 46, was convicted last week on one count of child neglect—deprivation of food and health care, and one count of child endangerment. According to evidence presented at trial and court documents, between January 1, 2021, and April 29, 2022, Bobbi Jo Johnson engaged in, aided, and abetted the endangerment, neglect, and abuse of a child who was in the foster care of her sister and co-defendant, Trina Mae Johnson. The abuse included withholding food from the victim to the point of starvation, forcing the victim to stand in uncomfortable positions for long periods of time, and assaulting the victim. As a result of Bobbi Jo Johnson’s and her co-defendants’ abuse, the victim suffered serious and substantial physical, mental, and emotional harm. Trina Mae Johnson pleaded guilty to one count of child torture, one count of child neglect—deprivation of food and health care, one count of child endangerment, and one count of assault on a minor with a dangerous weapon. Ellie Mae Johnson, Patricia Ann Johnson, and Bertram Calvin Lussier, Jr. each pleaded guilty to one count of child endangerment. All five defendants will be sentenced at a later date. This case was investigated by the FBI and the Red Lake Tribal Police Department, with support from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Beltrami County Sherriff’s Office, the Bemidji Police Department, and the Blackduck Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ruth S. Shnider and Evan B. Gilead tried the case.


title: ST. THOMAS MAN SENTENCED ON FENTANYL POSSESSION CONVICTION

component: USAO - Virgin Islands

body_text: St. Thomas, VI – United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced today that Tahir Donadelle, 43, of St. Thomas, was sentenced by Chief District Judge Robert Molloy to 43 months incarceration after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. “Across the United States, opioids, primarily fentanyl, killed over 80,000 people in 2021 alone,” stated United States Attorney Delia Smith. “Here in the Virgin Islands, we have thus far been spared the worst of the opioid epidemic, but this seizure of fentanyl by CBP officers shows that we are not immune. Fortunately, the vigilance and dedication of our law enforcement partners led to the interception of these deadly drugs, and we were able to convict those responsible. We will continue to do everything in our power to keep the Virgin Islands safe from this lethal scourge.” In 2023, Elijah Hakim was sentenced to 85 months of incarceration after a federal jury found him guilty in the first fentanyl conviction for the District of the Virgin Islands. Also in 2023, VIPD reported three deaths related to fentanyl. The deadly narcotic has caused an epidemic in the United States, but documented cases in the Virgin Islands remain low. According to court documents, on September 8, 2022, Donadelle traveled from Atlanta, GA to St. Thomas, and was randomly selected by Customs and Border Protection for a baggage inspection upon arrival at the Cyril E. King Airport. During the inspection, officers discovered 14 vacuum-sealed packages inside Donadelle’s luggage, 11 of which contained marijuana. The remaining three packages contained 964 light blue fentanyl pills bearing “M” on one side and “30” on the other side. “Fentanyl is one of the deadliest drug threats that our nation has ever encountered. Our exceptional frontline officers work tirelessly to ensure this poison doesn’t make it through our borders and into our communities”, said Roberto Vaquero, Director of Field Operations for Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. Homeland Security Investigations Assistant Special Agent in Charge Eugene Thomas reiterated that the “Virgin Islands community benefits when we arrest and prosecute those that attempt to smuggle these dangerous drugs into our territory.” This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, Customs and Border Protection and Drug Enforcement Administration and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kyle Payne.


title: Sumner, Washington, man pleads guilty to disclosure of Social Security Number for more than 20 years of living under a false identity

component: USAO - Washington, Western

body_text: Tacoma – A Sumner, Washington man who lived under a false identity for more than 25 years, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to two counts of illegal disclosure of Social Security Number, announced U.S. Attorney Tessa M. Gorman. Roberto Adrian Manzano, 53, is scheduled for sentencing in front of U.S. District Judge Tiffany M. Cartwright on July 11, 2024. Manzano was arrested on October 24, 2023. According to the plea agreement, Manzano began living under a false identity no later than 2000. Using the false identity, Manzano took a job with a logistics company in Western Washington. On July 17, 2020, Manzano used someone else’s Social Security Number to apply for a Small Business Administration loan. On January 28, 2021, Manzano used the false identity and another person’s Social Security Number to apply for a Security Threat Assessment with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). In evaluating his most recent application, TSA Investigations noticed some conflicting information and referred the matter to the Diplomatic Security Service for investigation. Manzano admitted in his plea agreement that he used the false identity to unlawfully vote in state and national elections since approximately 2004. Manzano admits that he falsely claimed to be a U.S. Citizen each time he voted illegally. Both the prosecution and defense have agreed to recommend a five-month prison sentence. The court is not bound by the recommendation and Judge Cartwright can impose any sentence authorized by law. Disclosure of a Social Security Number is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The case was investigated by the Diplomatic Security Service (DSS) with assistance from the TSA. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sean Waite.


title: Tulsa Resident Sentenced To 80 Months For Voluntary Manslaughter

component: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

body_text: MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Austin Isaac Furr, age 23, of Glenpool, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 80 months in prison for Voluntary Manslaughter in Indian Country. The charges arose from investigations by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Oklahoma Office of the Inspector General. On October 11, 2023, Austin Furr pleaded guilty to the charge. According to investigators, on September 26, 2021, Furr was involved in an altercation with his cellmate in the Oklahoma State Penitentiary. During the struggle, Austin Furr killed his cellmate by stabbing and strangling him. The crimes occurred in Pittsburg County, within the boundaries of the Choctaw Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma. The Honorable Ronald A. White, U.S. Chief Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing. Furr will remain in custody of the U.S. Marshal pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration. Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Howanitz represented the United States.


title: Four Guatemalan Nationals Charged in  Large-Scale Retail Theft Schemes in Multiple States

component: USAO - Rhode Island

body_text: PROVIDENCE, RI – Four Guatemalan nationals have been charged in federal court in Providence, RI, with conspiracy to commit interstate transportation of stolen property and interstate transportation of stolen goods, having allegedly participated, with others, in a large-scale scheme to steal and re-sell high-value products from home improvement stores and other retailers in multiple states, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha. Court documents allege that Marvin Estuardo Morales De Paz, 33, Abraham Dayger-Enrique, 24, Sebastian Lajuj-Soloman, 30, and Jonathan Josue Amperez-Perez, 31, worked together and with others to defraud Home Depot stores mainly in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania by stealing and, at times, re-selling stolen goods such as electrical wire, flooring, power tools, and other items of high value. Based on information from multiple police departments, a review of security camera footage from numerous retailers, and as well as the court-authorized seizure and review of cellphones seized from Morales DePaz, Dayger-Enrique, and Amperez-Perez, it is alleged that the four men and other co-conspirators have participated in more than 30 documented thefts. To date, based on arrests and law enforcement encounters during retail theft incidents, fifteen Guatemalan nationals have been identified as allegedly being associated with this retail theft organization. However, it is believed that not all members of the group regularly participate in these theft operations. Court-authorized search warrants were executed on April 12, 2024, at residences in Cranston and Providence, resulting in the seizure of $11,000 worth of stolen goods from Home Depot and Khols; $83,000 in cash; and a Ford 2019 F150 vehicle. Morales De Paz, Dayger-Enrique, and Lajuj-Soloman were arrested in Rhode Island on Friday and were ordered detained in federal custody at their initial appearances before a District Court Magistrate Judge; Amperez-Perez was apprehended in Pennsylvania and remains in federal custody awaiting a return to Rhode Island. A federal criminal complaint is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John P. McAdams. The matter is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations agents in Providence, with the assistance of HSI agents in Boston, and Allentown, Pennsylvania, and the Providence, Coventry, Warwick, Smithfield, and Johnston, RI Police Departments; Boston, Norwood, Bellingham, Marlboro, Seekonk, Avon, Auburn, MA Police Departments; Montville and Fairfield, CT Police Departments; and the Parkesburg, Downingtown, Lebanon, Wyomissing, and Reading, PA, Police Departments; Nashua, NH Police Department; and Marlboro, NJ Police Department. ### interstate_stolen_goods_criminal_complaint_search_warrant_and_arrest_affidavit.pdf


title: Thornton Man Indicted for Falsely Filing Client Tax Returns

component: USAO - Colorado

body_text: DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Lance McCuistion, 56, of Thornton, Colorado, was indicted by a federal grand jury for preparing false tax returns on behalf of clients. In July 2014, McCuistion plead guilty to preparing false tax returns in a prior investigation and was sentenced to probation. As a result of that offense, McCuistion was unable to obtain a Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN). However, according to the indictment, from approximately April 2018 through April 2022, McCuistion used PTINs in the names of three individuals associated with McCuistion to prepare tax returns on behalf of clients. These tax returns claimed items for which McCuistion knew the taxpayers were not eligible in order to increase refunds or reduce taxes due. The defendant made his initial appearance on April 12, 2024, before Magistrate Judge Scott T. Varholak. The charges contained in the indictment are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. This case is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Weiss. Case Number: 24-cr-00116-CNS


title: Former SCDC Captain and SCDC Inmate Indicted for Bribery, Conspiracy, Wire Fraud, Money Laundering

component: USAO - South Carolina

body_text: COLUMBIA, S.C. — A federal grand jury in Columbia returned a 15-count indictment against Christine Mary Livingston, 46, of Gaston, and Jerell Reaves, 33, for bribery, conspiracy, honest services wire fraud, and money laundering. During the alleged crimes, Livingston was a correctional officer and supervisor at the South Carolina Department of Corrections (SCDC), where she worked as a law enforcement officer from 2005 through 2021. Reaves is an inmate serving a sentence for voluntary manslaughter. The indictment alleges that during her work at the Broad River Correctional Institute, Livingston accepted more than $200,000 in bribes from inmates and their families in exchange for smuggling contraband into the prison. She is alleged to have brought approximately 173 contraband cell phones into the facility, as well as headphones, sim cards, chargers, and other contraband. Livingston held the rank of Captain at SCDC from 2016 through 2021. One of those inmates was Jerell Reaves. Reaves is alleged to have caused more than $40,000 in bribes to be paid to Livingston in exchange for contraband. Both defendants face a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison, $250,000 in monetary penalties, and forfeiture. The case was investigated by the FBI Columbia Field Office and the SCDC Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elliott B. Daniels is prosecuting the case. U.S. Attorney Adair F. Boroughs stated that all charges in the indictment are merely accusations and that defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The indictment may be found on the public docket at case number 3:24-cr-252-CRI. ###


title: Seattle Man Sentenced for Buying 630,000 Counterfeit Pills on the Dark Web

component: Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

body_text: ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Court Judge Stephen R. Clark on Thursday sentenced a man who bought 630,000 counterfeit Xanax and other pills on the dark web to 30 months in prison and ordered him to pay a $10,000 fine. Maximillian Gregory Verbowski will also be on supervised release for three years after his release from prison. From October 2019 to August 30, 2021, Verbowski used cryptocurrency and cash to buy bulk quantities of counterfeit generic alprazolam, an anti-anxiety drug, and other prescription pills on the dark web and resell them. Verbowski’s source bought drug ingredients from China and used a pill press and stamps to mimic the pill markings used by real manufacturers. The supplier then shipped the pills to post office boxes Verbowski opened using aliases. Courtesy of the Drug Enforcement Administration. Verbowski, now 29, of Seattle, pleaded guilty in June to one count each of conspiracy to sell counterfeit drugs, selling counterfeit drugs and using a fictitious name on mail to commit a crime. The case was investigated by the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman prosecuted the case.


title: Guatemala Native Charged With Illegal Reentry

component: USAO - Pennsylvania, Middle

body_text: SCRANTON – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Camilo Antonio Batz-Ortiz, age 40, of Guatemala, was indicted on April 9, 2024, by a federal grand jury for illegal reentry into the United States by a previously deported alien and possession of a fraudulent immigration document. According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the indictment alleges that Camilo Antonio Batz-Ortiz was previously removed from the United States on September 9, 2013, and it is alleged that he was subsequently found in the United States without having first obtained legal permission to reenter the country. The indictment also alleges that on March 4, 2024, Batz-Ortiz was encountered in Clinton County, Pennsylvania and at that time, he was in possession of a fraudulent Permanent Resident Card. This matter was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). Assistant United States Attorney Tatum Wilson is prosecuting the case. The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is ten years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Indictments are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court. # # #


title: Ten-Time Robber Sentenced to Eleven Years in Federal Prison for $20,000 Robbery of Carmel Credit Union

body_text: INDIANAPOLIS- Marty McConnell, 64, of Indianapolis, has been sentenced to eleven years in federal prison after pleading guilty to bank robbery. According to court documents, on May 8, 2023, the defendant entered a Teachers Credit Union in Carmel, Indiana, approached the bank teller and gave him a note threatening to “blow [the teller’s] f*****g head off” unless he handed over all the money at his station. The teller gave the defendant $20,000 and he subsequently left the credit union. Carmel Police Department Officers immediately arrived on the scene and quickly located Mr. McConnell. During a recorded interview with officers, McConnell admitted to committing the robbery and keeping the majority of money in his car. He also stated that he used a portion of money from the robbery to get his car out of pawn, buy new shoes, and buy drugs. Officers searched McConnell’s vehicle and located $12,600 in cash and the clothing worn during the robbery. Before robbing the Carmel Teachers Credit Union, McConnell was convicted of three armed robberies, six other robberies, and three batteries over a thirty-year span. He was most recently discharged from parole in November 2020, after his release from prison for a prior robbery spree. “For three decades this violent criminal has terrorized innocent people, seeking quick money through force, violence, and intimidation. His crime spree stops here,” said Zachary A. Myers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “Violent crimes rob entire communities of their safety and peace of mind. Working closely with our partners at the Carmel Police Department and FBI, our federal prosecutors will continue our work to make our communities safer and hold violent, repeat criminals accountable.” “This sentence sends a clear message that robbing a bank in Indiana will result in significant time in federal prison,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Herbert J. Stapleton. “Our law enforcement partnerships ensure that those engaging in violent behavior will be caught and held accountable.” The FBI investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge James P. Hanlon. Judge Hanlon also ordered that McConnell be supervised by the U.S. Probation Office for three years following his release from federal prison and pay $20,000 in restitution. U.S. Attorney Myers thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy C. Fugate, who prosecuted this case. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. ###


title: District Man Indicted on Enhanced Second-Degree Theft For Theft from Target Retail Store in Northwest

component: USAO - District of Columbia

body_text: WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, April 10, 2024, Brandon Goodwin, 38, of Washington, D.C., was indicted by a grand jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on one count of felony second-degree theft stemming from events occurring on March 28, 2024, U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) announced. Brandon Goodwin is to be arraigned on May 1, 2024, at a hearing before a Superior Court judge. According to the government’s evidence, on March 28, 2024, Brandon Goodwin took store merchandise without paying from the Target store in Northwest, Washington, D.C. Mr. Goodwin was arrested after investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department. Mr. Goodwin has two or more prior theft convictions, though not from the same occasion, and therefore is subject to enhanced penalties for his alleged theft, including a mandatory minimum sentence of one year in jail for each count of theft for which he is indicted. Since September 1, 2023, including the aforementioned case, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia has indicted 39 cases involving a felony second-degree theft charge based on a defendant’s two or more prior theft convictions, not from the same occasion. This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lauren Gaskin. An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty


title: District Man Indicted on Enhanced Second-Degree Theft  For Theft from CVS Retail Store in Northwest

body_text: WASHINGTON – On Wednesday, April 10, 2024, Melvin Dykes, 61, of Washington, D.C., was indicted by a grand jury in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia on one count of felony second-degree theft stemming from events occurring on February 23, 2024, U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith, of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) announced. Dykes is to be arraigned on April 30, 2024, at a hearing before a Superior Court judge. According to the government’s evidence, on February 23, 2024, Dykes took merchandise without paying from the CVS store in Northwest, Washington, D.C. Dykes was located and arrested after investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department. Dykes has two or more prior theft convictions, though not from the same occasion, and therefore is subject to enhanced penalties for his alleged theft, including a mandatory minimum sentence of one year in jail for each count of theft for which he is indicted. Since September 1, 2023, including the aforementioned case, the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia has indicted 39 cases involving a felony second-degree theft charge based on a defendant’s two or more prior theft convictions, not from the same occasion. This case was investigated by the Metropolitan Police Department and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne Cotter. An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of criminal laws and every defendant is presumed innocent until, and unless, proven guilty.


title: Wilkes-Barre Man Charged With Drug Trafficking And Firearms Violations

body_text: SCRANTON- The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Ras Dalmar Johnson, age 27, of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, was indicted on April 9, 2024, by a federal grand jury on drug trafficking and firearms charges. According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the indictment alleges that on February 1, 2024, Johnson possessed with intent to distribute over 400 grams of fentanyl, over 50 grams of methamphetamine, and amounts of cocaine and marijuana. The indictment also alleges that on the same date, Johnson, who is a person prohibited from possessing a firearm, possessed a Glock 26 handgun in furtherance of drug trafficking. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Bureau of Narcotics and the Wilkes-Barre Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny P. Roberts is 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. The maximum penalty under federal law for this offense is life imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. Indictments are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court. # # #


title: Coffee County man sentenced to federal prison for illegally obtaining COVID-19 pandemic relief funds

component: USAO - Georgia, Southern

body_text: WAYCROSS, GA: A Coffee County man was sentenced to federal prison and ordered to pay more than $1.3 million in restitution for fraudulently obtaining funds intended to help businesses struggling financially during the pandemic. Kyle Waldron , 59, of Douglas, Ga., was sentenced to 15 months in prison after pleading guilty to money laundering, said Jill E. Steinberg, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. U.S. District Court Judge Lisa Godbey Wood also ordered Waldron to pay $1,371,219 in restitution. During the investigation federal agents seized $326,461 from Waldron’s bank accounts, which is subject to forfeiture. Judge Wood ordered Waldron to serve three years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term. There is no parole in the federal system. “Kyle Waldron committed brazen fraud and theft from pandemic relief funds,” said U.S. Attorney Steinberg. “We continue to collaborate with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who would illegally access these funds to fuel their own greed.” Enacted by Congress in 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provided more than $650 billion to financially struggling small businesses during the COIVD-19 pandemic. Those funds were disbursed primarily as grants and forgivable loans through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) through the Small Business Administration (SBA). As described in court documents and testimony, an investigation by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations and the U.S. Secret Service determined that Waldron submitted at least 20 different PPP or EIDL applications on behalf of multiple businesses and individuals. To obtain loan funds, Waldron submitted multiple fake IRS forms in support of the funding applications, and falsely claimed large numbers of non-existent employees and inflated revenues in fraudulent requests for PPP and EIDL funding. Those applications resulted in SBA disbursements of more than $1.3 million. “The sentence, along with the restitution, serves as a notice to those who committed COVID-19 fraud that IRS Criminal Investigation special agents and our partners are still conducting investigations and holding them accountable,” said Demetrius Hardeman, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office. “Waldron believed that he could commit fraud and steal money designated to help businesses struggling to survive during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said J. Craig Reno, Resident Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service Savannah Resident Office. “This sentence should serve as a warning to potential thieves that they will be caught and prosecuted. As part of our dual protective and investigative mission, we are tasked with safeguarding the United States’ financial and payment systems from criminal exploitation. The U.S. Secret Service is committed to investigating cases of fraud and we work hand-in-hand with our law enforcement partners to pursue justice for victims of financial crime across the country.” The case was investigated by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations and the U.S. Secret Service and prosecuted for the United States by Southern District of Georgia Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew A. Josephson and J. Bishop Ravenel. Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form .


title: Illinois Man Pleads Guilty to Preparing False Tax Returns

component: Tax Division

body_text: An Illinois man pleaded guilty yesterday to preparing false income tax returns for clients. According to court documents and statements made in court, Gary Sandiego, of Barrington, owned and operated G. Sandiego and Associates, a tax preparation business. For tax years 2014 through 2017, he prepared and filed false income tax returns for his clients. Instead of relying on information provided by the clients, Sandiego either inflated or entirely fabricated expenses to falsely claim on the returns Residential Energy Credits and employment-related expense deductions. As a result, Sandiego caused a tax loss to the IRS of approximately $4,586,154. Sandiego is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 14. He faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each count. Sandiego also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General Stuart M. Goldberg of the Justice Department’s Tax Division made the announcement. IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case. Assistant Chief Andrew Kameros and Trial Attorney Sara Henderson of the Tax Division are prosecuting the case.


title: 15 Gang Members Indicted for Drug Trafficking and Firearms Possession

body_text: CLEVELAND – Federal, state, and local law enforcement officials announce the unsealing of a superseding indictment charging 15 members of the Fully Blooded Felons, a criminal street gang that was active in Northeast Ohio and in the Ohio prison system. The gang members were charged for their roles in a drug trafficking conspiracy involving their importing and distributing fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and buprenorphine in Northeast Ohio, and their illegal possession of firearms. Three defendants have been in federal custody since December 2023. Authorities have arrested several newly charged defendants. They transported several of them to federal court in Cleveland, while the others are in custody elsewhere. This announcement is made by United States Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko, FBI Special Agent in Charge Gregory Nelsen, and Cleveland Division of Police Chief Dorothy Todd. “The indictment alleges that Raven Mullins and other members of the Fully Blooded Felons operated an open-air drug market, distributing the deadliest types of drugs sold on Cleveland’s streets. This organization is charged not only with peddling such poisons in Cleveland’s Cedar Estates neighborhood, but also with actively plotting to recruit persons to infiltrate the Ohio prison system to distribute drugs there so gang members could reap the profits,” said United States Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko. “This indictment and these arrests are a product of the dedication, cooperation, and tireless efforts of Northern District of Ohio federal, state, and local law enforcement partners who, working together, identified and disrupted this criminal organization. Because of these efforts, the many law-abiding members of the Cedar Estates neighborhood have a real opportunity to come together and make positive changes.” “This operation and subsequent arrests underscore the FBIs mission to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle gangs not only in the larger cities across America, but also right here in northern Ohio,” said FBI Cleveland Special Agent in Charge Greg Nelsen. “Identifying criminal networks takes careful coordination and collaboration. We are proud to partner with the agencies that make up the FBI Safe Streets Gang Task Force, which includes the Cleveland Division of Police, Ohio Adult Parole Authority, and the Ohio Investigative Unit. In addition, the United States Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Cleveland’s Third District played a major role in this operation. We thank them as well as our other federal, state, and local partners who work seamlessly together to protect our communities and keep offenders off the streets.” The following defendants are charged in the 33-count superseding indictment: Raven Mullins, aka Dunny, aka Dun, 34, Cleveland, Ohio Henry Burchett, aka Noodles, aka Noo, 39, Cleveland, Ohio Cortez Tyree, aka Seed, 34, Cleveland, Ohio Rodney Linson, aka Scrap, 37, Willoughby Hills, Ohio Elijah Johnson, aka Loon, 36, Unknown Demarcus Elliott, aka Moo, 37, Westlake, Ohio Dontez Hammond, aka Donny, 35, Cleveland, Ohio Jeffrey Lee, aka Fatty, 23, Cleveland, Ohio Jerrell Jones-Ferrell, aka Ruga, 25, Cleveland, Ohio Jerry Mullins, aka B. Money, 32, Cleveland, Ohio Devonte Johnson, aka D Nut, aka Nut, 31, Cleveland, Ohio Jerome Williams, aka Jay, 29, Cleveland, Ohio Christepher Horton, aka Cam, aka Killa, 40, Erie, Pennsylvania Deeundra Perkins, aka Drizzy, 32, Unknown Deon Blackwell, aka White Boy, 37, Cleveland, Ohio The defendants were all charged in a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. Additionally, six defendants were charged with possession with intent to distribute controlled substances offenses, five defendants were charged with illegal possession of firearms, and five defendants were charged with possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes. One defendant was charged with interstate travel in aid of racketeering, and 11 defendants were charged with using a communications facility to facilitate a felony drug offense. The superseding indictment alleges that between as early as January 2022, and continuing through April 2, 2024, the defendants did knowingly and intentionally conspire with each other to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute mixtures and substances containing fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance, methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance, cocaine, a Schedule II controlled substance, cocaine base (“crack”), a Schedule II controlled substance, and buprenorphine, a Schedule III controlled substance. According to court documents, Raven Mullins and other defendants operated an organized gang hierarchy that committed violent acts, possessed and transferred firearms, and distributed controlled substances in Northeast Ohio. The Fully Blooded Felons used two apartments at the Cedar Estates in Cleveland, Ohio, to store controlled substances and firearms and to distribute different controlled substances to customers. Subordinate gang members used a grassy area immediately adjacent to the Cedar Estates, and the area surrounding the 28th Street Liquor Store, to distribute controlled substances to customers at the direction of Raven Mullins and other high-ranking members. The superseding indictment alleges that Elijah Johnson travelled to Texas and Arizona to obtain kilogram quantities of pills containing fentanyl, which he then supplied to Fully Blooded Felon members for distribution in Northeast Ohio. Additionally, the superseding indictment alleges that the Fully Blooded Felons operated a drug smuggling and distribution ring inside numerous Ohio state prisons and federal detention centers. An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, each defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum, and, in most cases, it will be less than the maximum. This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. The specific mission of the OCDETF Cleveland Strike Force is to disrupt and dismantle major criminal organizations and subsidiary organizations, including criminal gangs, transnational drug cartels, racketeering organizations, and other groups engaged in illicit activities that present a threat to public safety and national security and are related to the illegal smuggling and trafficking of narcotics or other controlled substances, weapons, humans, or the illegal concealment or transfer of proceeds derived from such illicit activities in the Northern District of Ohio. The OCDETF Cleveland Strike Force consists of agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Marshals Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Border Patrol, and the Cleveland Division of Police. The prosecution is being led by the Office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio. The investigation preceding the superseding indictment was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Safe Streets Task Force, the Cleveland Division of Police’s Third District and Gang Impact Unit, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Ohio Adult Parole Authority, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, and the Ohio Investigative Unit. The United States Marshals Service coordinated the arrests of those defendants apprehended. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert J. Kolansky and Paul E. Hanna, with assistance from Trial Attorneys Brian W. Lynch and Alyssa Levey-Weinstein of the Justice Department’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section.


title: Firearms Trafficker Sentenced to Nearly Six Years in Prison for Unlawfully Dealing Firearms and “Switch” Devices in Chicago Area

body_text: CHICAGO — A federal judge has sentenced a Chicago-area firearms trafficker to nearly six years in prison for unlawfully dealing handguns, rifles, and “switch” devices capable of converting semi-automatic firearms into machine guns. Over a three-month period last year, ROGELIO CASTANEDA sold nine firearms and 28 “switch” devices, also known as “Glock switches,” to undercover law enforcement agents. The sales occurred in Chicago, Stickney, Ill., and Hammond, Ind. Three of the guns sold by Castaneda were unlicensed, privately made firearms. At the time of his illegal sales, Castaneda was on pre-trial release for a firearms charge in the Circuit Court of Cook County. Castaneda, 30, of Chicago, pleaded guilty in December 2023 to one count of unlawfully possessing a machine gun. U.S. District Judge Robert W. Gettleman imposed a 70-month prison sentence during a hearing Tuesday in federal court in Chicago. The sentence was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and Larry Snelling, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. Valuable assistance was provided by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “The city of Chicago continues to face a gun violence epidemic,” Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary McDonnell argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “Glock switches and converted Glocks are a grave threat to public safety and serve no purpose other than to inflict maximum damage on enemies and innocent bystanders.” Disrupting illegal firearms trafficking is the focus of the Department of Justice’s Firearms Trafficking Strike Force . As part of the strike force, the U.S. Attorney’s Office collaborates with ATF, CPD, and other federal, state, and local law enforcement partners in the Northern District of Illinois and across the country to help stem the supply of illegally trafficked firearms and identify patterns, leads, and potential suspects in violent gun crimes. Holding firearm offenders accountable through federal prosecution is also a centerpiece of Project Safe Neighborhoods , a nationwide initiative that brings together law enforcement officials, prosecutors, community leaders, and other stakeholders to develop comprehensive solutions to the most pressing violent crime problems in a community. In the Northern District of Illinois, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has deployed the PSN program to attack a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district, particularly firearm offenses.


title: Owings Mills Man Found Guilty Of Conspiracy, Visa Fraud, and Aggravated Identity Theft After 9-Day Trial

component: USAO - Maryland

body_text: Baltimore , Maryland – A federal jury has convicted Oluwatoyin Aborisade, a/k/a “Thoyinstar”, a/k/a “Toyin”, age 46, of Owings Mills, Maryland, for conspiracy to commit visa fraud, visa fraud, and aggravated identity theft. The conviction was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron; Special Agent in Charge James C. Harris of Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) Baltimore; Special Agent in Charge Karen L. Brown Cleveland of the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service (DSS); and Washington District Office Director Ron Rosenberg of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services-Fraud Detection and National Security (USCIS-FDNS). According to the evidence presented at his 9-day trial, from approximately December 2017 to October 2020, Aborisade conspired with others to commit visa fraud by presenting false statements and fraudulent immigration documents to the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. Specifically, the evidence proved that Aborisade established Phemnick Legal Center LLC and other entities bearing the name Phemnick, to assist individuals and their families with immigration-related legal work, including filing official forms and paperwork to obtain immigration benefits in the United States. In fact, Aborisade was not a licensed immigration attorney, was not licensed to practice law in Maryland or elsewhere, and neither Aborisade nor Phemnick were accredited by the Board of Immigration Appeals to legally provide immigration services. As detailed at trial, Aborisade advertised immigration related services to aliens and their family members and friends through the use of business cards, social media and websites. Aborisade gave false, inaccurate, and incomplete legal and immigration advice to alien-clients in order to induce them to retain his services and those of Phemnick. Aborisade’s clients paid him a fee to complete and submit the necessary documents. Aborisade knowingly presented false statements with respect to material facts in applications, affidavit and other documents required by immigration laws and regulations. For example, as detailed in trial testimony, a co-conspirator paid Aborisade monetary compensation in order to draft a fraudulent lease to be submitted with various immigration filings to USCIS, in order to demonstrate that the co-conspirator had resided with his spouse, when in fact, he had not. Aborisade and a co-conspirator employee of Phemnick exchanged emails coordinating the editing and falsification of documents to be submitted in immigration filings to the USCIS, including psychological evaluations. As part of the fraud, Aborisade also provided a co-conspirator with sample lease agreements to falsify immigration documentation, as evidence that alien-clients had resided with their spouses, when in fact, they had not. The evidence proved that Aborisade submitted at least 12 fraudulent documents to the USCIS. Finally, the evidence proved that Aborisade committed aggravated identity theft by using the personal identifying information (“PII”) of real people in fraudulent visa applications without the victims’ permission. Specifically, Aborisade used the names, passports, social security numbers, IRS Forms 1040, of one group of identity theft victims, and the name and medical license number of another identity theft victim in filings with USCIS, without the victims’ knowledge or permission. Aborisade faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit visa fraud, a maximum of 15 years in federal prison for each of 12 counts of visa fraud, and a mandatory minimum of two years in federal prison, consecutive to any other sentenced imposed, for each of 10 counts of aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Judge Julie R. Rubin has scheduled sentencing for August 1, 2024, at 2 p.m. United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended HSI, DSS, and the USCIS-FDNS for their work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Aubin and Darryl Tarver, who are prosecuting the case. For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach .


title: Four men plead guilty to targeting and robbing victims selling products on the online marketplace application OfferUp

component: USAO - Florida, Southern

body_text: MIAMI – On April 10, the last of four defendants pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit robbery, robbing several people who had listed electronic items for sale on the online marketplace application OfferUp and possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Jordan Denzel Lewis’s co-defendants, Tyrell Brion Bouie, Anthony Christopher Diggs Jr., and Johntaevious Henry Johnson pleaded guilty earlier in the case to charges of conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery, and using a firearm during a robbery. From September to October 2022, Lewis, Bouie, Diggs, and Johnson contacted victims who had posted electronics for sale online through OfferUp. After contacting the victims and pretending to be interested in purchasing the electronics, Lewis and his co-defendants would meet the victims at an agreed public location such as a public parking lot or restaurant, and instead of purchasing the items, Lewis, Bouie, Diggs, and Johnson would rob the victims. On some occasions, they brandished guns or used violence during the robberies. Markenzy Lapointe, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office made the announcement. FBI Miami investigated the case with assistance from the Plantation Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Deric Zacca and Vanessa Bonhomme are prosecuting it. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov , under case number 23-cr-60138. ###


title: Jackson Man Sentenced to Over 15 Years in Prison for  Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine and  Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon

body_text: Jackson, Miss. – A Jackson man was sentenced to 188 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. According to court documents, in June 2022, as part of an ongoing investigation, agents executed a search warrant at the residence of Charleston Porter, 34, in Jackson where they recovered a .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, a Glock magazine, ammunition, and methamphetamine. Agents also found an extended handgun magazine containing ammunition. Porter pled guilty on July 19, 2023, to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee and Special Agent in Charge Steven Hofer of the Drug Enforcement Administration made the announcement. The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and the Ridgeland Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Keesha Middleton. The case is the result of an extensive investigation targeting illegal drug trafficking in the Hinds County, Mississippi, and surrounding areas. The operation is 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.


title: Maryland Man Indicted on Charges He Killed His Girlfriend’s Husband

body_text: WASHINGTON – Keyon Slaughter, 27, of Waldorf, Maryland, was arraigned today on an indictment charging him with the December 2022 murder of Dana Bailey, Jr., announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). The indictment charges Slaughter with first-degree premeditated murder while armed, first‑degree felony murder while armed, first-degree burglary while armed, and related firearm offenses, including illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted person, punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. According to the government’s evidence, in the morning hours of December 5, 2022, Slaughter entered the apartment that his girlfriend shared with her husband, Dana Bailey, Jr., in Southeast, Washington, D.C. Bailey had learned of his wife’s affair with Slaughter earlier in 2022. Slaughter confronted and shot Bailey once in the chest, killing him. Slaughter then fled the scene and traveled to North Carolina. Before Bailey died, he identified Slaughter as the murderer to a responding officer by Slaughter’s nickname, “Papi.” At that time, defendant was on supervised probation for a 2019 conviction for armed robbery in Charles County, Maryland. Slaughter was arrested in this case in July 2023 and has been detained pending trial since his arrest. This case is being investigated by members of MPD’s Homicide Branch. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles R. Jones. 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: Louisville Man Sentenced to Over 15 Years in Federal Prison for Attempted Sex Trafficking of Children and Attempted Online Enticement of a Minor

component: USAO - Kentucky, Western

body_text: Louisville, KY – A Louisville man was sentenced yesterday to 15 years and 8 months in federal prison for attempted sex trafficking of children and attempted online enticement of a minor. U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky, Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman, Special Agent in Charge Robert Holman of the United States Secret Service, and Chief Richard Sanders of the Jeffersontown Police Department made the announcement. According to court documents, Justin Nelson Aubrey, 26, was sentenced to 15 years and 8 months in prison, followed by a life term of supervised release, for one count of attempted sex trafficking of children and one count of attempted online enticement of a minor. Aubrey used a cellular telephone to access online applications via the internet to communicate with two individuals, then cooperating with law enforcement, to negotiate to pay for sex with children. Aubrey subsequently showed up, with money, to meet one of the children before being apprehended by law enforcement. There is no parole in the federal system. This case was the result of a joint federal, state, and local operation called Operation Angel, aimed at making federal arrests of individuals who preyed upon children. The United States Secret Service, the Kentucky Office of the Attorney General, and the Jeffersontown Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie M. Zimdahl and Jo E. Lawless prosecuted the case. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.” ###


title: Former Security Engineer Sentenced To Three Years In Prison For Hacking Two Decentralized Cryptocurrency Exchanges

component: USAO - New York, Southern

body_text: Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that SHAKEEB AHMED was sentenced today to three years in prison by U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero for hacking two separate decentralized cryptocurrency exchanges and stealing cryptocurrency worth over $12 million. AHMED previously pled guilty to computer fraud. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Today, Shakeeb Ahmed was sentenced to prison in the first ever conviction for the hack of a smart contract and ordered to forfeit all of the stolen crypto. No matter how novel or sophisticated the hack, this Office and our law enforcement partners are committed to following the money and bringing hackers to justice. And as today’s sentence shows, time in prison — and forfeiture of all the stolen crypto — is the inevitable consequence of such destructive hacks.” According to the charging documents and other filings and statements made in court: On or about July 2 and 3, 2022, AHMED carried out an attack on a decentralized cryptocurrency exchange (the “Crypto Exchange”), in which he used fake pricing data to generate approximately $9 million worth of inflated fees, then withdrew those fees in the form of cryptocurrency. After he stole the fees, AHMED had communications with the Crypto Exchange in which he agreed to return all of the stolen funds except for $1.5 million if the Crypto Exchange agreed not to refer the attack to law enforcement. On or about July 28, 2022, a few weeks after the hack of the Crypto Exchange, AHMED carried out an attack on a second decentralized cryptocurrency exchange called Nirvana Finance (“Nirvana”). AHMED used an exploit he discovered in Nirvana’s smart contracts to allow him to purchase cryptocurrency from Nirvana at a lower price than the contract was designed to allow. He then immediately resold that cryptocurrency to Nirvana at a higher price. Nirvana offered AHMED a “bug bounty” of as much as $600,000 to return the stolen funds, but AHMED instead demanded $1.4 million, did not reach agreement with Nirvana, and kept all the stolen funds. The $3.6 million AHMED stole represented approximately all the funds possessed by Nirvana, which as a result shut down shortly after AHMED’s attack. AHMED laundered the millions that he stole from the Crypto Exchange and from Nirvana to conceal their source and ownership, using sophisticated techniques including token-swap transactions; “bridging” fraud proceeds from the Solana blockchain over to the Ethereum blockchain; exchanging fraud proceeds into Monero, an anonymized cryptocurrency that is particularly difficult to trace; using overseas cryptocurrency exchanges; and using cryptocurrency mixers, such as Samourai Whirlpool. At the time of both attacks, AHMED, a U.S. citizen, was a senior security engineer for an international technology company, whose resume reflected skills in, among other things, reverse engineering smart contracts and blockchain audits, which are some of the specialized skills AHMED used to execute the hacks. * * * In addition to the prison term, AHMED, 34, of New York, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release. AHMED was also ordered to forfeit approximately $12.3 million and a significant quantity of cryptocurrency and pay restitution to the Crypto Exchange and Nirvana in the amount of over $5 million. Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of Homeland Security Investigations and Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Illicit Finance and Money Laundering Unit and Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David R. Felton and Kevin Mead are in charge of the prosecution.


title: Louisville Man Sentenced to Ten Years in Federal Prison for Attempted Online Enticement

body_text: Louisville, Ky. – A Louisville, Kentucky, man was sentenced yesterday to 10 years in federal prison for attempted online enticement of a minor. U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett of the Western District of Kentucky and Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Stansbury of the FBI Louisville Field Office made the announcement. According to court documents, Joshua Ryan Teichman, 33, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, followed by 15 years of supervised release, for one count of attempted online enticement of a minor. Teichman used a cellular telephone to access online applications via the internet to communicate with a minor female and an undercover law enforcement agent he believed to be the minor female. During those communications he knowingly attempted to entice the minor to engage in criminal sexual activity by exchanging sexually explicit images and making plans to meet in person for sexual contact. There is no parole in the federal system. This case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant United States Attorneys A. Spencer McKiness and Jo E. Lawless prosecuted the case. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc . For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab “resources.” ###


title: Two Doctors Sentenced for $4M Fraudulent Urine Drug Testing Scheme

component: Criminal Division

body_text: The owner and the medical director of a Kentucky pain clinic were sentenced yesterday for their respective roles in a scheme that defrauded Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial insurance companies of over $4 million for medically unnecessary urine drug testing. Dr. William Lawrence Siefert, 70, of Dayton, Ohio, the clinic’s medical director, was sentenced to one year and six months in prison and ordered to pay $1,968,763.10 in restitution. Dr. Timothy Ehn, 51, of Union, Kentucky, the clinic owner and a licensed chiropractor, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison and ordered to pay $3,773,569.30 in restitution. “The defendants enriched themselves through a fraudulent urine drug testing scheme that cost Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial insurance companies over $4 million,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The Criminal Division is committed to protecting American taxpayers from doctors who abuse their positions to steal public money by billing for unnecessary medical procedures.” According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Ehn and Siefert orchestrated a scheme in which clinic staff billed for urine drug tests that were not medically necessary but were lucratively reimbursed by taxpayer-funded insurance providers like Medicare and Medicaid. Ehn and Siefert continued in their scheme even as their expensive drug testing machine malfunctioned because it was not properly maintained, which caused the machine to produce results that falsely suggested patients were testing positive for street drugs like ecstasy or heroin. Insurance proceeds from urine drug testing ended up comprising three-quarters of the clinic’s revenue. “These sentences are a testament to the fact that the FBI and our law enforcement partners will not stand by while licensed physicians choose to defraud federally-funded health insurance programs in order to line their own pockets,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Stansbury of the FBI Louisville Field Office. “As a result of a collaborative effort across all levels of government, patients will no longer have to endure unnecessary medical tests and the taxpayer’s money will not be wasted.” “Together with our federal, state, and local partners, DEA remains steadfast in our commitment to identify and root out health care professionals who fail to live up to their responsibilities and commitments,” said Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Adminisration (DEA) Detroit Field Division. “These sentences should serve as a warning there is zero tolerance for fraud, no matter what form it takes.” “Health care providers who cause the submission of Medicare and Medicaid claims for medically unnecessary services pose a significant risk to these programs and the patients who rely on them,” said Special Agent in Charge Tamala E. Miles of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “These sentences exemplify how HHS-OIG works diligently with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable individuals who, to satisfy their own greed, exploit federal health care programs.” “Through zealous collaboration with our law enforcement partners, we’re holding these defendants accountable,” said Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman. “I’m especially proud of Detective Supervisor Mike McGuffey and the entire Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud and Abuse team for investigating these crimes and delivering justice.” On March 23, 2023, a federal jury convicted Siefert of health care fraud, and Ehn of health care fraud and conspiracy to commit health care fraud. The FBI, DEA, HHS-OIG, and Kentucky Medicaid and Abuse Control Unit investigated the case. Trial Attorneys Dermot Lynch and Lindsey Carson and Assistant Chief Lauren Kootman of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case. The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,400 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $27 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit .


title: Physician Charged with 28 Additional Counts in Selling Opioid Prescriptions for Cash

body_text: WASHINGTON -- Ndubuisi Joseph Okafor, M.D., 64, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, was charged in U.S. District Court yesterday on a 29-count count superseding indictment for illegally distributing prescriptions for narcotics in exchange for cash. According to court documents, Okafor allegedly distributed oxycodone and promethazine with codeine to individuals outside the usual course of professional practice and without a legitimate medical purpose from his medical practice in Washington, D.C. As part of the conspiracy as charged in the superseding indictment, Okafor would distribute controlled substance prescriptions to co-conspirators whom he knew to be abusing or diverting the medication, in names and addresses requested by his co-conspirators, even when he knew the names or addresses were false. Okafor is alleged to have distributed dangerous and highly addictive controlled substances via medically unnecessary prescriptions to co-conspirators in at least 37 states nationwide and had knowledge that co-conspirators were traveling from the Washington, D.C. metro area to states as far as California, Florida, and Maine to have these illicit prescriptions filled. As part of the conspiracy, Okafor was paid in cash by his co-conspirators for each prescription issued. In addition to the charge of conspiracy, Okafor stands charged with maintaining a drug involved premises, and 26 counts of controlled substance distribution. These 26 counts include distributions to co-conspirators, an actual patient, and undercover law enforcement sources. The charges were announced April 11, 2024, by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, FBI Assistant Director David Sundberg of the Washington Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Maureen R. Dixon, of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, Daniel W. Lucas, Inspector General for the District of Columbia, and Special Agent in Charge Jarod Forget of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division. Okafor was previously indicted in March 2023 for distribution of controlled substances outside the legitimate practice of medicine. The superseding indictment unsealed yesterday charges Okafor with a total of 29 counts. If convicted, Okafor faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count. The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the DC-Office of Inspector General Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU). The Drug Enforcement Administration Washington Division provided valuable assistance and served an Immediate Suspension Order (ISO) on Okafor’s DEA registration because it was determined that he posed an imminent danger to public health and safety due to the volume of unlawful distribution of opioids. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Meredith Mayer-Dempsey and Trial Attorney Kathryn Furtado of the Justice Department’s Fraud Section. An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.


title: Tucson Man Pleads Guilty to Mass Shooting Threat at University of Arizona

component: USAO - Arizona

body_text: TUCSON, Ariz. – Michael Pengchung Lee, 27, of Tucson, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to Interstate Threats for transmitting threats through interstate communications to commit a mass shooting at the University of Arizona. Sentencing is scheduled for July 3, 2024, before United States District Judge Rosemary Márquez. The complaint alleged that on October 23, 2023, Lee made threats to commit a mass shooting at the University of Arizona in a group chat on Snapchat. Lee is not a student at the university, but expressed a desire to get revenge on “all the chads and stacies!!” “Chads” and “stacies” are commonly used terms by self-described involuntary celibates (incels). Lee made further reference to incel ideology and finished the conversation by stating “im gonna do it guys, my mind is made up and there’s nothing u can do or say to stop me.” On Wednesday, Lee admitted that on October 22, 2023, he sent multiple Snapchat messages to a group chat threatening to commit a mass shooting at the University of Arizona. Lee further admitted that in those messages he referenced incel ideology, language, and motivations, including referring to a well-known, self-identified incel and mass shooter, amongst other incel references. Lee also admitted that in at least two other Snapchat conversations, he threatened to commit a mass shooting at the university, citing the same incel ideology and motivations. A conviction for Interstate Threats carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both, and a maximum term of three years of supervised release. “We must protect the intellectual rigor, diversity and safety of our universities,” said United States Attorney Gary Restaino. “Robust intervention and prosecution of misogynists who threaten young students is critical to public safety. Our thanks to the community members who reported the threats and to our law enforcement partners at the University of Arizona Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation for their quick and decisive response to social media intimidation.” “All students deserve to feel safe at their schools, and threats like these deprive students of that right. We are extremely grateful for the brave members of the community who spoke up with their concerns and reported this to law enforcement,” said FBI Phoenix Special Agent in Charge Akil Davis. “We would like to thank our partners at the University of Arizona and the FBI’s Southern Arizona Violent Crime and Gang Task Force (SAVCGTF) for their collective efforts to ensure our college campuses remain a safe space for students to continue their education free of fear and hate.” “This case is a wonderful example of our strong partnership with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” said University of Arizona Police Chief Chris Olson. “It also illustrates the sense of urgency in which the University of Arizona Police Department, the UA Office of Public Safety, and our federal partners will act when our community is threatened.” The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the University of Arizona Police Department, as part of the FBI’s Southern Arizona Violent Crime and Gang Task Force, conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adam Rossi, District of Arizona, Tucson, is handling the prosecution. CASE NUMBER: CR-23-01694-TUC-RM RELEASE NUMBER: 2024-049_Lee # # # For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/ Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on X @USAO_AZ for the latest news.


title: Georgia Man Indicted For Bank Fraud, Passport Fraud, And Aggravated Identity Theft

component: USAO - Florida, Middle

body_text: Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of a 15-count superseding indictment charging Gary Dale Thrasher (56, Georgia) with bank fraud, passport fraud, and aggravated identity theft. If convicted, Thrasher faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison on the bank fraud counts, a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment for the passport fraud offenses, and a 2-year minimum mandatory term of imprisonment for the aggravated identity theft. According to the superseding indictment, between May and June 2023, Thrasher obtained and used, or attempted to use, fraudulent identification documents and a means of identification of others to withdraw cash from four different federally insured financial institutions within the Middle District of Florida. A superseding indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty. This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Ocala Police Department, the Wildwood Police Department, the Leesburg Police Department, and the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.


title: Delaware Woman Arrested for International Sextortion and Money Laundering Scheme

body_text: A Delaware woman was arrested today in Delaware on criminal charges related to her role in an international sextortion scheme that targeted thousands of victims throughout the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. According to an indictment unsealed today, from May 2020 through December 2022, Hadja Kone, 28, of Wilmington, and Siaka Ouattara, 22, of Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, and other co-conspirators allegedly operated an international, financially motivated sextortion and money laundering scheme in which the conspirators engaged in cyberstalking, interstate threats, money laundering, and wire fraud. Through the scheme, Kone, Outtara, and others attempted to extort approximately $6 million from thousands of potential victims and successfully extorted approximately $1.7 million from those victims, using CashApp and ApplePay accounts alone. As alleged in the indictment, Ouattara and others posed as young, attractive females online and initiated communications with thousands of potential victims, who were primarily young men and included minors from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Ouattara and others allegedly offered to provide and/or provided victims with sexual photographs, video recordings, and/or “web cam” or “live video chat” sessions of what they falsely portrayed to be an attractive young female, when in fact they were the ones operating the accounts. Unbeknownst to the victims, during the web cam/live video chats, Ouattara and others surreptitiously recorded the victims as they exposed their genitals and/or engaged in sexual activity. Ouattara and others sent the victims copies of the victims’ fraudulently obtained sexual images and threatened to distribute the victims’ sexual images to the victims’ friends, family members, significant others, employers, and co-workers and to publish the victims’ sexual images widely online, unless the victims transferred funds to designated recipients. Ouattara, Kone, and others also operated infrastructure to transfer the funds illegally obtained from the victims to Ouattara and others located in Côte d’Ivoire and elsewhere overseas. On Feb. 24, Ivoirian authorities separately arrested Ouattara in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, on Ivoirian charges stemming from the same scheme. Kone and Ouattara are each charged with conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and to send interstate threats, conspiracy to engage in money laundering, money laundering, and wire fraud. If convicted, Kone and Ouattara each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each conspiracy count and money laundering count, and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney David C. Weiss for the District of Delaware; and Assistant Director Michael Nordwall of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division made the announcement. The FBI is investigating the case, with assistance from the government of Cote d’Ivoire. Trial Attorney Austin Berry of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Senior Trial Attorney Mona Sedky of the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Briana Knox for the District of Delaware are prosecuting the case. An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.


title: Informational: Federal Court arraignments

component: USAO - Montana

body_text: The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that the following persons were arraigned or appeared this week before U.S. Magistrate judges on indictments handed down by the Grand Jury or on criminal complaints. The charging documents are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt: Appearing in Missoula before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto and pleading not guilty on April 10 was: Kyle Barclay Wallace, 36, of Kalispell, on charges of false statement in acquisition of a firearm and receipt of a firearm by person under indictment. If convicted of the most serious crime, Wallace faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Wallace was released pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Flathead County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. PACER case reference. 22-29. Appearing in Great Falls before U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Johnston and pleading not guilty on April 9 was: Taneal Raschae Sutherland, 30, of Deer Lodge, on charges of kidnapping and assault with intent to commit a felony. If convicted of the most serious crime, Sutherland faces a maximum of life in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release. Sutherland was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI and Rocky Boy’s Police Department conducted the investigation. PACER case reference. 24-21. The progress of cases may be monitored through the U.S. District Court Calendar and the PACER system. To establish a PACER account, which provides electronic access to review documents filed in a case, please visit http://www.pacer.gov/register.html . To access the District Court’s calendar, please visit https://ecf.mtd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PublicCalendar.pl . XXX


title: Castle Shannon Resident Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison for Possession of Methamphetamine and Cocaine with Intent to Distribute

component: USAO - Pennsylvania, Western

body_text: PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Castle Shannon, Pennsylvania, was sentenced in federal court on April 10, 2024, to 108 months of imprisonment, to be followed by four years of federal supervised release, after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine and a quantity of cocaine, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today. United States Senior District Judge Arthur J. Schwab imposed the sentence on Michael Hunsinger, 58. According to information presented to the Court, on June 3, 2022, the Castle Shannon Police Department executed a search warrant at Hunsinger’s residence as part of a narcotics investigation within the community. During the search, law enforcement seized large quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine from the residence. Assistant United States Attorney Nicole Stockey prosecuted this case on behalf of the government. United States Attorney Olshan commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Castle Shannon Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Hunsinger. 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.