title: Camden County Man Who Directed the Arson of a Bucks County Warehouse Sentenced to Six Years in Prison

body_text: PHILADELPHIA – Acting United States Attorney Nelson S.T. Thayer, Jr., announced that Ramiz Duka, 62, of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, was sentenced today by United States District Court Judge Kelley Brisbon Hodge to six years in prison, three years of supervised release, and $6,158,686.84 in restitution for conspiring to commit the arson of a Bucks County warehouse. On October 30, 2024, Duka was convicted at trial of conspiracy to commit malicious damage by means of fire of a building used in interstate commerce. The facts at trial established that Duka recruited two men into a conspiracy to set fire to a warehouse located at 1388 Bridgewater Road in Bensalem, Pa., paying them $15,000 to do so. Over the course of several weeks, the three co-conspirators met and planned the arson. On December 10, 2022, one of the men recruited to the conspiracy by Duka set fire to the building. During fire suppression operations, one firefighter was seriously injured when a ladder collapsed. Damages from the fire totaled over $6 million. “Ramiz Duka orchestrated this arson plot and set it in motion with no regard for the unpredictable nature of fire, the potential for the flames to spread, or the risks facing first responders reporting to fight the blaze,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Thayer. “Arson endangers lives and communities, and, as this case shows, our office will continue to work with our partners to hold accountable those reckless enough to commit such a serious crime.” “Arson is a dangerous crime with dire consequences, as in this case, seriously injuring a firefighter who was serving to protect his community” said Eric DeGree, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF's Philadelphia Field Division. “I thank the Bensalem Township Police and Fire-Rescue, U.S. Attorney’s Office and other partners who are helping the ATF-led Philadelphia Arson and Explosives Task Force seek justice and keep our communities safe from dangerous arsonists like Ramiz Duka.” The case was investigated by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Bensalem Police Department, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Amanda R. Reinitz. Special thanks to the Bensalem Township Fire Rescue and the volunteer firefighter companies in and around Bensalem that responded to the fire.


title: Harrisburg Woman Sentenced To 41 Months in Prison for Health Care Fraud And Bank Fraud Charges

component: USAO - Pennsylvania, Middle

body_text: HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Ester N. Mbaya, age 43, of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on Thursday, February 27, 2025, to 41 months in prison by United States District Court Judge Julia K. Munley, on charges of health care fraud and bank fraud. Judge Munley also ordered Mbaya to pay back $3,349,550 in restitution to the parties she defrauded. According to Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Mbaya was president of Cool Waters, LLC, a home health care agency. Mbaya submitted fraudulent Medicaid claims seeking compensation for services that were not provided or were otherwise inflated. Mbaya submitted these fraudulent claims from January 2018 to June 2020, and obtained in excess of $1 million as a result of the fraud. Mbaya also submitted falsified records to four financial institutions to obtain loans and lines of credit. The falsified records included altered bank statements which made it appear she had more money on deposit than she did. She also submitted falsified pay checks to obtain loans. “This exhaustive investigation uncovered nearly three million dollars in Medicaid funds that should have been used to help Pennsylvanians in need of care, but instead were taken by the defendant who deliberately defrauded the system,” Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday said. “I commend the dedication of our team which uncovered this fraud, and thank our federal partners for collaboration which led to a successful prosecution.” “This sentencing sends a clear message that home health care providers are required to follow the law and submit only valid claims to Medicaid for reimbursement,” said Special Agent in Charge Maureen Dixon of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “HHS-OIG and our law enforcement partners will continue to work together to investigate fraudulent claims made to federally funded health care programs.” The case was investigated by the U.S. Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Sherwood and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Consiglio prosecuted the case. # # #


title: Businesswoman Sentenced For Orchestrating $1.5 Million Fraudulent Disaster Relief Loan Scheme

component: USAO - North Carolina, Western

body_text: CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Jeannetta Blackmon, also known as Jeannetta Regan, 50, of Charlotte, was sentenced today to 30 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for obtaining more than $1.5 million in fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Relief Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program loans for her and her customers, announced Lawrence J. Cameron, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Blackmon was also ordered to pay $1,549,737 in restitution. Robert M. DeWitt, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in North Carolina joins Acting U.S. Attorney Cameron in making today’s announcement. “Blackmon defrauded loan programs put in place to support businesses fighting to survive during the COVID-19 pandemic. Her scheme was not a lapse in judgment, but a pervasive and deceitful course of conduct. This Office stands ready to identify and prosecute those who exploit government assistance programs for personal gain,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Cameron. “Not only did Blackmon prepare fraudulent loan applications for herself, she also charged others to fake their applications as well. The FBI will make every effort to ensure federal relief funds are used as intended,” said Special Agent in Charge DeWitt. According to court records, filed plea documents, and court proceedings, from April 2020 to November 2021, Blackmon executed a scheme to defraud the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and SBA-backed lenders by obtaining fraudulent COVID-19 disaster relief funds for her businesses, J Renee Enterprises, Jeannetta Renee Girls Talk, and Jrenee Investments. To obtain the relief funds, Blackmon submitted applications and supporting documents that contained false and fraudulent information regarding her businesses’ income, number of employees, gross revenues, and expenses. Blackmon also created and submitted fabricated bank statements and checks, in furtherance of the scheme. As a result of the fraudulent loan applications, Blackmon received more than $319,000 in disaster relief funds. Blackmon also obtained over $300,000 in fees from customers who paid her to prepare and submit on their behalf fraudulent PPP and EIDL applications that contained false and fictitious information on employment data, business income, expenses, and tax information. Based on the fraudulent loan applications, Blackmon’s customers received more than $1.2 million in disaster relief funds. To avoid detection, Blackmon directed her customers to pay her loan preparation fees in checks or peer-to-peer payments. On July 25, 2023, Blackmon pleaded guilty to wire fraud and money laundering. She is released on bond and will be ordered to report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. The FBI handled the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Caryn Finley and Benjamin Bain-Creed prosecuted the case. 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 www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form .


title: Orlando Woman Ordered To Pay Over $3 Million For Her Involvement In Wire And Tax Fraud Scheme

component: USAO - Florida, Middle

body_text: Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Wendy W. Berger has sentenced Marielys Feliciano Rodriguez (47, Orlando) to one year of house arrest and ordered her to pay $3,338,558 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service for wire fraud and tax fraud. She was also ordered to serve a five-year term of supervised release. The court also entered a money judgment against Rodriguez in the amount of $347,760, representing the proceeds of the wire fraud. According to court documents, Rodriguez established a shell company that purported to be involved in the construction industry. She obtained a workers’ compensation insurance policy in the name of the shell company to cover a minimal payroll for a few purported employees, then “rented” the workers’ compensation insurance to work crews who had obtained subcontracts with construction contractors on projects in various Florida counties as well as contractors in other states. Rodriguez sent the contractors a certificate as “proof” that the work crews had workers’ compensation insurance, as required by Florida law. By sending the certificate Rodriguez falsely represented that the work crews worked for the shell company. Over the course of the scheme, Rodriguez “rented” the certificates to dozens of work crews, defrauding the worker’s compensation carrier, typically allowing numerous undocumented illegal workers to be employed unlawfully. As part of the scheme, the contractors issued payroll checks for the workers’ wages to the shell companies and Rodriguez cashed these checks, then distributed the cash to the work crews, after deducting their fee, which was typically about 6% of the payroll. During the scheme, Rodriguez cashed payroll checks totaling approximately $13 million. Neither the shell company nor the contractors reported to government authorities the wages that were paid to the workers, nor did they pay either the employees’ or the employer’s portion of payroll taxes – including Social Security, Medicare, and federal income tax. The amount of payroll taxes due on wages collected by Rodriguez totaled over $3 million. The scheme also facilitated the avoidance of the higher cost of obtaining adequate workers’ compensation insurance for the numerous workers on the work crews to whom Rodriguez “rented” the workers’ compensation insurance. The policy that Rodriguez purchased and then “rented” out was for an estimated payroll of $121,800 and the insurance company issued a policy for a premium of approximately $8,006. Had a workers’ compensation insurance policy been purchased for the actual payroll totaling approximately $5 million dollars, the policy premium would have totaled about $461,679. “Fraudulent schemes that provide under-the-table cash payments ultimately exploit undocumented aliens for large profits and undermines the integrity of the industry, endangering both the workers and the system that’s meant to protect them,” said Homeland Security Investigations Jacksonville Assistant Special Agent in Charge Tim Hemker. “HSI, alongside our law enforcement partners, will investigate those who engage in illegal practices and hold them accountable for their actions.” “Today’s sentence sends a clear message that off the books payroll schemes which enable illegal immigrants the ability to work without paying taxes will not be tolerated. These schemes are violations of a number of serious federal criminal statutes including wire fraud and tax evasion. The impact of this scheme, and others like it, harm law-abiding businesses and legal workers who are unable to compete against the tax-free labor of illegal immigrants,” said Special Agent in Charge Ron Loecker, of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Tampa Field Office. “We are proud to work alongside our partners at Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) on this case, and we will continue this partnership to ensure all employers are on an even playing field.” This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation, and the Florida Department of Financial Services. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John Cannizzaro.


title: Clay County Man Pleads Guilty To Possessing A Loaded Firearm As A Convicted Felon

body_text: Jacksonville, Florida –Acting United States Attorney Sara C. Sweeney announces that Toby Harris (46, Clay County) has pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. Harris faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison and forfeiture of a CANIK 9mm pistol and ammunition used in the offense. No sentencing date has been set. According to court documents, on August 27, 2024, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) received a call about a reckless driver on Blanding Boulevard. After locating the car and arresting the driver for DUI, the CCSO advised Harris, who was a passenger, that the car would be towed. As the CCSO prepared the car for towing, Harris repeatedly approached the car and was told by law enforcement to stay away from the vehicle. Ignoring law enforcement, Harris went to the front driver’s side wheel well and then walked to a grassy area. A deputy walked toward Harris and located a loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol laying on the ground, directly where Harris was previously standing. Examination of the firearm determined it contained six rounds of ammunition with one round chambered in the barrel. At the time, Harris had multiple prior felony convictions which prohibits him from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law. This case was investigated by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives – Jacksonville Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin C. Frein. 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: Justice Department Files Statement of Interest in Religious Land Use Case in Clarion, Pennsylvania, Alleging Unequal Treatment of Religious Assembly Uses

component: Civil Rights Division

body_text: The Justice Department filed a statement of interest today in the Western District of Pennsylvania supporting a lawsuit brought by the Hope Rising Community Church, which alleges that the Borough of Clarion’s zoning code violates the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). The statement of interest was filed in Hope Rising Community Church v. Borough of Clarion , a lawsuit alleging that the Borough violated RLUIPA by enacting and enforcing zoning provisions that treat religious uses less favorably than similar secular assemblies. The lawsuit alleges that the Church has outgrown its current facility and that the only suitable property in the Borough is located in the Borough’s C-2 Commercial District. This District does not allow houses of worship, but permits nonreligious assembly uses like theaters and civic/cultural buildings. When the Church approached the Borough about using the property for religious purposes, Borough officials allegedly told the Church that the Borough would not grant zoning approval and that the Borough did not “need any more Churches.” “Congress enacted RLUIPA to ensure that zoning ordinances treat religious assemblies on par with nonreligious assemblies,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mac Warner of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. “Zoning codes that prohibit religious uses while permitting comparable secular uses violate RLUIPA. Central to the Civil Rights Division’s mission is combatting religious discrimination and ensuring that houses of worship receive equal treatment under the law. We will continue to protect the foundational right of all Americans to religious freedom.” The Borough filed a motion to dismiss the Church’s lawsuit, arguing in part that the Church had failed to properly allege an equal terms claim under RLUIPA and that the Church was not sufficiently injured by the Borough’s conduct to assert such a claim. The Department’s statement of interest refutes these contentions, explaining that the Church has properly alleged an equal terms claim and that the Church, which cannot develop its proposed religious facility, has suffered a concrete injury. RLUIPA is a federal law that protects persons and religious institutions from unduly burdensome, unequal or discriminatory land use regulations. More information about RLUIPA and the Department’s efforts to enforce it can be found on the Place to Worship Initiative’s webpage . Individuals who believe they have been subjected to discrimination in land use or zoning decisions may contact the Civil Rights Division Housing and Civil Enforcement Section at (800) 896-7743, or through the online RLUIPA complaint portal .


title: Lisa G. Johnston Named Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia

component: USAO - West Virginia, Southern

body_text: CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Lisa G. Johnston has been named the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia. As Acting United States Attorney, Johnston is the chief federal law enforcement officer for the Southern District of West Virginia, which covers 23 counties, and oversees all federal criminal prosecutions as well as the litigation of all civil matters in which the United States has an interest. “I am honored to serve as Acting United States Attorney and pledge to continue to fulfill the vital mission of the Department of Justice,” Johnston said. “On behalf of this office and its dedicated attorneys and staff, I look forward to working closely and collaboratively with our law enforcement partners to protect the public, enforce the law fairly and consistently, and promote respect for the legal system and the rule of law.” Johnston previously served as the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia from February 2021 to October 2021. She joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of West Virginia in August 2006. Since January 2018, Johnston has served as First Assistant United States Attorney, the second most-senior official in the United States Attorney’s Office tasked with overseeing the operations of the criminal, civil and administrative sections of the United States Attorney’s Office. Johnston began her 37-year career in the Northern District of West Virginia, where she served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney and then as an Assistant United States Attorney. In October 2001, Johnston accepted a detail with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Chief Counsel’s Office where she served as a legal advisor to ATF employees in the Louisville Field Division. In August 2005, Johnston accepted a detail with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, where she handled immigration appeals. Throughout her extensive career as an Assistant United States Attorney, Johnston has handled investigations and prosecutions of federal criminal laws involving crimes against children, firearms, violence, drug trafficking, health care fraud, immigration, and other white-collar offenses. As Acting United States Attorney, Johnston oversees a staff of 34 attorneys and 41 non-attorney personnel located in offices in Charleston, Huntington, and Beckley. A native of Moundsville, West Virginia, Johnston earned a Juris Doctor degree from the West Virginia University College of Law in 1988. She graduated Cum Laude from West Virginia University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Journalism in 1984. A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. ###


title: Honduran National Sentenced to Ten Months in Prison for Illegal Reentry of Removed Alien

body_text: HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Luis Daniel Mejia-Gomez, age 41, of Honduras, was sentenced on February 27, 2025, to 10 months’ imprisonment by United States District Court Judge Malachy E. Mannion for illegal reentry into the United States by a previously-removed alien. According to Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Mejia-Gomez had previously been removed from the United States in 2001, 2007, and 2020. His removal in 2020 followed his conviction and sentence for illegal reentry. Mejia-Gomez was encountered in the United States after being convicted of driving under the influence in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Mejia-Gomez will be removed from the United States following service of his sentence. The case was investigated by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Scalera prosecuted the case. # # #


title: Scranton Man Sentenced To 41 Months’ Imprisonment For Wire Fraud

body_text: SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that James G. Miller, Jr., age 53, of Scranton, Pennsylvania, was sentenced on February 28, 2025, to 41 months’ imprisonment by United States District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani for wire fraud. According to Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, between February of 2020 and January of 2022, Miller assisted coconspirators in transferring $1,582,179 in fraudulently obtained Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Lost Wage Assistance Payments (LWAPs), and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) benefits through various bank accounts, Bitcoin transactions, and mailings. Miller acted as a money mule, receiving small sums of money in exchange for the use of his mailing address and bank accounts to transfer the fraudulently obtained funds to counterparts overseas. The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), the Office of Inspector General Departments of Labor (OIG-DOL) and Homeland Security (OIG-DHS), and the Office of Inspector General Social Security Administration (OIG-SSA). The case was prosecuted by former Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip J. Caraballo and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Lloyd. 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. 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: Honduran National Sentenced for Illegal Reentry of Previously Removed Alien

body_text: HARRISBURG – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Josue Ramon Ayala-Najarro, citizen of Honduras, age 31, was sentenced on February 28, 2025, to four months and nineteen days in prison by United States District Court Judge Julia K. Munley for illegal reentry into the United States by a previously deported alien. According to Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Ayala-Najarro was encountered in the United States after being arrested for possession of drug paraphernalia in Adams County, Pennsylvania, on March 1, 2024. Ayala-Najarro had previously been removed from the United States in 2012. The case was investigated by the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Removal Operations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Scalera prosecuted the case. # # #


title: Halifax Gang Member Sentenced to Over Four Years in Prison After Being Found With A Stolen AR-15 Rifle Loaded With 30 Rounds of Ammunition

component: USAO - North Carolina, Eastern

body_text: WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Roanoke Rapids man was sentenced today to 57 months in prison for possession of a firearm by a felon after he was found in possession of a stolen AR-15 rifle loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition. On August 21, 2024, Shelvy Travon Edwards, age 29, pled guilty to the charges. According to court documents and other information presented in court, on September 12, 2023, Halifax County Sheriff’s Deputies and Roanoke Rapids Police Officers received a community tip that Edwards was in the parking lot of an apartment complex and was armed. Officers were looking for Edwards because there was an outstanding warrant for his arrest. When law enforcement arrived, they saw Edwards move a long, dark colored object towards the center console of the vehicle he was seated in prior to fleeing on foot and leaving the car door open. Two officers pursued Edwards and quickly apprehended him with the assistance of a K-9 officer. Two other officers secured the scene and determined that the object Edwards had placed near the center console was a fully loaded AR-15 rifle. A review of the serial number later determined that it was stolen. Edwards has prior felony convictions in North Carolina and Virginia that prohibit him from legally possessing a firearm. The felonies include conspiracy to commit robbery with a dangerous weapon (NC), and unlawful wounding (VA). Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II. The Halifax County Sheriff’s Office and the Roanoke Rapids Police Department investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Phil Aubart prosecuted the case. Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:24-CR-15-M-RN. ###


title: Columbus men sentenced to decades in prison for their roles in drug & human trafficking rings, overdose & violent deaths

component: USAO - Ohio, Southern

body_text: COLUMBUS, Ohio – Two Columbus men were sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 25years and 23 years in prison for drug crimes, sex trafficking crimes and their roles in the deaths of a local man and woman. The defendants are two of nearly two dozen individuals charged in a case involving large-scale drug and human trafficking rings, the overdose death of at least one individual and the violent death of a second victim. Dustin A. Speakman, 35, of Columbus, was sentenced to 276 months in prison. He pleaded guilty in March 2024 to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances within 1,000 of an elementary school. As part of his plea, Speakman admitted to his role in the violent death of one victim that occurred during the time he was operating a drug distribution house. Tyler Bourdo, 31, of Columbus, was sentenced to 300 months in prison. He also pleaded guilty in March 2024 to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances within 1,000 of an elementary school, as well as distributing fentanyl and cocaine that resulted in death and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking. Speakman and Bourdo are two of 23 defendants charged in a narcotics and human trafficking case that involves at least two deaths. Two of the defendants were found guilty following a jury trial last month. All 23 defendants have been convicted or pleaded guilty. According to court documents, from 2008 until June 2022, lead defendants Patrick Saultz and Cordell Washington ran a large-scale drug trafficking organization in Columbus that included sex trafficking, labor trafficking and money laundering. Court documents detail that the drug trafficking organization brought large quantities of fentanyl, heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, oxycodone, alprazolam and marijuana into Columbus. These drugs were sold or used to coerce individuals into sexual activity for some members of the drug ring and their profit. Speakman joined the drug trafficking organization after being released from jail in 2022, where he was housed with Saultz. Speakman was a mid-level drug distributor for the group out of residences on South Ogden and South Warren. As part of his guilty plea, Speakman admitted to severely beating one of his drug runners in May 2022 and then providing him with free drugs to make up for the attack. Witnesses said the male was beaten by Speakman and then given cocaine and fentanyl as compensation. Shortly after, the victim began to seize and foam at the mouth and did not respond to Narcan. The victim was driven to an alley near Grant Hospital where he was found unconscious by Columbus Fire Department personnel with severe trauma to the face and head. His cause of death was ultimately determined to be blunt force trauma caused by Speakman. Bourdo supplied and oversaw the drug distribution at one of the stash houses on North Warren. He was providing the property’s owners approximately $100 in illegal narcotics per day for use of the residence. According to Bourdo’s plea agreement, on Oct. 14, 2021, an individual was found deceased in an alley between Bourdo’s primary residence and a drug distribution house. The woman was found with a needle in her hand and another needle in her pocket and had been dead for approximately 18 hours. Further investigation revealed that, on Oct. 10, 2021, the woman had overdosed on crack cocaine and fentanyl at one of the organization’s drug houses that Bourdo supplied on North Warren. Witnesses on site immediately placed the woman in a bathtub and soaked her in cold water. The witnesses provided multiple rounds of Narcan, CPR and chest compressions, eventually resuscitating her. The woman left and, over the next 48 hours, met up with Bourdo on more than one occasion to get and use more drugs. Video surveillance of the alley shows Bourdo walking to the deceased woman’s body just moments before police personnel arrived to attempt (unsuccessfully) to obtain her phone to prevent further investigation into her death. As part of his plea, Bourdo admitted to coercing adult drug-addicted females into performing commercial sex acts by using violence as well as providing and then withholding or threatening to withhold narcotics and lodging. Acting U.S. Attorney Kelly A. Norris commended the investigation coordinated by Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission Central Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force, which includes Columbus Division of Police Chief Elaine Bryant; Jared Murphey , Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit; and Andrew Lawton, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Other agencies that have assisted the task force with the investigation include the Franklin County Sheriff's Office, HIDTA Task Force, IRS-Criminal Investigation, FBI, Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI), Ohio National Guard Counter Drug Task Force, Pickerington Police Department, New Albany Police Department, and the Fairfield County Sheriff's Office SWAT Team. Assistant United States Attorneys Timothy Prichard and Emily Czerniejewski are representing the United States in this case. This investigation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. More information about OCDETF can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF . # # #


title: Mercer County Accounting Professor Convicted Of Tax Evasion And Filing False Tax Returns Sentenced To 24 Months In Prison

component: USAO - New Jersey

body_text: TRENTON, N.J. – A Mercer County, New Jersey man was sentenced today to 24 months in prison for evading federal income taxes and filing false tax returns, Acting U.S. Attorney Vikas Khanna announced. Gordian A. Ndubizu, of Princeton Junction, New Jersey, was convicted on Aug. 15, 2024, of all eight counts of an indictment charging him with four counts of tax evasion and four counts of filing false tax returns in tax years 2014 through 2017, following a four-day trial before U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, who imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court. According to documents filed in this case and evidence introduced at trial: During tax years 2014 through 2017, Ndubizu was a professor of accounting at a university in Pennsylvania as well as the co-owner of Healthcare Pharmacy in Trenton, New Jersey. Healthcare Pharmacy was organized as an S corporation, the income of which flowed through to Ndubizu and his wife and was to be reported on their personal income tax returns. Ndubizu prepared fraudulent books and records for Healthcare Pharmacy inflating the pharmacy’s costs of goods sold to reduce and underreport the pharmacy’s actual profits flowing through to Ndubizu and his wife. In the fraudulent books and records, among other things, Ndubizu identified certain wire transfers as payments to purchase goods sold by the pharmacy when those wire transfers were in fact made to personal bank accounts under Ndubizu’s control and to bank accounts in Nigeria associated with an automotive company under Ndubizu’s control. Each of Ndubizu’s tax returns for tax years 2014 through 2017 falsely underreported his income and falsely reported that he had no financial interest in or signature authority over any foreign bank accounts. Ndubizu failed to report approximately $3.28 million in income from the pharmacy, resulting in the evasion of approximately $1.25 million in tax due and owing. Acting U.S. Attorney Khanna credited special agents of IRS Criminal Investigation , under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Piovesan in Newark, with the investigation leading to the sentencing. He also thanked special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and officers of the Trenton Police Department and Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office for their work on this case. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander E. Ramey and Ashley Super Pitts of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.


title: Nigerian Man Charged With Defrauding Unemployment Insurance, Paycheck Protection Programs

component: USAO - Texas, Northern

body_text: A Nigerian man who overstayed his visa has been charged with defrauding the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Insurance Benefits Program and the Paycheck Protection Program, announced Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad Meacham. Oluwanishola Oyedyipo Jinadu, 25, was charged on February 26, 2025 in a seventeen-count indictment with five counts of theft of government money, three counts of wire fraud, eight counts of aggravated identity theft, and one count of false statements in immigration documents. He made his initial appearance Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Brian McKay. The indictment alleges that Mr. Jinadu, who was in the United States illegally after overstaying his B1/B2 nonimmigrant Visa, defrauded the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, which provided supplemental unemployment insurance benefits to qualified claimants pursuant to the CARES Act, and unlawfully obtained unemployment benefits. Records show that Mr. Jinadu allegedly received stolen unemployment benefits into his bank accounts. Applications were submitted in the names of at least five victims in Washington, Massachusetts, and Kansas without their authorization. The indictment further alleges that Mr. Jinadu also defrauded the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which provided forgivable loans to small businesses to cover payroll, rent, and certain other expenses pursuant to the CARES Act. Mr. Jinadu allegedly received more than $65,000 in stolen PPP funds into his bank accounts. Applications were submitted in the names of at least three victims in Oklahoma without their authorization. Not long after allegedly committing these frauds, Mr. Jinadu applied to become a lawful permanent resident of the United States. When asked on his application, “Have you EVER committed a crime of any kind (even if you were not arrested, cited, charged with, or tried for that crime)?” Mr. Jinadu allegedly answered, “no.” He then certified, under penalty of perjury, that all of the information he provided was “complete, true, and correct.” An indictment is merely an allegation of criminal conduct, not evidence. Like all defendants, Mr. Jinadu is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. If convicted, he faces up to 96 years in federal prison. The Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Inspector General and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigation’s Dallas Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tiffany H. Eggers and Madeline S. Case are prosecuting the case.


title: Federal Prosecutors Charge 126 Previously Removed Illegal Aliens, Many with Felony Criminal Records, with Illegally Re-Entering the U.S.

component: USAO - California, Central

body_text: LOS ANGELES – Working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal law enforcement partners, federal prosecutors in recent weeks filed charges against 126 defendants who allegedly illegally re-entered the United States after being removed, the Justice Department announced today. Many of the defendants charged in this operation were previously convicted of felony offenses before they were removed from the U.S., offenses that include manslaughter and crimes against children. Filed as part of immigration enforcement activities across the region over the past week, the criminal cases charge each defendant with being an illegal alien found in the United States following a previous removal from the United States. The criminal complaints and indictments were filed in federal court in Los Angeles, Santa Ana, and Riverside. The recently filed illegal re-entry cases resulted in nearly three dozen arrests over the past week. The crime of being found in the United States following removal carries a base sentence of up to two years in federal prison, defendants who were removed after being convicted of a felony face a maximum 10-year sentence, and defendants removed after being convicted of an aggravated felony face a maximum of 20 years in federal prison. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is enforcing long-standing immigration laws, and Illegal aliens who defy lawful removal orders by returning to this nation will be prosecuted,” said Acting United States Attorney Joseph T. McNally. “These charges promote respect for the immigration laws. The individuals charged over the past week include sex offenders, narcotics dealers, violent criminals, and others who pose a danger to the public.” “This result represents a brand new, whole-of-government approach to immigration enforcement,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles Acting Special Agent in Charge John Pasciucco. “Our primary goal, along with our federal law enforcement partners, is to ensure those who commit transnational crimes such as drug trafficking, financial fraud and child exploitation can no longer commit it in the U.S.” Some of the recently filed cases are summarized below with information contained in court documents. Most of these defendants were arrested February 23. Each of these defendants are Mexican nationals. Ricardo Reynoso-Garcia, 59, of Arleta, was convicted in federal court of illegal reentry into the United States in September 2013 and sentenced to 46 months in prison. He was separately removed four other times between 1984 and 2018. Reynoso-Garcia was convicted in Los Angeles Superior Court of voluntary manslaughter in January 1995 and sentenced to 24 years in prison. He also was convicted in U.S. District Court of fraud and misuse of visas in April 2017 and sentenced to 18 months in prison. Oscar Parra-Reyes, 50, of El Monte, was removed four previous times between 1995 and 2006. He was convicted in Los Angeles Superior Court in February 1993 for sale/transportation of marijuana and sentenced to two years in prison. He subsequently was convicted in Los Angeles Superior Court of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor, corporal injury to a child’s parent and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Luis Roberto Calderon Collantes, 52, of Rialto, was removed from the United States in August 2021 following his February 2017 conviction in San Bernardino County Superior Court for transporting methamphetamine, a felony offense for which he was sentenced to five years in California state prison. In March 2024, Collantes was found in the United States when FBI agents identified his fingerprints on a package of fentanyl they obtained through an undercover purchase on the dark web, a package investigators believe originated from his Rialto home. Valentin Vidal-Lopez, 35, of Granada Hills, was removed from the United States in April 2018. He was convicted of attempted murder in January 2011 in Los Angeles County Superior Court and was sentenced to 10 years in California state prison. According to court documents, immigration authorities were notified on January 26 that Vidal-Lopez was in the custody of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office after his arrested on the charges of resisting, delaying or obstructing a peace officer, DUI alcohol, and possessing a forged driver’s license. At the time of his arrest, Vidal-Lopez allegedly ignored officer commands to step out of his vehicle and then began to drive away. Vidal-Lopez allegedly continued to ignore officer commands and verbally threatened to fight the officers. When taken into custody, Vidal-Lopez allegedly possessed a driver’s license and a Social Security card in other people’s names, along with a bogus lawful permanent resident card, commonly known as a “green card.” Erasmo Hermosillo-Martin, 69, of Inglewood, was removed from the United States to Mexico in March 1994. He was convicted of kidnapping and terrorist threats in May 1991 in Los Angeles County Superior Court and was sentenced to five years and eight months in California state prison. On January 14, law enforcement was notified via the HSI Tipline that Hermosillo-Martin had returned to the United States. Angel Navarro-Camarillo, 42, was removed from the United States four times between 2007 and 2021. He was convicted in Orange County Superior Court in August 2004 for lewd and lascivious acts upon a child under 14 and sentenced to five years’ probation and 202 days in jail. In October 2005, but his probation was revoked, and he was sentenced to three years in prison. Navarro-Camarillo was convicted in U.S. District Court in February 2019 for being an illegal alien found in the United States following removal and was sentenced to 46 months in prison. Isidro Jimenez-Ibanez, 51, of Coachella, was arrested February 24. Jimenez-Ibanez was removed in 1995 following a conviction for possession for sale of methamphetamine in Riverside County Superior Court. According to the criminal complaint, Jimenez-Ibanez returned to the United States and was convicted in 2023 of assault with a deadly weapon in Riverside County. Criminal complaints and indictments contain allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. The illegal re-entry cases filed as part of the past week’s immigration enforcement activities are being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations. The FBI; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the United States Marshals Service; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service provided substantial support during the enforcement activities this week. The criminal cases are being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys in the Domestic Security and Immigration Crimes Section and the General Crimes Section.


title: Shelton Man Admits Fraudulently Obtaining COVID-19 Relief Funds

component: USAO - Connecticut

body_text: Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that on February 28, 2025, VINCENZO MINUTOLO, 38, of Shelton, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to offenses related to his fraudulent receipt of COVID-19 relief funds. According to court documents and statements made in court, on March 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provided emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act was the authorization of forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). In April 2020, Congress authorized more than $300 billion in additional PPP funding. The PPP allowed qualifying small businesses and other organizations to receive unsecured loans at an interest rate of 1%. PPP loan proceeds were to be used by businesses on payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities. The PPP allowed the interest and principal to be forgiven if businesses spent the proceeds on these expenses within a certain period of time of receipt and used at least a certain percentage of the amount to be forgiven for payroll. The PPP was overseen by the Small Business Administration, which has authority over all PPP loans. Individual PPP loans, however, were issued by private approved lenders, which received and processed PPP applications and supporting documentation, and then made loans using the lenders’ own funds, which were guaranteed by the SBA. Minutolo claimed an ownership interest or representative relationship with City Sounds Productions LLC (“City Sounds”). Between March and September 2021, Minutolo defrauded the PPP loan program of more than $145,000 by providing false information on loan applications for City Sounds, including overstating the yearly gross income for City Sounds; misrepresenting that similar PPP loans had not been or would not be sought when he had, in fact, sought and obtained, and intended to seek and obtain, such loans; and providing fraudulent IRS tax filings and tax payment vouchers for City Sounds that had, in fact, never been filed with the IRS. Similarly, on the forgiveness applications he submitted, Minutolo materially misrepresented having complied with all the requirements of the PPP rules. In addition, the CARES Act created a new temporary federal unemployment insurance program for pandemic unemployment assistance (“Pandemic Unemployment Assistance”). Pandemic Unemployment Assistance provided unemployment insurance (“UI”) benefits for employed individuals who are not eligible for other types of UI due to their employment status. The CARES Act also created a new temporary federal program called Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (“FPUC”) that provided additional weekly benefits to those eligible for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance or regular UI. The Connecticut Department of Labor (CT-DOL) administers UI benefits for residents of Connecticut. Between March 2020 and April 2021, Minutolo defrauded the CT-DOL of at least $86,000, and as much as approximately $273,000, by providing the CT-DOL with fraudulent Pandemic Unemployment Assistance applications seeking unemployment insurance payments in others’ names, including individuals who had died, and individuals who did not know that their name and sometimes other personal information was being used. One fraudulent application was for Minutolo’s grandfather, who died in 2014, and included a telephone number associated with Minutolo. Minutolo continued to make online weekly certifications to the CT-DOL attesting that the information contained in his grandfather’s application, and other applications, were true in order to receive continued unemployment insurance benefits. Minutolo pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years on each count. Judge Dooley scheduled sentencing for May 23. Minutolo is released on a $50,000 bond pending sentencing. This matter is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security – Office of Inspector General and the U.S. Department of Labor – Office of the Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher W. Schmeisser. Individuals with information about allegations of fraud involving COVID-19 are encouraged to report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721, or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form .


title: Dominican Man Arrested for Fentanyl and Meth Conspiracy

component: USAO - Massachusetts

body_text: BOSTON – A Dominican national residing in Lawrence has been arrested and charged for his alleged involvement in a North Shore-based drug trafficking organization (DTO) that distributed fentanyl and methamphetamine supplied by the Sinaloa Cartel. Leury Then Rosario, 33, was charged with conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and methamphetamine. Rosario was arrested on Feb. 25, 2025 and was ordered detained pending a hearing scheduled for March 7, 2025. “The alleged discovery of this defendant’s hidden trap wall concealing a stockpile of narcotics and weapons lays bare the dangerous reality of drug trafficking today: fentanyl and methamphetamine are flooding our communities, protected by deadly firepower,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley. “Drug traffickers are adapting, but so are we. This office, alongside our law enforcement partners, will continue to dismantle these criminal networks piece by piece, ensuring those who peddle poison in our communities face the full force of justice.” “Those who choose to distribute fentanyl, especially fake pills containing the drug, endanger their customers as well as the general public. Maintaining public safety requires that they be investigated and prosecuted aggressively,” said Stephen Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division. “We work closely each day with our law enforcement partners to target those who seek to profit from the sale of deadly substances.” “The Massachusetts State Police has committed investigatory, intelligence and tactical resources in support of the DEA Strike Force, knowing that it could yield enormous results for the communities we serve,” said Massachusetts State Police Colonel Geoffrey Noble. “This arrest, the second successful operation in as many weeks, is a culmination of a complex investigation by local, state and federal partners. Their results and the decision to prosecute these offenses reinforce our shared belief that criminal gangs, illegal guns and illicit drugs have no place in Massachusetts. We remain steadfast in our commitment to ensuring the safety and security of our communities.” According to the charging documents, in January 2023, an investigation began into a DTO operating on the North Shore area of Massachusetts that was being supplied with fentanyl and methamphetamine by an organization based in Sinaloa. The investigation allegedly identified Rosario to be a Lawrence-based drug trafficker operating as part of the DTO. Immediately following Rosario’s arrest on Feb. 25, 2025, search warrants were executed at his primary residence and an alleged stash location in Lawrence, Mass. It is alleged that the stash location purported to be a multiservice business with an empty retail counter in the front room. The back room allegedly contained two large casino-style poker tables and video poker-type machines. A high-end video surveillance system was allegedly overserved operating throughout the first floor as well as outside. According to court filings, the basement storage room of the stash location contained two large, locked storage boxes that contained equipment commonly used in drug processing or manufacturing: respirators; gloves; drug packaging materials; scales; blenders; and other tools. According to court documents, a small remote control with an extendable antenna was also allegedly found. When law enforcement actuated the remote control, an audible alarm sounded and a trap wall within the storage area opened – revealing a hidden closet that allegedly contained, among other things: Over 16 kilograms of counterfeit pills, in various colors and sizes, containing controlled substances; A brick-shaped object of a white powdery substance, weighing approximately one kilogram, that field tested positive for the presence of cocaine; Over two kilograms of suspected fentanyl pressed into 10-gram units, commonly referred to as “fingers” in retail drug trafficking; Over two kilograms of suspected fentanyl powder in large bags; Over 25 pounds of loose powders in various colors, believed to include cutting agents used with narcotics; A commercial pill press used to press counterfeit pills, including over 50 pill die casts with designs to counterfeit Percoet, Xanax, Adderall and others; Multiple kilogram presses, as well as branded stamps used to imprint logos onto kilograms of narcotics; One Glock Model 33 .357 caliber semiautomatic handgun loaded with six rounds of ammunition; One High Point .380 caliber semiautomatic handgun loaded with eight rounds of ammunition; One Ruger .380 caliber semiautomatic handgun loaded with six rounds of ammunition; Two Glock-style personally made firearms (also known as “ghost guns”) with no serial numbers loaded with 10 and nine rounds of ammunition respectively; and; One AR-15 style rifle with a .458 SOCOM caliber, loaded with eight rounds of ammunition. The charge of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and methamphetamine provides for a sentence of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. The defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of any sentence imposed. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case. U.S. Attorney Foley, DEA Acting SAC Belleau and MSP Colonel Noble made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the Natick, Newton, Waltham, Brookline and Lawrence Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Dell’Anno of the Narcotics & Money Laundering Unit is prosecuting the case. This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF . The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.


title: Pulled Over for a Suspended Driver’s License, Convicted Felon Faces Up to 15 Years for Possessing Firearm

body_text: PORTLAND, Maine: A Millinocket man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Portland to being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to court records, in March 2023, an officer with the East Millinocket Police Department ran a registration check on a vehicle and discovered that it was registered to someone with a suspended driver’s permit. The officer stopped the vehicle, and a confrontation ensued between the officer and the driver, Jeffrey Barnard , 61. Barnard was arrested with the assistance of a second officer and a private citizen. As he was searched, a .22 caliber revolver was found in his jacket pocket. Barnard is precluded from possessing a firearm due an extensive criminal history, which includes a 2017 conviction in the U.S. District Court for being a felon in possession of a firearm in a case that stemmed from an armed standoff with police in Ellsworth. Barnard faces up to 15 years imprisonment and a maximum $250,000 fine to be followed by up to three years of supervised release. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) investigated the case with assistance from the East Millinocket Police Department. ###


title: Malden Man Pleads Guilty to Drug Trafficking Conspiracy

body_text: BOSTON – A Malden man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to his role in a conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine. Logan Pierre, a/k/a “LO,” 33, pleaded guilty conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of methamphetamine, 40 grams and more of fentanyl and cocaine. U.S. District Court Judge Brian E. Murphy scheduled sentencing for June 5, 2025. Logan Pierre was charged along with his brother and co-defendant, Isaiah Pierre in June 2024. Isaiah Pierre fled apprehension and is a fugitive. In the fall of 2023, an investigation began into drug trafficking activities conducted by Logan and, allegedly, Isaiah Pierre. The investigation revealed that the Pierre brothers were allegedly actively selling methamphetamine in the greater Boston area. Between October 2023 and May 2024, Logan Pierre and, allegedly, Isaiah Pierre sold or arranged the sale of a pound methamphetamine on at least five separate controlled purchases. During a search of Logan Pierre’s apartment, an additional 1000g of methamphetamine, fentanyl and cocaine was recovered. The charge of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of methamphetamine, 40 grams and more of fentanyl, and cocaine provides for a sentence of a mandatory minimum term of 10 years and up to life in prison, up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case. United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Malden Police Chief Glenn Cronin; and Revere Police Chief David Callahan made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney John T. Dawley of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit 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 gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit https://www.justice.gov/PSN .


title: Florida Woman Sentenced to 10 Months in Prison for Defrauding Massachusetts Housing Agency

body_text: BOSTON – A Florida woman was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for defrauding a Massachusetts housing agency where she worked in 2022, along with defrauding the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) in connection with the pandemic Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Alihea Jones, 51, of Brandon, Fla., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris to 10 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Jones was also ordered to pay $222,074 in restitution and to forfeit $222,074. In September 2024, Jones pleaded guilty to five counts of wire fraud. In 2022, Jones worked remotely for the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) for six months where she worked with the Residential Aid to Families in Transition (RAFT) program, which provides funds to assist low-income Massachusetts residents facing eviction and other housing emergencies. Immediately after she was terminated, Jones, who was still logged into the RAFT database, accessed the files of four RAFT program participants and authorized electronic payments to their landlords in the amounts of $7,500, $8,800, $6,925 and $10,000. However, Jones changed the routing and bank account numbers from the landlords’ accounts to four unauthorized accounts in Georgia: an account in the name of Jones’s business, Beauty Concepts by Alihea, LLC (Beauty Concepts); Jones’s personal account; and the accounts of persons identified in the charging document as “Friend A” and “Friend B” – all without knowledge or permission from DHCD. After these transfers went through, Friend A and Friend B each paid Jones a $2,000 kickback. Earlier, in 2021, Jones also fraudulently obtained a $187,000 PPP loan from a Massachusetts lender, which the SBA later forgave. Jones spent most of the money on personal expenses, including clothing and restaurants. Under the PPP, authorized lenders issued SBA-guaranteed loans to small businesses during the COVID pandemic to help keep workers employed. If a business spent the money on payroll and other permissible business expenses, the SBA forgave the loan. Jones submitted a PPP loan application to a Massachusetts lender falsely stating that Beauty Concepts had 17 employees and an average monthly payroll expense of $74,800. In fact, Beauty Concepts did not employ anyone. Unaware that Jones’s information was false, the SBA agreed to guarantee a $187,000 loan to Beauty Concepts. The lender transmitted the loan proceeds to the Beauty Concepts account in Georgia. Jones later applied to have her loan forgiven. Again, she included false employee count and payroll information. Unaware that Jones’s representations were false, the SBA forgave the loan principal and accrued interest. In total, Jones caused a loss of $222,074, with $33,225 payable to the DHCD and $188,849 payable to the SBA. United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Massachusetts Inspector General Jeffrey S. Shapiro; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Wichers of the Public Corruption Unit prosecuted the case.


title: Former Delaware County Teacher Convicted After Trial of Coercing, Transporting, and Sexually Abusing Students

component: USAO - New York, Northern

body_text: SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Paul Geer, age 57, of Hancock, New York, was convicted today by a federal jury after a two-week-long trial on two counts of coercing and enticing two separate children to travel across state lines to engage in unlawful sexual activity and two counts of transporting the children across state lines with the intent to engage in criminal sexual activity with those children. The jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict on two additional counts. Acting United States Attorney Daniel Hanlon and Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Craig Tremaroli made the announcement. The evidence at trial proved that, while Geer was a teacher at the Family Foundation School in Hancock, New York, he imposed various disciplinary sanctions on students that were tantamount to torture. The sanctions Geer imposed on students included depriving children of food or forcing children to eat food that had been regurgitated, binding children in rugs and leaving them in isolated rooms for extended periods of time and forcing children to perform forced physical labor. The evidence at trial further proved that, in 1994 and 2001, Geer used his position of authority and his ability to impose these brutal sanctions to coerce two students to travel with him, on separate occasions, to Maine and Toronto, Canada. The evidence at trial also proved that Geer transported the students across state lines with the intent to engage in sexual activity with them. While on those trips, Geer raped or otherwise sexually abused each of the two children. Geer was taken into custody following the verdict. At sentencing currently scheduled for July 9, 2025, in Albany, New York, the two counts of coercion and enticement each carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 5 years. The two counts of transporting children across state lines each carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 5 years. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors. The case was investigated by the FBI with assistance New York State Police and the Colonie, New York Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica N. Carbone, Adrian S. LaRochelle, and Michael D. Gadarian prosecuted the case as a part of Project Safe Childhood. Project Safe Childhood is a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, and led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc .


title: Felon Sentenced To 26 Years In Prison For Armed Robberies And Assault Of Federal Officer

component: USAO - Nevada

body_text: LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas man who has prior felony convictions was sentenced today in two separate cases to a total of 26 years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. He admitted to committing armed robberies of two jewelry stores and assaulting a detention officer while in custody. According to court documents, on December 12, 2016, Wyatt Scott Peterson (42) entered EZ Pawn in Las Vegas and demanded the keys to the jewelry case. During the course of the robbery, he brandished a 9mm semi-automatic handgun to intimidate employees into not resisting and complying with his demands. The firearm was discharged into a display case during the robbery. Peterson stole at least $40,000 and left the store. Then, on December 21, 2016, Peterson entered Super Pawn in Las Vegas and demanded the keys to the jewelry case. He stole 29 rings, three pairs of earrings, and five bracelets combined worth more than $20,000 before he left the store. Peterson has prior felony convictions including identity theft in Colville, Washington; Possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver in Spoke, Washington; and Attempt carrying concealed firearm or other deadly weapon in Clark County, Nevada. He is prohibited by law from possessing a firearm. In December 2016, Peterson was charged and detained pending trial for the armed robbery case. He was housed at Nevada Southern Detention Center in Pahrump, Nevada. While in custody, he confronted a detention officer at the stairwell and began punching the detention officer. Peterson pleaded guilty to one count each of commerce by robbery, possessing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, felon in possession of a firearm, and assault on a federal officer. Acting United States Attorney Sue Fahami for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans for the FBI Las Vegas Division made the announcement. The case was investigated by the FBI and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Jim Fang prosecuted the cases. ###


title: Hyannis Man Pleads Guilty to Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm

body_text: BOSTON – A Hyannis man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Boston to illegally possessing a Chinese SKS .762 caliber rifle. Donnell Pina, 52, pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm before U.S. Senior District Judge William G. Young who scheduled sentencing for June 4, 2025. In November 2022, Pina, along with co-defendant Ryan Diefenbach was indicted by a federal grand jury. In September 2021, Pina and Diefenbach possessed a Chinese SKS .762 caliber rifle. Due to felony convictions, Pina and Diefenbach were both prohibited from possessing firearms. In October 2024, Diefenbach was sentenced to six years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. The charge of being a felon in possession provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case. United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and James M. Ferguson, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division made the announcement today. Assistant United States Attorney Elianna J. Nuzum of the Criminal Division 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 gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN .


title: Attorney General Pamela Bondi appoints Michael DiGiacomo as U.S. Attorney

component: USAO - New York, Western

body_text: BUFFALO, N.Y.-Michael DiGiacomo was appointed as the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York by Attorney General Pamela Bondi on February 28, 2025. Mr. DiGiacomo was sworn in today, March 3, 2025, by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo. He will serve as the U.S. Attorney for 120 days or until a Presidential nominee has been confirmed by the United States Senate. Mr. DiGiacomo has been an Assistant U.S. Attorney since 2002. He began in the Narcotics and Violent Crimes Division, where he prosecuted multi-defendant narcotics traffickers. Mr. DiGiacomo then moved to the White Collar and General Crimes Division, where he served as Chief for 10 years, supervising 12 attorneys and a deputy chief. Mr. DiGiacomo’s White Collar prosecutions included child exploitation, defense procurement fraud, intellectual property violations, health care fraud, international parental kidnapping and immigration offenses. In addition, Mr. DiGiacomo serves as the computer hacking and intellectual property coordinator for the Western District of New York. Prior to joining the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Mr. DiGiacomo was an attorney in private practice in Buffalo, NY. Mr. DiGiacomo stated, “Having served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in this office for the past 23 years, I am both honored and humbled to be chosen to serve as United States Attorney.” # # # #


title: Venezuelan National Arrested in El Paso for Alleged Misuse of Documents

component: USAO - Texas, Western

body_text: EL PASO, Texas – A Venezuelan national was arrested in El Paso on criminal charges related to his alleged fraud and misuse of visas, permits, and other documents. According to court documents, Alcides Jose Urrivari-Arape, was pulled over by an El Paso County Sherriff’s Office deputy Feb. 24. After the deputy requested U.S. Border Patrol assistance, Urrivari-Arape allegedly presented a fraudulent U.S. Social Security card to the USBP agent, claiming that the ID allowed him to remain in the country legally. He allegedly admitted to paying $690 for the false document. If convicted, Urrivari-Arape faces up to 10 years in federal prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Acting U.S. Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas made the announcement. The U.S. Border Patrol and El Paso County Sherriff’s Office are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Wang is prosecuting the case. A criminal complaint is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. ###


title: Illegal Alien Indicted for Conspiracy to Transport Other Aliens and Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin

component: USAO - Arizona

body_text: PHOENIX, Ariz. – Last week, a grand jury returned an indictment against Edgar Guadalupe Jimenez-Aguilar, an illegal alien living in Phoenix, for Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens and Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin. After an investigation, agents from Homeland Security Investigations and United States Border Patrol identified Jimenez-Aguilar as a load driver who picked up aliens in desert areas in Pinal and Pima Counties and transported them to Phoenix. Jimenez-Aguilar also operated a stash house in Phoenix used to harbor the aliens and assumed a coordinator role by recruiting others to act as load drivers. From late 2024 through January 2025, agents interviewed other load drivers arrested for transporting aliens, who admitted Jimenez-Aguilar had recruited them. The agents also conducted surveillance on Jimenez-Aguilar and his stash house. On October 3, 2024, officers with the Tohono O’odham Police Department stopped a vehicle and determined four passengers, including two in the trunk of the vehicle, were aliens unlawfully present in the United States. Officers learned that the driver had been recruited on social media, had participated in multiple prior smuggling ventures, and had been to Jimenez-Aguilar’s stash house to unload the aliens. On January 28, 2025, agents stopped a Jeep Grand Cherokee in Mesa and identified the driver as Jimenez-Aguilar via his Sonoran driver’s license. Inside the vehicle, agents located approximately 297 grams of black tar heroin. Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin carries a minimum penalty of five years and up to 40 years in prison, as well as a fine of up to $5,000,000. Conspiracy to Transport Illegal Aliens carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000. An indictment is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The United States Border Patrol, Alien Smuggling Unit – Tucson Sector and Homeland Security Investigations – Casa Grande, Pinal and Pima County Sheriff Departments, Tohono O’odham Police Department, and Arizona Department of Public Safety conducted the investigation in this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Vanessa Kubota, District of Arizona, Phoenix, is handling the prosecution. CASE NUMBER: CR-25-00284-PHX-DJH RELEASE NUMBER: 2025-027_Jimenez-Aguilar # # # For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/ Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on X @USAO_AZ for the latest news.


title: Gardena Man Sentenced to Nearly 3½ Years in Federal Prison for Assaulting a United States Postal Service Employee

body_text: LOS ANGELES – A Gardena man was sentenced today to 41 months in federal prison for assaulting a United States Postal Service (USPS) employee last year. John Leomen Ross, 40, was sentenced by United States District Judge Dale S. Fischer. Ross pleaded guilty in November 2024 to one count of assault on a federal employee resulting in bodily injury. “The defendant here violently attacked a postal employee who was hard at work doing his job,” said Acting United States Attorney Joseph McNally. “We are grateful to our law enforcement partners for their work helping obtain a prison sentence for this defendant.” “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s top priority is the safety of our postal employees,” said Matt Shields, Acting Inspector in Charge of the Los Angeles Division. “These dedicated letter carriers serve our communities daily, ensuring reliable mail delivery while facing various challenges on their routes. We remain committed to protecting the well-being of these carriers and holding accountable anyone who threatens their livelihood. No one should have to fear for their safety while performing their job.” On February 21, 2024, the victim was delivering mail in Gardena when Ross approached and stopped the USPS employee. According to the victim, Ross yelled at him and was upset he didn’t get a package he felt he was supposed to have already received. Ross asked the employee to deliver his mail to a particular Gardena residence where he was allegedly squatting. Surveillance video from a home security system show the USPS employee turning away from Ross and attempting to walk away to continue his postal route. Without warning, Ross then hit the USPS employee on the back of the head, hit him in the eye, and then body slammed the USPS employee to the ground. The United States Postal Inspection Service investigated this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua J. Lee of the General Crimes Section prosecuted this case.


title: Daycare Operator Sentenced To 45 Years In Prison In Connection With Fentanyl Poisoning Of Four Children At A Bronx Daycare

component: USAO - New York, Southern

body_text: Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that GREI MENDEZ was sentenced to 45 years in prison for trafficking fentanyl out of a daycare in the Bronx, New York, which resulted in the death of one child and the poisoning of three others. Mendez pled guilty on October 29, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff, who imposed today’s sentence. Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “Grei Mendez operated a daycare out of a basement apartment in the Bronx in which large quantities of deadly fentanyl were mixed, packaged, and stored. She put babies as young as eight months old directly in harm’s way as they slept, played, and ate in a room where over 11 kilograms of fentanyl was hidden underneath their feet, leading to the death of one child and the poisoning of others. No punishment can make up for a child lost, but today’s sentence sends the message that this Office and our law enforcement partners will work tirelessly to bring to justice anyone who uses children as a shield in the drug trade.” According to the Complaint, the Indictment, and other documents in the public record: From at least in or about June 2022 through September 2023, MENDEZ and others conspired to distribute narcotics out of Divino Niño Daycare in the Bronx. There, MENDEZ and her co-conspirators maintained more than 11 kilograms of fentanyl and heroin in secret compartments, or traps, located underneath the floor tiles in the playroom of the Daycare. As a consequence of the drug conspiracy perpetrated by MENDEZ and her co-conspirators, on or about September 15, 2023, four children at the Daycare, all of whom were under three years of age, experienced the effects of poisoning from exposure to fentanyl. Three of the children were hospitalized. The fourth child, a 22-month-old boy, died. * * * In addition to the prison term, MENDEZ, 37, of the Bronx, New York, was sentenced to five years of supervised release. Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding investigative work of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), the Southern District of New York Digital Forensic Unit, the Complex Analytical and Social Media Enhancement Team at the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (“OCDETF”) New York Strike Force, and the U.S. Marshals Service (“USMS”). Mr. Podolsky also thanked the NY/NJ Regional Fugitive Task Force of the USMS; the USMS Office of International Operations; the USMS for the Southern District of New York; the USMS for the Southern District of Texas; the USMS for the Southern District of California; the USMS Mexico Field Office; the USMS Investigative Operations Division; the DEA New York Strike Force; the DEA Regional Office in Allentown, Pennsylvania; the DEA Regional Office in McAllen, Texas; the DEA Regional Office in Mexico City, Mexico; the DEA Regional Office in Hermosillo, Mexico; the DEA Regional Office in Monterrey, Mexico; the DEA Special Operations Division; the NYPD 52nd Precinct’s Detective Squad; the NYPD Bronx Homicide Squad; the NYPD Laboratory; the Office of International Affairs of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas; the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and Mexican Federal and State authorities. This prosecution is part of an OCDETF operation . OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles criminal organizations using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF. The OCDETF New York Strike Force provides for the establishment of permanent, multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations. The specific mission of the New York Strike Force is to target, disrupt, and dismantle drug trafficking and money laundering organizations, reduce the illegal drug supply in the United States, and bring criminals to justice. This case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Narcotics Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maggie Lynaugh and Brandon C. Thompson, as well as Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Karl P. Miller of the Office of the Bronx County District Attorney’s Homicide Bureau, are in charge of the prosecution.


title: Kern County Resident Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for Methamphetamine Trafficking Conspiracy

component: USAO - California, Eastern

body_text: FRESNO, Calif. — Mark Garcia, 25, of Lamont, was sentenced today to two years in prison for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced. According to court documents, in March 2021, Garcia and co-defendant Jorge Calderon-Campos, 44, a Mexican national residing in Bakersfield, received 26 pounds of methamphetamine from co-defendant Alberto Gomez-Santiago, 39, a Mexican national. Law enforcement officers later seized the drugs from Garcia’s vehicle during a traffic stop. According to court documents, this drug transaction was one of many involving Calderon-Campos, who was the target of a federal wiretap investigation that resulted in the seizure of more than 86 pounds of methamphetamine and one kilogram of heroin. The wiretap investigation also uncovered an illegal cockfighting enterprise involving Calderon-Campos, who was charged in a second indictment with violations of the Animal Welfare Act. Garcia was prosecuted for the 26-pound methamphetamine transaction in state court but was sentenced to only four days in jail. Both Gomez and Calderon-Campos pleaded guilty to federal drug charges and were sentenced to four years and nine months and eight years and one month in prison, respectively. Calderon-Campos was also sentenced to five years in prison for the animal fighting venture. This case was the product of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations and the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Marshals Service, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the U.S. Secret Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Kern County High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, the California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Kern County Sheriff's Office, the Kern County Probation Department, and the Bakersfield Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Escobar prosecuted the case. The case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information, please visit Justice.gov/OCDETF .


title: Mexican Citizen Pleads Guilty to Distributing Methamphetamine in Saratoga Springs

body_text: ALBANY, NEW YORK – Mauro Esparza-Gutierrez, age 39 and a citizen of Mexico, pled guilty today to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Acting United States Attorney Daniel Hanlon and Special Agent in Charge Frank A. Tarentino III of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), New York Division, made the announcement. Esparza-Gutierrez, who worked at the Saratoga Race Course, admitted to working with a co-conspirator to distribute methamphetamine in the summer of 2024, in Saratoga Springs, New York. Esparza-Gutierrez admitted that his co-conspirator sent methamphetamine shipments in horse trailers to Esparza-Gutierrez, who then sold the methamphetamine. Esparza-Gutierrez acknowledged that he was personally responsible for distributing approximately 100 grams of methamphetamine during the course of the conspiracy. At sentencing on July 1, 2025, Esparza-Gutierrez faces a maximum term of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $1 million, and a term of supervised release of at least 3 years and up to life. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors. Esparza-Gutierrez is the second defendant to plead guilty to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine in Saratoga Springs during the 2024 track season. Nelson Moran, a citizen of Guatemala, pled guilty to methamphetamine charges on October 9, 2024, and is awaiting sentencing. The DEA and Saratoga Springs Police Department investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mikayla Espinosa is prosecuting this case.


title: Parkersburg Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Drug Crime

body_text: CHARLESTON, W.Va. – David Eric West II, 43, of Parkersburg, was sentenced today to seven years and eight months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, for possession with intent to deliver quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl. According to court documents and statements made in court, on April 8, 2024, law enforcement officers conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle driven by West near Parkersburg. Officers found quantities of methamphetamine and fentanyl in the vehicle and a Taurus G3C 9mm pistol on West’s person. West admitted that he possessed the controlled substances and intended to distribute them in and around the Southern District of West Virginia. Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Parkersburg Police Department. United States District Judge Thomas E. Johnston imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney JC MacCallum prosecuted the case. A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 2:24-cr-135. ###


title: Michael J. Heyman to serve as U.S. Attorney for District of Alaska

component: USAO - Alaska

body_text: ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Michael J. Heyman was appointed as the U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi on Feb. 28, 2025. Mr. Heyman was sworn in on March 3, 2025, by U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Burgess. He will serve on an interim basis as the U.S. Attorney for a period of 120 days or until a Presidential nominee has been confirmed by the Senate. Mr. Heyman brings 24 years of unique legal experience to his new role. Mr. Heyman started with the Justice Department as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Southern District of California in 2012, where he focused on international narcotics trafficking, human trafficking, firearms, money laundering, immigration and public corruption. He also lived and worked at the U.S Embassies in Kathmandu, Nepal, and Colombo, Sri Lanka, as the Resident Legal Advisor assisting in developing the rule of law and combatting transnational crime. Mr. Heyman joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Alaska in 2020, where he has focused on complex financial crimes and received the U.S. Department of Justice Director’s Award in 2023 for his prosecutorial work. Prior to working for the Justice Department, Mr. Heyman was a partner at the international law firm of K&L Gates LLP, where he practiced commercial litigation and insolvency law. He also served as a law clerk in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Mr. Heyman has spoken at dozens of domestic and international professional events and published multiple articles on civil and criminal topics. Mr. Heyman received his Juris Doctor from the George Washington University Law School in 2001 and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Political Science, with honors, and International Studies from the University of California, Irvine in 1998. “I am thrilled and humbled to serve as United States Attorney for the District of Alaska. It is the honor of a lifetime to act as the chief federal law enforcement officer in the district alongside our exceptional local, state and federal law enforcement partners,” said U.S. Attorney Heyman. “There is a tremendous amount of work to be done. I look forward to implementing the new administration’s priorities and protecting our communities and the rule of law.” ###


title: Former Clovis CPA Pleads Guilty to Stealing Over $800,000 from a Bank

body_text: FRESNO, Calif. — Kenneth Gould, 68, formerly of Clovis, pleaded guilty to bank larceny for stealing more than $800,000 from a bank, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced today. According to court records, Gould was a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and operated a payroll services company in Clovis. From October 2017 through March 2018, he initiated several fraudulent electronic payments from one of his clients’ accounts to his payroll company’s account at the bank. Gould then withdrew the money in cashier’s checks while the payments were pending. After the bank had credited the fraudulent payments to the payroll company’s account for a short period of time, it realized there were insufficient funds to cover the payments, denied the payments, and attempted to recover its money, but it was too late. Approximately $830,000 of the credited funds was already gone. Gould gave the funds to the client from whose account he initiated the fraudulent payments because he had loaned that individual money and was hopeful that the individual would pay him back. Instead, the client gambled the money away. This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Barton is prosecuting the case. Gould is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on June 2, 2025. Gould faces maximum statutory penalties of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will 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.


title: Stockton Man Pleads Guilty for His Role in Large-Scale Methamphetamine Distribution Conspiracy

body_text: SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Jose Manuel Ontiveros Verdugo, 39, of Stockton, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to possess and distribute methamphetamine, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced. According to court documents, between July 2019 and December 2019, Verdugo conspired with his co-defendants and others to distribute methamphetamine both in Stockton and throughout the country. During the investigation, an undercover source bought a total of 11 pounds of methamphetamine and a half pound of heroin from this drug trafficking organization. Law enforcement interdicted the group’s shipments of 50 pounds of methamphetamine destined for Nebraska, as well as a 21‑pound shipment destined for Pennsylvania. This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with assistance from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Customs and Border Protection, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, San Joaquin County Probation, the Stockton Police Department, and the Tracy Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Adrian T. Kinsella is prosecuting the case. Charges are pending against co-defendants Jorge Omar Arredondo Garcia, 46, of Lodi; Gregorio Ontiveros Verdugo, 41, of Morada; Alberto Navarro Zapata, 50, of Stockton; and Wilfredo Reyes, 48, of Manteca. The charges against them are only allegations; they are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Verdugo is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd on June 16, 2025. Verdugo faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $10 million fine. The actual sentence, however, will 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 case was investigated under the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF). OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. For more information, please visit Justice.gov/OCDETF .


title: Beckley Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug Crime

body_text: BECKLEY, W.Va. – Leondus Whittenburg, 42, of Beckley, pleaded guilty today to distribution of 5 grams or more of methamphetamine. According to court documents and statements made in court, on December 6, 2023, Whittenburg sold 320 grams of methamphetamine to a confidential informant in the parking lot of a Beckley business near Eisenhower Drive. Whittenburg is scheduled to be sentenced on July 3, 2025, and faces a mandatory minimum of five years and up to 40 years in prison, at least four years of supervised release, and a $5 million fine. Co-defendant John Gray, 39, of Oak Hill, pleaded guilty on September 24, 2024, to distribution of a quantity of methamphetamine and awaits sentencing. Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the West Virginia State Police – Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI), and the Central Regional Drug and Violent Crime Task Force. United States Magistrate Judge Omar J. Aboulhosn presided over the hearing. Assistant United States Attorneys Andrew D. Isabell and Brian D. Parsons are prosecuting the case. A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:24-cr-31. ###