title: Hudson County Man Charged with Production of Child Pornography

body_text: NEWARK, N.J. – A Hudson County, New Jersey, man was charged with producing and possessing images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today. Julio Albery Nunez, 27, West New York, New Jersey, is charged by complaint with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of possession of child pornography. He was arrested on May 20, 2024, made his initial appearance on May 21, 2024, before U.S. Magistrate Judge José R. Almonte in Newark federal court and was detained. According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: Beginning in December 2022 law enforcement began investigating Nunez for involvement with child pornography on various online and dark-web platforms.More recently, Nunez contacted a minor victim online and represented to that victim that he was a teenage girl. Nunez requested and received videos constituting child sexual abuse that depicted the minor. Law enforcement searched Nunez’s home on the morning of May 20, 2024. The charge of production of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The charge of possession of child exploitation material carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited FBI Newark’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy in Newark, with the investigation leading to the charges. He also thanked the West New York Police Department and the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office. 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 the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov . The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Taj Moore and Rebecca Sussman of the OCDETF/Narcotics Unit in Newark. The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. nunez.complaint.pdf


title: Three Facing Federal Charges for Metro East Mail Theft Scheme

component: USAO - Illinois, Southern

body_text: EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – A federal grand jury returned a 10-count indictment charging three individuals with various crimes for their alleged involvement in a mail theft scheme from collection boxes in Fairview Heights. Tylann J. Starks, 29, of Swansea, is facing one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, four counts of bank fraud, two counts of aggravated identity theft and one count of conspiracy to steal U.S. mail. Tiara D. Johnson, 32, of Cahokia Heights, is facing one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, one count of bank fraud, and one count of conspiracy to steal U.S. mail. Jamil Jackson, 51, is facing one count of conspiracy to steal U.S. mail, one count of theft of a specialized key to access US Postal receptacles, and one count of making false statements to a federal law enforcement officer. “Thieves are targeting mail collection boxes as a site to commit fraud,” said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. “Law enforcement is committed to investigating individuals who steal checks from the mail and manipulate the payee and amount sections to personally enrich themselves.” The U.S. Postal Service uses specialized keys, commonly referred to as arrow keys, to service and open mail collection boxes. Arrow keys are labeled with serial numbers so they can be tracked. “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service is charged with defending the nation’s mail system. With the collaborative investigative efforts of multiple law enforcement agencies, Postal Inspectors investigate and pursue those individuals who defraud unwitting victims by stealing their identities and attacking their personal well-being, such as those involved in this investigation” said Inspector in Charge Ruth Mendonça who leads the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which includes the St. Louis Field Office. According to court documents, Starks purchased an arrow key from former postal employee Jackson to gain access to mail collection boxes throughout the Metro East. Agents conducted an undercover purchase of a second arrow key from Jamil Jackson for $1,000. Starks and Johnson would search collection boxes for checks in order to exploit bank account and personal identifying information from victims from February 2020 through February 2023. Jackson would steal checks out of mail from his route that he provided to Starks. The conspirators also used the stolen account information to generate counterfeit checks. “This indictment represents the hard work and dedication by USPS OIG Special Agents and U.S. Postal Inspectors working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to bring charges on this significant mail theft investigation,” said Special Agent in Charge Dennus Bishop, U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General, Central Area Field Office. “The majority of postal employees are hard-working public servants dedicated to moving mail to its proper destination. The USPS OIG, along with our law enforcement partners, remain committed to safeguarding the U.S. Mail and ensuring the accountability and integrity of U.S. Postal Service employees.” Starks and Johnson would then cash, deposit or otherwise negotiate the stolen and counterfeit checks at area businesses, banks and ATM machines in Belleville, East St. Louis and O’Fallon. An indictment is merely a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury. If convicted, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud charges are punishable by up to 30 years’ imprisonment; aggravated identity theft and stealing post office keys can carry sentences of up to 10 years’ imprisonment; conspiracy to steal U.S. mail and false statement convictions can garner up to five years in federal prison. Agents with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the U.S. Postal Service, Office of Inspector General contributed to the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Weinhoeft is prosecuting the case.


title: Hudson County Man Sentenced to 121 Months in Prison for Child Pornography and Naturalization Fraud

component: USAO - New Jersey

body_text: NEWARK, N.J. – A Hudson County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 121 months in prison for possessing images of child sexual abuse and committing naturalization fraud, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced. Ramy Mercado, 29, of Jersey City, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before Judge Claire C. Cecchi to an information charging him with one count of possession of child pornography and one count of naturalization fraud. Judge Cecchi imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court. According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court: From June 2022 to October 2022, Mercado used his cell phone to transmit more than 20 video files depicting the sexual abuse of minors, including infants or toddlers. Mercado also used his cell phone to communicate his desire for sexual encounters with young children. During this time, Mercado applied for and obtained U.S. citizenship and stated under penalty of perjury that since his citizenship interview, he had not committed any crime or offense for which he had not been arrested. In fact, Mercado had illegally possessed child pornography. Mercado became a naturalized U.S. citizen on June 22, 2023. In addition to the prison term, Judge Cecchi sentenced Mercado to 15 years of supervised release. U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge William S. Walker, with the investigation leading to the charges. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Specht of the Special Prosecutions Division in Newark.


title: Syracuse Man Pleads Guilty to Receiving Child Pornography from Multiple Minors via SnapChat

component: USAO - New York, Northern

body_text: SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – William Futrell, age 31, of Syracuse, pled guilty yesterday to ten counts of receipt of child pornography. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Matthew Scarpino, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Buffalo Field Office and New York State Police (NYSP) Superintendent Steven G. James made the announcement. As part of his guilty plea, Futrell admitted that he used SnapChat to communicate with minors from across the country. In some instances, Futrell would offer to pay the minor children to entice them to send explicit images to him, but with no intention of ever paying them. On at least the 10 occasions charged, Futrell obtained, directly from minor children, images depicting the children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Futrell is a registered sex offender with a previous conviction for possession of child pornography in New York. The offenses to which Futrell pled guilty carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years, with a maximum of 40 years imprisonment. If Chief United States District Judge Brenda K. Sannes accepts the parties’ agreed-upon disposition at sentencing on September 20, 2024, Futrell will receive an imprisonment term of 262 months. Futrell’s sentence must also include a post-imprisonment term of supervised release of between five years and life, a fine of up to $250,000.00, restitution to the victims, and he will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from prison. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statute the defendant violated, the United States Sentencing Guidelines, and other factors. United States Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) led the investigation with the assistance of the New York State Police (NYSP) Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the New York State Police (NYSP) Troop D Computer Crime Unit. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Tuck prosecuted Futrell as part of Project Safe Childhood. 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). 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc .


title: Watervliet Man Pleads Guilty to Dealing Firearms Without a License

body_text: ALBANY, NEW YORK – Sean Patrick, age 45, of Watervliet, New York, pled guilty today to dealing firearms without a license. United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement. Patrick admitted that between June 2021 and November 2022, he built and sold four non-serialized, semi-automatic pistols without being licensed to do so, filling out any paperwork, or paying any taxes in connection with the sales. On November 10, 2022, federal agents executed a search warrant on Patrick’s residence in Watervliet, and recovered four more privately manufactured, non-serialized, semi-automatic pistols, another semi-automatic pistol with an obliterated serial number, assorted gun kits and fabrication tools, and over a thousand rounds of ammunition of various calibers. Sentencing is scheduled for September 19, 2024, before Senior United States District Judge Lawrence E. Khan. Patrick faces a maximum term of 5 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years. 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. The FBI and its Capital District Safe Streets Gang Task Force — which includes members of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, including the Colonie and Watervliet Police Departments — investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Emmet O’Hanlon is prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts, is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.


title: Harrisburg Man Accused of Unlawful Gun Possession and Manufacturing

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

body_text: EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. – A Harrisburg man is facing federal charges for allegedly possessing, manufacturing and importing unregistered firearms. A federal grand jury charged Yaroslav Vishnevski, 31, with three counts of receipt or possession of unregistered firearm, one count of manufacturing NFA weapon without paying special occupancy tax, one count of illegal importation of a firearm and one count of possession of firearm with obliterated serial number. “Individuals who produce privately-made firearms (PMF) must adhere to state and federal laws to register the devices to help ensure responsible ownership,” said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to work with our state and federal partners to combat unlawful gun trafficking.” The charges stem from an alleged incident on April 22 in which federal officials intercepted a parcel in route and addressed to Vishnevski from China containing two firearm silencers. “Importing and the manufacturing of unregistered NFA devices is illegal. Possession of unregistered NFA devices is illegal. Possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number is illegal,” stated ATF Special Agent in Charge Bernard G. Hansen. “A case like this demonstrates the immense value of collaborative law enforcement efforts in curbing gun violence in our communities. I am thankful for our partnership with Homeland Security and their relentless efforts to intercept the illegal importation of firearms and our strong partnership with the Illinois State Police which is a key in our fight against those who illegally put firearms on our streets.” On May 2, the Illinois State Police with assistance from ATF and Homeland Security Investigations conducted a controlled delivery of the silencers to Vishnevski’s address and executed a search warrant of his residence. “Special agents of the Illinois State Police are continuously getting stronger and better at pursuing gun trafficking of any type, whether on a large or small scale, and we will sustain this effort with our federal partners to identify, investigate, and stop those who flood our communities with illegal guns,” said ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly. As alleged in the complaint, law enforcement recovered the two silencers, a rifle with another unregistered silencer attached, three 3D printers, suspected 3D-printed silencers, 3D-printed firearm frames and receivers in different stages of manufacturing and two privately-made, unregistered short-barreled rifles. “Our top priority is the safety and well-being of our communities, and we will take all necessary steps to ensure that the people who possess weapons have acquired them in compliance with all laws and regulations,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Sean Fitzgerald. “The indictment of Vishnevski shows just how far HSI and our law enforcement partners will go when investigating the unlawful manufacturing and importing of firearms.” During the search, law enforcement also observed a CNC machine, commonly known as a Ghost Gunner. Ghost Gunner machines are typically used to manufacture firearm receivers to complete production. As outlined in the indictment, the Government is also seeking forfeiture of Vishnevski’s 9-millimeter Glock, a PMF AR-9 style rifle, a PMF AR-15 style rifle and a 12-gauge short-barreled shotgun. An indictment is merely a formal charge against a defendant. Under the law, a defendant is presumed to be innocent of a charge until proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt to the satisfaction of a jury. ISP, ATF and HSI are contributing to the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Casey Bloodworth is prosecuting the case.


title: Former Denver Hotel Owner Indicted for COVID-19 Fraud

component: USAO - Colorado

body_text: DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Amin Suliaman, 47, of Miami, Florida, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Colorado on four counts of wire fraud. According to the indictment, from August 2020 until around May 2022, Suliaman requested COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) from the Small Business Administration (SBA) and obtained $450,000 as a result of false representations. As part of the scheme, Suliaman sought loan funding for companies that were inoperable at the time of application and for a company that Suliaman had told a bankruptcy court was closed. Suliaman owned or co-owned several Colorado-based businesses including Nativ Denver and the Nativ Hotel Group. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was enacted in March 2020 and was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans dealing with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act authorized the SBA to provide EIDLs to eligible small businesses experiencing substantial financial disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The defendant made his initial appearance on May 14, 2024, in Miami in front of Judge Marty Fulgeira Elfenbein. A future court date will be set in Colorado. 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 United States Secret Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Craig Fansler. On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus . On July 11, 2023, the Attorney General selected the District of Colorado’s U.S. Attorney’s Office to head one of five national COVID-19 Fraud Strike Force Teams. The Department of Justice established the Strike Force to enhance existing efforts to combat and prevent COVID-19 related financial fraud. The Strike Force combines law enforcement and prosecutorial resources and focuses on large-scale, multistate pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors, as well as those who committed multiple instances of pandemic relief fraud. The Strike Force uses prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds. Additional information regarding the Strike Force may be found at https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-announces-results-nationwide-covid-19-fraud-enforcement-action . 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: Petersburg drug dealer sentenced for meth, heroin distribution

body_text: RICHMOND, Va. – A Petersburg man was sentenced today to 10 years and six months in prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and heroin. According to court documents, from Sept. 9, 2022, to Feb. 8, 2023, the Virginia State Police 1B Task Force conducted five controlled purchases of heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine from Richard Arthur Jones, 37. The last three of these transactions occurred at Jones’ apartment. On Feb. 16, 2023, as the task force executed a search warrant on the apartment, Jones attempted to throw a plastic bag from his balcony. The bag became stuck in a tree, however, and was recovered by law enforcement. The bag contained a total of approximately 306.14 grams of meth and approximately 95.56 grams of heroin. From inside the apartment, law enforcement recovered approximately 32.5 grams of a mixture of heroin and fentanyl and approximately 21.14 grams of methamphetamine, as well as a .40 caliber handgun in a Gucci cross-body bag. Jones pleaded guilty on Jan. 4. Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Jason Miyares, Attorney General of Virginia; Craig Kailimai, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division; Travis C. Christian, Chief of Petersburg Bureau of Police; and Lt. Col. Brad J. Badgerow, Acting Chief of Chesterfield County Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney Jr. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Miller and former Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Devon E. Schulz, an Assistant Attorney General with the Virginia Attorney General’s Office, prosecuted the case. A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:23-cr-143. This release was edited on May 29, 2024, to recognize the work of the Petersburg Bureau of Police on this case.


title: New Haven Man on Supervised Release Charged with Distributing Methamphetamine Pills, Crack

body_text: Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that a federal grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment yesterday charging DONALD OGMAN, also known as “Mainey-O” and ”Manny O,” 42, of New Haven, with methamphetamine and cocaine distribution offenses. As alleged in court documents, Ogman has been a leader of the Grape Street Crips (GSC), a violent New Haven gang. In 2012, the FBI arrested Ogman for offenses related to his role in GSC, including drug trafficking. He pleaded guilty to narcotics offenses and, on March 10, 2015, was sentenced to 188 months of imprisonment and five years of supervised release. In August 2022, a federal judge granted Ogman’s motion for compassionate release, reduced Ogman’s sentence to time served, and he was released from prison. It is alleged that Ogman resumed his drug trafficking activity while on federal supervised release and was distributing multi-colored pills containing methamphetamine in and around New Haven. The investigation included surveillance, trash pulls, and controlled purchases of methamphetamine pills from Ogman in March and April 2024. Ogman was arrested on May 9, 2024. On that date, searches of his person and residence revealed additional quantities of methamphetamine, as well as crack cocaine. The indictment charges Ogman with one count of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, methamphetamine, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years; three counts of possession with intent to distribute, and distribution of, 50 grams or more of methamphetamine, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years on each count; and one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and a quantity of cocaine, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 40 years. The indictment also alleges that Ogman is subject to enhanced penalties due to his prior conviction for a serious drug felony. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life. U.S. Attorney Avery stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Ogman has been detained since his arrest. This matter is being investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration New Haven Task Force, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), the New Haven Police Department and the Hamden Police Department. The DEA New Haven Task Force includes participants from the DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, Connecticut State Police and the New Haven, Waterbury, East Haven, Branford, West Haven, Ansonia, Meriden, Naugatuck, and Shelton Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie T. Levick and Ross Weingarten through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF .


title: Former Wallingford Doctor Who Sold Opioid Prescriptions for Cash Sentenced to Federal Prison

component: USAO - Connecticut

body_text: Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ANATOLY BRAYLOVSKY, 52, of Wallingford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 90 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for controlled substances and health care fraud offenses related to the illegal distribution of prescription medication through his medical practice. According to court documents and statements made in court, Braylovsky was an internal medicine physician who operated the Family Practice of Greater New Haven, LLC, located on North Main Street in Wallingford. Braylovsky’s practice accepted patients who were insured by Medicare, Medicaid, and commercial insurance plans. Beginning in approximately 2014, the DEA and the Wallingford Police Department received complaints about Braylovsky’s prescribing practices. In early 2016, investigators from both the DEA Diversion Control Division and the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection’s Drug Control Division notified Braylovsky that they were concerned about his prescribing practices and informed him that some of his patients had a criminal history. Through subsequent Connecticut Prescription Monitoring Program inquiries, investigators found that Braylovsky continued to prescribe a high quantity of opioid-based pills, as well as Alprazolam and Adderall, to a number of patients. Investigators also received information that some of Braylovsky’s patients, including Jennifer Bousquet, received medically unnecessary prescriptions for these drugs and were then selling the pills for profit; that Braylovsky was selling prescriptions for large amounts of cash; and that some patients who had their prescriptions filled provided pills to Braylovsky. In approximately October 2019, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) joined the investigation when it was discovered that patients of Braylovsky were using their Medicaid or Medicare insurance to pay for medically unnecessary prescriptions. For at least three years, Bousquet received from Braylovsky monthly prescriptions for 170 oxycodone 30mg pills, 75 Adderall 20mg pills, and 30 alprazolam 2mg pills. During the investigation, law enforcement utilized a confidential source, who was both a patient of Braylovsky and an associate of Bousquet, to pay Braylovsky cash in exchange for receiving a prescription for oxycodone. On four occasions between October 2019 and January 2020, the source visited Braylovsky’s office, gave him $1,600 in cash, and received a prescription for 150 oxycodone 30mg pills. Even though Braylovsky performed no physical examination and did not discuss the source’s health, Braylovsky billed Medicaid for each office visit. In addition, the source provided Braylovsky with $1,600 in cash for a prescription during an office visit on March 18, 2020, and delivered $1,600 to Braylovsky’s car after a telehealth appointment on April 30, 2020. The appointment was conducted via FaceTime due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After each prescription was filled, DEA agents took the oxycodone pills into evidence. Medicaid paid for each filled prescription. Between approximately January 2016 and May 2020, Medicare and Medicaid paid more than $1.6 million for schedule II medications, including oxycodone, prescribed by Braylovsky. During that time, Medicare and Medicaid also paid Braylovsky’s practice more than $590,000 for routine office visits. The investigation revealed that Braylovsky billed Medicare and Medicaid a total of $199,388.84 for illegitimate office visits and for unnecessary prescriptions. Braylovsky and Bousquet were arrested on June 4, 2020. In August 2021, while released on bond and awaiting trial in this case, Braylovsky expressed a desire to hire a hitman to kill or intimidate the confidential source who purchased oxycodone prescriptions from him during the investigation. Braylovsky then met with an undercover law enforcement officer posing as a hitman. He was again arrested on August 27, 2021, and has been detained since his arrest. On December 21, 2023, Braylovsky pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, oxycodone, and one count of health care fraud. Judge Dooley ordered Braylovsky to pay $199,388,84 in restitution. On July 6, 2021, Bousquet pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, oxycodone. She awaits sentencing. In a related civil case, Braylovsky and Family Practice of Greater New Haven, LLC, previously entered into a civil settlement agreement with the federal and state governments and paid $398,777.68 to settle allegations that they violated the False Claims Act by billing for medical services not rendered and issuing medically unnecessary controlled substances prescriptions, including for oxycodone, to certain Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. The settlement covers the time period from January 2016 through June 2020. Braylovsky was the sole medical practitioner of Family Practice of Greater New Haven, and the practice is no longer operating. This investigation was conducted by the DEA New Haven Task Force, HHS-OIG’s Office of Investigations, FBI, Connecticut State Police, Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection – Drug Control Division, Connecticut Department of Public Health, Wallingford Police Department and Easton Police Department. The criminal case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Pierpont, Jr., and the civil case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Nelson and Sarah Gruber, and by Deputy Associate Attorney General Gregory O’Connell of the Connecticut Office of the Attorney General.


title: Jefferson County Man Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison for Recording Sexual Abuse of a Minor

component: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

body_text: ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Wednesday sentenced a Pevely, Missouri man to 40 years in prison for recording his sexual abuse of a minor. Matthew Gamel, 36, sexually abused the victim and recorded it on at least four occasions, he admitted in a guilty plea. The victim was under 14 years of age at the time. In addition to the recordings he made, Gamel possessed more than 1,700 media files containing child sexual abuse material that he obtained online. “We are pleased with today’s sentencing and appreciate the hard work and partnership with the Pevely Police Department to bring justice to the victim,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker of the FBI St. Louis Division. “We hope this will help with the process of healing the trauma the defendant unconscionably inflicted on a young vulnerable child.” Gamel pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis in February to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of receipt of child pornography. The Pevely Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hayes is prosecuting 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 the Department of Justice Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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: Georgia Man Pleads Guilty To Making A False Statement In An Attempt To Buy A Firearm

component: USAO - Florida, Middle

body_text: Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Donald Plemmons (45, Clyo, Georgia) has pleaded guilty to making a false statement and representation to a federally licensed firearms dealer. Plemmons faces a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled. According to the court records, in March 2023, Plemmons completed an ATF Form 4473 during the attempted purchase of a firearm from a federally licensed firearms dealer. On the form, Plemmons indicated that he was not subject to a protective order retraining him from harassing, stalking, or threatening a child or an intimate partner or child of such partner. That statement was false in that, in January 2023, Plemmons was subject to a court order from the Superior Court for the County of Effingham, Georgia, which restrained him from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or their family. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brenna Falzetta. 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: Lake County Man Pleads Guilty To Possession Of A Firearm By A Convicted Felon

body_text: Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that William Scott Fogg (37, Altoona) has pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Fogg faces up to 15 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. According to the court records, Fogg has been convicted of eight felonies since 2008, including burglary, grand theft, and illegal drug possession. On August 28, 2023, Fogg approached his girlfriend who was seated in a truck with her minor children. Fogg entered the truck, took his girlfriend’s pistol out of the center console, pulled back the slide, and told her that was going to shoot all of them. Responding deputies subsequently took Fogg into custody and recovered the loaded firearm. As a convicted felon, Fogg is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition under federal law. This case was investigated by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Hannah Nowalk. 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: Jackson Man Sentenced to 3 Years in Prison for Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon

body_text: Jackson, MS – A Jackson man was sentenced today to 36 months in prison for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. According to court documents, on October 5, 2023, Mikel D. Williamson, 27, was found to be in possession of a firearm by the Jackson Police Department while in his automobile on County Line Road and at the perimeter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation headquarters in Jackson. Williamson has a previous felony conviction for armed carjacking, and federal law prohibits a convicted felon from possessing a firearm. On October 6, 2023, the FBI secured a federal complaint against Williamson for his arrest and Williamson was brought into federal custody from state custody. On October 11, 2023, a federal grand jury indicted him for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm. He pled guilty on February 15, 2024. U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee and Special Agent in Charge Robert Eikhoff of the Federal Bureau of Investigation made the announcement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matt Allen prosecuted the case. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.


title: Carrollton Juvenile Overdose Defendant Who Ignored Deaths  Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison

component: USAO - Texas, Northern

body_text: The first defendant charged in the Carrollton juvenile fentanyl overdose scandal – which claimed the lives of at least four North Texas teenagers – was sentenced today to 20 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton. Luis Eduardo Navarrete, 22, was charged via criminal complaint in February 2023 and indicted the following month. He pleaded guilty in November 2023 to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a Schedule II controlled substance and distribution of a controlled substance to a person under 21 years of age and was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade. “Even as children overdosed and died around him, this defendant continued to distribute poisonous pills to juvenile dealers to sell in grade schools,” said U.S. Attorney Leigha Simonton. “Brushing off the pain of his young victims’ family and friends, he delivered fentanyl into the hands of children, extinguishing lives before they’d even really begun. The callousness he displayed is truly chilling. Although we can never bring these kids back, we hope today’s verdict is a balm to their families’ unbearable suffering.” “Today’s a very important day for DEA Dallas and all of those who were involved in this investigation. Defendant Navarrete was one of the first individuals identified in what later became a complex ring of various fentanyl traffickers selling poison in our neighborhoods,” said DEA Dallas Special Agent in Charge Eduardo A.. Chavez. “While we cannot bring back the lives lost and undo so much tragedy amongst the affected families, we are proud that justice has been served and remained committed to fighting illicit fentanyl trafficking in North Texas.” “Today’s sentencing of twenty years, I feel, is appropriate for the seriousness of Navarrete’s crimes. Navarrete and others were responsible for causing enormous heartache and sorrow to many families. It is appropriate to show that the Carrollton Police Department and the DOJ remain serious about protecting our citizens, and especially our youth, from drug dealers who think they can prey on our children by pushing poison on them. I am grateful for our partnership with the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas and DEA-Dallas; without their help, this would not have been possible.” According to court documents, Mr. Navarrete and several co-conspirators trafficked fentanyl pills to a network of juvenile drug dealers, who then sold the pills – stamped M-30 to resemble oxycodone – to students at R.L. Turner High School, Dewitt Perry Middle School, and Dan Long Middle School. At Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, a DEA task force officer testified that Mr. Navarrete began trafficking fentanyl in August 2022. When he was placed on a GPS ankle monitor following a domestic altercation, he relied on two drug runners, co-defendants Rafael Soliz Jr. and Robert Gaitan, to pick up counterfeit M-30 pills from his sources and deliver them to his residence in Carrollton. According to evidence presented at the hearing, Mr. Navarrete continued to supply fentanyl pills to children even after he was told they were causing overdoses. On Jan. 26, 2023, a juvenile dealer informed Mr. Navarrete that one of his counterfeit M30 pills had caused a 14-year-old middle school student, identified in court documents by the initials J.P., to “pass away.” The dealer even included a photograph of first responders at the victim’s residence attempting, unsuccessfully, to resuscitate him. Despite being told that a minor had died from pills that he was distributing, Navarrete continued to distribute the pills to adult and minor customers. Less than a week later, on Feb. 1, 2023, a different juvenile dealer informed Mr. Navarrete that a 17-year-old high school student who had taken one of his counterfeit M-30 pills “couldn’t wake up.” “Od bro… wtf happening,” the dealer wrote. “Don’t tell me it was u that sold em like 18 30s … that’s another youngin dead bro.” After being told of the second overdose death, Mr. Navarrete continued to traffic fentanyl, unabated, until his arrest two days later. At Thursday’s sentencing hearing, the DEA task force officer testified that the fentanyl Mr. Navarrete sold originated from the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico. Over the course of the investigation, he said, officers and agents made roughly 40 adult and juvenile arrests and seized more than 1.2 million fentanyl pills off the street. The conspiracy resulted in at least 14 juvenile overdoses, four of them fatal. Mr. Navarrete is one of 11 defendants charged federally in connection with the case. Mr. Navarrete’s main supplier, Jason Xavier Villanueva, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison, and his drug runners, Mr. Soliz and Mr. Gaitan, were sentenced to 15 to and five years respectively. At Mr. Navarrete’s sentencing hearing, the mother of one of the late juvenile victims testified: “He was the soul of our home,” she said of her son in Spanish. “I would like for everyone who’s present to know that these people who sell fentanyl, they destroy families…. On behalf of all those children who have passed away due to fentanyl, this has to stop.” The Drug Enforcement Administration’s Dallas Field Office and the Carrollton Police Department conducted the investigation with the assistance of School Resource Officers from the Carrollton – Farmer’s Branch Independent School. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rick Calvert and Phelesa Guy are prosecuting the case. Note: Illicitly produced, fentanyl-laced pills often look similar to legitimate prescription pills like Oxycontin or Percocet, but can pose significantly more danger. On the street, these pills are often referred to as “M30s” (a reference to the markings on some of the pills), “blues,” “perks,” “yerks,” “china girls,” or “TNT.” DEA research shows that six out of ten pills laced with fentanyl contain a potentially lethal dose. One pill can kill. For resources, visit https://www.dea.gov/onepill .


title: Mexican National Sentenced to Prison for Illegal Possession of a Firearm

body_text: Jackson, MS – A Mexican national, residing in the United States illegally, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. According to court documents, Joel Terrazas Olvera, 51, was found in possession of a firearm by a Rankin County Sheriff’s Deputy on September 19, 2023, during a traffic stop on a vehicle in which Olvera was riding as a passenger. A federal grand jury indicted Olvera for possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. He pled guilty on February 23, 2024. U.S. Attorney Todd W. Gee, Acting Special Agent in Charge Eric DeLaune of Homeland Security Investigations in New Orleans, and Special Agent in Charge Joshua Jackson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives made the announcement. The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Samuel Goff prosecuted the case. This case was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.


title: “Sovereign Citizen” Sentenced To 9 Years In Prison For $3.4 Million Tax Fraud Scheme, Filing A False Lien, And Absconding While On Bond

body_text: Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Mark E. Walker today sentenced Judy Grace Sellers to five years in federal prison for conspiracy to submit false tax returns and defraud the U.S. Treasury, substantive counts of aiding in the preparation of false tax returns, and filing a false lien against the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, followed by a consecutive four-year sentence for failure to appear. Sellers was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $23,264.08, representing the unrecovered loss from the tax counts. Sellers originally was indicted in December 2014. Her indictment was superseded to add a charge for absconding while on bond in February 2024. She was convicted on all counts by a federal jury on March 1, 2024. According to evidence presented at trial, in 2008 and 2009, Sellers operated a website called commercialredemption.com on which she promoted the use of IRS Form 1099-OID to commit tax fraud. Sellers identified as a “sovereign citizen” and perpetuated the false premise that the U.S. Treasury maintains secret accounts attributed to every U.S. citizen that can be drawn on by filing a series of bogus documents with the Treasury and other government entities. As part of this fraud scheme, Sellers also promoted the use of IRS Form 1099-OID to fraudulently report to the IRS debts – including mortgages, student loans, credit card debts, and court judgments – as income, along with 100% withholdings of that “income” in informational returns to overcome the IRS’s internal controls and induce the IRS to issue refunds that were not owed. The proper use of the 1099-OID form is for companies such as brokers to report to the IRS income received by the purchaser of a discounted security. Sellers personally created and submitted to the IRS 1099-OID forms that were fraudulent on their face. After submitting the fraudulent 1099-OID forms, Sellers’s co-conspirators prepared and submitted fraudulent returns seeking massive refunds, in one case exceeding half a million dollars on a single return. All these refunds were based on non-existent 1099-OID “income” and withholdings. The conspiracy resulted in the submission of at least 22 returns requesting fraudulent refunds totaling at least $3.4 million from the IRS. In 2011, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida filed a civil action to enjoin Sellers from promoting her fraudulent scheme on her commercialredemption.com website. In retaliation, Sellers filed a false lien against the then-U.S. Attorney and a Department of Justice tax attorney who was leading the civil action. In 2014, Sellers was indicted and arrested on charges of tax fraud and filing a false lien. In January 2015, she was placed on house arrest with a GPS ankle monitor pending trial. In May 2015, Sellers was granted permission by her probation officer to leave her home to get her hair done in preparation for her pretrial hearing a few days later. The next day, Sellers cut off her GPS ankle monitor, flung it on the side of the highway, and absconded. The cut GPS ankle monitor Sellers was located more than eight and a half years later in New Mexico. Prior to this, Sellers had pleaded guilty to failing to appear for her sentencing in her previous federal counterfeiting case in 2002. In her previous case, Sellers was apprehended living under a false name in Mississippi. “Today's sentencing emphasizes our resolve in pursuing those who attempt to corrupt our nation's tax system,” said Lani Rosado-Espinal, Acting Special Agent in Charge, CI Tampa Field Office. “No one is above the law in this great nation. Our law enforcement partners are just as committed as we are to ensuring that those seeking to live above the law are brought to justice.” This case was investigated by IRS – Criminal Investigation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Laura Cofer Taylor and Kelly Milliron.


title: New York Man Sentenced for Dismembering Body  in Broken Arrow

body_text: TULSA, Okla. – Today, U.S. District Judge John D. Russell sentenced Alex Ray Scott, 28, to 540 months imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release for Second Degree Murder in Indian Country. “Alex Scott was sentenced for the murder and dismemberment of Robin Skocdopole” said U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson. “This successful prosecution was the result of the exhaustive investigation and outstanding cooperation between federal, state, and local law enforcement. We will continue to work with law enforcement partners to hold violent offenders accountable.” According to court documents, in January 2020, Scott walked into a police precinct in New York City and admitted to killing someone in an unrelated case. Members of the New York Police Department found identification and credit cards belonging to Robin Skocdopole in Scott’s possession. During an interview with law enforcement, Scott provided a prior residence in Broken Arrow and mentioned living with the victim. Several unsuccessful attempts were made by law enforcement to contact Skocdopole. In February 2020, the Broken Arrow Police Department searched the residence of Skocdopole and found the house empty of all possessions. Forensic searches and cadaver dogs found multiple locations of blood spatter and a large pool of blood. DNA tests revealed the blood belonged to Skocdopole. In May 2020, human remains positively identified as belonging to Skocdopole were discovered on the edge of a creek in Broken Arrow. The Medical Examiner’s report indicated two different saws were used during the dismemberment including a saw comparable to a chainsaw. During the investigation, it was determined Scott was fitted with an ankle monitor in July 2019 awaiting trial on an unrelated case in Tulsa County District Court. The last time Skocdopole was seen alive was in August 2019. During this time, Scott was renting a room from the victim and told associates that Skocdopole abruptly left and moved to Dallas for work. Friends of the victim told law enforcement that when they attempted to reach out to him, they received vague and oddly worded responses. Scott later admitted to sending the email responses. Further analysis of Scott’s ankle monitor data showed where Scott traveled to dispose of the body parts. Scott’s ankle monitor data and bank history confirmed that he purchased and returned a chainsaw from a local retailer. In May 2023, Scott agreed to be interviewed by the FBI. He explained the circumstances surrounding the murder of Skocdopole, as well as the dismemberment and disposal of the body afterward. Scott agreed to take the FBI to the last known location of Skocdopole’s head. Unfortunately, when Scott took FBI to the location, no additional remains were found. Scott has entered a plea of not guilty in the pending case in New York. Scott is a member of the Cherokee Nation. He will remain in custody while the New York case is pending. After the New York case is completed, Scott will be transferred to a U.S. Bureau of Prison facility. The FBI and Broken Arrow Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David A. Nasar and Valeria Luster prosecuted the case.


title: Tampa Man Sentenced For Conspiracy To Commit COVID-Related Unemployment Insurance Fraud And Identity Theft

body_text: Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Mehdi Tazi (29, Tampa) to five years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and a substantive count of aggravated identity theft. Tazi entered a guilty plea on February 2, 2024. As part of his sentence, the court also ordered Tazi to pay $1,070,647 in restitution, jointly with his co-conspirators who were previously sentenced for the below listed offenses. Name (Age, City) Charges Sentence Imposed Steve Aloysius Moodie Jr. (36, Tampa) Conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft 5 years, 10 months Tyree Wingfield (26, Dade City) Conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft and aggravated identity theft 5 years, 10 months Melinda Sue Hernandez (35, Sun City Center) Conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft and aggravated identity theft 3 years, 6 months According to court documents, from approximately June 2020 through April 2021, the conspirators obtained personal identifying information (PII) of others without their knowledge. Hernandez was employed as a medical assistant at a Tampa Bay area hospital and gained access to patient PII, which she shared with Moodie. Thereafter, Tazi, Moodie, and Wingfield used that PII and that of others to submit fraudulent unemployment insurance (UI) claims to various state workforce agencies to obtain UI benefits. These UI benefits were then transferred to bank accounts or loaded onto debit cards issued in the names of others. Tazi, Moodie, Wingfield, and Hernandez then used the fraudulently obtained debit cards to withdraw money from ATMs and for other personal items. Law enforcement calculated the total intended loss caused by the fraudulent UI claims to be between $1.5 million and $3.5 million. This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Greg Pizzo. In March 2020, the President signed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, which expanded states’ ability to provide UI for many workers impacted by COVID-19, including for workers who were not ordinarily eligible for benefits. On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus .


title: Felon Accused of Drug and Gun Crimes Indicted by a Grand Jury

component: Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

body_text: Salt Lake City, Utah – A felon and foreign national living in Utah was indicted by a federal grand jury in Salt Lake City today for federal drug and gun crimes. According to court documents, Rafael Maldonado-Solario, 46, of Salt Lake City, was under investigation by agents for allegedly distributing fentanyl in the Salt Lake Valley. On May 9, 2024, agents seized 2,290 grams of blue pills stamped M30 at Maldonado-Solario’s apartment in Salt Lake City. The pills were field tested and confirmed to contain fentanyl. Law enforcement also seized a Taurus CCP .380 handgun inside Maldonado’s apartment. As a previously convicted felon, Maldonado-Solario is restricted from possessing a firearm. Maldonado-Solario is charged with possession of a firearm as a previously convicted felon, possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, and illegal reentry of a previously removed alien. His initial court appearance on the indictment is scheduled for May 23, 2024, at 10:30 a.m. in courtroom 8.4 before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City. U.S. Attorney, Trina A. Higgins, of the District of Utah made the announcement. The case is being investigated jointly by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Utah State Bureau of Investigations (SBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO). Assistant United States Attorney Cameron P. Warner of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah 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. 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: Red Bluff Man Charged with Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Child & Other Offenses

component: USAO - California, Eastern

body_text: SACRAMENTO, Calif. — On May 16, 2024, a federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment against Christopher King, 29, of Red Bluff, charging him with attempted sexual exploitation of a child and distribution and possession of visual depictions of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. The case was unsealed Tuesday following his arrest. According to court documents, King attempted to sexually abuse a minor by producing secret recordings of the minor utilizing a hidden camera. King also distributed images of children involved in sexually explicit conduct on an online social media platform. Finally, King possessed several images of children engaged in sexually explicit conduct on electronic devices seized from his residence. This case is the product of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Whitnee Goins is prosecuting the case. If convicted of attempted sexual exploitation of a child, King faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release, restitution, and a $250,000 fine. If convicted of distribution of a visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, King faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release, plus restitution and a fine. If convicted of possession of a visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, King faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release, plus restitution and a fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven beyond a reasonable doubt. 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 those 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: Former Veterinary Clinic Manager Pleads Guilty To Attempting To Obtain Hydrocodone By Fraud

body_text: Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Crystal Windham (41, Summerfield) has pleaded guilty to an information charging her with attempting to obtain a controlled substance (hydrocodone) by fraud. Windham faces a maximum penalty of four years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not been set. According to court documents, between July 2020 and May 2023, Windham purchased more than 21,000 hydrocodone tablets from a pharmacy in Summerfield, Florida. Windham, a former practice manager for a veterinary clinic in Ocala, used forged prescriptions from two veterinarians to acquire the drugs. Many of the prescriptions were for deceased pets or for animals that had never been prescribed hydrocodone by the veterinary practice. On May 9, 2023, Windham went to the pharmacy and again attempted to fill a fraudulent prescription for hydrocodone. She was stopped before doing so. When subsequently interviewed by law enforcement, Windham admitted the scheme by which she had fraudulently obtained the hydrocodone tablets. This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration with assistance from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Tyrie K. Boyer.


title: St. Tammany Parish Man Pleads  Guilty to Violating the Federal Controlled Substances Act

component: USAO - Louisiana, Eastern

body_text: NEW ORLEANS , LOUISIANA – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that LARRY JAMES (“ JAMES”) , age 23, of Madisonville, Louisiana, pled guilty on May 21, 2024, to violating the Federal Controlled Substances Act, before United States District Judge Susie Morgan. Specifically, JAMES pled guilty to Counts 1 through 5 of the indictment pending against him. Count 1 charged him with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute, 40 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of Fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(B), and 846. JAMES also pled guilty to three counts of distribution of fentanyl and, one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, in violation of 21 United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(B), 841(b)(1)(C), and 846. According to court documents, JAMES sold fentanyl pills to an undercover agent on August 25, 2023, September 8, 2023, and September 15, 2023. On September 28, 2023, law enforcement searched JAMES’s residence pursuant to a state search warrant and found additional fentanyl pills, packaging materials, and two digital scales. For Counts 1 and 4, JAMES faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years and up to 40 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $5,000,000, and at least 4 years of supervised release. For Counts 2, 3, and 5, JAMES faces up to 20 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $1,000,000, and at least 3 years of supervised release. For each count, JAMES , also faces payment of a mandatory special assessment fee of $100.00. JAMES’s sentencing is set for August 20, 2024. The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Department. Assistant United States Attorney Rachal Cassagne of the Narcotics Unit oversees the prosecution.


title: Arizona Man Sentenced for Role in Scheme to Steal Money from U.S. Bank Accounts

component: Civil Division

body_text: An Arizona man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in San Diego to 51 months in prison for conspiracy to commit access device fraud. According to court documents, Luis Ramirez, 43, of Mesa, Arizona, helped to obtain “leads” for fraudsters who sought to steal money from the bank accounts of unknowing U.S. victims. The “leads” consisted of financial information for the prospective victims that included bank account numbers. Ramirez and his coconspirators trafficked “leads” that originated from payday loan applications of consumers across the United States. Ramirez was also sentenced yesterday to 120 months in prison on a separate case brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California. In sentencing Ramirez, Judge Cynthia Bashant of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California determined that 24 months of his sentence should run consecutively, so that Ramirez’s total sentence is 144 months in prison. “Those who knowingly supply fraudsters with personal and financial information about potential victims cause enormous harm to the American public,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We are committed to investigating and prosecuting individuals who sell such information for illicit purposes.” “The Postal Inspection Service is dedicated to protecting American consumers,” said Inspector in Charge Eric Shen of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s (USPIS) Criminal Investigations Group. “In this case, small transactions were used to conceal the scheme, but that wasn’t enough to fool postal inspectors or keep us from adding it all together to put a halt to this fraud.” Related cases against other scheme participants have previously been filed in Los Angeles and in Las Vegas. In May 2023, a grand jury in Los Angeles returned an indictment charging 14 defendants with RICO conspiracy and other charges in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. The indictment alleges that the defendants and associates debited consumers’ bank accounts without authorization and used shell entities and “micro debits” to conceal the activity from banks. “Micro debits” serve to conceal fraud by grouping unauthorized charges with a large number of low-value, straw transactions to lower the fraudster’s chargeback rate. Another scheme participant, Harold Sobel, pleaded guilty to bank fraud conspiracy in federal court in Las Vegas. In December 2022, Sobel was sentenced to 42 months in prison. USPIS investigated the case. Trial Attorneys Wei Xiang, Meredith Healy and Amy Kaplan of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch prosecuted the case, with assistance from the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices for the Central and Southern Districts of California. For more information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts, visit www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch .


title: Dulce Man Charged with Multiple Counts of Sexual Abuse of Children

body_text: ALBUQUERQUE – A Dulce man was charged by indictment with multiple counts of sexual abuse against two minors under the age of 12. Herbert Ben, Jr. , 54, an enrolled member of Jicarilla Apache, appeared before a federal judge today and will remain in custody pending trial, which has not been scheduled. According to the indictment, between July 2018 and October 2020, Ben engaged in sexual acts with two children who had not attained the age of 12 years. If convicted of the current charges, Ben faces not less than 30 years and up to life in prison. U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today. The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Jicarilla Apache Police Department and Bloomfield Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Caitlin L. Dillon and Timothy Trembley 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: St. Louis County Man Accused of Pandemic, Disability Fraud

component: USAO - Missouri, Eastern

body_text: ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Louis County, Missouri has been accused in an indictment of fraudulently obtaining $620,000 in COVID-19 pandemic loans and committing a separate fraud involving disability payments. Preston Randall, 59, was indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis May 15 with 13 felony charges: five counts each of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, two counts of theft of government property and one count of concealing information from the Social Security Administration about a payment. On Wednesday, Randall was arrested, appeared in court and pleaded not guilty to the charges. The indictment says Randall applied for money from the Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, a Small Business Administration program intended to help struggling business owners during the pandemic. Between June 26, 2020, and Aug. 5, 2020, Randall filed five fraudulent loan applications using five different company names and the identities of two other people, the indictment says. The loan applications contained false information, including about gross revenue and the number of employees, the indictment says. Those fraudulent applications resulted in loans and advances totaling $620,000 that were deposited into accounts controlled by Randall, it says. The indictment also accuses Randall of fraudulently obtaining $17,906 in Social Security Administration disability payments from March 2021 through October 2023 by concealing his receipt of the EIDL money and other resources. Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty. The Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Diane Klocke is prosecuting the case. Anyone with information about pandemic fraud should call the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or report via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form .


title: Additional Defendant Sentenced for Federal Conspiracy Against Rights and Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act Convictions Related to 2020 D.C. Clinic Invasion and Blockade

component: Civil Rights Division

body_text: Heather Idoni was sentenced today to 24 months in prison following her convictions for federal conspiracy against rights and Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act offenses following three separate trials in connection with the blockade of a Washington, D.C., area reproductive health clinic on Oct. 22, 2020. Previously, Lauren Handy was sentenced to 57 months in prison, John Hinshaw was sentenced to 21 months in prison, William Goodman was sentenced to 27 months in prison, Jonathan Darnel was sentenced to 34 months in prison, Herb Geraghty was sentenced to 27 months in prison, Jean Marshall was sentenced to 24 months in prison and Joan Bell was sentenced to 27 months in prison. “Federal law is clear: using force, threatening to use force or physically obstructing access to reproductive health care is unlawful,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “People have a First Amendment right to communicate their views but they do not have the right to use chains, locks and obstruction to prevent access to reproductive health care facilities. The Justice Department will continue to protect both patients seeking reproductive health services and providers of those services.” “Using force and intimidation to deprive others of their civil rights is a crime, and rightly so,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. “This office will continue to defend and protect the right of every citizen to access health care.” These defendants, and one, were convicted following three separate trials in 2023. Paulette Harlow is scheduled to be sentenced later this month. Idoni is scheduled to be sentenced in a separate matter on July 30, following conspiracy and FACE Act convictions in an unrelated clinic blockade from Tennessee. A tenth defendant, Jay Smith, was sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to a felony FACE Act offense on March 1, 2023. Evidence presented at trial established that the defendants used force and physical obstruction to execute a clinic blockade that was organized by the group’s leaders, Handy and Darnel. The defendants planned and organized the clinic invasion using social media, text messages and telephone calls, and several co-conspirators, including Hinshaw, Goodman, Geraghty, Marshall, Bell, Harlow, Idoni and Smith traveled from northeast and midwestern states to participate in the blockade. Prior to the clinic incursion, the defendants met with other co-conspirators to plan their crime, which included making a fake patient appointment to ensure the group’s entry into the clinic, using chains and locks to barricade the facility and passively resisting their anticipated arrests to prolong the blockade. The clinic invasion was advertised on social media as a “historic” event that was live-streamed on Facebook. The defendants’ forced entry into the clinic at the outset of the invasion resulted in injury to a clinic nurse. During the blockade, one patient had to climb through a receptionist window to access the clinic, while another laid in the hallway outside of the clinic in physical distress, unable to gain access to the clinic. The FBI Washington Field Office investigated the case. Prosecutors from the Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia prosecuted the case.


title: California Man Sentenced for Violating the Federal  Controlled Substances Act

body_text: NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – WALTER ALVAREZ TIRADO (“TIRADO”) , age 34, a resident of Chula Vista, California, was sentenced on May 21, 2024, to 144 months imprisonment, 5 years supervised release, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans. TIRADO previously pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(A). According to court documents, on October 6, 2021, TIRADO traveled from Kentucky and bound for New Orleans to deliver fifty pounds of methamphetamine. Law enforcement conducted a traffic stop of TIRADO ’s vehicle in Pearl River, La. Following the stop, officers searched TIRADO ’s luggage and discovered fifty pounds of methamphetamine. This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Louisiana State Police. The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorney J. Benjamin Myers of the Financial Crimes Unit.


title: New Mexico Man Indicted for Allegedly Trying to Burn Down Church Preschool and Strip Mall in San Bernardino County

component: USAO - California, Central

body_text: RIVERSIDE, California – A federal grand jury today returned a two-count indictment against a New Mexico man who allegedly tried to burn down a San Bernardino County church preschool while children and school employees were inside and, that same day, tried to burn down a strip mall. Jonathan A. Barajas Nava, 36, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, is charged with two counts of attempted destruction of property by means of fire. Nava was arrested on April 24 and was charged in state court prior to a federal criminal case being brought against him. Nava made his initial appearance in the federal case on May 8 and was ordered detained pending trial. He is scheduled for arraignment on May 28 in United States District Court in Riverside. According to an affidavit previously filed with a criminal complaint in this case, on April 24, Nava tried to burn down the Retreat Church and Yucaipa Christian Preschool by pouring an ignitable liquid on the church preschool’s entrance and lighting it on fire. There were 48 preschoolers and 14 staff members inside the church preschool at the time, but no one was injured. That same day, Nava allegedly tried to burn down a Yucaipa strip mall by pouring an ignitable liquid on the building’s gas meters and then lighting the gas meters on fire. A criminal complaint and an indictment are merely allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. If convicted of both charges, Nava would face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of 40 years in federal prison. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department are investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorneys Peter Dahlquist and Austin D. Young of the Riverside Branch Office are prosecuting this case.


title: Owner of Ambulatory Transportation Company Indicted for Tax Evasion and COVID-19 Relief Fraud

component: Tax Division

body_text: A federal grand jury in Santa Ana, California, returned a superseding indictment today charging a California man with wire fraud and money laundering for making fraudulent claims to the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, two federal programs created to provide financial assistance to Americans suffering economic harm as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. He had previously been charged with tax evasion and filing false corporate tax returns. According to the superseding indictment, from May 2020 to December 2021, Mehrdad “Mitch” Tabrizi, of Aliso Viejo, submitted two fraudulent PPP applications on behalf of Life Fleet Inc., a California business he owned, seeking $695,565 in loans. In the applications, Tabrizi allegedly claimed that Life Fleet had at least 54 employees and monthly payroll obligations of $139,313. After receiving the PPP funds, Tabrizi allegedly used the proceeds for personal expenses. Similarly, Tabrizi allegedly filed a false EIDL application claiming that Life Fleet had gross revenues of more than $4 million and 63 employees. In reality, however, Life Fleet allegedly was not in business, had no revenue and had no employees. Tabrizi also allegedly filed a fraudulent EIDL application in the name of Resonante Group Inc., a California company he controlled. According to the superseding indictment, this EIDL application falsely claimed Resonante Group had gross revenues of more than $19 million and over 300 employees. As a result, the Small Business Administration allegedly disbursed approximately $319,800 into bank accounts controlled by Tabrizi, which he was not entitled to receive and used for personal expenses. Tabrizi was previously charged with tax evasion and filing false tax returns. According to the superseding indictment, Tabrizi operated Socal Medical Transportation Inc., a company incorporated in California. In 2015 and 2016, Tabrizi allegedly deposited approximately $2.6 million of income into a bank account but did not disclose these funds to the CPA firm he hired to prepare Socal Medical’s corporate tax returns. Instead, Tabrizi allegedly informed the CPA firm that these funds had been received by a separate business. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each of four counts of wire fraud, 10 years in prison for each of four counts of money laundering, five years in prison for each of two counts of tax evasion and three years in prison for each of two counts of filing false tax returns. 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 and U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California made the announcement. IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case. Trial Attorney Boris Bourget of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brett Sagel for the Central District of California are 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: New Orleans Man Sentenced for Fentanyl Distribution

body_text: NEW ORLEANS , LOUISIANA – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that ANYTHONY DOYLE (“DOYLE”) , age 40, a resident of New Orleans, was sentenced on May 21, 2024 by Chief United States District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown on three (3) counts of distribution of Fentanyl, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(B), and 841(b)(1)(C). According to court documents, on three (3) separate occasions in August of 2023, DOYLE sold Fentanyl to undercover special agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. DOYLE arranged these transactions through recorded phone calls and text messages. These transactions were video recorded. For one of the three drug deals, DOYLE sent his co-defendant, CARLOS GUILLEN, on his behalf. Specifically, Chief Judge Brown sentenced DOYLE to serve 92 months in prison, to be followed by four (4) years of supervised release and a mandatory special assessment fee of $300. Previously, DOYLE’s co-defendant GUILLEN pled guilty to distribution of Fentanyl and received a sentence of thirty months in prison. The U.S. Attorney’s Office would like to acknowledge the work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives on this investigation. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Maria M. Carboni of the Financial Crimes Unit.


title: Purported Rap Promoter Pleads Guilty to Role in $2.3M Nationwide Fraud Conspiracy

component: Criminal Division

body_text: An Illinois man pleaded guilty today to his role in a nationwide wire fraud conspiracy that victimized businesses and individuals across the United States, and caused a total loss of $2,299,842. According to court documents, between at least March 2016 and September 2020, Antonio M. Strong, 31, of Lansing, Illinois, conspired with Herbert Wright, Joseph Williams, Demario Sorrells, and others to defraud numerous businesses and individuals by using unauthorized and stolen payment card account information to obtain valuable goods and services from those businesses and individuals, including private jet charters, private yacht charters, luxury car rentals, luxury hotel and vacation rental accommodations, private chef and security guard services, designer puppies, limousine and chauffeur services, commercial airline flights, consumer goods, meals, and other incidentals. The actual cardholders discovered these transactions on their accounts and disputed the charges. The actual cardholders’ payment card companies then reversed their payments and charged back the transactions to the businesses and individuals, which consequently suffered losses in the amounts of the unauthorized transactions. During this time, Strong presented himself as a rap promoter based in the Chicago area. To conceal his identity and perpetrate the fraud, Strong used various fictitious names and aliases; provided fake driver’s licenses; used email accounts in the names of fictitious and real businesses; and falsely stated that he was from “Universal Music,” “Sony Music,” “Epic Music,” and other real and fictitious companies. Strong pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 19 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Wright, Williams, and Sorrells have all pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Wright was sentenced on Jan. 11 to three years of probation and was ordered to pay $139,968 in both restitution and forfeiture. Williams is scheduled to be sentenced on June 28, and Sorrells is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 29. Two other co-conspirators were indicted in October 2020 and their trial is scheduled to begin on Oct. 21. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy for the District of Massachusetts; and Special Agent in Charge Andrew Murphy of the U.S. Secret Service Boston Field Office made the announcement. The U.S. Secret Service is investigating the case. Trial Attorneys Andrew Tyler and Kyle Crawford of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow for the District of Massachusetts are prosecuting the case.


title: Chicago-Area Rap Promoter Pleads Guilty to Role in Nationwide Fraud Conspiracy

component: USAO - Massachusetts

body_text: BOSTON – A Chicago-area man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Springfield, Mass. to his role in a nationwide wire fraud conspiracy that victimized businesses and individuals across the United States. Antonio M. Strong, 31, of Lansing, Ill., pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Mark G. Mastroianni scheduled sentencing for Sept. 19, 2024. Strong was indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2020 along with five co-defendants, including rap artist Herbert Wright, Joseph Williams and Demario Sorrells. According to court documents, between at least March 2016 and September 2020, Strong conspired with Wright, Sorrells, Williams and others to defraud numerous businesses and individuals by obtaining, possessing, using and transferring unauthorized and stolen payment card account information to obtain valuable goods and services, including: private jet and yacht charters; luxury car rentals; luxury hotel and vacation rental accommodations; private chef and security guard services; designer puppies; limousine and chauffer services; and commercial airline flights, among other things. During this time, Strong presented himself as a music promoter based in the Chicago area. The stolen payment card account information included the actual cardholders’ names, addresses, payment card account numbers, security codes and account expiration dates. Because Strong and his alleged co-conspirators provided authentic payment card information, the defrauded businesses and individuals successfully processed their transactions and provided the goods and services. The actual cardholders discovered these transactions on their accounts and disputed the charges, which were reversed by the payment card companies. As a result, the transactions were charged back to the businesses and individuals from whom Strong and his co-conspirators defrauded with the unauthorized transactions. To conceal his identity and perpetrate the fraud, Strong used various fictitious names and aliases; provided fake driver’s licenses in the names of both fictitious and real people; used email accounts in the names of fictitious and real businesses; and falsely stated that he was from “Universal Music,” “Sony Music,” “Epic Music,” and other real and fictitious companies. Strong caused a total loss of $2,299,842, which he has agreed to repay. In January 2024 , Wright was sentenced to three years’ probation and was ordered to pay restitution and forfeiture of $139,968, as well as a $5,500 fine after previously pleading guilty. Williams and Sorrells have also pleaded guilty to their roles in the conspiracy and are scheduled to be sentenced on June 28, 2024 and Aug. 29, 2024, respectively. The remaining two defendants are pending trial. The charges of wire fraud conspiracy and wire fraud provide for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case. Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; and Andrew Murphy, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, Boston Field Office made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow of the Springfield Branch Office and Trial Attorneys Andrew Tyler and Kyle Crawford of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.


title: Foreign National Accused of Possession and Distribution of Illicit Drugs, Including 17,000 Fentanyl Pills

body_text: Salt Lake City, Utah – A foreign national living in Utah was indicted by a federal grand jury in Salt Lake City today for multiple federal drug crimes after agents allegedly seized methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin and cocaine. According to court documents, Mauricio Hermosillo Becerra, 26, of Taylorsville, Utah, was stopped in a vehicle by members of the West Valley City Police Department and the Metro Narcotics Task Force on May 7, 2024, after leaving a residence under surveillance. As part of a larger investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the residence was under surveillance for alleged narcotics distribution in connection with a Las Vegas based drug trafficking organization. As alleged in the complaint, during Hermosillo Becerra’s traffic stop, agents seized approximately three pounds of methamphetamine, several ounces of heroin and approximately 2,000 counterfeit M30 fentanyl pills from the vehicle. During the investigation, agents also seized 23 pounds of methamphetamine, 15,000 fentanyl pills, 2.7 pounds of heroin, and 239 grams of cocaine from Hermosillo Becerra’s residence in Taylorsville. All the narcotics field tested positive. Hermosillo Becerra is charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute, and possession of heroin with intent to distribute. His initial court appearance on the indictment is scheduled for May 23, 2024, at 10:45 a.m. in courtroom 8.4 before a U.S. Magistrate Judge at the United States District Courthouse in downtown Salt Lake City. U.S. Attorney, Trina A. Higgins, of the District of Utah made the announcement. The case is being investigated jointly by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), West Valley City Police Department, and the Metro Narcotics Task Force (MNTF). Special Assistant United States Attorney Kelsy B. Young of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah 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. 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: Former Lafayette and Vermilion Parish Educator Convicted on Child Pornography Charge

component: USAO - Louisiana, Western

body_text: LAFAYETTE, La. – United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that a jury in Lafayette has returned a guilty verdict against Jacob Conrad De La Paz , 34, of one count of attempted receipt of child pornography. United States District Judge David C. Joseph presided over the three-day trial. The jury could not reach a unanimous verdict as to the additional count in the indictment of attempted production of child pornography. De La Paz was formerly a teacher and coach at St. Thomas More Catholic High School in Lafayette and a math teacher at North Vermilion High School in Maurice. He left North Vermilion High School and began teaching at St. Thomas More in the fall of 2022. Testimony at trial revealed that in January 2023, De La Paz began communicating through social media with a former minor female student from North Vermilion High School who had reached out to him seeking his help as a math tutor. On January 12, 2023, De La Paz sent a video through the Facebook social media platform to the minor female student, who was 17 years old at the time, asking her to send him a video of her pleasuring herself. He then sent a second video to the minor victim of himself masturbating to ejaculation. Further testimony in court revealed that De La Paz instructed the minor victim to delete the video and all of their conversations from Facebook. De La Paz faces a sentence of 5 to 40 years in prison, supervised release of 5 years to life, and a fine of up to $250,000, or both. Sentencing has been set for August 22, 2024, at 2:30 p.m. The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and Vermilion Parish Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lauren L. Gardner and J. Luke Walker. # # #