title: Two Mexican nationals removed to U.S. to face federal drug trafficking charges in New Mexico

component: Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)

body_text: ALBUQUERQUE – Two Mexican nationals were removed to the United States to face federal drug trafficking charges in New Mexico. Daniel Alfred Blanco-Joo , 39, made his initial appearance today in New Mexico after being removed from Mexico on a five-count indictment charging him with conspiracy, distribution of fentanyl, distribution of an analogue of fentanyl, and international money laundering conspiracy. David Eliezer Seas-Centeno , 43, made his initial appearance today in New Mexico after being removed from Mexico on a charge of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. Federal agents assumed custody of Blanco-Joo and Seas-Centeno from Mexican authorities on January 21, 2026. If convicted, both face no less than 10 years and up to life in prison. First Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison made the announcement on behalf of the Homeland Security Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David B. Hirsch and Blake Nichols are prosecuting these cases. This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Region II CORE 7 is comprised of agents and officers from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Customs and Border Protection – Office of Field Operations (OFO), U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) and Air and Marine (AMO), Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR), United States Department of the Interior – Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Joint Task Force North (JTF-N), United States Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), United States Marshal Service (USMS), Department of State, Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DSS), U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Texas Department of Public Safety (TXDPS), El Paso Police Department (EPPD), New Mexico State Police (NMSP), West Texas / New Mexico High Intensity Drug Trafficking Areas (HIDTA), Albuquerque Police Department, New Mexico Sixth Judicial District, Las Cruces/Dona Ana County Metro Narcotics Agency, and the prosecution is being led by the Office of the United States Attorney for the Districts of Western Texas and New Mexico. View the Indictment (Seas-Centeno).pdf View the Indictment (Blanco-Joo).pdf An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.


title: Tampa Man Indicted for Coercing a Minor to Engage in Sexual Activity, Producing Child Sexual Abuse Material, and Transferring Obscene Material to a Minor

component: USAO - Florida, Middle

body_text: Tampa, Florida – Angel Rivera (49, Tampa) has been charged by indictment with coercion and enticement and attempted coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity, production of child sexual abuse material, and transfer of obscene material to a minor. If convicted on all counts, Rivera faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement. According to the indictment, between October 15 and November 22, 2025, Rivera knowingly persuaded, induced, enticed, coerced and attempted to persuade, induce, entice, and coerce an individual under the age of 18 to engage in sexual activity. On October 16, 2025, Rivera attempted to transfer obscene material to an individual who he believed to be under the age of 16. On October 19 and October 22, 2025, Rivera allegedly employed, used, persuaded, induced, enticed and coerced a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct. An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty. This case is being investigated by the FBI and Tampa Police Department. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Courtney Derry. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.


title: Federal Grand Jury Indicts Venezuelan Men for Bank Larceny Offenses

component: USAO - Kentucky, Western

body_text: Paducah, KY – A federal grand jury in Paducah, Kentucky, returned an indictment on January 14, 2026, charging two Venezuelan nationals with two counts of bank larceny. Both defendants are Venezuelan nationals that were illegally in the United States. U.S. Attorney Kyle Bumgarner of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge Olivia Olson of the FBI Louisville Field Office, Paducah Police Chief Brian Laird, and McCracken County Sheriff Ryan Norman made the announcement. According to the indictment, on October 2 and 3, 2025, Leonel Ramones-Ramos , 24, and Luis Olivares-Davila , 21, both citizens of Venezuela, stole more than $1000 in United States currency from two credit unions located in McCracken County. On February 13, 2026, Ramones-Ramos made an initial appearance before a U.S. Magistrate Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. He is being held in federal custody. Olivares-Davila is facing other charges in the Northern District of Texas and will make an initial appearance at a future date. He is being held in federal custody pending those charges. If convicted, the men face maximum sentences of 10 years in prison and forfeiture of at least $80,000 in United States currency. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. There is no parole in the federal system. The FBI Paducah Satellite Office, HSI, the McCracken County Sheriff’s Department, and the Paducah Police Department are investigating. Assistant U.S. Attorney Raymond McGee, of the U.S. Attorney’s Paducah Branch Office, is prosecuting the case. This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. ###


title: Two Former BOP Employees Sentenced for Separate Bribery and Illegal Gratuity Offenses

component: USAO - Kentucky, Eastern

body_text: LEXINGTON, Ky. – Two former employees at the Federal Medical Center Lexington (“FMC Lexington”), a federal prison managed by the Bureau of Prisons, were sentenced last week for separate incidents related to receiving illegal bribes and gratuities. A. Jade Howard, 36, of Port Charlotte, Fl., was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day by U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell for bribery. According to her plea agreement, from 2021 through October 2024, Howard was employed as a correctional officer and then as a materials handler. Howard knew that inmates were not allowed to possess contraband, including cigarettes and other illicit substances, and that she had a duty to report any such possession. Nonetheless, after being approached by an inmate at FMC Lexington about smuggling cigarettes into the facility, Howard agreed to bring the contraband into FMC Lexington in exchange for money. Howard smuggled tobacco cigarettes for the inmate, and later smuggled in what she believed to be synthetic marijuana (subsequently determined through laboratory testing to be 5F-ADB, a Schedule I controlled substance). In exchange, between December 2023 and December 2024, Howard received $18,602 through mobile banking applications. Ariel Zulewski, 29, of Georgetown, Ky., was sentenced to 12 months, by U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell for abusive sexual contact and receipt of an illegal gratuity. According to her plea agreement, from December 1, 2023, through February 29, 2024, Zulewski was employed at FMC Lexington as a recreational specialist. During that time, Zulewski engaged in sexual contact with an inmate, knowing that any sexual contact between FMC staff and inmates was strictly forbidden. Furthermore, Zulewski brought the inmate contraband, including tobacco and vapes, and knew that the inmate possessed a cell phone, which was also prohibited. On December 9, 2023 and January 17, 2024, Zulewski accepted CashApp payments totaling $500 for providing the inmate with the contraband and concealing his possession of contraband. Under federal law, Howard and Zulewski must serve 85 percent of their prison sentence. Upon their release from prison, they will each be under the supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for one year. Paul McCaffrey, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; William J. Hannah, Special Agent in Charge, Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General, Chicago Field Office; and Olivia Olson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI, Louisville Field Office, jointly announced the sentencing. The Howard investigation was conducted by DOJ-OIG and FBI. The Zulewski investigation was conducted by DOJ-OIG. The U.S. Attorney’s Office was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emily Greenfield. — END —


title: St. Louis County Man Sentenced to 90 Months in Prison for Carjacking 72-Year-Old

component: USAO - Missouri, Eastern

body_text: ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Joshua M. Divine on Wednesday sentenced a man to 90 months in prison and fined him $3,000 for carjacking a 72-year-old in 2023. Kirk Hall, now 25, was one of two men who stole a BMW X5 on July 7, 2023, from a St. Louis County apartment complex. Shortly before 1:00 a.m., the victim parked at the complex. Hall and the other gunman ordered the driver and passenger out. The other gunman then stole the vehicle, taking the driver’s cell phone and other personal items. Hall followed in another vehicle. The unoccupied BMW was found a few hours later. Hall pleaded guilty in November to one count of carjacking and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence. The St. Louis County Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nichole Frankenberg prosecuted the case.


title: Convicted And Armed Fentanyl Trafficker Sentenced To Prison

component: USAO - North Carolina, Western

body_text: CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A previously convicted armed fentanyl trafficker was sentenced to prison today on gun and drug charges, announced the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of North Carolina. Shamel Malik Dove, 32, of Charlotte, was ordered to serve 13 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release. Alicia Jones, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, and Chief Estella D. Patterson of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) join the U.S. Attorney’s Office in making the announcement. According to court documents and court proceedings, in 2016, Dove was convicted of illegal firearm possession and was sentenced to 23 months in prison. In February 2023, CMPD officers were investigating a shooting incident and executed a search warrant at an apartment in Charlotte. Dove was in the apartment when the officers found three firearms, including a Glock model 23 .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, a Glock model 27 .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, and a Ruger AR-15 pistol with a binary trigger. At the time, Dove denied any knowledge of the firearms. On May 8, 2023, CMPD officers arrested Dove, who had a firearm on his person. The officers also discovered a bag of fentanyl pressed into small, round, blue pills marked with an “M” on one side and “30” on the other, located on the rear passenger seat of an SUV nearby. Prior to his arrest, a CMPD officer saw Dove next to the open door of the rear passenger seat of the SUV. The pills were chemically analyzed and determined to be 89.5 grams of fentanyl. Dove pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and possession in furtherance of drug trafficking. Dove remains in federal custody and will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons. The ATF and CMPD conducted the investigation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.


title: New York Man Sentenced to Eight Months in Prison for Kickback Scheme

component: USAO - Massachusetts

body_text: BOSTON – A former New York based sales director for the Northeast region of a mobile medical diagnostics company was sentenced on Feb. 13, 2026 in federal court in Boston for conspiring to offer and pay kickbacks to doctors in exchange for ordering medically unnecessary brain scans. James Rausch, 57, of Point Jefferson Station, N.Y., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton to eight months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release. The defendant was also ordered to pay $17,573,642 in restitution, forfeiture in the amount of $408,437 and a $20,000 fine. In June 2025 , Rausch pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-kickback statute. From March 2015 through at least September 2020, Rausch conspired with others, including two managers for a mobile medical diagnostics company that performed transcranial doppler (TCD) scans, to enter into kickback agreements with various doctors. TCD scans are brain scans that measure blood flow in parts of the brain. Rausch and his co-conspirators agreed to offer and pay doctors kickbacks, some in cash and others by check, based on the number of TCD ultrasounds the doctors ordered. The co-conspirators created purported rental and administrative service agreements, which on paper made it appear as if doctors were compensated for the TCD company’s use of space and administrative resources of the ordering doctor’s practice based on fair market value and not based on the volume or value of referrals. These were sham agreements that hid the true nature of the arrangement of paying per test. The scheme resulted in fraudulent bills of approximately $70.6 million to Medicare. Medicare paid approximately $27.2 million to the TCD company for the fraudulent claims. United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Roberto Coviello, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Thomas Demeo, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office; Anthony D’Esposito, Inspector General of the Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General; Nicholas Bucciarelli, Acting Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division; and Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mackenzie Queenin, Chief of the Health Care Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.


title: Gang Members Charged After Threatening To Kill The Child Of Testifying Witness

component: USAO - New York, Southern

body_text: United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), Jessica S. Tisch, and United States Marshal for the Southern District of New York, Ricky J. Patel, announced today the unsealing of a Superseding Indictment charging two gang members with witness tampering and witness retaliation: TYSHAWN PALMER, a/k/a “Ty Boogie,” a/k/a “pte_tm,” and HASSAN BROWN, a/k/a “Twin,” a/k/a “everythingsleezy.” The charges relate to threats that PALMER and BROWN made to a witness during a racketeering and murder trial, United States v. Lamar Williams , which concluded last week with the jury returning a verdict of guilty on all counts. Both PALMER and BROWN were arrested this morning. The case is assigned to U.S. District Judge Loretta A. Preska, who also presided over the Williams trial. “Threatening a witness and that witness’s family is an attack on our judicial system, the rule of law, and our society,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “As alleged, Tyshawn Palmer and Hassan Brown retaliated against a testifying witness in a federal murder trial. In our federal courts, witness intimidation will not work—rather, it will be met with swift justice.” “The alleged actions taken by the defendants to intimidate witnesses and their family members with violence are a deliberate attack on the integrity of our judicial system,” said NYPD Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch. “We will not tolerate any attempt to influence the course of justice, and I thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their continued partnership on this case." “As alleged, defendants Palmer and Brown attempted to undermine the rule of law and erode our justice system by witness tampering and retaliation,” said U.S. Marshal Ricky J. Patel. “Their actions have been met with the profound reaction they face today after being charged and arrested by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, the United States Marshals Service, and the NYPD. The U.S. Marshals have been responsible for the protection of the federal judicial process since 1789, a responsibility taken very seriously to this day. Ensuring the judicial process operates independently and free from harm or intimidation is paramount for law and order. I commend the collective work of the Deputy U.S. Marshals who investigated and arrested these individuals along with our law enforcement partners in this case.” As alleged in the Superseding Indictment, other court filings, and statements made during court proceedings: [1] Between February 2 and February 11, 2026, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York sat for the federal criminal trial of United States v. Lamar Williams , 22 Cr. 600 (LAP) (S.D.N.Y.) (the “Trial”), in which Lamar Williams, a leader of the violent Mac Ballers gang in the Bronx, New York, was charged with participating in the Mac Ballers racketeering conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, and murder through the use of a firearm. On February 4 and February 5, 2026, a witness (the “Witness”) testified about the August 2013 murder that Williams committed, among other crimes. Subsequently, the jury unanimously convicted Williams on all counts. On or about February 4, 2026, PALMER and BROWN, who are Williams’s Mac Baller associates and have known both Williams and the Witness for years, learned that the Witness was testifying in the Trial. During and after the Witness’s testimony, PALMER and BROWN, and other Mac Baller members and associates, used Instagram to post and repost threats designed to retaliate against the Witness for the Witness’s testimony, and to prevent or influence the Witness from providing further testimony or information to law enforcement. In particular, PALMER and BROWN posted and reposted, among other things, the Instagram account name and photograph of the Witness; posts that repeatedly referred to the Witness as a “rat” and a “snitch”; and photographs of the Witness’s family members, including a photograph of the Witness and the Witness’s young child, in which the defendants threatened to “kill[ ]” the Witness’s child “at his school.” * * * PALMER, 32, of Hackensack, New Jersey, and BROWN, 34, of the Bronx, New York, are each charged with one count of witness tampering and one count of witness retaliation, each of which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison. The statutory maximum penalties in this case are prescribed by Congress and provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge. Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of the NYPD, the United States Marshals Service, the Special Agents and Task Force Officers of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, and the Southern District of New York Complex Analytics and Social Media Enhancement Team at the New York/New Jersey High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. This case is being handled by the Office’s Violent Organizations and Crime Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ryan W. Allison, Katherine Wheelock, and Patrick R. Moroney are in charge of the prosecution. [1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the Superseding Indictment, and the description of the Superseding Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation. [1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the Superseding Indictment, and the description of the Superseding Indictment set forth herein, constitute only allegations, and every fact described should be treated as an allegation. [2] This image has been redacted, but the image as originally posted and reposted to Instagram included the unredacted faces of the Witness and the Witness’s young child.


title: Washington area airbag thieves sentenced to prison

component: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

body_text: ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Three men have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a conspiracy to engage in interstate transportation and sale of stolen goods involving an airbag theft ring in the metro Washington area. According to court documents, in August 2022, Chinese national Yuchen Zhang, 28, and Adisorn Damrongchai, 47, of Alexandria, began stealing airbags from vehicles in Virginia and transporting them to Maryland to sell them to Keith William Smith, 45, of Severn, Maryland, who sold used car parts, including stolen airbags. On November 13, 2022, Zhang and Damrongchai were arrested in Arlington County just after they had stolen several airbags. Zhang and Damrongchai were in possession of window punches, screwdrivers, pliers, and a hand-held flashlight as well as six stolen airbags. After their arrest, Zhang and Damrongchai resumed stealing airbags and selling them to Smith. On Sept. 20, 2024, Zhang drove to Silver Spring, Maryland, stole an airbag, and returned to Virginia with it. On Oct. 4, 2024, Zhang picked up Damrongchai from his residence and traveled to neighborhoods in Fairfax and Herndon where they stole airbags from multiple vehicles. Later that day, law enforcement searched Zhang’s residence and vehicles and Damrongchai’s residence and recovered 14 airbags, some of which had been stolen earlier that morning. Smith paid Damrongchai a total of $47,170 and Zhang a total of $37,220 for stolen airbags. Together, the three men were responsible for hundreds of stolen airbags across northern Virginia. Zhang pled guilty in Arlington to grand larceny and destruction of property valued in excess of $1,000. On Dec. 18, 2024, he pled guilty in the Eastern District of Virginia to conspiracy to engage in interstate transportation of stolen property and was sentenced on March 7, 2025, to three years and two months in prison. In 2020, Zhang was convicted in the Eastern District of Virginia of conspiracy to commit wire fraud for his role in a $1.1 million fraud scheme involving gift cards. For that conviction, Zhang was sentenced to seven months in prison. Smith pled guilty on March 10, 2025, and was sentenced on May 28, 2025, to six months in prison. On February 21, 2025, Damrongchai was convicted in Arlington of tampering with a vehicle, destruction of property, two counts of destruction of property greater than $1000, sale of stolen property greater than $1,000, and possession of burglarious tools. Damrongchai pled guilty in the Eastern District of Virginia on Dec. 3, 2025, to conspiracy to engage in interstate transportation and sale of stolen goods. Damrongchai was sentenced to a total of two years and nine months in prison. The FBI Washington Field Office, Alexandria Police Department, and Fairfax County Police Department investigated this case with valuable assistance from the Arlington County Police Department, Howard County Police Department, and Manassas City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Katherine E. Rumbaugh and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lyndi McVey prosecuted the case. A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 1:24-CR-261 (Zhang), 1:25-CR-58 (Smith), and 1:25-cr-199 (Damrongchai).


title: Drug trafficking organization leader sent to prison for 30 years for large-scale distribution scheme

component: USAO - Texas, Southern

body_text: HOUSTON – A 40-year-old Houston man has been ordered to federal prison for his role in the distribution of multiple narcotics, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. Fredrick Jermaine Dunbar pleaded guilty Oct. 15, 2025. U.S. District Andrew S. Hanen has now ordered Dunbar to serve 360 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by five years of supervised release. At the hearing, the court considered additional evidence showing Dunbar led and organized a large-scale drug trafficking organization, recruited others to transport narcotics and possessed firearms in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities. The court also noted Dunbar’s leadership role in the conspiracy and the significant quantities of drugs involved. The investigation began in early 2020 when law enforcement identified Dunbar as a supplier of methamphetamine, cocaine and heroin in the Houston area. In April 2020, Dunbar arranged the purchase of two kilograms of methamphetamine for redistribution to a co-conspirator. Over the course of the investigation, authorities seized approximately 12 kilograms of narcotics – one, five and six kilograms of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine, respectively. To date, 12 others have been convicted and sentenced in connection with the conspiracy. Dunbar will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future. The Drug Enforcement Administration, Texas Department of Public Safety, Harris County Sherriff's Office and Houston Police Department conducted the investigation. This operation is now part of the Homeland Security Task Force initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes these organizations commit, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey N. MacDonald and Anibal J. Alaniz prosecuted the case.


title: Bulgarian National Sentenced in Austin for Scheme to Illegally Export U.S.-Origin Sensitive Microelectronics to Russia

component: Criminal - Office of International Affairs

body_text: AUSTIN, Texas – A Bulgarian national was sentenced in a federal court in Austin today to 38 months time served for conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, announced U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Texas, Justin R. Simmons. According to court documents, in August 2014, Milan Dimitrov, 51, began working at Multi Technology Integration Group EOOD (MTIG), a Bulgarian company created to enable two Russian companies to acquire U.S.-origin radiation-hardened and high-temperature electronic circuits from a company based in Austin. Earlier in 2014, following Russia’s invasion of Crimea, the U.S. imposed export controls that made it illegal to export those goods directly to Russia without a license from the Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security. In January 2015, the Bulgarian MTIG received a 16mB Static Random-Access Memory (SRAM) Wafer from a U.S. supplier in Austin. Approximately one month later, MTIG entered into a written contract to deliver the parts to a Russian engineering company called OOO Sovtest Comp. Over the next three months, Sovtest transferred more than $1 million split into three separate payments to MTIG and, after receiving the third payment, MTIG issued Sovtest a $158,125 invoice for the sale of the Austin-based supplier’s parts to the Russian company. MTIG thereafter shipped the parts to Sovtest in Russia, in violation of the Export Administration Regulations and the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Between May 2014 and May 2018, a total of six wafers were shipped as part of the scheme for a total of approximately $497,000. When diced, one wafer creates approximately 180 individual chips. Dimitrov was charged in a four-count indictment in July 2020. He was arrested in 2022 and extradited to the U.S. in 2024. Dimitrov pleaded guilty on Nov. 20, 2025, admitting that he had knowledge that the parts were shipped from the U.S. to Bulgaria and then to Russia, and that he facilitated and benefitted from the illegal activity as an employee of MTIG and close associate of Sovtest’s owner, co-conspirator Ilias Sabirov. At this time, Sabirov remains a fugitive, as does the defendant’s father Dimitar Dimitrov, co-founder of MTIG. U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman presided over the case, sentencing Dimitrov to time served after the Bulgarian spent 38 months in custody. The Commerce Department’s Office of Export Enforcement and the FBI investigated the case with assistance from Defense Criminal Investigative Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Roomberg prosecuted the case with assistance from the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with Greek authorities to secure the August 2024 extradition of Dimitrov to the United States. ###


body_text: Concord Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing Methamphetamine CONCORD – Zachary Albert, 44, pleaded guilty today in federal court to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, specifically methamphetamine, U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan announces. U.S. District Court Judge Steven McAuliffe scheduled Albert’s sentencing for May 27, 2026. According to the charging documents and statements made in court, in the fall of 2022, the FBI Major Offender Task Force and the New Hampshire State Police began investigating a methamphetamine distribution conspiracy in New Hampshire. Phone calls and text messages intercepted during the investigation revealed that the defendant worked as a mid-level methamphetamine distributer, obtaining methamphetamine from one of his co-conspirators then selling the drugs to others. On March 16, 2023, the defendant arranged to purchase methamphetamine to sell to two of his customers. Thereafter, law enforcement stopped and searched the defendant’s vehicle, where they found 97.9 grams of fentanyl and 26.9 grams of methamphetamine. The charge of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance carries a sentence of up to 20 years of incarceration, 3 years of supervised release, and a fine up to $1,000,000. 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. The Federal Bureau of Investigation Major Offender Task Force in partnership with the New Hampshire State Police led the investigation. The Concord Police Department, Franklin Police Department, and New Hampton Police Department provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew T. Hunter and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Cherniske prosecuted the case. This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).


title: Justice Department Secures $850,000 Settlement in Sexual Harassment Lawsuit Against Kentucky Landlord and Property Manager

component: Civil Rights Division

body_text: The Justice Department announced today that the owners and property managers of residential rental properties in Lexington, Kentucky have agreed to pay $850,000 to resolve a lawsuit alleging that two property managers sexually harassed female tenants in violation of the Fair Housing Act. “Women should never feel unsafe in their own homes,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department is committed to vigorously protecting the rights of vulnerable tenants subjected to sexual harassment and holding housing providers and managers accountable when they violate the law.” “The harm caused by decades of the defendants’ alleged sexual harassment, which often targeted female tenants perceived as vulnerable because of their need for housing, is difficult to quantify,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul C. McCaffrey for the Eastern District of Kentucky. “This settlement provides some measure of justice for those victims, and aims to eliminate future harassment perpetrated by these defendants against their tenants.” “Adnan and Mohommed Shalash exploited tenants’ fundamental need for housing to commit serious abuses of power. Today’s settlement sends a clear message: those who abuse vulnerable tenants will be held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Shawn Rice of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Inspector General (OIG), Northeast Region. “HUD OIG will not tolerate property managers or anyone in positions of authority using housing as leverage to engage in sexual harassment or abuse and will continue to work with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to hold housing providers accountable for these actions.” The Department’s lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky in November 2024, and amended in June 2025, alleges that for decades, property managers Adnan and Mohammed Shalash sexually harassed female tenants at various rental dwellings throughout Lexington, Kentucky. The suit alleges Adnan and Mohammed Shalash offered housing-related benefits in exchange for sexual contact, made unwelcome sexual comments and advances to female tenants, entered the homes of female tenants without their permission, subjected female tenants to unwelcome touching and groping and took adverse housing-related actions against female tenants who refused their sexual advances. The Department’s lawsuit also names as defendants 17 owners of rental properties managed by Adnan and Mohammed Shalash, including Fox Den Properties LLC and Griffith Market Inc. The lawsuit alleges that these defendants are vicariously liable for the sexual harassment committed by their agents, Adnan and Mohommed Shalash. The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General participated in the investigation that uncovered the evidence leading to the lawsuit. Pursuant to the settlement agreement, the defendants must pay $845,000 to tenants who were harmed by Adnan and Mohammed Shalash’s harassment and a $5,000 civil penalty to the United States. The settlement agreement permanently bars Adnan and Mohammed Shalash from contacting tenants harmed by their harassment, permanently bars them from managing residential rental properties, and mandates training and the adoption of policies and procedures to prevent future discrimination at residential rental properties owned or managed by either defendant. If you are a victim of sexual harassment by another landlord or property manager or have suffered other forms of housing discrimination, call the Justice Department’s Housing Discrimination Tip Line at 1-800-896-7743 or submit a report online . More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt . This settlement is part of the Justice Department’s Sexual Harassment in Housing Initiative . The initiative, which the Department launched in October 2017, seeks to address and raise awareness about sexual harassment by landlords, property managers, maintenance workers, loan officers and other people who have control over housing. Since launching the initiative, the department has filed 52 lawsuits alleging sexual harassment in housing and recovered close to $18 million for victims of such harassment.


title: Man Previously Indicted for Sexual Exploitation of Albemarle Teen Arrested for Assaulting Federal Law Enforcement Officer

component: USAO - Virginia, Western

body_text: CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Charlottesville-based man who was indicted in December 2025 on two counts of coercion and enticement of a minor, one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, and one count of possession of child sexual abuse material, was charged recently with assaulting a federal law enforcement officer. Gustavo Quintero, 25, made his initial appearance today in federal court on a criminal complaint charging him with one count of assault on a federal law enforcement officer. “Let this be clear: this office will seek swift, clear, and certain accountability against anyone who makes the mistake of committing assault and battery on a federal law enforcement officer in the Western District of Virginia,” Acting United States Attorney Robert N. Tracci said today. According to the complaint, on January 15, 2026, agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), along with officers from the Albemarle County Police Department, traveled to the Albemarle Charlottesville Regional Jail to execute a federal arrest warrant on Quintero. Agents identified themselves and informed Quintero of the reason for their visit, explaining they were going to take him to the federal magistrate for his initial court appearance. After being placed in handcuffs, belly chain, and leg shackles, Quintero looked at one of the officers and threatened him, stating, “I’m going to spit on you.” Following the threat, agents retrieved a spit hood, a piece of equipment routinely used by law enforcement to prevent prisoners from spitting on others. Quintero responded, “You ain’t gonna put that sh*t on me.” When agents reiterated that a spit hood was going to be placed on his head, Quintero stated, “I’m gonna act up.” Quintero became increasingly combative and continued to advise officers he did not want the spit hood on his head. As one of the officers reached toward Quintero to place the hood on his head, Quintero spit directly at a nearby agent’s face, hitting the right side of his face. The case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Albemarle County Police Department. A criminal complaint is merely an accusation. The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.


title: Chinese National Found Guilty of Money Laundering Conspiracy Involving $2.2 Million in Walmart Gift Cards

component: USAO - New York, Northern

body_text: ALBANY, NEW YORK – Jun Wang, age 63, a Chinese national and lawful permanent resident of the United States, has been found guilty of participating in a money laundering conspiracy following a bench trial in federal court in Albany. First Assistant United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III and Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), made the announcement. Evidence presented during the bench trial in December 2025 proved that, between June 2019 and June 2021, Wang redeemed $2,285,039.81 in gift cards originally purchased by defrauded victims throughout the United States (including in the Northern District of New York). Wang, who received the gift card information electronically from co-conspirators overseas, used the fraud proceeds to buy other gift cards at Walmart and Sam’s Club stores in Florida to disguise the source and nature of the funds. To try to evade detection and disguise the volume of his gift card redemptions, Wang often used different registers within the same store and frequently drove from store to store to redeem gift cards, sometimes visiting several Walmart stores on the same day. Wang often redeemed gift cards just hours, and sometimes minutes, after they were purchased by victims. Multiple victims testified at trial about the gift cards they purchased after being scammed online or over the phone. Although the trial evidence proved that Wang’s role in the scheme was to redeem gift cards purchased by victims he never interacted with directly, he admitted to an FBI agent in a secretly recorded conversation that “[w]e all know” about the fraud, which is “[e]asy to know.” In relation to one elderly victim, Wang explained on the recording, “[t]he only loser is the lady,” and, “[o]ther than this lady, everybody’s happy.” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarcone stated, “Wang was a knowing and essential player in a calculated, international scheme that preyed on victims, including the elderly, throughout the United States. We will tirelessly pursue and hold accountable individuals involved in every level of these fraud schemes. There is no safe harbor for those who profit from exploiting vulnerable Americans.” Special Agent in Charge Tremaroli stated, “Mr. Wang was part of an international scheme that stole millions from hardworking Americans across the country and right here at home. This conviction illustrates the FBI, together with our law enforcement partners, will not tolerate this deceitful behavior, and will continue to provide our expert resources to investigate these crimes and prosecute the criminals who are intent on defrauding the American public.” Wang will be sentenced on June 16, 2026, by United States District Judge Mae A. D’Agostino, who presided over the bench trial and rendered the guilty verdict in a 20-page decision. The charge of conviction against Wang carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $500,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the statute the defendant violated, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors. FBI investigated this case with the assistance of local law enforcement agencies throughout the country. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael F. Perry, Michael D. Gadarian, and Tamara B. Thomson prosecuted the case.


title: ATF Seizes Thousands of Illegal Firearms Bound for Cartels in Mexico

body_text: The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) today announced that since January 20, 2025, it has seized 36,277 illegal crime guns and 2,317,999 rounds of ammunition from prohibited persons, gang members, and suppliers for transnational criminal organizations. 4,359 of these seized firearms were bound for Mexico, where they would have been used by violent drug cartels and gangs. 648,975 rounds of the seized ammunition were bound for Mexico, which averages to over 1,600 rounds per day. Since President Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, 2025, ATF has led an aggressive nationwide effort to dismantle the domestic and international networks that arm violent criminals. “Illegal crime guns increasingly originate from every state in the country. This is not a southwest border problem, it is a national threat,” said ATF Deputy Director Robert Cekada. “ATF agents are aggressively targeting gangs, cartels, and transnational criminal organizations that illegally traffic firearms and turn American streets into war zones. We will dismantle these networks at every level, cut off their access to weapons, and hold every criminal fully accountable under the law”. ATF protects America’s communities by confronting violent crime driven by the illegal use of firearms, explosives and acts of arson. Our special agents concentrate on identifying and dismantling illegal firearms traffickers who fuel violence by arming prohibited persons, gang members, drug cartels, illegal aliens and terrorist organizations. Through advanced Crime Gun Intelligence (NIBIN, firearms tracing, and touch DNA), ATF partners with state and local law enforcement to investigate, identify, and prosecute violent offenders. At the same time, we safeguard lawful commerce and uphold the Constitution. More information about ATF and its programs is available at www.atf.gov .


title: California Man Sentenced to Federal Prison  for Making False Statements While Purchasing Firearms

component: USAO - South Dakota

body_text: RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Playa Del Rey, California, man convicted of three counts of False Statement During Purchase of a Firearm. The sentencing took place on February 13, 2026. Jacob Barba, age 39, was sentenced to one year and three months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $300 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund and a $5,000 fine. Barba was also ordered to forfeit seven firearms. Barba was indicted for False Statement During Purchase of a Firearm by a federal grand jury in May 2024. He pleaded guilty on November 3, 2025. Between December 2023 and March 2024, Barba obtained a lease within a commercial building in Rapid City for a small storage closet. Barba then used the address at the commercial building as a residential address even though he did not live there and could not have lived there. Barba never used the commercial space for any legitimate purpose. Barba then obtained a fraudulent South Dakota driver’s license, concealed carry permit, and South Dakota hunting license by claiming the commercial storage closet was an apartment within the commercial building. Thereafter, Barba used these documents to obtain seven firearms in South Dakota, claiming on the firearm purchase forms that he was a South Dakota resident and listing the storage closet as his residential address. Barba, however, actually resided in California, where he maintained his home with his wife and a business. Barba would fly into South Dakota and stay at Airbnb locations. During his stay in South Dakota, Barba would purchase firearms that he would then take back to California. The investigation also showed that Barba assisted other individuals who resided outside South Dakota to make it appear as though they lived in South Dakota for the purpose of saving on state income taxes, despite the fact the others never actually lived or did any work in South Dakota. “At bottom, this was a residency scam run by a California man pretending to live in a small storage closet in Rapid City,” said U.S. Attorney Parsons. “The lengths to which some will go to skirt the law and cheat the public never cease to surprise.” This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN). Through PSN, the District of South Dakota seeks to bring together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin Patterson and Benjamin Schroeder prosecuted the case.


title: Foreign National Found Guilty in Defrauding American Taxpayers Out of Millions in Covid-Era Emergency Aid

body_text: WASHINGTON – Jose “Joe” Biaou, 41, a citizen of Benin and a resident of the District of Columbia, was found guilty yesterday on seven counts in connection with defrauding Covid-era economic programs out of millions of dollars in taxpayer-provided emergency funds, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro. A federal jury in U.S. District Court deliberated for less than one day before finding Biaou guilty on February 17 of six counts of wire fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. “Jose Biaou, a citizen of Benin, West Africa, was convicted of orchestrating massive fraud that siphoned millions of dollars from the American taxpayers at a time of national crisis when assistance was offered to those in need,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “The Trump Administration will not look the other way and will make thieves accountable. Mr. Biaou will suffer the consequence of his attempt to cheat the American taxpayers.” Biaou, the founder of FRB Capital Group LLC, faces a maximum statutory sentence of 30 years in prison when he is sentenced by Judge Christopher R. Cooper. A date is pending. The maximum statutory sentence for federal offenses is prescribed by Congress and is provided for informational purposes. The sentence will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. According to the government’s evidence at trial, Biaou applied for more than $5 million in loans and received more than $3.5 million in proceeds from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program on behalf of FRB and, Millennium Global Finance, the latter of which was an entirely fictional entity with no employees or operations. In support of his FRB application, Biaou falsely claimed that he was a U.S. citizen and provided a counterfeit birth certificate, which he forged using a copy of his minor daughter’s birth certificate. FRB Capital is a brokerage firm for the commercial real estate industry. On his applications for federal emergency funding, Biaou consistently inflated the number of FRB employees, as well as their average monthly salaries, office rents, and other financial information. Biaou then applied for forgiveness of one of the PPP loans and submitted false information about how his business spent the funds during the pandemic. Biaou also applied for and received $1.25 million in PPP funds for Millennium Global Finance after representing that the firm had 52 employees and an average monthly payroll of more than $520,000 throughout 2019. Millennium Global was not a real company. Biaou was arrested July 17, 2024. This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Will Hart and Sungtae Kang and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Samanatha Miller. 24cr323


title: Sherwood Man Sentenced to More Than 29 Years in Federal Prison for Production of Child Pornography

component: USAO - Arkansas, Eastern

body_text: LITTLE ROCK—Giovanni Ibarra will spend 350 months in federal prison for production of child pornography. Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced the sentence, which was handed down on February 12, 2026, by United States District Judge James M. Moody, Jr. On October 9, 2024, Ibarra, 27, of Sherwood, was indicted by a federal grand jury on two counts of production of child pornography and three counts for distribution and attempted distribution of child pornography. On July 28, 2025, Ibarra, pleaded guilty to production of child pornography. Judge Moody also sentenced Ibarra to 10 years’ supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system. An investigation revealed that on September 5, 2024, a CyberTipline Report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children was received by the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office. The tip referenced video files uploaded to the KIK social media platform on May 19, 2024, and June 10, 13, and 20, 2024. Some of the videos depicted adults performing sex acts on children, including an infant. Agents subpoenaed records from the internet provider relating to the CyberTipline Reports and on August 29, 2024, learned the name of the subscriber. During the investigation, agents discovered on September 23, 2024, a Facebook page belonging to the subscriber that contained images of the infant victim agents observed in some of the videos uploaded to KIK. On September 24, 2024, agents conducted surveillance of the subscriber’s Sherwood residence and observed two males exiting the residence and entering a vehicle. They then drove to a local retail establishment in Sherwood with one of the males wearing all black with cat ears on his head. After further review of the subscriber’s Facebook page, agents identified the male observed in the establishment as Ibarra. Agents contacted the U.S. Postal Inspection Service to determine a list of individuals who receive mail at the Sherwood residence. Ibarra was identified as one of the individuals receiving mail at the residence. At the time of his arrest, Ibarra consented to an interview with agents and a search of his phone. Ibarra admitted to agents that he uploaded the videos to KIK and the infant in one of the videos was a child who he knew. Ibarra also admitted that he shared the videos on KIK because people always ask for that type of content. He further admitted to watching the video involving the infant and then deleting it because he knew it was not okay. “Giovanni Ibarra is a despicable human being who took advantage of vulnerable children to satisfy his wicked sexual desires,” stated Ross. “This defendant did not care about the harm he inflicted upon these children and their families, but as demonstrated by the excellent work on this investigation, our law enforcement partners do. This sentence serves as a warning to others that if you commit heinous acts against children, our office will seek to have you sent to federal prison for the greatest length of time as the law will allow.” “This investigation and the resulting sentence highlight Homeland Security Investigations’ steadfast commitment to combating child exploitation and ensuring that sexual predators like Ibarra are brought to justice. Through our strong partnerships with the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and other law enforcement partners, HSI will continue to leverage every available resource to protect children and hold offenders accountable,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Matt Wright of Homeland Security Investigations New Orleans. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice and led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), it 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 . Parents are encouraged to always monitor your children’s online activity. The investigation was conducted by the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office, U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Postal Inspection Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kristin Bryant. # # # Additional information about the office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at https://www.justice.gov/edar X (formerly known as Twitter): @USAO_EDAR


title: Kansas man sentenced to prison for meth trafficking

component: USAO - Kansas

body_text: KANSAS CITY, KAN. – A Kansas man was sentenced to 200 months in prison for selling methamphetamine as part of a drug trafficking network. According to court documents, Chaz Hicks, 28, of Kansas City, Kansas pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. In February 2022, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) received information that Hicks was selling methamphetamine in the Kansas City, Kansas area. Hicks sold methamphetamine to undercover officers multiple times, sometimes with a firearm on his lap. ATF agents observed Hicks’ movements which included frequent stops at a house on Ruby Ave in Kansas City, Kansas, the home of Ernest Lucas. By monitoring individuals coming and going from the Ruby Avenue house, law enforcement saw a travel pattern connecting it to a second house on Mersington Avenue in Kansas City, Missouri. In July 2022, ATF served a search warrant at the Ruby Avenue house and located 12 firearms, ammunition, over $11,000 in cash, and approximately 274 grams of methamphetamine. Investigators searched the Mersington Avenue house on the same day and found approximately 102 pounds of methamphetamine, eight firearms, electronic scales and other drug paraphernalia. Co-defendants Ernest Lucas, 52, Abraham Gallegos, 45, Spencer Allen, 48, and Jason Smith, 50, have all pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. They are awaiting sentencing. “When the public reports criminal activity and no immediate action is taken, sometimes people mistakenly assume law enforcement doesn’t take the allegations seriously. The reality is that building a solid case often takes time,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser. “Thanks to a tip from the community, federal agents initiated an investigation against the defendants then collected enough evidence to make arrests and secure convictions across a larger network.” The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) is investigating the case with assistance from the Kansas City, Kansas Police Department (KCKPD). Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle McFarlane is prosecuting the case. ###


title: Repeat illegal reentry lands four-time DUI offender in federal prison

body_text: HOUSTON – A 38-year-old Mexican national who illegally resided in Houston has been ordered to federal prison for illegally reentering the United States for the third time, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. Odon Chavez-Esquivel pleaded guilty Sept. 30, 2025. U.S. District Judge Andrew S. Hanen has now ordered Chavez-Esquivel to serve 21 months in federal prison. Not a U.S. citizen, he is expected to face removal proceedings following his imprisonment. Chavez-Esquivel has multiple previous convictions for illegal reentry and driving under the influence of alcohol. Authorities first removed Chavez-Esquivel from the United States in May 2003. He later returned illegally in April 2011 and August 2012. Most recently, authorities found him again in the United States in August 2022 following a fourth conviction for driving under the influence of alcohol. Chavez-Esquivel has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future. Immigration Customs Enforcement – Enforcement Removal Operations conducted the investigation. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Carrie Law prosecuted the case. This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime


component: USAO - New Hampshire

body_text: Former Childcare Provider Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for the Production of Child Sexual Abuse Material CONCORD – A Keene woman was sentenced today in federal court for aiding and abetting the production of child sexual abuse material, United States Attorney Erin Creegan announces. Krystal Baird, 40, of Keene, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Steven J. McAuliffe to 15 years in federal prison and 10 years of supervised release. In November 2025, a federal jury convicted Baird of aiding and abetting the production of child sexual abuse material after a five-day trial. According to the evidence admitted at trial, on January 29, 2024, Krystal and Paul Baird were babysitting a 9-year-old child. After the child was given THC-infused candy, Krystal Baird directed Paul Baird to try to get the child to play with his genitalia. Paul Baird took at least one sexually explicit image of the victim’s genitalia. Krystal Baird then photographed Paul Baird sexually assaulting the victim, thereby producing child sexual abuse material. Paul Baird later uploaded links to three sexually explicit images of the minor victim on a dark website dedicated to child pornography. The evidence showed that the couple had been drugging and abusing the victim since at least August of 2023. Before her arrest, Krystal Baird was a licensed childcare provider. “Crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children inflict lasting trauma on victims and their families,” said United States Attorney Creegan. “It is particularly disturbing that this defendant was once in a position of trust, caring for children. Today’s sentence reflects the particularly appalling circumstances of Krystal Baid’s crime.” “Krystal Baird’s crimes are deeply disturbing. Baird was a willing participant when she and her partner conspired to drug and sexually abuse a child left in their care, photographing their crimes to share on the dark web. She denied any responsibility, but a jury rejected her story and found her guilty,” said Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol of Homeland Security Investigations in New England. “Today’s sentence emphasizes the incredible and irreversible damage she inflicted on a young life. We hope that knowing Krystal and Paul Baird will be behind bars for decades brings some peace to the victim and their family.” Paul Baird was previously sentenced to 25 years of incarceration. The Department of Homeland Security Investigations led the investigation. The Keene Police Department provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Krasinski and former Assistant United States Attorney Heather Cherniske prosecuted the case. The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.


title: West Bloomfield Resident Sentenced for Multi-State Unemployment Fraud Scheme

component: USAO - Michigan, Eastern

body_text: DETROIT - A West Bloomfield resident was sentenced today for his role in a multi-state unemployment insurance fraud scheme, announced United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr. Joining in the announcement were Anthony P. D’Esposito, Inspector General, Department of Labor, Office of Inspector General, Special Agent in Charge Jennifer Runyan, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Jason Palmer, Director, Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency. Arron Howard, 33, was sentenced to 41 months in federal prison after having pleaded guilty to committing wire fraud. According to court records, Howard obtained over $626,000 in fraudulent unemployment insurance benefits for dozens of third-party claimants. Howard admitted that he kept a portion of those fraudulent benefits for himself. In executing his scheme, Howard submitted fraudulent unemployment insurance applications to the states of Arizona, California, and Michigan. Howard was sentenced by Judge Mark A. Goldsmith. As part of his sentence, Howard was ordered to pay $626,960.88 in restitution. This case was investigated by the Department of Labor—Office of Inspector General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation andthe Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew J. Yahkind.


title: Third Nigerian Extradited to U.S. in Connection With the Sextortion and Death of an Area Young Man

component: USAO - Pennsylvania, Eastern

body_text: PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Afeez Olatunji Adewale, 26, was extradited from Nigeria to the United States to face charges related to the sexual extortion and death of a young man in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Adewale is charged by indictment with wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy. He appeared in federal court in Philadelphia before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lynne A. Sitarski yesterday. Adewale was arrested in Nigeria on August 17, 2023, as part of a wider operation with the FBI to apprehend sexual extortionists targeting minors in the United States. He was extradited to the United States on Friday, February 13, 2026, with the assistance of the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the FBI Legal Attaché in Abuja, and the FBI, who took him into custody. The support and assistance of Nigerian security authorities was essential to this effort, notably that of Nigeria’s Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, the Federal Ministry of Justice’s International Criminal Justice Cooperation Department, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission. Adewale’s co-defendants, Imoleayo Samuel Aina, aka “Alice Dave,” 27, and Samuel Olasunkanmi Abiodun, 26, were extradited to the U.S. in August 2024. Abiodun pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy and wire fraud and was sentenced by United States District Judge Joel H. Slomsky in June 2025 to five years in prison. Aina later pleaded guilty to cyberstalking, interstate threat to injure reputation, receiving proceeds of extortion, money laundering conspiracy, and wire fraud, and was sentenced by Judge Slomsky in October 2025 to six years in prison. This case was investigated by FBI Philadelphia’s Fort Washington Resident Agency and the Abington Township Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick Brown. The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.


title: Harrison County Woman Admits to Methamphetamine Charge

component: USAO - West Virginia, Northern

body_text: CLARKSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – A Clarksburg, West Virginia woman has admitted to selling hundreds of grams of methamphetamine, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey. Taylor Danielle Jenkins, 32, pled guilty today to possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine. According to court documents, Jenkins was selling methamphetamine and fentanyl in Harrison County. During two traffic stops, investigators seized more than 800 grams of methamphetamine, 203 grams of fentanyl, three firearms, and $6,006 in cash from Jenkins’ vehicle. As a part of the plea agreement, Jenkins has agreed to forfeit the three firearms, associated ammunition, and the cash. Jenkins faces at least 10 years and up to life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine the sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Warner is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The Greater Harrison Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, investigated. U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael John Aloi presided. Fentanyl has been designated by President Donald Trump as a weapon of mass destruction due to its extreme lethality which poses a grave threat to public safety, even in trace amounts. This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime, and repel the invasion of illegal immigration.


title: Suburban Chicago Man Sentenced to 37 Years in Prison for Sexually Exploiting Nearly 100 Children

component: USAO - Illinois, Northern

body_text: CHICAGO — A federal judge has sentenced a Chicago man to 37 years in prison for sexually exploiting nearly 100 children with whom he communicated on social media. In 2022, SHAUN HEALY used Snapchat to contact and persuade young girls to create and send him sexually explicit images and videos of themselves. Healy often posed as a young girl himself to gain his victims’ trust and induce them to produce the sexually abusive material. He provided graphic, step-by-step instructions to his victims, including the type of explicit conduct they should engage in and how to record and send it to him. Healy also extorted his victims by threatening to publish the images and videos they sent him if they didn’t produce and send him even more such materials. In December 2022, law enforcement arrested Healy at his residence in Elburn, Ill., and searched his cellular phone. Law enforcement discovered a password-protected album on the phone that contained dozens of carefully organized folders of children that Healy had stored from his Snapchat account. Each folder contained the child’s Snapchat username, image, and a catalog of the sexually explicit videos and images that he instructed them to produce and send. Healy, 45, pleaded guilty last year to child exploitation charges. U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman imposed the 37-year prison sentence during a hearing on Feb. 12, 2026, in federal court in Chicago. The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Matthew J. Scarpino, Special Agent-in-Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Chicago. Valuable assistance was provided by the Illinois Attorney General’s Office’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. “Defendant is a child predator,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Saqib Mohammad Hussain and Elly Moheb argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “And not just a child predator, but one who ruthlessly sexually exploited young girls and prided himself on it. What defendant made these children do will affect them for the rest of their lives in ways that we cannot appreciate.” This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, while also providing critical services to victims. If you believe you are a victim of sexual exploitation, you are encouraged to contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children by logging on to https://www.missingkids.org/ or calling 1-800-843-5678. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about HSI’s efforts to protect children from sexual predators, visit Know2Protect.gov .


title: Repeat Offender Receives Maximum Sentence

component: USAO - Michigan, Western

body_text: Defendant tried to kill a witness, but the gun misfired KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN – U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan Timothy VerHey today announced that Maurice Ray Jr., 32, of Grand Rapids, Michigan was sentenced to 15 years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. When imposing the statutory maximum term, U.S. District Judge Paul L. Maloney noted that Ray posed a “very serious danger to the public.” Evidence at trial established that in April 2025, Ray’s girlfriend called 911 to report she was being kidnapped on a ride to Lansing, Michigan. Ray threw her out of the moving car, dragging her down the street on her knees. After a neighbor came out to assist her, Ray returned with a gun drawn. He forced the girlfriend back into the car, pointed the gun at the neighbor and pulled the trigger, but the gun did not fire. Police located Ray based on the neighbor’s description and pulled him over. After a standoff, Ray sped off with the injured girlfriend still trapped in the vehicle. Ray led multiple patrol cars on a three-mile pursuit through Lansing, at times exceeding 90 miles per hour. When he was eventually cornered and arrested, Lansing police retraced the chase route and found a loaded 9mm semiautomatic pistol on the side of the road with Ray’s DNA on the trigger. The unexpended round in the chamber had a striker mark, indicated it had misfired. U.S. Attorney VerHey said, “Anyone who would try to murder a woman just because she was trying to be a good Samaritan deserves to go to prison. I am glad the ATF and the Lansing Police Department brought this case to my attention so that my office could send him there.” “Maurice Ray Jr. is an ATF poster child of an individual 100% deserving of federal prosecution for their illegal possession of a firearm,” said James Deir, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF Detroit Field Division. “He illegally armed himself, kidnapped and assaulted his girlfriend, and then attempted to fire a gun at a neighbor who stepped in to help. The only explanation why this incident did not result in a murder is because that firearm malfunctioned. This sentence ensures an armed violent, career criminal is off the streets for 15 years. ATF will continue to work relentlessly with our partners to identify, investigate, and prosecute armed felons who threaten the safety of our community.” This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN). For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN . This case was investigated by the ATF and the Lansing Police Department. Prosecution was assigned to Assistant United States Attorneys Nils Kessler and Olivia Ghiselli.


title: Chinese National Guilty of Possessing Fraudulent Passport

component: USAO - Louisiana, Eastern

body_text: NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – JINGUI LIN (“ LIN “) of China was sentenced on February 11, 2026, after previously pleading guilty to being in possession of a fraudulent passport, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1546(a). U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo sentenced LIN to the jail time he had already served since his custodial detention began on October 28, 2025, announced United States Attorney David I. Courcelle. LIN will remain in immigration custody pending his deportation. According to court documents, on October 28, 2025, Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) Officers encountered LIN and determined that he was Entry Without Inspection, or “EWI”, status and eligible to be taken into immigration custody. While taking him into custody, Officers found a fraudulent Chinese passport in LIN ’s possession. The passport contained LIN ’s photograph but a different name. The fraudulent passport also contained a fraudulent United States visa and a fraudulent CBP admission stamp. LIN was not in possession of proper immigration documents allowing him to enter or remain in the United States legally. This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN). The case was investigated by Officers with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Assistant United States Attorney Christine M. Calogero of the General Crimes Unit is handling the prosecution.


title: Twice-Convicted Accountant Is Sentenced For Embezzling More Than $1.1 Million From Employer

component: USAO - North Carolina, Western

body_text: CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A twice-convicted accountant was sentenced to prison today for embezzling more than $1.1 million from her employer, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Mandy Deann Urban, 49, formerly of Charlotte, was ordered to serve 41 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release, and to pay more than $1 million in restitution. U.S. Attorney Ferguson is joined in making today’s announcement by Kyle Burns, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in North Carolina and South Carolina, and Chief Estella D. Patterson of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department. According to court records, from January 2019 to June 2022, Urban was employed as a senior staff accountant for a Charlotte-based company. In that capacity, Urban was responsible for maintaining the company’s general ledger, preparing financial statements, and reconciling the company’s accounts payable and receivable and bank statements. Court records show that Urban executed a scheme to defraud her employer by misusing her access to make multiple transfers from the company’s bank accounts to accounts under Urban’s control. Urban then falsified the company’s books and records to conceal the scheme. Urban made more than 245 fraudulent transfers from the accounts of the company totaling $1,115,344.73. Urban was previously convicted of Grand Theft in Florida for stealing approximately $135,000 and was sentenced to five years of supervised probation in 2015. Urban was convicted again in Florida for a different scheme to defraud and sentenced to two years in prison in June 2022 and was ordered to pay approximately $283,000 in restitution. On March 26, 2024, Urban pleaded guilty to wire fraud. She will be ordered to report to the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson commended HSI and CMPD’s Financial Crimes Unit for their investigation of the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney William Bozin of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.


title: Texas Man Sentenced To 30 Years In Prison For Traveling To North Carolina To Engage In Sexual Activity With A Child

body_text: CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Texas man was sentenced to 30 years in prison today for traveling to North Carolina to engage in sexual activity, enticement, and production of child pornography with a child, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Rusty Joseph Whittaker, 44, of Austin, was also ordered to serve 10 years of supervised release and to register as a sex offender. A federal jury convicted Whittaker in September 2025, following a four-day trial. Reid Davis, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina, and Chief Estella D. Patterson of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD), join U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making today’s announcement. “Predators like Rusty Whittaker are a parent’s worst nightmare,” said U.S. Attorney Ferguson. “This defendant traveled across state lines to exploit a child, used technology to conceal his crimes, and inflicted long-lasting trauma on a vulnerable victim. A lengthy sentence ensures that Whittaker will never have the opportunity to harm another child.” “Whittaker intentionally targeted, groomed, and violated a child for his own sexual gratification. While it is difficult to understand how anyone could do something like this, it is the stark reality of the danger lurking online every day. We must talk to our children to prevent them from being victimized by disgusting predators like Whittaker,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Reid. According to filed court documents, evidence presented at trial, and witness testimony, Whittaker met the minor in an online platform called Antiland, which provides its users anonymity and automatically deletes messages and content shared by its users. Whittaker then moved the conversation to Snapchat, which also automatically deletes messages and content. Using these online messaging platforms, online payment platforms, and other means, Whittaker solicited and viewed sexually explicit images and videos of the victim while continuing to pressure the victim to meet him in person for illicit sexual activity. On May 20, 2023, Whittaker traveled from Nashville, where he was attending a conference, to Charlotte for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual activity with the minor. Trial evidence showed that Whittaker waited for the minor’s father to fall asleep, picked her up from her home, drove her to a hotel, and engaged in sexual activity with the minor. Whittaker provided the minor things of value before driving her back home and dropping her off a distance away from her home, leaving her to walk barefoot. In sentencing Whittaker, Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney, Jr., said, “This is a case that is very serious. It involves planning and manipulation of a child. The word needs to go out that we won’t put up with this.” Whittaker remains in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service until he is transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility. The FBI investigated the case assisted by CMPD. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Cervantes of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the case. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the 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: Jacksonville Tax Preparer Sentenced to Prison for Preparing Over $1.8 Million in Fraudulent Tax Returns

component: USAO - Florida, Middle

body_text: Jacksonville, Florida – Survalarie Harris has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Wendy Berger to 18 months in federal prison for aiding and assisting in the filing of a false tax return. The court also entered an order of restitution in the amount of $1,824,279, the amount of tax loss to the United States. Harris entered a guilty plea in August 2025. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement. According to court documents, Harris worked as a tax return preparer at her business Tax Genie Tax Service in Jacksonville. In preparing tax returns for others, Harris knowingly reported false information, including false claims of having a business, to decrease the amount of money taxpayers would owe to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and to increase the amount of money taxpayers would receive as tax refunds from the IRS. Agents with IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) determined that Harris falsified tax returns in a similar manner multiple times, specifically by creating fictitious business expenses. Despite a lack of documentation from taxpayers, Harris included these fictitious expenses on the tax returns, indicating a net loss for a non-existent business. This lowered the taxpayers’ adjusted gross income, allowing the taxpayer to apply for an Earned Income Credit, a refundable tax credit based primarily on income and filing status. On March 22, 2022, Harris prepared a 2021 tax return for an undercover IRS-CI agent who posed as a customer. During their conversation, Harris told the undercover agent that the agent was going to owe money on her tax return. Harris asked the undercover agent if she did any work on the side, to which the undercover agent stated she sometimes braided hair. Harris told the undercover agent that she could help the undercover agent receive a refund for an additional fee. Moments later, Harris told the undercover agent that she was receiving a refund of $2,950, minus the additional fee. Harris, however, did not ask for it, and the undercover agent did not provide any documentation or information associated with business losses or income. Despite the lack of documentation, Harris prepared the undercover agent’s tax return, which indicated a net loss for a non-existent business. Harris understood that the non-existent business net loss would lower the undercover agent’s adjusted gross income so that the undercover agent would qualify for an Earned Income Credit. Throughout IRS-CI’s investigation, agents learned that Harris had been preparing falsified tax returns on behalf of taxpayers since at least 2018. Agents estimated that Harris prepared more than 900 falsified tax returns between the 2020 and 2022 tax years. The tax loss to the United States from Harris’s fraudulent conduct was at least $1,824,279. “Deliberately submitting false, fraudulent, or misleading information to the IRS is a crime,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe. “We will work with the IRS to vigorously investigate and prosecute those who deliberately seek to defraud our tax system.” “Most tax preparers play by the rules—but those who don’t will be held accountable,” said Ron Loecker, Special Agent in Charge, IRS Criminal Investigation, Florida Field Office. “Creating bogus businesses to steal refunds isn’t a shortcut—it’s a felony. IRS Special Agents will relentlessly pursue fraudsters and make sure justice is served.” This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Elisibeth Adams.


title: Howard County Man Indicted on International Parental Kidnapping Charges

component: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

body_text: Baltimore, Maryland – A federal grand jury indicted a Howard County man for international kidnapping. Tahseen Dakheel Samo, 36, of Columbia, Maryland, is charged with international parental kidnapping stemming from a divorce and custody battle over his minor child. Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the indictment with Special Agent in Charge Jimmy Paul, FBI – Baltimore Field Office; Clinton J. Fuchs, U.S. Marshal for the District of Maryland (USMS); Special Agent in Charge Jacob Cameron, Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division – Washington Field Office; and Chief Gregory Der, Howard County Police Department (HCPD). According to court documents, Samo and his former spouse, who are both U.S. citizens, have family members living in Sweden. In December 2020, while Samo’s ex-wife and their minor son visited family in Sweden, Samo traveled to Sweden to visit the minor victim. When Samo arrived, he took his son from his former spouse and came back to the United States with him. At some point, Samo texted his ex-wife, “You will never see your son again.” The minor victim remained in Samo’s custody, thereafter, including during the divorce and custody proceedings that began in April 2024, in the Circuit Court for Howard County. Then in November 2024, flight records show that Samo and the minor child flew to Denmark, but only Samo returned to the U.S. Samo did not disclose the location of the minor victim to his ex-wife or the court. Eventually, in October 2025, the court granted Samo’s ex-wife sole legal and physical custody of the minor child. The custody order required Samo to surrender his son to his ex-wife or disclose his location. Samo did not comply with the order, so the court held him in contempt. On November 29, Samo was released from contempt. Then on December 12, the USMS and FBI arrested Samo in Arlington, Virginia. Authorities later located the child in Sweden on January 27, 2026, and returned him to the U.S. An indictment is not a finding of guilt. Individuals charged by indictment are presumed innocent until proven guilty at a later criminal proceeding. If convicted, Samo faces a maximum sentence of three years in federal prison for international parental kidnapping. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. A federal district court judge determines sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes commended the FBI, USMS, Army CID, and HCPD for their work in the investigation, and the Swedish Police Authority for their valuable assistance. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Reema Sood and Elliot Higgins who are prosecuting this federal case. For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach . # # #


title: Felon Convicted of Illegal Firearm Possession and Witness Tampering after Attack at Metro Business

component: USAO - Oklahoma, Western

body_text: OKLAHOMA CITY – ISAEL ANTONIO ORTIZ , 27, of Oklahoma City, has been convicted of possession of a firearm after a previous felony conviction and witness tampering, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester. On January 6, 2026, a federal grand jury charged Ortiz with being a felon in possession of a firearm and witness tampering. On February 10, 2026, a federal jury found Ortiz guilty on both counts. According to the evidence at trial, on October 14, 2024, the Oklahoma City Police Department responded to a report of an assault with a dangerous weapon. The victim told police that Ortiz struck his vehicle outside a local business, breaking the driver’s-side window, and began pulling a gun from his pants. Ortiz then fled the scene after noticing a surveillance camera. Officers later responded to Ortiz’s home, where they detained him, executed a search warrant, and seized a firearm. Additional evidence at trial showed that, while in custody, Ortiz made several phone calls, sent text messages, and communicated through third parties in an attempt to persuade a witness to falsely claim ownership of the firearm and to state that Ortiz was unaware of its existence. According to public records, Ortiz has previous felony convictions that include: eluding a police officer in Canadian County District Court case number CF-2018-106; use of a vehicle in discharge of a weapon, drive-by shooting, illegal possession of a firearm, and possession of a firearm while in the commission of a felony in Oklahoma County District Court case number CF-2019-5007; and rioting, second-degree attempted arson, and malicious injury and destruction to property in Oklahoma County District Court case number CF-2020-2901. At sentencing, Ortiz faces up to 35 years in federal prison, and fines of up to $500,000. This case is the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Oklahoma City Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary E. Walters and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney (SAUSA) Laney Ellis are prosecuting the case. SAUSA Ellis is an attorney with the City of Oklahoma City whose position is funded by a federal Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) grant awarded to the City of Oklahoma City to enhance efforts to address and reduce violent crime. PSN is 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. Reference is made to public filings for additional information.


title: Former Bookkeeper Sentenced for Stealing from Her Employer

body_text: NEW ORLEANS – U.S. Attorney, David I. Courcelle, announced that BELINDA MARTIN (“MARTIN”) , age 51, of New Orleans, Louisiana, was sentenced on February 10, 2026 by U.S. District Judge Darrel James Papillion, for access device fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1029(a)(2). According to court documents, between 2022 and 2023, MARTIN embezzled money and things of value in excess of $1,000 from her employer through the fraudulent use of her company’s access device accounts. MARTIN was sentenced to 5 years of probation and a $100.00 mandatory special assessment fee. MARTIN was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $63,112.87. U.S. Attorney Courcelle praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Richard R. Pickens, II of the Financial Crimes Unit is in charge of the prosecution. * * *