title: Former D.C. Housing Authority Employee Pleads Guilty to $15 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme

component: USAO - District of Columbia

body_text: WASHINGTON – Richard Cunningham, 55, a former D.C. Housing Authority employee turned real estate developer residing in the District of Columbia, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in connection with a scheme to defraud private mortgage lenders of more than $15 million, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro. “Richard Cunningham didn’t just defraud lenders, he fabricated federal voucher documents, forged signatures, and invented a veterans housing program that never existed, all to line his own pockets,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “Exploiting the name and sacrifice of American veterans to commit fraud is particularly offensive, and my office will pursue those abuses with the full weight of federal law.” Cunningham pleaded guilty today before Judge Trevor N. McFadden to charges of false statements to a mortgage lending business. Cunningham faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Sentencing was scheduled for Dec. 4, 2026. According to court documents, beginning in or about August 2020 and continuing through May 2024, Cunningham engaged in a scheme to defraud private mortgage lenders by submitting false statements and fraudulent documents in support of loan applications for multifamily properties he owned or controlled in the District of Columbia. In the first phase of the scheme, Cunningham applied for six secondary renovation loans from a Virginia-based private mortgage company, which required him to have sufficient equity in his properties as collateral. Knowing his equity was insufficient to qualify, Cunningham submitted falsified mortgage statements for the primary loans on those properties, significantly understating the balances owed to make his equity appear greater than it was. Relying on those falsified documents, the lender funded all six loans, totaling about $7.4 million. In the second phase, Cunningham sought renovation financing from an Oregon-based private mortgage company for two additional District properties. To make those properties appear to generate reliable income, Cunningham fabricated lease documents purporting to be from a "Veterans Assistance Payments" program run by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. There is no such program. In reality, Cunningham had taken genuine Housing Assistance Program lease documents from HUD's Housing Choice Voucher program and altered them, changing "HAP" to "VAP" throughout, then filled them in with forged entries and signatures to make it appear veterans were already living at the properties under a federal voucher program. He also submitted fabricated rent rolls falsely showing all tenants held vouchers from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The lender funded one of the two loans, in the amount of $4.7 million. The other application was rejected. In total, Cunningham sought about $14.9 million from the two lenders and received about $12.1 million based on his false statements. The investigation was conducted by the FBI Washington Field Office and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG). The matter was prosecuted by HUD-OIG Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Samantha R. Miller for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The core mission of the Fraud Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars. Department of Justice efforts to combat fraud support President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs. 26cr97 Follow us on X , Instagram , and YouTube Or at https://www.justice.gov/usao-dc


title: District Felon Pleads Guilty to Shooting at a Vehicle in March 2025, Possessing Firearm in November 2025

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

body_text: WASHINGTON – Abdul Fields, 30, a previously convicted felon residing in the District of Columbia, pleaded guilty today in connection with firing a gun at a vehicle in Northwest during the early morning hours of March 24, 2025, and to possessing a loaded firearm on the evening of Nov. 19, 2025, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro. Fields pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon to assault with a dangerous weapon, to possession of a firearm during a crime of violence, and to unlawful possession of ammunition by a felon. Judge Leon scheduled sentencing for Aug. 5, 2026. According to court documents, on March 24, 2025, at about 12:19 a.m., Fields was walking southbound on North Capitol Street NE while crossing New York Avenue NE when he pulled out a firearm and fired a shot at a vehicle making a right turn onto New York Avenue NE. Fields then walked away from the scene and into the Tyler House Apartments on the 1200 block of North Capitol Street NE. ShotSpotter detected the event and an MPD officer was dispatched to investigate the gunfire. The officer found a bullet casing in the street where Fields fired. In September 2025, United States Marshals executed a search warrant where Fields was staying and recovered a privately manufactured firearm, known as a “ghost gun.” Ballistics testing linked the firearm to the casing recovered from the shooting. On Nov. 19, 2025, police arrested Fields pursuant to a warrant issued by Superior Court for the District of Columbia. Officers recovered a loaded ghost gun from Fields’ waistband. Fields faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison on the charge of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence. A federal judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. This case was prosecuted under the Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful initiative. Make D.C. Safe and Beautiful is a law enforcement initiative in support of President Trump's Executive Order to crack down on gun violence, prioritize federal firearms violations, pursue tougher penalties, and seek detention for federal firearms violators. This case was investigated by detectives with the Metropolitan Police Department and agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives - Washington Division. The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Travis Wolf. 25cr378


title: McLean man sentenced to over a year in prison for threating to kill a public official

component: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

body_text: ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A McLean man was sentenced today to a year and three months in prison for transmitting threats in interstate commerce. According to court documents, on Dec. 23, 2025, Scott Allen Bolger, 33, used Google Voice, which allows users to send text messages to others while obfuscating their phone numbers, to send a threatening message to a public official. In his message, Bolger threatened to put a bullet in the official’s head. Prior to sending the threat, Bogler researched the official’s personal phone number and made contact with him prior to sending the text message. When federal investigators arrived at Bolger’s residence to investigate the threat, they identified themselves as federal law enforcement officers, and Bolger falsely identified himself as Brian Black. Bolger told them he did not know anyone by the name of Scott Bolger. During his plea, Bolger also admitted to sending threatening and harassing messages to a second victim (Victim-2) who is not a public official. From at least October 2022, Bolger created multiple fictious accounts on X and Proton Mail to harass Victim-2, and researched Victim-2 on the internet through at least November 2025. Bolger sent Victim-2 private indecent images of Victim-2, and on at least one occasion, made a public facing profile with indecent images of Victim-2. The FBI Joint Terrorism Task Force Washington Field Office investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jacob Mercer and Russell L. Carlberg prosecuted the case. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:26-cr-8.


title: United States Announces $36.5 Million Settlement Of Medicare Fraud Lawsuit Against Matrix Medical Network

component: USAO - New York, Southern

body_text: United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, and Special Agent in Charge of the New York Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (“HHS-OIG”), Naomi Gruchacz, announced that the United States has settled a civil healthcare fraud lawsuit against COMMUNITY CARE HEALTH NETWORK, LLC, D/B/A MATRIX MEDICAL NETWORK (“MATRIX”), a health services company headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, that contracts with Medicare Advantage Organizations (“MAOs”) to perform in-home health assessments of Medicare patients. The settlement resolves claims that MATRIX violated the False Claim Act by causing the MAOs to submit to the Government false and invalid patient diagnoses for certain chronic conditions, thereby artificially inflating the Medicare payments the MAOs received for providing insurance coverage to patients enrolled in their plans. The Government alleges that MATRIX focused on reporting diagnoses that could lead to higher payments for its client MAOs, instead of ensuring that all of its diagnoses were appropriate and well-supported. Under the settlement, which was approved by U.S. District Judge Andrew L. Carter, MATRIX will pay the United States a total sum of $36.5 million. MATRIX made extensive factual admissions in the settlement regarding its conduct, including that in numerous instances MATRIX reported certain conditions where its health assessment forms did not contain sufficient clinical information to support the diagnosis. In connection with the settlement, MATRIX also entered into a five-year Corporate Integrity Agreement (“CIA”) with HHS-OIG. The CIA requires MATRIX to implement numerous accountability and auditing measures. In particular, MATRIX must conduct annual risk assessments and other monitoring, and an independent review organization will conduct compliance reviews focused on MATRIX’s systems, processes, and procedures relating to MATRIX’s risk adjustment activities and MATRIX’s services provided to Medicare Advantage plan enrollees. “For years, Matrix generated false and invalid diagnoses for patients enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans that were later reported to the Government,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “Matrix advertised its ability to identify new diagnosis codes that would boost Medicare Advantage insurers’ payments, and it delivered on that promise by reporting lucrative diagnoses that frequently fell well short of meeting recognized clinical criteria. Matrix did so to generate business for itself, at the expense of the public fisc. New Yorkers hate fraud that drains public funds. Why? Because New Yorkers are smart and they know fraud involving taxpayer-funded programs costs all New Yorkers. This Office is proud to join with the rest of the Department, including the National Fraud Enforcement Division, to hold perpetrators of fraud accountable in Medicare and other contexts.” “Matrix manipulated Medicare managed care’s reimbursement structure for financial gain,” said HHS-OIG Special Agent in Charge Naomi Gruchacz. “By generating unsupported and clinically invalid diagnoses, Matrix undermined the integrity of federal health care programs and put profits above patients. This settlement demonstrates our unwavering commitment to holding entities accountable when they inflate Medicare payments through improper practices and fail to uphold the standards beneficiaries deserve.” The Medicare Advantage program, also known as Medicare Part C, allows Medicare beneficiaries to opt out of traditional Medicare and enroll in health plans that are administered by private insurance companies known as MAOs. The MAOs contract with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) to provide traditional Medicare coverage to beneficiaries enrolled in their plans in exchange for capitated payments. CMS adjusts these capitated payments based on the health status of each beneficiary as determined through diagnoses submitted by the MAOs. Specifically, CMS uses these diagnoses, along with demographic factors, to calculate a Risk Adjustment Factor (“RAF”) score for each member and, in turn, the amount of the monthly payment it will pay the MAO for covering that member, pursuant to the Hierarchical Condition Category (“HCC”) model. In general, CMS pays insurers more for sicker beneficiaries likely to incur higher healthcare expenses and less for healthier beneficiaries. Diagnosis codes submitted to CMS must be supported by the beneficiaries’ medical records and be accurate, complete, and truthful, based on the best knowledge, information, and belief of the MAO making the submission. As alleged in the Government’s Complaint: MATRIX contracts with MAOs to conduct health assessments of Medicare Advantage plan members in their homes. Based on these in-home assessments, MATRIX provides diagnosis codes to the MAOs for ultimate submission to CMS as part of the MAOs’ risk adjustment data. The MAOs paid MATRIX a fee, generally in the range of $350 to $450, for each assessment. CMS relies on this risk adjustment data, including the medical diagnosis codes, to determine the payments paid to the MAOs for each beneficiary. As a “first-tier entity” that contracts with MAOs, MATRIX is required to certify the accuracy and truthfulness of the data it generates relating to claims for payment submitted by MAOs. During the period from 2014 to 2019, MATRIX knowingly caused MAOs to submit false and invalid diagnoses of the following chronic medical conditions to CMS for risk adjustment purposes: proliferative diabetic retinopathy, drug-induced polyneuropathy, rheumatoid polyneuropathy, atrial fibrillation, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and simple chronic bronchitis (the “Invalid Diagnoses”). MATRIX reported the Invalid Diagnoses to MAOs based on its in-home assessments even though: (a) there was not sufficient information to support the diagnoses; (b) the diagnoses did not conform with the guidelines for coding and reporting diagnoses as required by CMS; and (c) the conditions were frequently not diagnosed by any other healthcare provider who saw the beneficiary during the year in which the home visit occurred or in the preceding two years or subsequent two years. As a result of the reporting of these Invalid Diagnoses, the MAOs obtained inflated risk adjustment payments from CMS to which they were not entitled. MATRIX’s home visit program was designed in large part to identify additional diagnosis codes that could be reported to CMS to increase patient risk scores, and therefore the capitated payments that the MAOs received for their plan members. MATRIX regularly recorded Invalid Diagnoses for complex conditions without performing the testing, imaging, or other diagnostic clinical steps necessary to establish those diagnoses. The purpose of the home visits was not to treat patients’ medical conditions; indeed, MATRIX did not provide medical treatment or prescribe medications as part of the home visits. Nor did it refer the patients to specialists for follow-up care, other than generalized suggestions that the patient follow up with their doctors. MATRIX marketed its services to MAOs in part by representing that the in-home assessments would allow MAOs to capture diagnoses for use in the risk adjustment process that had not been reported by the plan members’ other providers. In marketing and other materials provided to MAOs, MATRIX advertised its ability to find and document diagnoses that were not otherwise reported by a patient’s primary care physicians and would therefore increase a patient’s risk adjustment score and the MAOs’ payments. For example, Matrix advertised its ability to secure HCC “Lift,” meaning to make diagnoses that resulted in higher HCC disease scores and, thus, higher risk adjustment payments. MATRIX also advertised and calculated the “increase in RAF score” from MATRIX’s assessments and estimated the amount by which the diagnoses MATRIX identified increased the risk adjustment payments received by the MAOs. MATRIX’s in-home assessments were typically conducted by nurse practitioners. Based on the visit, the nurse practitioner completed an electronic, check-the-box form concerning the individual’s reported medical history and the results of a basic physical assessment. MATRIX’s coding teams later reviewed the assessment forms and diagnoses listed and identified the applicable diagnosis codes to be sent to the MAOs for ultimate submission to CMS as part of their risk adjustment data. Additionally, after the visits, MATRIX’s “Quality Improvement” staff reviewed the diagnoses entered to assess whether the nurse practitioner had any “missed” diagnoses, which they then urged the nurse practitioner to add. At times, MATRIX even added diagnoses without the nurse practitioner’s signoff. The Invalid Diagnoses generated by the MATRIX home visits did not conform to the International Classification of Diseases (“ICD”) Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting (the “ICD Guidelines”), as required by applicable federal regulations. The diagnoses did not affect patient care, treatment, or management during the home visit, as required under the ICD Guidelines, and thus were ineligible for risk adjustment. In addition, the Invalid Diagnoses were not supported by the minimal information recorded on the MATRIX assessment forms, in violation of the ICD Guidelines’ medical record documentation requirement. Through the operation of its home assessment program, MATRIX reported codes for thousands of Invalid Diagnoses to MAOs, which in turn submitted those codes to CMS. Based on these unlawful false claims, the MAOs improperly received millions of dollars in risk adjustment payments from CMS, in violation of the False Claims Act. As part of the settlement, MATRIX admitted and accepted responsibility for certain conduct alleged by the Government including the following: MATRIX contracted with over 30 MAOs to conduct health assessments of Medicare Part C plan members in their homes. The in-home assessments were typically performed by nurse practitioners, who collected health histories and medication information, conducted physical exams, and documented diagnostic information on electronic health assessment forms. The nurse practitioners did not provide clinical medical treatment to the plan members or prescribe medications. Certain contracts with MAOs required MATRIX to, among other things, assist the MAO in “capturing Member diagnoses for use in [MAO’s] risk adjustment process” and report on the MAO’s “ROI,” or return on investment. MATRIX calculated an MAO’s ROI based, in part, on the estimated increase in Medicare Part C reimbursements received by the MAO that was attributable to risk score increases resulting from Matrix assessments. MATRIX’s in-home assessments resulted in diagnoses of plan members, and the submission to CMS of resulting risk-adjusting diagnosis codes, that frequently had not been reported by any other healthcare provider who treated the plan member during the year in which the home visit occurred or during the two years before and after the calendar year in which the home visit occurred. In numerous instances, MATRIX reported the following conditions to MAOs where the health assessment forms did not contain sufficient clinical information to support the diagnosis: proliferative diabetic retinopathy; drug-induced polyneuropathy; rheumatoid polyneuropathy; atrial fibrillation; rheumatoid arthritis; chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; and simple chronic bronchitis. The MAOs in turn frequently submitted the diagnosis codes corresponding to those conditions to CMS for risk adjustment purposes, which often resulted in the MAOs receiving higher Medicare Part C reimbursements. In connection with the filing of the lawsuit and settlement, the Government joined a private whistleblower lawsuit that had been filed under seal pursuant to the False Claims Act. In a separate settlement announced today by the Civil Division of the Department of Justice and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas, DPN USA d/b/a HealthFair (“HealthFair”), a company acquired by MATRIX in 2018 that performed health assessments on mobile health care buses, and HealthFair’s prior owner Shahriah “James” Ekbatani, are agreeing to resolve separate allegations that HealthFair knowingly reported certain diagnoses to MAOs that were unsupported, unsubstantiated, and/or invalid on the basis of these mobile assessments. * * * Mr. Clayton thanked HHS-OIG for its assistance with this case. This case is being handled by the Civil Frauds Unit within the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rachael Doud and Ilan Stein are in charge of the case.


title: Making America Safe Again: DOJ to Award $300 Million to Model Cities Dedicated to Restoring Law and Order

component: USAO - Missouri, Western

body_text: KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Justice Department today announced the Model Cities Initiative (MCI), a whole-of-city approach directing nearly $300 million in federal funding to transform public safety in America’s cities. Through this initiative, two to four cities will be selected to receive awards supporting the implementation of comprehensive and innovative strategies to reduce crime, restore law and order, and enhance public safety. Proposals from qualifying cities are due September 1. “This administration is leveraging every authority to ensure the safety of all Americans,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “The Model Cities Initiative will supercharge our law enforcement partners and restore the rule of law to America’s neighborhoods, towns, and cities. Our message is clear: We will help those who help us Make America Safe Again.” “With the safety and well-being of citizens as our highest priority, we recognize the Model Cities Initiative as a valuable opportunity to advance meaningful and lasting public safety efforts at the local level,” said U.S. Attorney R. Matthew Price of the Western District of Missouri. “We are encouraged by the support this program will provide and look forward to seeing leaders leverage these resources to reduce crime and strengthen public safety.” Investments will be made in a variety of areas addressing public safety, behavioral health, and related staffing, equipment, and services with the goal of leveraging federal resources to build capacity, strengthen accountability, and deliver measurable reductions in crime that can serve as a model of innovation for replication nationwide. Eligible applicants include local government entities serving a population of at least 100,000. The MCI initiative will support a range of allowable activities, including: Hiring and retention of sworn and non-sworn personnel directly engaged in or supporting violent crime reduction efforts. Purchase or lease of equipment, tools, or technology that reduce crime and restore law and order including but not limited to real-time crime centers; forensic and DNA tools; body-worn cameras; license plate readers; artificial intelligence systems; small, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and counter-UAS; ballistic identification systems; and information technology upgrades. Training and professional development that support intelligence-led policing, violent crime investigations, crisis response, correctional practices that strengthen reentry outcomes, and coordination with state and federal law enforcement partners. Facility Costs including lease, rental, or renovation expenses for space directly used in program operations, such as service delivery sites, training facilities, real-time crime centers, or intelligence analysis centers. Mental health and substance use services that directly support prevention, crisis response, screening and early intervention, treatment, case management, and related services addressing issues linked to public safety outcomes, including services provided in correctional facilities and in the community. Reentry, transitional support, and recidivism reduction programs and services designed to reduce repeat offending, support transitions from custody, and promote successful reintegration into communities, including operational costs for county jails and state prisons that support reentry preparation. Victim services for American victims of crime, including, emergency assistance, case management, shelter and temporary housing, medical and dental care, advocacy, transportation, childcare, legal services, and employment assistance. Youth crime prevention and intervention services that address risk factors for juvenile delinquency and violence, including gang intervention and suppression programs. Cities will apply through a whole-of-city approach. That means that city leaders, including the mayor, sheriff, county prosecutor, and others will work together to submit one application that proposes a persuasive vision of how this money can be awarded strategically throughout their city to improve law enforcement engagement, victim services, detention and reentry services, and preventive programs. Additional information about the award is available at www.justice.gov/grants . The planned competition is a multi-phase process. DOJ anticipates making initial award decisions in late 2026. To apply for this award, please submit application materials to MCIapplications@usdoj.gov . For any questions related to the MCI Call for Applications, you can send your inquiry to MCIquestions@usdoj.gov .


title: Former Newark Deputy Mayor and Director of the Newark Department of Economic and Housing Development Sentenced to Prison for Scheming to Obtain Bribes

component: USAO - New Jersey

body_text: NEWARK, N.J. – Carmelo Garcia, 51, a former City of Newark official who served as Deputy Mayor and Director of the Newark Department Economic and Housing Development (DEHD) and served as Executive Vice President and Chief Real Estate Officer of the Newark Community Economic Development Corporation (NCEDC), was sentenced on June 3, 2026 to 12 months and one day in prison, to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release for participating in a corrupt scheme to obtain bribes and kickbacks from two Newark business owners, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced. These bribes were intended to influence and award Garcia for assisting the business owners with the acquisition and redevelopment of various Newark-owned properties. Garcia previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo to three counts of an Information charging him with conspiracy to defraud the City of Newark and the NCEDC of Garcia’s honest services, honest services wire fraud, and receiving bribes in connection with the business of a federally funded local government and organization. According to documents filed in these cases and statements made in court: From at least 2017 through April 2019, while serving as a high-level Newark official, and prior to that, as an executive officer of the NCEDC (now known as Invest Newark), Garcia sought and received significant monetary payments and other benefits from Frank Valvano, Jr., Irwin Sablosky, and others in exchange for Garcia’s use of his official positions and influence within the City of Newark and the NCEDC to advance real estate development matters of interest to Valvano and Sablosky. These matters included obtaining preliminary designation letters for Valvano and Sablosky and securing Newark-approved redevelopment agreements (RDAs) that allowed them to purchase and acquire various Newark-owned properties for redevelopment, and to ensure that Garcia did not use his influence and authority to act against their interests. In addition to cash, Garcia also received jewelry, including multiple high-end watches and chains, from Valvano and Sablosky’s pawnbroker and jewelry business. Phone records and text messages obtained by law enforcement show extensive communication between Garcia, Valvano, Sablosky, and others throughout this period of time, including text messages in which Garcia arranged to personally collect cash provided by Valvano and Sablosky. In one instance, in June 2018, Garcia, then the City’s Acting Deputy Mayor and Director of the City’s DEHD, received an envelope containing $25,000 in cash, supplied by Valvano through an intermediary, in the restroom of a New Jersey restaurant. Garcia originally was charged by indictment in October 2021 with Valvano, 57, of Florham Park, New Jersey, and Sablosky, 66, of Springfield, New Jersey. Both Valvano and Sablosky pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and bribery, and both have been sentenced. U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents of the FBI’s Newark Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy; special agents of IRS-Criminal Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jenifer L. Piovesan, and special agents of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Shawn A. Rice, with the investigation leading to today’s conviction. The government is represented by Elaine K. Lou, Chief of the Criminal Division, Assistant U.S. Attorney Francesca Liquori of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Special Prosecutions Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney and Matthew Specht of the Criminal Division. ### Defense counsel: Garcia: Robert G. Stahl, Esq., Laura K. Gasiorowski, Westfield, New Jersey.


title: Passenger Charged After Allegedly Attempting to Open Aircraft Doors Mid-Flight and Assaulting Traveler

component: USAO - Florida, Southern

body_text: MIAMI – A Chicago man made his initial appearance in federal court after allegedly attempting to open an emergency exit door and the flight deck door during a commercial flight from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Chicago, Illinois, forcing the aircraft to divert to Miami. According to court records, Juan Gabriel Reyes, 51, of Chicago, Illinois, became disruptive during the flight and repeatedly failed to comply with instructions from flight attendants. Reyes allegedly attempted to open both an emergency exit door and the flight deck door while the aircraft was in flight. He then allegedly assaulted another passenger before passengers and crew members restrained him. The aircraft was diverted to Miami, where Reyes was arrested. Reyes is charged with interference with flight crew members and attendants and assault within maritime and territorial jurisdiction. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the interference charge and up to one year in prison on the assault charge. U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles of the FBI, Miami Field Office, made the announcement. FBI Miami is investigating the case, with assistance from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel J. Olinghouse is prosecuting the case. A complaint is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.sdfl.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.sdfl.uscourts.gov , under case number 26-mj-02992. ###


title: Ringleader Sentenced To 122 Months in Prison in Connection With $63 Million Mail Theft Conspiracy That Included Two Postal Employees

component: USAO - Michigan, Eastern

body_text: DETROIT – The ringleader of a $63 million scheme that involved stealing checks from the mail and selling them online was sentenced to just over 10 years in prison yesterday, United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. announced today. Gorgon was joined in the announcement by U.S. Postal Service Inspector General Tammy Hull; Detroit Division Inspector in Charge Felicia B. George, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Special Agent in Charge Karen Wingerd, Detroit Field Office, Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation; Special Agent in Charge Andrew McKay, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, Mid-Atlantic Field Division; and Anthony P. D'Esposito, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Labor. Jaiswan Williams (32, of Rochester Hills) was the last of four defendants to be sentenced. Co-defendant Daquan Foreman (32, of Eastpointe), Vanessa Hargrove (40, of Detroit), and Crystal Jenkins (32, of Detroit), were all previously sentenced, as follows: Foreman: 48 months in custody; Hargrove: 12 months and 1 day in custody; Jenkins: 1 day in custody, followed by 3 years’ supervised release. All four defendants, including Williams were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Judith E. Levy. Hargrove and Jenkins were United States Postal Service employees who diverted and ultimately stole checks and other negotiable instruments from the mail, including a high volume of tax refund checks issued by the U.S. Treasury. Williams and Foreman were the administrators of the online marketplaces used to sell the checks. According to court records, postal employees Hargrove and Jenkins would provide the stolen checks to Williams and Foreman in exchange for payments. Williams and Foreman would take those checks and market them for sale via Telegram Messenger, a cloud-based, cross-platform instant messaging application. Prices varied based on the face-value of the checks. One of the Telegram channels, named “Whole Foods Slipsss,” was used to advertise high-dollar checks, while another channel, named “Uber Eats Slips,” was used to advertise lower-dollar checks. “Slips” is a term commonly used in these schemes to refer to stolen checks. Transactions were completed off-platform using a variety of electronic payment systems. Purchasers of these checks would then attempt to fraudulently cash them using a variety of methods. The investigation revealed that the two Telegram channels marketed more than 10,000 individual checks for sale, with a combined face value of more than $63M. Williams’s sentence also reflected a conviction for money laundering activities dating back to October 2022. In addition, he accepted responsibility for $1.5M in fraudulent pandemic unemployment insurance benefit claims he submitted between August and December 2020, using the personally identifiable information (PII) of dozens of individuals. “The sentencings in this investigation represent the hard work and dedication by USPS OIG Special Agents working alongside our federal law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to bring charges in this mail theft investigation.” said Tammy Hull, Inspector General, U.S. Postal Service, “The OIG, along with our law enforcement partners, remain committed to safeguarding the U.S. Mail and ensuring the accountability and integrity of Postal Service employees and those external subjects who collude with them.” "The sentencings in this case underscore the U.S. Postal Inspection Service's dedication to safeguarding the nation's mail system and holding to account those who seek to exploit it and, by extension, the American public," said Detroit Division Inspector in Charge Felicia B. George. "Let this be a warning: if you abuse the U.S. Postal Service and victimize the citizens who rely upon it, we will utilize every avenue and tool at our disposal to prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law." “The stealing of checks is not a victimless crime. The stolen checks belonged to citizens, to help them make payments for vital services or help through a tough time,” said Special Agent in Charge Karen Wingerd, Detroit Field Office, IRS‑CI. “With today’s sentencing, all of those responsible are now held to account for exploiting the public and undermining trust in critical government systems. We are committed, along with our law enforcement partners, to using our unique expertise to track intricate financial systems, find criminals, and hold them accountable for the crimes committed.” “The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) aggressively investigates individuals who attempt to exploit U.S Treasury refund checks meant for hard working taxpayers for their own private gain,” said TIGTA Special Agent in Charge Andrew McKay . “TIGTA's mission is to protect the integrity of our nation's tax administration system. We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to ensure that those who violate federal laws are prosecuted to the fullest extent possible.” “Jaiswan Williams exploited his platform as a rapper, using his celebrity status to rip off American taxpayers. These criminal acts will not be tolerated. We remain relentless in this war on fraud and will ensure every fraudster that attempts to undermine the American people receives their prison sentence. I want to thank the United States Attorney’s Office and our law enforcement partners that support this critical mission,” said Anthony P. D'Esposito, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Labor. This multi-agency investigation was led by the U.S. Postal Service Office of the Inspector General (USPS-OIG), with the assistance of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS); the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI); the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA); and the Department of Labor Office of the Inspector General (DOL-OIG). It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Particka.


component: Office of the Attorney General

body_text: The Justice Department today announced the Model Cities Initiative (MCI), a whole-of-city approach directing nearly $300 million in federal funding to transform public safety in America’s cities. Through this initiative, two to four cities will be selected to receive awards supporting the implementation of comprehensive and innovative strategies to reduce crime, restore law and order, and enhance public safety. Proposals from qualifying cities are due September 1. “This administration is leveraging every authority to ensure the safety of all Americans,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “The Model Cities Initiative will supercharge our law enforcement partners and restore the rule of law to America’s neighborhoods, towns, and cities. Our message is clear: We will help those who help us Make America Safe Again.” Investments will be made in a variety of areas addressing public safety, behavioral health, and related staffing, equipment, and services with the goal of leveraging federal resources to build capacity, strengthen accountability, and deliver measurable reductions in crime that can serve as a model of innovation for replication nationwide. Eligible applicants include local government entities serving a population of at least 100,000. The MCI initiative will support a range of allowable activities, including: Hiring and retention of sworn and non-sworn personnel directly engaged in or supporting violent crime reduction efforts. Purchase or lease of equipment, tools, or technology that reduce crime and restore law and order including but not limited to real-time crime centers; forensic and DNA tools; body-worn cameras; license plate readers; artificial intelligence systems; small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and counter-UAS; ballistic identification systems; and information technology upgrades. Training and professional development that support intelligence-led policing, violent crime investigations, crisis response, correctional practices that strengthen reentry outcomes, and coordination with state and federal law enforcement partners. Facility Costs including lease, rental, or renovation expenses for space directly used in program operations, such as service delivery sites, training facilities, real-time crime centers, or intelligence analysis centers. Mental health and substance use services that directly support prevention, crisis response, screening and early intervention, treatment, case management, and related services addressing issues linked to public safety outcomes, including services provided in correctional facilities and in the community. Reentry, transitional support, and recidivism reduction programs and services designed to reduce repeat offending, support transitions from custody, and promote successful reintegration into communities, including operational costs for county jails and state prisons that support reentry preparation. Victim services for American victims of crime, including, emergency assistance, case management, shelter and temporary housing, medical and dental care, advocacy, transportation, childcare, legal services, and employment assistance. Youth crime prevention and intervention services that address risk factors for juvenile delinquency and violence, including gang intervention and suppression programs. Cities will apply through a whole-of-city approach. That means that city leaders, including the mayor, sheriff, county prosecutor, and others will work together to submit one application that proposes a persuasive vision of how this money can be awarded strategically throughout their city to improve law enforcement engagement, victim services, detention and reentry services, and preventive programs. Additional information about the award is available at www.justice.gov/grants . The planned competition is a multi-phase process. DOJ anticipates making initial award decisions in late 2026. To apply for this award, please submit application materials to MCIapplications@usdoj.gov . For any questions related to the MCI Call for Applications, you can send your inquiry to MCIquestions@usdoj.gov .


title: Four Illegal Alien Tren de Aragua Members Plead Guilty to Double Murder in 2024

body_text: Four members of the designated foreign terrorist organization Tren de Aragua (TdA), Keiber Jaen Martinez, also known as “Keybe,” Samuel Gonzalez Castro, also known as “Klei” and “Kley,” Eferson Morillo-Gomez, also known as “Jefferson,” and “Efe Trebol,” and Keineyer Ibarra-Mujica, also known as “Keiner” each pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote for the Southern District of New York to two counts of murder through the use of a firearm and one count of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, in connection with their participation in the May 24, 2024, murders of Claretha LaQuesha Daniels and Justin Lawless and the non-fatal shooting of a third victim (“Victim-3”), all of whom were unarmed American citizens and residents of New York City. A fifth codefendant and member of TdA, Jarwin Valero-Calderon, also known “La Fama,” pleaded guilty last week to one count of racketeering conspiracy and one count of using a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence, in connection with his participation in, among other crimes, a September 30, 2024, gunpoint carjacking in New York City. Three additional codefendants previously pleaded guilty to other offenses and have been sentenced. All eight in-custody defendants charged in the TdA prosecution before Judge Cote have now been convicted. “Thanks to the hard work of our law enforcement partners and prosecutors, these four Tren de Aragua gang members will now face justice for their part in the ruthless and senseless murders of two Americans and the attempted murder of a third person in the Bronx two years ago,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “As a former Assistant U.S. Attorney who prosecuted violent crimes and gangs in the Bronx, this case hits home for me. Tren de Aragua is a terrorist organization with no place and no future in the United States, and this Department of Justice will not stop until we have rooted out, dismantled and destroyed them.” “I’m thankful that the victims and their families finally get the justice they deserve,” said U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin. “Tren de Aragua is one of the most vicious gangs on planet earth. They rape, maim, and murder for sport. Under President Trump’s leadership, we are targeting and removing gang members from our communities and ensuring those that committed crimes in our country face justice.” “As they have now admitted, these four members of Tren de Aragua entered the United States illegally and then brutally murdered Claretha LaQuesha Daniels and Justin Lawless on May 24, 2024, in the middle of a residential street in the Bronx, which resulted in another victim being shot and injured,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York. “This recent Memorial Day Sunday marked a tragic date: two years to the day that Ms. Daniels and Mr. Lawless lost their lives. We extend our deep condolences to the family members of these victims and hope that today’s guilty pleas bring some measure of comfort to them. We are committed to investigating and charging all members of TdA who illegally entered this country and then flooded the streets of New York City with guns, drugs, sex trafficking, and violence. That is what New Yorkers want and deserve, and we will do everything we can to deliver it for them.” “Although TdA started as a prison gang in Venezuela, it became a transnational criminal organization and foreign terrorist organization that gained a foothold in many cities in the United States, including New York City,” said Director Jacob Warren of Joint Task Force Vulcan. “As they have now admitted, these four TdA members killed two unarmed American citizens in the Bronx during a brutal shooting on a public street, and they will finally be held accountable for their crimes. This case is directly in line with JTFV’s mission: a collaborative, whole-of-government, and nationwide effort to totally eliminate TdA. To date, we have charged over 260 members and associates of TdA as part of these efforts. We are grateful for the ongoing partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, and our law enforcement partners who worked tirelessly to investigate this case.” “The NYPD will not allow violent gangs to terrorize our streets and threaten our communities,” said New York City Police Department (NYPD) Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. “These defendants, members of Tren de Aragua, viciously took two lives and shot a third victim, but thanks to our multi-agency investigation, they are now being held accountable. I thank the NYPD investigators and our federal law enforcement partners for their tireless efforts in this case. Together, we will continue to take down gangs, remove guns from our streets, and keep our neighborhoods safe.” According to the allegations contained in the superseding information and other public filings in this case: TdA is a criminal organization that operated throughout New York City, including the boroughs of the Bronx and Queens, as well as internationally in Venezuela, Peru, and elsewhere. The purposes of TdA included: Preserving and protecting the power and territory of TdA and its members and associates through acts involving murder, assault, robbery, other acts of violence, and threats of violence, including acts of violence and threats of violence directed at former members and associates of TdA who associated with a splinter organization known as Anti-Tren. Enriching the members and associates of TdA through, among other things: The unlawful smuggling of individuals, including young women from Venezuela, into Colombia, Peru and the United States; The sex trafficking of young women (whom members and associates of TdA often refer to as “multadas”) who had been unlawfully smuggled into Peru and the United States; The trafficking of controlled substances, including a mixed substance called “tusi” that contains ketamine; and Armed robberies, including carjackings. Keeping victims and potential victims in fear of TdA and its members and associates through threats and acts of violence. Promoting and enhancing TdA and the reputation and activities of its members and associates. Providing assistance to members and associates of TdA who committed crimes for and on behalf of TdA, such as lodging and interstate transportation for members and associates of TdA to flee prosecution. Protecting TdA and its members and associates from detection and prosecution by law enforcement authorities through acts of intimidation, threats, and violence against potential witnesses to crimes committed by members of TdA. Members and associates of TdA transported young women, again often referred to by members and associates of TdA as “multadas,” from Venezuela into Peru and the United States in exchange for debts that the young women would pay back to TdA by engaging in commercial sex work. Members of TdA enforced compliance among these young women by, among other things: Shooting or killing young women, Threatening to kill the young women and their families, Assaulting the young women, and Tracking down and kidnapping the young women who tried to flee. Members of TdA also committed and conspired, attempted, and threatened to commit, acts of violence, including acts involving murder and assault, to protect and expand TdA’s criminal operations; resolve disputes within TdA; to retaliate against rival organizations, including Anti-Tren; and to maintain control over sex trafficking victims. TdA members and associates also trafficked controlled substances, committed robberies, and obtained, possessed, trafficked, and used firearms and ammunition. On May 24, 2024, TdA members Jaen Martinez, Gonzalez Castro, Morillo-Gomez, and Ibarra-Mujica, agreed to kill Claretha LaQuesha Daniels and Justin Lawless and to shoot Victim-3 in the vicinity of 2290 Davidson Avenue in the Bronx, New York. Jaen Martinez, Gonzalez Castro, Morillo-Gomez, and Ibarra-Mujica then aided and abetted, caused, and otherwise facilitated the shooting of Daniels, Lawless, and Victim-3, which resulted in the deaths of Daniels and Lawless, and multiple non-fatal gunshot wounds to Victim-3. Claretha LaQuesha Daniels was 44 years old, and Justin Lawless was 36 years old. A chart containing the names, charges, and maximum penalties for the defendants appears below. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge. Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), including the Field Offices in New York, Seattle, Denver, Chicago, and Hawaii, and the NYPD. He also thanked the Bronx County District Attorney’s Office, the Arapahoe County District Attorney’s Office in Colorado; the Aurora Police Department in Aurora, Colorado; Joint Task Force Vulcan; the New York/New Jersey Regional Fugitive Task Force of the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS); the U.S. Border Patrol’s National Gang Unit and New York Human Intelligence Division; ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations New York Field Office; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); the New York City Crime Analysis Center at the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. This case is part of Joint Task Force Vulcan, which was created in 2019 to eradicate MS-13 and now expanded at the direction of the Attorney General to target Tren de Aragua. JTFV is comprised of U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, including the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York; Eastern and Western Districts of North Carolina; Western District of Virginia; Southern District of Florida; Eastern District of Texas; Western District of Oklahoma; Northern District of Indiana, District of Nevada, and District of Arizona; as well as the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, and the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and Criminal Division. Additionally, the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), HSI, ATF, USMS, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons are essential law enforcement partners with JTFV. This case is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF New York comprises agents and officers from HSI, FBI, DEA, ATF, and IRS Criminal Investigation with the prosecution being led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jun Xiang, Kathryn Wheelock, Timothy Ly, Andrew K. Chan, and Jared Hoffman of the Southern District of New York’s Violent Organizations and Crime Unit and Joint Task Force Vulcan are prosecuting the case. COUNT CHARGE DEFENDANTS MAX. PENALTIES One (S3 Information) Murder through the use of a firearm Jaen Martinez Gonzalez Castro Morillo-Gomez Ibarra-Mujica Life in prison Two (S3 Information) Murder through the use of a firearm Jaen Martinez Gonzalez Castro Morillo-Gomez Ibarra-Mujica Life in prison Three (S3 Information) Firearm use, carrying, and possession Jaen Martinez Gonzalez Castro Morillo-Gomez Ibarra-Mujica Life in prison Mandatory consecutive sentence of 5 years in prison One (S2 Indictment) Racketeering conspiracy Valero-Calderon 20 years in prison Six (S2 Indictment) Firearm use, carrying, and possession Valero-Calderon Life in prison Mandatory consecutive sentence of 5 years in prison


title: Wyatt Detention Facility Inmate Pleads Guilty  to Drug Trafficking and Prison Contraband Charges

body_text: PROVIDENCE – An inmate housed at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls pleaded guilty today in federal court in Rhode Island to possession of prison contraband and possession with intent to distribute multiple controlled substances, including fentanyl. Brian Slutzkin, “aka” Lello Brian Bongiorno , age 41, admitted that he possessed controlled substances that he concealed on his person while incarcerated at the Wyatt Detention Facility, with the intent to distribute them to others. Slutzkin is scheduled to be sentenced on September 24, 2026. The sentence imposed will be determined by a federal district court judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. According to court documents, a search of Slutzkin revealed a sock hidden on his person containing seven balloons crafted from latex gloves. Examination determined the balloons contained distributable quantities of a powder containing fentanyl, pills containing oxycodone hydrochloride and acetaminophen, strips containing buprenorphine and naloxone, and marijuana. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ronald R. Gendron. The matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and investigators at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility.


title: Kansas woman sentenced to prison for stealing deceased relative’s identity to fraudulently receive federal and state benefits

component: USAO - Kansas

body_text: KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Kansas woman was sentenced to 15 months in prison for fraudulently receiving approximately $450,000 by simultaneously collecting federal and state government benefits in her own name and through identity theft. According to court documents, Tamera Ruth Powers, 68, of Tonganoxie pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud. Tamera Ruth Powers stole the identity of her relative, Minda Sue Rakestraw, who died in 1977. Powers used Rakestraw's identity to obtain a Kansas identification card and to marry a man by the last name Landis. Powers then began using the name Minda Sue Landis. Powers defrauded the U.S. government and the State of Kansas by receiving benefits under separate identities. Powers maintained accounts at two different banks to receive payments under her name and the alias Minda Sue Landis. In April 2005, Powers applied for Social Security Administration (SSA) Disability benefits under the name of Minda Sue Landis. In August 2012, Powers applied for SSA disability benefits in her actual name, falsely stating on the application she had not previously applied for SSA benefits. In August 2013, Powers applied for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits using her real name. In the SSI application, she lied about her marital status and failed to disclose previously using another name and social security number. Also in August 2013, Powers applied for assistance from the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIEAP) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through the State of Kansas. She didn’t report she was married or her spouse’s income on the application while led to her receiving more than to which she was entitled. In December 2013, she began receiving Medicaid benefits through the State of Kansas. She did not disclose her marriage, true household income, or that she had used other names which would have made her ineligible for any Medicaid benefits. In June 2023, Powers applied for Retirement Insurance Benefits through SSA. In the application she falsely stated that she was not married, and she failed to disclose that she had used other names. Based upon Powers’ scheme, which is estimated to have gone on for 10 years, the United States suffered loss in the amount of $137,839 and the State of Kansas suffered losses in the amount of $315,257. “Public benefits provide a safety net to those who need and legally qualify for the assistance. Defrauding the system by misappropriating taxpayer money is a violation of public trust, and it’s only a matter of time until we find the perpetrators and hold them accountable,” said U.S Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser. “To reduce the risk of identity theft following the passing of a loved one, we encourage all next of kin or estate executors to report the death to the Social Security Administration and all major credit reporting agencies.” As part of the sentence, a federal judge ordered Powers to pay approximately $452,097 in restitution. “This sentencing sends a strong message that schemes to defraud the Medicaid, SNAP, LIEAP, and Social Security Disability programs will not be tolerated,” stated Steven D. Anderson, Kansas Inspector General. “The Office of Inspector General will continue to work cooperatively with our law enforcement partners to aid in the identification and prosecution of individuals engaged in these types of crimes.” The Social Security Administration – Office of Inspector General, Office of the Kansas Inspector General, Kansas Department for Children and Families (DCF), and Kansas Department of Revenue (KDOR) investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Oakley prosecuted the case. National Fraud Enforcement Division On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The core mission of the Fraud Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars. Department of Justice efforts to combat fraud support President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs . ###


title: Kansas City, Missouri Man Charged with Unlawfully Possessing Unregistered Destructive Devices

body_text: KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo. man was charged in federal court for possession of unregistered destructive devices, in violation of U.S. law. Lake Ethan Roberts, 26, of Kansas City, Mo., was charged in a one-count criminal complaint. Roberts had his initial appearance this morning/afternoon. Court documents, allege that Roberts was a member of a group called the “Red Legs.” The Red Legs has been active since at least November 2023. Red Legs members frequently communicated with each other using a private chat group. In their chat, Red Legs members discussed plans to commit acts of violence directed towards government entities and property, particularly the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE), the National Guard, and other opposing political groups. Some of Roberts’ communications to the group included the following messages: “We need to plan decisive action against ice and dhs.” “What are the chances we could get away with using drones to drop incendiary’s [sic] to demolish key infrastructure.” “I like the idea of using drones carrying cocktails to demolish key structures. “After we build our ranks and adequately arm ourselves, we can look into escalation.” “If ice moves to kc, thoughts on an armed response.” As part of their preparations for armed conflict with the federal government, Red Legs members also periodically trained by shooting firearms at a local firearm range. According to the complaint, on May 14, 2026, Roberts and another Red Legs member met with an undercover law enforcement officer in Richmond, Mo. Roberts had brought with him two devices that were wrapped in duct tape and had an apparent fuse. Roberts referred to the devices as “alcohol shooters filled with black powder surrounded with steel BBs.” Roberts brought the devices to test how they worked. Roberts detonated both devices in a rock quarry area. The FBI Laboratory Explosives Unit provided an opinion that the two devices constituted improvised explosive devices (IEDs). According to an explosive expert’s opinion, IEDs, also called homemade bombs, generally consist of an explosive main charge, method of initiation, and sometimes a container and/or enhancements. These devices were described as small liquor bottles containing the low explosive black powder with a cannon fuse used as the method of initiation. Properly assembled, the described IEDs would be capable of causing property damage, injury, and/or death. Investigators conducted an inquiry of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives National Firearms Act Branch and determined that Roberts had not registered any destructive devices as required by the National Firearms Act of 1934. The allegations contained in the complaint are accusations, not evidence of guilt, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. If convicted of unlawfully possessing an unregistered destructive device, Roberts would be subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in federal prison. In the federal judicial system, there is not the possibility of parole. These maximum statutory sentences are prescribed by Congress and they are provided here for informational purposes. Any sentence would be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Drug Enforcement Administration.


title: Laurel County Man Sentenced for Transporting a Minor to Engage in Criminal Sexual Activity

component: USAO - Kentucky, Eastern

body_text: LONDON, Ky. – A London, Ky., man, Austin Hawk, 26, was sentenced on Wednesday to 165 months by U.S. District Judge Claria Horn Boom for transportation of a minor with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. According to his plea agreement, from September 25, 2022, through October 25, 2022, Hawk transported a minor across state lines with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity. Hawk left Laurel County with a minor victim and took them on a monthlong cross country road trip, which spanned across 11 states with the pair sleeping inside Hawk’s car in parking lots. Hawk admitted that during the trip he engaged in sexual conduct with the minor. Under federal law, Hawk must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence. Upon his release from prison, he will be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for 10 years. Jason Parman, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Olivia Olson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville Field Office, jointly announced the sentence. The investigation was conducted by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin Blankenship is prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States. – END –


title: Illegal Alien, unlawfully present in U.S., sentenced to six years in prison for trafficking cocaine and fentanyl for an organization that targeted homeless encampments and Seattle’s Chinatown-International District

component: USAO - Washington, Western

body_text: Seattle – A 37-year-old Mexican national, a former resident of Issaquah, Washington, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to six years in prison for his role in an armed drug trafficking ring that sought drug customers in Seattle’s homeless encampments and International District, announced First Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd. Giovanni Antonio Garduno Garcia was arrested in May 2025 following a law enforcement investigation of trafficking narcotics to vulnerable people living unhoused near Seattle’s Chinatown-International District. On March 9, 2026, Garduno Garcia pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. At the sentencing hearing today, U.S. District Judge Tana Lin said, “You were dealing drugs so dangerous that they have resulted in thousands and thousands of deaths across this country… And you were solely motivated by personal profit and greed.” “This defendant trafficked drugs simply for the money,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Neil Floyd. “He lived in the Seattle suburbs with high end cars, drugs, and $93,000 in cash stashed in his residence. He enjoyed the high life while spreading misery in the form of fentanyl and cocaine to those gripped with addiction. And he did so armed with firearms and body armor. The community will be safer after he serves his sentence and is returned to his home country of Mexico.” “This man tormented our Chinatown-International District neighborhood and the broader Seattle community. He targeted some of our city’s most vulnerable residents, which is reprehensible,” said Seattle Police Chief Shon Barnes. “I am incredibly proud of our officers, and federal partners, for their tireless work on this case and bringing this criminal to justice.” According to records filed in the case, fourteen people were arrested in late May 2025, on two separate indictments charging them with trafficking cocaine, heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine from California into the Western District of Washington. The fourteen arrested in late May 2025 followed the arrest of five others in January 2025 for firearm and drug trafficking activities connected to Seattle’s Chinatown-International District neighborhood and nearby encampments. On May 29, 2025, law enforcement executed 16 search warrants in Federal Way, Vancouver, Everett, Pacific, Tukwila, Kent, Issaquah, Seattle, Woodlake, California and Beaverton, Oregon. Investigators seized more than seven kilograms of cocaine, 18 kilograms of methamphetamine, more than 57,000 fentanyl pills, and 17 firearms. They also seized more than $353,000 in cash. In Garduno Garcia’s residence they seized cocaine, fentanyl-laced pills, and fentanyl powder. Along with the controlled substances, investigators found two semiautomatic firearms, additional magazines and ammunition, body armor, and over $93,000 in cash drug proceeds. Investigators also seized two vehicles, a Mercedes Benz and a Dodge Durango that were proceeds of Garduno Garcia’s drug trafficking activities. All the seized items have been forfeited to the government. The scope of this drug trafficking scheme involving all the defendants was huge. In March 2025 alone, law enforcement seized 100 pounds of methamphetamine, 111 kilos of cocaine, 19 kilos of fentanyl powder, 250,000 fentanyl pills, and four kilos of heroin. The street value of the narcotics was nearly $3 million. In asking for a six-year prison sentence prosecutors noted the damage drug trafficking does to our community with increased violence and the loss of loved ones to addiction. “Garduno Garcia actively participated in flooding the community with these deadly and addictive substances. Garduno Garcia was intercepted communicating with multiple co-defendants for large quantities of cocaine and was found to possess various substances, including fentanyl, in his residence for redistribution. And unlike those who are distributing to the community to support their own addiction, Garduno Garcia distributed solely for financial gain. Garduno Garcia admitted that he became involved in drug trafficking for “quick money,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Conzatti wrote in the sentencing memo to the court. “Mr. Garduno Garcia chose a lavish lifestyle over a law-abiding one, distributing kilogram quantities of cocaine and fentanyl, destroying lives for a profit as evidenced by the luxury vehicles and huge amounts of money at his residence,” said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office. “Tragically, our communities and some of their most vulnerable members pay the price of drug trafficking in the form of addictions, overdoses, and violence. The FBI and our partners will continue to combat drug trafficking and violent crime in Seattle and across the state of Washington.” “Fentanyl traffickers prey on the most vulnerable members of our communities, valuing profit over human life,” said Robert A. Saccone, Special Agent in Charge, DEA Seattle Field Division. “Mr. Garduno Garcia distributed deadly fentanyl and other dangerous drugs in Seattle’s Chinatown International District. DEA and our law enforcement partners remain relentless in our pursuit of those who profit from peddling poison. Every fentanyl seizure, every trafficking network dismantled, and every conviction brings us one step closer to a Fentanyl Free America.” This investigation is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Seattle comprises agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), The United States Marshals Service (USMS), the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI), the United States Secret Service (USSS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington. The investigation was led by the FBI, Seattle Police Department and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) with significant assistance from the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas program (HIDTA), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and Washington National Guard Counterdrug Program. Investigators also worked with the Oregon State Police, Centralia Police Department, and Clark County, Washington Sheriff’s Office. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Casey Conzatti and Brian Wynne.


title: Essex County Convicted Felon Admits to Armed Carjacking with an Assault Rifle, Along with Firearms and Narcotics Offenses

body_text: NEWARK, N.J. – An Essex County, New Jersey, man on June 2, 2026 admitted using an assault rifle during an armed carjacking, as well as possessing two firearms and controlled substances with the intent to distribute, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced. Quadir Whitehead, 32, of Newark, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court to six counts of an indictment charging him with one count of carjacking, one count of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, two counts of conspiracy, one count of possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon and one count of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: On August 6, 2020, Whitehead and two accomplices committed a gunpoint carjacking in Irvington, New Jersey. During the carjacking, Whitehead ordered one of the two victims to get out of a car while pointing an assault rifle at that victim. Then, Whitehead got into the car and drove away. On September 5, 2020, law enforcement officers arrested Whitehead when they saw him selling drugs in Newark. After the arrest, law enforcement found narcotics, an assault rifle, and a revolver, which Whitehead admitted were the same firearms used in the Irvington carjacking. The conspiracy to commit carjacking offense carries a maximum potential penalty of 5 years in prison. The carjacking offense carries a maximum potential penalty of 15 years in prison. The conspiracy to use and carry a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence offense carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison. The using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence offense carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 7 years and a maximum potential penalty of life in prison. The possession of firearms and ammunition by a convicted felon offense carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison. The narcotics offense carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison. The conspiracy, carjacking and firearm offenses each carry a fine of up to $250,000 and the narcotics offense carries a fine of up to $1 million. Sentencing is scheduled for October 14, 2026. U.S. Attorney Frazer credited special agents and members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark; members of the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Emanuel Miranda and Chief of Police Sharonda Morris; and members of the Irvington Police Department, under the direction of Public Safety Director Tracy Bowers, with the investigation leading to the charges and guilty plea. The investigation was conducted as part of the Newark Violent Crime Initiative (VCI). The Newark VCI was formed in August 2017 by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, and the City of Newark’s Department of Public Safety for the sole purpose of combatting violent crime in and around Newark. As part of this partnership, federal, state, county, and city agencies collaborate and pool resources to prosecute violent offenders who endanger the safety of the community. The VCI is composed of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, the ATF, the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) New Jersey Division, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Marshals, the Newark Department of Public Safety, the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, the Essex County Sheriff’s Office, New Jersey State Parole, Union County Jail, New Jersey State Police Regional Operations and Intelligence Center/Real Time Crime Center, New Jersey Department of Corrections, the East Orange Police Department, and the Irvington Police Department. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Levin, Chief of the Cybercrime Unit in Newark, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Vincent D. Romano of the National Security Unit in Newark. The charges and allegations contained in the indictment against Elijah Lott are still pending, are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. 26-107 ### Defense counsel: Stephen Turano, Esq. whiteheadetal.indictment.pdf


title: Illegal alien admits to role in failed human smuggling attempt resulting in death

component: USAO - Texas, Southern

body_text: LAREDO, Texas – A 39-year-old Mexican national has pleaded guilty to harboring 32 illegal aliens in a stash house under dangerous conditions that resulted in one death, announced Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck. Cruz Alberto de la Garza admitted he conspired with others to harbor illegal aliens at a stash house in Laredo and assisted in transporting them. The investigation began Oct. 15, 2025, after two illegal aliens had been dropped off at an emergency room. One was pronounced deceased upon arrival. The medical examiner’s report identified one cause of death as environment exposure with heat effects. Later that day, law enforcement encountered a tractor-trailer at a Border Patrol checkpoint in Cotulla and discovered 30 illegal aliens crammed into the trailer’s sleeper compartment. The investigation revealed all had been housed in a white trailer on a ranch-style property used as a stash house. The trailer had extreme heat with little to no air conditioning, limited food and water and inadequate ventilation. There was no access to a toilet, and the aliens were forced to use a bucket. No one was permitted to leave. De la Garza had instructed the aliens to get into the tractor trailer and initially drove them before parking and exiting the vehicle. Sentencing is set for Sept. 1, before U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo. At that time, de la Garza faces up to life in prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tae W. Chon is prosecuting the case. This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.


title: Alaska Man Who Received Images of Child Pornography and Possessed AI-Generated Images of Child Sexual Abuse Sentenced to Prison

component: Criminal Division

body_text: An Alaskan man was sentenced today to 70 months in prison and 20 years of supervised release for trafficking in child pornography, including images of pre-pubescent children. Anthaney O’Connor, 32, of Anchorage, pleaded guilty on July 31, 2025, to receipt of child pornography, also known as child sexual abuse material or “CSAM.” According to court documents, O’Connor received CSAM from another offender, who was an active-duty Airman stationed at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. The CSAM included images depicting prepubescent children. The two of them also planned to view CSAM together using a virtual reality system. In stored messages with this other offender, O’Connor explained that he could use images of real children and make them sexually explicit for use in this system, so that the user could experience a virtual simulation of what the images depicted. O’Connor also distributed CSAM to other individuals and possessed multiple images of obscene visual depictions of child sexual abuse of children that were created by artificial intelligence. “Anthaney O’Connor not only received, consumed, and distributed depraved images depicting sexual abuse of young children, but actively collaborated to view the material in virtual reality,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “He boasted about his ability to generate virtual reality simulations using images of real children. Some of the material he possessed was generated by sophisticated artificial intelligence tools. AI used in this criminal manner adds a new element to child sexual abuse crimes. The Criminal Division is already at the cutting edge to curb this dangerous avenue for child sexual abuse.” “Possessing and exchanging CSAM, including AI-generated images of children, is an abhorrent crime,” said U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman for the District of Alaska. “Protecting children and dismantling this predatory industry is a top priority for my office, and Mr. O’Connor is another example of our aggressive efforts to stop such disgusting conduct. Let this serve as a clear reminder that we will relentlessly pursue anyone who endangers children, period.” “Protecting our children from the depraved actions of individuals like O’Connor is a top priority for the FBI and our law enforcement partners,” said Special Agent in Charge Matthew Schlegel of the FBI Anchorage Field Office. “O’Connor’s possession of real as well as AI-generated CSAM is alarming, abhorrent and will never be tolerated. The FBI will continue working aggressively with our partners to make sure those who harm our most vulnerable are held accountable for their crimes.” The FBI and United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) investigated the case. Trial Attorney McKenzie Hightower of the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mac Caille Petursson of the District of Alaska prosecuted the case. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc .


title: First of 4 Defendants Sentenced to 32 Years in Federal Prison for Role in San Antonio Armed Robberies

body_text: SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio man was sentenced in federal court today to 386 months in prison for his role in an armed robbery, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons. According to court documents, beginning on or about Dec. 15, 2020, Brian Gonzales, 31, exchanged text messages with co-defendant London Morgan using coded language to coordinate several armed robberies in the San Antonio area. On Dec. 17, 2020, Morgan traveled from Dallas to the San Antonio area and robbed a store clerk at gunpoint with Gonzales’s cousin, Kevin Gonzales. The next morning, Morgan dropped off Kevin Gonzales and another individual at a San Antonio gas station, where they committed a second armed robbery. They followed that with a third armed robbery at a pawn shop later that morning. Beginning on Dec. 27, 2020, Morgan corresponded with Gonzales and another conspirator, Christopher Harrell, to plan several additional armed robberies in the area. Morgan, Harrell, and Kevin Gonzales then committed armed robberies on three pawn shops on Dec. 28 and 29, 2020. Morgan and Harrell were named in a 13-count indictment in August 2022. Brian and Kevin Gonzales were both named in a 13-count superseding indictment on Oct. 4, 2023. Brian Gonzales pleaded guilty on Sept. 11, 2025, to one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robbery and four counts of aiding and abetting brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence. U.S. District Judge Jason Pulliam sentenced Gonzales to 50 months for count one—to run concurrent to his current state imprisonment—and 84 months for each of the other four counts. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the San Antonio Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric Yuen prosecuted the case. ###


title: Fired Middle School Teacher Arrested on Charges of Receiving and Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material

component: USAO - Oklahoma, Northern

body_text: TULSA, Okla. – A teacher who lives in Tulsa and worked at the Tulsa Honor Academy and Dove Science Academy was arrested today and charged with Receipt of Child Pornography and Possession of or Access with Intent to View Child Pornography. In February 2026, the Tulsa Police Department received a report regarding allegations of a lewd or indecent proposal by Zachary Christian Speegle , 32, towards a student at the Tulsa Honor Academy. Court documents show that Speegle was employed as a teacher at the Tulsa Honor Academy. Allegedly, Speegle befriended a new student at school and pressured the minor child to provide their phone number and requested nude photographs, but the minor child declined. The Tulsa Police Department served a residential search warrant at Speegle’s home and collected several electronic devices. Court documents show that during the initial review of Speegle’s devices, officers found more than 8,000 files with recognizable child sexual abuse material, also known as child pornography. The images include prepubescent children, toddlers, and infants being sexually abused. Additionally, officers found more than 6,000 files of child erotica and age-difficult sexual abuse material. Court documents show that prosecutors are requesting that Speegle be held because he is a danger to others in the community. Although there are no minor children living with Speegle, one image provided to the court shows that during the search of Speegle’s home, officers found children’s panties belonging to four and six-year-olds that Speegle stole from a friend's home. A second screenshot provided to the court shows a text message conversation between Speegle and a minor child. Speegle told the child, “I would literally rob 10 banks and kill 100 people to get [MV] back.” A 2012 report to Congress about child pornography offenses defines child erotica as legal images or stories that are about children and of a sexual nature. Images may be overtly sexual and show children in inappropriate clothing or positions, or use of the image or video in an inappropriate manner. For example, some child pedophiles use catalog images of children in bathing suit advertisements for child erotica purposes. State court dockets show that Speegle was charged in state court and arrested in March 2026 for lewd molestation/indecent proposal to a child and aggravated possession of child sexual abuse material. Speegle was allowed to post bond. Speegle will be held until his detention hearing, which is set for a later date. The Tulsa Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations are investigating the case with assistance from Tulsa Public Schools. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Augustus Forster and Stephanie Ihler are prosecuting the case. A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, local, and tribal resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC .


title: South Bend Man Sentenced to 32 Months in Prison For Controlled Substance Offense

component: USAO - Indiana, Northern

body_text: SOUTH BEND – Steven Briones, 37 years old, of South Bend, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, announced United States Attorney Adam L. Mildred. Briones was sentenced to 32 months in prison followed by 2 years of supervised release. “Investigators intercepted two postal packages containing thousands of pressed methamphetamine pills and obtained a search warrant for Briones’ house after they watched another person go into his house carrying the two packages. While executing the search warrant, investigators found a Ziploc bag that contained about 64 grams of orange pressed methamphetamine pills packed away in Briones’ living room chest. Thanks to the combined efforts of the United States Postal Inspection Service, the South Bend Police Department, the Mishawaka Police Department, and the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office led by Ken Cotter and AUSA Lydia Lucius, the poison was intercepted, and the Defendant is going to prison,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Mildred. This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from the South Bend Police Department, the Mishawaka Police Department, and the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lydia T. Lucius.