title: Convicted Felon Indicted For Possessing Methamphetamine With Intent To Distribute And Possessing A Firearm In Furtherance Of Drug Trafficking

component: USAO - Florida, Middle

body_text: Tampa, FL - United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Lewis James Scott (35, Tampa) with one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. If convicted of the narcotics charge, Scott faces up to 20 years in prison. If convicted of the first firearm charge, he faces a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. This charge also carries a minimum mandatory sentence of 5 years in prison, to run consecutive to any other sentence. The second firearm charge for possessing the firearm as a convicted felon carries up to 15 years in federal prison. According to the indictment, Scott has previously been convicted of a felony for tampering with physical evidence. The indictment charges that on September 4, 2023, Scott possessed methamphetamine with intent to distribute it. It also alleges that on September 4, 2023, Scott possessed a Smith and Wesson Model M&P Bodyguard .380 and three rounds of ammunition and possessed this firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. 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 was investigated by Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Samantha Newman. This case is being prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.


title: Many, LA Man Sentenced for Illegal Possession of Methamphetamine and a Firearm

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

body_text: SHREVEPORT, La. – United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced the sentencing of Lionel George Somersall, Jr. , 45, of Many, who was convicted of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. Somersall was sentenced by United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. to 195 months (16 years, 3 months) in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release. According to information presented in court, on September 13, 2021, Somersall and a female were driving in a vehicle which did not have a proper license plate. A Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office deputy performed a traffic stop of the vehicle. Somersall was the driver of the vehicle and did not have a valid driver’s license. A K9 deputy was brought to the scene and the dog alerted to the presence of narcotics in the vehicle. After searching the vehicle, deputies found a Charter Arms .38 Special revolver inside. Both Somersall and his passenger were convicted felons and were prohibited from possessing a firearm. Law enforcement agents conducted a search of the gun’s history and found that it had been reported as stolen. Somersall and his passenger were both arrested. Agents learned through their investigation that Somersall’s passenger told a co-defendant that she had thrown a bag full of illegal drugs out the window of the vehicle prior to them being stopped. A subsequent search was conducted of the area and deputies found a bag containing ammunition and receipts to Somersall. In addition, they discovered approximately 170 grams of methamphetamine inside the bag. Law enforcement agents were able to examine Somersall’s phone and found text messages discussing the distribution of methamphetamine. Somersall also later admitted to law enforcement agents that he possessed the firearm located inside the vehicle. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Sabine Parish Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert F. Moody. The investigation and conviction of Somersall is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. # # #


title: Attorney General Merrick B. Garland Statement on Sentencings of Former Mississippi Law Enforcement Officers Who Tortured and Abused Two Black Men

component: Office of the Attorney General

body_text: Two former Mississippi law enforcement officers were sentenced today for the torture and abuse of two Black men in Rankin County, Mississippi. Hunter Elward, 31, a former Rankin County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO) Deputy, was sentenced to 20 years in prison. Jeffrey Middleton, 46, a former RCSO Lieutenant, was sentenced to 17.5 years in prison. Four more defendants, all former Mississippi law enforcement officers, will be sentenced tomorrow and Thursday. In 2023, all six defendants pleaded guilty to a criminal information charging them with multiple felony offenses, including civil rights conspiracy, deprivation of rights under color of law, discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and obstruction of justice. The Justice Department issued the following statement from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland: “These defendants will spend 20 years and 17.5 years in prison for their heinous attack on citizens they had sworn an oath to protect,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “These defendants kicked in the door of a home where two Black men were residing, handcuffed and arrested them without probable cause, called them racial slurs, and punched, kicked, tased, and assaulted them. After one of the defendants fired his gun in the mouth of one of the victims, breaking his jaw, the defendants gathered outside to come up with a cover story as the victim lay bleeding on the floor. The Justice Department will hold accountable officers who violate constitutional rights, and in so doing, betray the public trust.”


title: Former Finance Director Charged for Role in $10M Foreign Bribery Scheme

component: Criminal Division

body_text: A federal grand jury in the Southern District of Florida returned an indictment today charging a former finance director of the Latin America division of Stericycle Inc., an international waste management company headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois, for his role in an alleged scheme to pay over $10 million in bribes to foreign officials in Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina. According to court documents, between 2011 and 2016, Abraham Cigarroa Cervantes, 51, of Mexico, and others allegedly caused hundreds of bribe payments to be made to government officials in Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina to obtain and retain business and to secure improper advantages for Stericycle, a U.S. securities issuer, in connection with providing waste management services. As part of the scheme, employees at Stericycle’s offices in Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina allegedly made bribe payments, typically in cash, and calculated the amount of the bribes as a percentage of underlying contract payments made by or owing from a government customer. In all three countries, Cigarroa and his co-conspirators allegedly tracked the bribe payments through spreadsheets and described the bribes through code words and euphemisms. To conceal the corrupt payments, Cigarroa and others allegedly maintained false books, records, and accounts that did not accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of Stericycle’s assets, causing Stericycle to falsely record bribe payments as legitimate expenses in its consolidated books, records, and accounts. Cigarroa also allegedly submitted and maintained falsified Sarbanes-Oxley certifications and business unit representation letters falsely attesting that the books, records, and accounts were accurate. Cigarroa is charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act’s (FCPA) anti-bribery provisions and one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA’s books and records provisions. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on each count. In April 2022, Stericycle admitted to bribing officials in Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina in violation of the FCPA’s anti-bribery and books and records provisions. Stericycle entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement with the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and agreed to pay more than $84 million as part of a coordinated resolution with the Justice Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and authorities in Brazil. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida; and Assistant Director in Charge James Smith of the FBI New York Field Office made the announcement. The FBI New York Field Office is investigating the case. Trial Attorneys Paul A. Hayden and Jil Simon of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Manolo Reboso for the Southern District of Florida are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and authorities in Brazil and Mexico provided assistance in the matter. The Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting FCPA matters. Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/foreign-corrupt-practices-act . An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.


title: Justice Department Hosts Forum and Sends Letter to Local Officials to Reinforce Federal Civil Rights Protections for Religious Land Use

component: Civil Rights Division

body_text: The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division hosted a forum in Orange County, California, today with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California on the department’s continued efforts to combat religious discrimination and promote religious liberty through enforcement of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA). RLUIPA is a federal law that protects people and religious institutions from discriminatory and overly burdensome land use regulations. The division also issued a letter to state, county and municipal leaders throughout the country to remind them of their obligations under RLUIPA. During the forum, Deputy Assistant Attorney General Johnathan Smith of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California discussed the continued importance of RLUIPA and highlighted the need to ensure that the public is aware of the critical protections provided by the law. They heard from members of different religious communities, land use officials and local attorneys about challenges involving religious land use in Southern California. Today’s forum, held at the Fowler School of Law at Chapman University, is the second in a series of nationwide outreach events designed to ensure that communities understand RLUIPA’s legal protections and are of the department’s enforcement of the law. The department held the first outreach event of the series in October in New Jersey. “At this time when many faith communities are experiencing antisemitism, Islamophobia or other forms of religious discrimination, the department is actively working to guarantee that all faith communities are free to worship and engage in religious exercise,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act is an important federal law in the Justice Department’s efforts to combat religious discrimination. Our letter aims to ensure that state and local governments around the country are aware of and understand their obligations under the law.” “Today’s unprecedented gathering brought together local faith leaders, land use officials, lawyers and students to learn and discuss how federal laws such as RLUIPA protect the free exercise of religion,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada for the Central District of California. “My office and the entire Justice Department is committed to protect religious institutions from unduly burdensome or discriminatory land use regulations. Over the past year, the civil rights attorneys in my office have worked closely with local religious organizations such as Micah’s Way and the Catholic Charities of Orange County to ensure that zoning officials do not run afoul of the RLUIPA statute.” The Civil Rights Division’s letter to officials outlines RLUIPA’s land use provisions and emphasizes the protections they afford to religious institutions and assemblies. The letter, which describes documents and resources available from the Justice Department to help local governments comply with RLUIPA, was prompted by a concern, based on the department’s enforcement and outreach work, that many government officials are insufficiently familiar with law’s requirements. RLUIPA was passed unanimously by Congress and signed into law on Sept. 22, 2000. The law contains provisions covering both religious land use and religious exercise by people who are incarcerated. Since RLUIPA’s passage, the department has opened over 155 formal investigations and filed nearly 30 lawsuits and 36 briefs related to RLUIPA’s land use provisions. In June 2018, the Justice Department announced its Place to Worship Initiative, which focuses on RLUIPA’s provisions that protect the rights of houses of worship and other religious institutions to worship on their land. More information is available at www.justice.gov/crt/placetoworship . The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California is actively involved in enforcing RLUIPA, including recently filing a statement of interest in Micah’s Way v. City of Santa Ana , a federal lawsuit alleging that Santa Ana violated a faith-based group’s freedom to engage in protected religious exercise. Individuals who believe they have been subjected to religious discrimination in land use or zoning decisions may file a complaint with the U.S Attorney’s Office at www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/civil-division/civil-rights-section or call the U.S. Attorney’s Office Civil Rights Section at (213) 894-2879. Individuals may also contact the Civil Rights Division Housing and Civil Enforcement Section at (833) 591-0291 or submit a complaint through the complaint portal .


title: Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to His Role in a Bank Fraud Scheme to Steal More Than $1.5 Million from Victims Throughout the United States

component: USAO - Maryland

body_text: Baltimore , Maryland – Theodore Sapperstein, age 66, of Pikesville, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. The guilty plea was announced by Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland and Postal Inspector in Charge Carroll N. Harris of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service – Los Angeles Division. According to his guilty plea, Sapperstein and his coconspirators unlawfully debited money from the bank accounts of unknowing victims throughout the United States without their authorization, created shell companies, and falsely represented that debits against consumer-victims’ bank accounts were authorized as payment for services allegedly provided by those shell companies. The unauthorized debits against consumer-victim accounts resulted in returned transactions and high return rates that could generate scrutiny from banks. To both conceal and continue making unauthorized debits, Sapperstein and his coconspirators caused “micro debit” transactions (i.e., a large number of low-value sham transactions) to be made against other bank accounts that they controlled and/or funded, and which they knew would not result in returns. The “micro debits” were therefore used to artificially lower return rates to levels that Sapperstein and his coconspirators believed would reduce bank scrutiny and potential termination of banking services. Sapperstein helped broker payment processing for the fraud scheme, securing a payment processor who processed the unauthorized debits and the fraudulent micro debits. As part of his guilty plea, Sapperstein admitted that more than $1.5 million in loss was reasonably foreseeable to him. “We formed the Maryland Financial Intelligence Task Force to identify financial fraudsters, whose actions impact victim-account holders here in Maryland and beyond,” said United States Attorney Erek L. Barron. “Our goal is to aggressively protect the financial information of public consumers.” “Those who knowingly participate in schemes to use personal and financial information about American consumers to steal money from their accounts will be held accountable,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We are committed to investigating and prosecuting individuals who facilitate such schemes.” “The U.S. Postal Inspection Service will not tolerate schemes aimed at draining the accounts of innocent people trying to create financial stability for themselves and their families,” said Inspector in Charge Carroll N. Harris for USPIS. “Postal Inspectors along with their law enforcement partners will tirelessly investigate these crimes, ensuring these criminals face the maximum penalties for their illegal activities.” Sapperstein faces a maximum of 30 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud. U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow has scheduled sentencing for August 15, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron and Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Brian M. Boynton commended the U.S. Postal Inspection Service for its work in the investigation and thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California for its assistance in the prosecution of the case. Mr. Barron also thanked Assistant United States Attorney Darryl Tarver and Trial Attorneys Wei Xiang, Meredith Healy, and Amy Kaplan of the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch, who are prosecuting the case. For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach . # # #


title: Repeat Offender Sentenced to 72 Months for Firearms Possession in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Offense

body_text: WASHINGTON – Tyron Hines, a repeat felon with a long history of weapons offenses, was sentenced today to 72 months in prison for illegal possession of a Smith and Wesson M&P polymer pistol while also in possession of a significant quantity of deadly narcotics. The sentencing was announced today U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, Special Agent in Charge Craig Kailimai of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Hines, 32, pled guilty on October 16, 2023, to carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. In addition to the 72-month prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras ordered Hines to serve 3 years of supervised release. According to court documents, Hines was most recently arrested the evening of June 4, 2023. Two MPD officers were on patrol in a marked cruiser in Southeast when they observed a large group singing and dancing on the 2200 block of Savannah Terrace, SE. As the officers approached the group, Hines quietly peeled off from the crowd with his head down. The officers followed and tried to gain Hines’ attention. Hines ignored them, turned behind a black SUV, and placed a metallic object under the vehicle. Then Hines began to run. The two officers gave chase. One paused to look under the SUV where he recovered a black Smith and Wesson MP9 M 2.0 with 11 rounds of ammunition in a magazine that could hold 17 rounds. Later tests determined the pistol had been stolen from Prince George’s County in March 2020. Officers stopped Hines on the 2100 block of Savannah Terrace SE and searched him. Hines was carrying 20 suspected fentanyl pills and a bag of a white rock-like substance that weighed 26 grams, nearly an ounce. The substance field-tested tested positive for crack cocaine. Officers also recovered $920 in cash. Based on the quantity of narcotics, the lack of drug paraphernalia, and the wad of cash, it appeared that Hines possessed the drugs with the intent to distribute rather than for personal use. The arrest marked the fifth time Hines had been charged in connection with unlawful possession of a firearm in fewer than 15 years. About two weeks before, on May 13, 2023, following an early morning shootout at a Dupont parking garage, Hines drove a wounded friend in his black BMW sedan and parked at a hospital. When officers arrived, they found Hines’ BMW and spotted a black Glock 35 .40 caliber handgun with a 29-round magazine on the floor. A subsequent search of the car turned up a second firearm underneath the driver’s seat: a tan Glock 19 mm handgun with one bullet in the chamber and 15 rounds loaded in the 17-round magazine. Additionally, the Smith and Wesson was found to have been outfitted with a “giggle switch,” a device that converts a semi-automatic into a fully automatic machinegun. The Government does not believe that either firearm recovered from Hines’ BMW belonged to Hines that evening. On June 28, 2023, in a search of Hines’ apartment on Kenilworth Terrace NE, MPD officers recovered a loaded Del-Ton Inc. AR-15 style 5.56 rifle, a ballistic vest, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. Hines has previously been convicted of offenses carrying a maximum term of imprisonment of greater than one year. On February 5, 2010, Hines was sentenced to 24 months on charges of assault with a dangerous weapon and two counts of assault with significant bodily injury after shooting into a crowd of 50 people and seriously wounding three of them. On April 13, 2018, Hines was sentenced in D.C. Superior Court to 24 months’ imprisonment for unlawful possession of a firearm (prior conviction). And on January 11, 2021, Hines was sentenced in D.C. Superior Court to 18 months on a similar charge. Hines was on supervised release for that case at the time of his arrest for his most current offense. This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the Metropolitan Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cameron Tepfer.


title: Maryland Correctional Officer Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy Offense Related to Cover-Up of Assault

body_text: A correctional officer at the Eastern Correctional Institution (ECI) in Westover, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to an information charging him with one count of conspiring to obstruct justice, with the purpose of covering up evidence that a fellow officer at ECI had unlawfully assaulted an inmate. According to court documents, on July 12, 2021, while working at ECI, Daric Evans, 32, learned that another officer had used force against an inmate. Upon learning of the incident, Evans responded to the scene, where he assisted other correctional officers with escorting the inmate to a medical evaluation. During the evaluation, the inmate cried and was visibly injured with blood on his face. The inmate also asserted that he had been assaulted by a correctional officer, Samuel Warren. Evans and several other correctional officers escorted the inmate to a cell for a monitored strip-search. During the strip-search, the inmate was fully compliant and crying. Another correctional officer, David Quillen, filmed the inmate during the evaluation and strip-search. Following the search, Evans and a number of other correctional officers watched Quillen’s video of the inmate. After watching the video, a supervisory officer commented that the video looked bad and needed to be deleted. Quillen indicated that he would delete the video, and Evans understood that Quillen subsequently did so. In addition, the supervisory officer proposed a cover story for why the video had gone missing, and Evans and other officers agreed to lie about the deletion. Following the deletion, Evans and other correctional officers discussed that — as previously agreed — they would lie to investigators about what had happened to the video of the inmate. Evans lied about what happened to the video, including by withholding the information from state investigators and lying to federal investigators. Warren pleaded guilty to offenses related to his assault of the inmate and cover-up of the assault. Quillen also pleaded guilty to offenses related to the deletion of the video. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron for the District of Maryland and Acting Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock of the FBI Baltimore Field Office made the announcement. The FBI Baltimore Field Office is investigating the case, with assistance from the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. Trial Attorney Erin Monju of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Marquardt for the District of Maryland are prosecuting the case, with assistance from Special Legal Counsel Mark Blumberg of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section.


title: Maryland Correctional Officer Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice Related to Cover-Up of Excessive Force Incident

body_text: Baltimore , Maryland – Daric Evans, age 32, of Crisfield, Maryland, a correctional officer at the Eastern Correctional Institution (“ECI”) in Westover, Maryland, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to obstruct justice, related to covering up evidence that a fellow officer at ECI had unlawfully assaulted an inmate. The guilty plea was announced by Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland; Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division; and Acting Special Agent in Charge R. Joseph Rothrock of the FBI Baltimore Field Office. According to his guilty plea, on July 12, 2021, while working at ECI, Evans learned that another officer had used force against an inmate. Upon learning of the incident, Evans responded to the scene, where he assisted other correctional officers with escorting the inmate to a medical evaluation. During the evaluation, the inmate cried and was visibly injured with blood on his face. The inmate also asserted that he had been assaulted by a correctional officer, Samuel Warren. Then, Evans and several other correctional officers escorted the inmate to a cell for a monitored strip search. During the strip search, the inmate was fully compliant and crying. Correctional Officer David Quillen filmed the inmate during the evaluation and strip search. After the strip search, Evans and a number of other correctional officers watched Quillen’s video of the inmate. After watching the video, a supervisory officer commented that the video looked bad and needed to be deleted. Quillen indicated that he would delete the video, and Evans understood that Quillen subsequently did so. In addition, the supervisory officer proposed a cover story for why the video had gone missing, and Evans and other officers agreed to lie about the deletion. Following the deletion, Evans and other correctional officers discussed that—as previously agreed—they would lie to investigators about what had happened to the video of the inmate. Evans in fact lied about what happened to the video, including by withholding the information from state investigators and lying to federal investigators. Evans faces a maximum sentence of five years in federal prison for the conspiracy to obstruct justice. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has scheduled sentencing for June 27, 2024. Samuel Warren, age 38, of Westover, Maryland, has since pleaded guilty to federal offenses related to his unlawful assault of the inmate and is scheduled for sentencing on June 11, 2024. David Quillen, 37, of Ocean View, Delaware, also pleaded guilty to federal offenses related to the deletion of the video and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 22, 2024. U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron and Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke commended the FBI for its work in the investigation and thanked the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services for its assistance. Mr. Barron also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Marquardt and Trial Attorney Erin Monju of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section who are prosecuting the case, with assistance from Special Legal Counsel Mark Blumberg of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section. For more information on the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach . # # #


title: Westbrook Man Sentenced to 18 Years for Sexually Exploiting a Child

component: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

body_text: PORTLAND, Maine: A Westbrook man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Portland for sexually exploiting a child. U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr. sentenced Rayevon Deschambault, 28, to 216 months in prison followed by 10 years of supervised release. Deschambault was convicted of two counts of sexually exploiting a child following a two-day jury trial in U.S. District Court in Portland in January 2023. Deschambault also received a concurrent 27-month sentence on an unrelated charge of distributing cocaine base, stemming from his sale of cocaine base to a confidential informant in August 2019. Deschambault pleaded guilty to the drug trafficking charge on March 30, 2023. According to court records and evidence presented at trial, in August 2019, Deschambault sexually abused a 14-year-old victim for the purpose of creating child sexual abuse material. The videos Deschambault produced were found on his cell phone after investigators seized the phone in August 2019. In sentencing Deschambault, Judge Woodcock noted that videorecording of sexually exploitative acts “places this crime at a different level” because “videotaping is a potentially permanent visual record of the crime.” The FBI and Portland Police Department investigated the case, with assistance from the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency. “Rayevon Deschambault’s actions were beyond heinous. He sexually abused a child and recorded the abuse so he could savor it whenever he wanted. No child should ever have to experience this,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division . “We thank the victim in this case for cooperating with law enforcement. With today’s sentence, Mr. Deschambault won’t be able to victimize anyone else for years to come.” “Mr. Deschambault sexually abused a child then took it even further to memorialize that abuse on video,” said U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee. “Protecting Maine children from the lasting and traumatic impact of sexual exploitation is among the most necessary and important work we do at the US Attorney’s Office In support of our law enforcement partners at every level,” Reports of child sexual exploitation are increasing: In 2022, The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline received 32 million reports of suspected child sexual exploitation. That included more than 80,000 reports of online enticement of children for sexual acts, an increase of 82% from 2021 to 2022, and more than 31 million reports of child sexual abuse materials. Victimization can take place across every platform, including social media, messaging apps, gaming platforms, etc. To make a CyberTipline Report, visit https://report.cybertip.org /. If you are in Maine and you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted or abused, you can get help by calling the free, private 24-hour statewide sexual assault helpline at 1-800-871-7741 . Project Safe Childhood: This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-me/psc . ###


title: Guilty Plea in Va. and Md. Spree of Gunpoint Pharmacy Robberies

body_text: WASHINGTON – Floyd Neal, 32, of Washington D.C., pleaded guilty yesterday to his role in a rash of 2021 gunpoint robberies of pharmacies in Maryland and Virginia, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the FBI Washington Field Office. Neal pleaded guilty on March 18, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson to three counts of interference with commerce by robbery and aiding and abetting (also known as Hobbs Act robbery). He also pleaded guilty to using, carrying, and possessing a firearm during a drug trafficking offense. Judge Berman Jackson scheduled sentencing for June 21, 2024. According to court documents, on February 14, 2021, Neal and two co-conspirators traveled from the District to a pharmacy in Henrico, Virginia. Neal approached the pharmacy counter, brandished a firearm, and ordered the pharmacist to hand over codeine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone. Neal held one employee at gunpoint while a co-conspirator demanded the pharmacist open the prescription safe. After grabbing prescription narcotics and amphetamines, they fled in a red SUV driven by another co-conspirator. On March 25, 2021, Neal and a co-conspirator traveled from the District to a pharmacy in Alexandria, Virginia. They entered the store wearing yellow construction vests and posed as customers by grabbing beer. Then the co-conspirator shouted “Give me all the money. Oh, you think I’m playing,” as he reached toward his waistband to indicate that he had a firearm. The men ordered two employees into the store’s office before taking between $7,000 to $10,000 from the safe. The men fled in a 2005 silver sedan. On March 31, 2021, Neal and his co-conspirators drove to a pharmacy in Beltsville, Md. Neal’s co-conspirator went behind the store counter, grabbed a store employee, and demanded the code to the store’s safe. While the robbery was in progress, the store’s manager entered the store. Neal’s co-conspirator forced the store’s manager into the back office where Neal was watching the other employee. Neal’s co-conspirator forced the manager to open the safe and then stole the contents. Neal remained at the front of the store where he emptied the contents of the cash registers. The trio then fled in a dark sedan with silver trim. On April 1, 2021, Neal and a co-conspirator traveled to a pharmacy in Manassas, Virginia. One employee locked herself in the back office. Another employee ran to the front where the co-conspirator grabbed them by the neck. Threatening the employees, Neal ordered one to give him “percocets and oxys” or else he would hurt them. Neal also demanded the employee open the cash registers. Police arrested Neal and the co-conspirator after fleeing the pharmacy. A search revealed Neal had been in possession of a loaded 9mm Hipoint C9 firearm. Each of the pharmacies robbed by Neal is part of a national chain of retailers and the robberies affected interstate commerce. Neal faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on each Hobbs Act robbery count and a maximum of life in prison for using a firearm during a drug trafficking offense. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. This case was investigated by the FBI Violent Crimes Task Force with valuable assistance from local law enforcement in Virginia, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Gold and Cameron Tepfer.


title: Bosque Farms Man Charged with Assault

component: USAO - New Mexico

body_text: Albuquerque – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging a Bosque Farms man with assault resulting in serious bodily injury. According to the indictment, on Sept. 22, 2023, Richard Jaramillo , 42, of Bosque Farms and an enrolled member of Pueblo of Isleta, assaulted John Doe and the assault resulted in serious bodily injury. Yesterday, Jaramillo appeared in federal court for an initial appearance where the Court temporarily detained Jaramillo pending a detention hearing, which is scheduled for March 20, 2024. If convicted, Jaramillo faces a maximum of 10 years in federal prison. There is no parole in the federal system. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez made the announcement today. The Isleta Police Department investigated, and Assistant United States Attorney Nicholas J. Marshall is prosecuting this case. View the Indictment # # #


title: Tucson Man Arrested on Two Counts of Aiming a Laser Pointer at Aircraft

component: USAO - Arizona

body_text: TUCSON, Ariz. – Charles William Preston II, 53, of Tucson, was arrested on March 6, 2024, after a federal grand jury returned a two-count indictment against him on November 1, 2023. Preston is charged with two counts of aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft. The indictment alleges that on two separate occasions, Preston aimed the beam of a laser pointer at a fixed-wing aircraft operated by the Pima County Sheriff’s Department and in the flight path of the same aircraft. A conviction for aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release. An indictment is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department conducted the investigation in this case. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson, is handling the prosecution. CASE NUMBER: CR-23-01688-TUC-JAS RELEASE NUMBER: 2024-035_Preston # # # For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/ Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on X @USAO_AZ for the latest news.


title: District Felon, a Member of ‘No Rats Allowed,’ Pleads Guilty to Fentanyl Trafficking And Possession of an Illegal Firearm

body_text: WASHINGTON – Keith Jones, 27, of Washington D.C., pleaded guilty today for participating in a long-running drug trafficking conspiracy that distributed fentanyl throughout the District of Columbia, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Scott of the FBI Washington Field Office. Jones, a member of the violent No Rats Allowed crew, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols to conspiring to distribute 40 grams or more of a mixture containing fentanyl and unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a person convicted of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year. Judge Nichols scheduled sentencing for June 10, 2024, where he will face a five-year mandatory minimum sentence. At the time of the trafficking offenses, he was on supervised probation for a robbery conviction out of Prince George’s County, Maryland. The plea follows a lengthy investigation by the Metropolitan Police Department’s Narcotics Enforcement Unit (NEU), FBI’s Washington Field Office, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. The law enforcement partnership identified a crew of young men operating within on the 200 block of K Street, Southwest, with firearms, large amounts of U.S. currency, and illegal narcotics. The members of the group wore matching insignia on clothing printed with “NO RATS ALLOWED” or “N.R.A.” Jones, aka “Chief,” and other members of the N.R.A. crew used several townhouses on the block as stash locations or “trap houses” for narcotics and firearms. Many of Jones’ N.R.A. associates have been arrested and successfully prosecuted for firearms offenses and the possession and distribution of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl. The government’s investigation showed from October 2021 to October 2023, Jones relied heavily on social media to both make connections with other drug dealers to conduct sales of illegal substances to individual customers and N.R.A. crew members. On his Instagram account and cell phone, investigators found evidence showing Jones’ trafficking of crack cocaine, promethazine, and wholesale quantities of counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and marijuana. Furthermore, the digital evidence showed that Jones was aware that at least some of the counterfeit pills he sold contained fentanyl, was warned by another drug dealer that certain pills he was selling might contain lethal amounts of fentanyl, and knowingly distributed the pills with full knowledge they might harm or kill customers. Metropolitan Police Department officers arrested Jones on October 28, 2023, following a foot chase, during which he discarded a firearm in the lobby of the Capitol Park Plaza Apartments in Washington D.C. That firearm discharged as he tossed it and the bullet struck a glass window in the lobby of the apartment building, narrowly missing two security guards that were feet away from him. This case was investigated by the FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force, with valuable assistance from the Metropolitan Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Justin F. Song.


title: Oglala Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison

component: USAO - South Dakota

body_text: RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange has sentenced an Oglala, South Dakota, man convicted of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury. The sentencing took place on March 15, 2024. Cole Don Brewer, 32, was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Brewer was indicted for Discharge of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime of Violence, Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, and Assault with a Dangerous Weapon by a federal grand jury in September of 2023. He pleaded guilty on December 1, 2023. The conviction stems from Brewer shooting a male twice in the legs on August 24, 2023, at an apartment in Pine Ridge, South Dakota. This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in Federal court as opposed to State court. This case was investigated by the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Lindrooth prosecuted the case. Brewer was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.


component: USAO - Florida, Southern

body_text: MIAMI – A federal grand jury returned an indictment today charging a former finance director of the Latin America division of Stericycle Inc., an international waste management company headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois, for his role in an alleged scheme to pay over $10 million in bribes to foreign officials in Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina. According to court documents, between 2011 and 2016, Abraham Cigarroa Cervantes, 51, of Mexico, and others allegedly caused hundreds of bribe payments to be made to government officials in Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina to obtain and retain business and to secure improper advantages for Stericycle, a U.S. securities issuer, in connection with providing waste management services. As part of the scheme, employees at Stericycle’s offices in Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina allegedly made bribe payments, typically in cash, and calculated the amount of the bribes as a percentage of underlying contract payments made by or owing from a government customer. In all three countries, Cigarroa and his co-conspirators allegedly tracked the bribe payments through spreadsheets and described the bribes through code words and euphemisms. To conceal the corrupt payments, Cigarroa and others allegedly maintained false books, records, and accounts that did not accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of Stericycle’s assets, causing Stericycle to falsely record bribe payments as legitimate expenses in its consolidated books, records, and accounts. Cigarroa also allegedly submitted and maintained falsified Sarbanes-Oxley certifications and business unit representation letters falsely attesting that the books, records, and accounts were accurate. Cigarroa is charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act’s (FCPA) anti-bribery provisions and one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA’s books and records provisions. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on each count. In April 2022, Stericycle admitted to bribing officials in Mexico, Brazil, and Argentina in violation of the FCPA’s anti-bribery and books and records provisions. Stericycle entered into a three-year deferred prosecution agreement with the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and agreed to pay more than $84 million as part of a coordinated resolution with the Justice Department, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and authorities in Brazil. U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida; Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and Assistant Director in Charge James Smith of the FBI New York Field Office made the announcement. The FBI New York Field Office is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Manolo Reboso and Trial Attorneys Paul A. Hayden and Jil Simon of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and authorities in Brazil and Mexico provided assistance in the matter. The Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting FCPA matters. Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/foreign-corrupt-practices-act . An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov . ###


title: Brandon Man Sentenced for Attempted Receipt of Child Pornography

body_text: SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Brandon, South Dakota, man convicted of Attempted Receipt of Child Pornography. The sentencing took place on March 14, 2024. Gatlin Wayne Herrera, age 31, was sentenced to five years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100. Herrera will also need to register as a sex offender. Herrera was indicted by a federal grand jury in April of 2022. He pleaded guilty on November 30, 2023. The conviction stemmed from incident between March 7, 2022, and March 16, 2022, when Herrera used his cell phone to knowingly request child pornography from an undercover agent posing as a 14-year-old female. This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, with the assistance of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, Sioux Falls Police Department, Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office, South Dakota Highway Patrol, Air Force Office of Special Investigations, and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper prosecuted the case. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc . Herrera was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.


title: Romance Scammer Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison,  Ordered to Pay $2.2M in Restitution

component: USAO - Texas, Northern

body_text: An Aubrey woman was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison and ordered to pay more than $2.2 million in restitution for defrauding elderly victims in romance schemes, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton. Ijeoma Okoro, 33, was indicted in September 2021 and proceeded to trial in December 2023. After seven days of trial and 10 hours of deliberation, a jury convicted her of one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. She was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge David Godbey to 10 years on each count, to run concurrently. According to evidence presented at trial, Ms. Okoro and other fraudsters assumed fake names and trolled dating sites like Match.com and Zoosk, searching for targets. Once the fraudsters ingratiated themselves to their often divorced or widowed victims with promises of long-term commitment, the fraudsters concocted elaborate stories about why they needed financial assistance. A common story was that the fraudster had to travel overseas for work and was unable to access his bank accounts. As a part of the story, the fraudster often claimed to experience an unexpected work-related crisis or a sudden family medical emergency. The fraudster then asked the victims for money to cover the expenses and promised to repay them in the near future. Trusting victims sent thousands of dollars to bank accounts opened by the defendant and her coconspirators in the Northern District of Texas. The defendant then distributed the fraudulent proceeds to coconspirators and retained a portion for herself. At Monday’s sentencing hearing, Chief Judge Godbey applied a sentencing enhancement for the defendant’s obstruction of the administration of justice, finding that Ms. Okoro committed perjury when she testified at trial that she never conspired with anyone to commit fraud or money laundering. To date, four other codefendants have also been convicted for their involvement in the scheme, including: David Animashaun, sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud; Oluwalobamise Michael Moses, sentenced to 24 months in federal prison for two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud; Emanuel Stanley Orji, sentenced to 37 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud; and Frederick Orji, sentenced to 37 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The remaining indicted codefendant, Chukwuemeka Orji, remains a fugitive. IRS – Criminal Investigation led the investigation with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Frisco Field Office, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of Labor - Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mary Walters, Jenna Rudoff, and Elyse Lyons prosecuted the case.


title: Pine Ridge Man Sentenced to Federal Prison

body_text: RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange has sentenced a Pine Ridge, South Dakota, man convicted of Sexual Abuse of a Minor. The sentencing took place on March 15, 2024. McKinley Two Bulls Hunter, 26, was sentenced to two years and four months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Two Bulls Hunter was indicted for Sexual Abuse of a Minor by a federal grand jury in May of 2022. He pleaded guilty on November 29, 2023. The conviction stems from Two Bulls Hunter sexually abusing a 13-year-old female on July 22, 2021, at a residence in Pine Ridge. The defendant was 24 years old at the time of the abuse. This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in Federal court as opposed to State court. This case was investigated by the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Lindrooth prosecuted the case. Two Bulls Hunter was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.


title: Former White Mountain Police Officer Indicted for Obstruction of Investigation

body_text: PHOENIX, Ariz. – Last week, a federal grand jury in Phoenix returned a two-count indictment against Joshua Ben Anderson, 49, of Whiteriver, for his actions in connection with the death of a woman on Thanksgiving Day, 2023. The grand jury charged Anderson, a former White Mountain Apache Tribal police officer, with one count of Engaging in Misleading Conduct to Hinder or Delay and one count of Corruptly Altering and Concealing Evidence. The indictment alleges that, at approximately 3:31 a.m. on November 23, 2023, Anderson was on-duty and was dispatched to conduct a welfare check of a body that had been observed on State Route 73, on White Mountain Apache Tribal lands. Anderson proceeded to the scene and discovered that the person was deceased. Anderson later acknowledged that only minutes before being dispatched to the scene, he had driven the same stretch of highway and felt a “bump” but continued southbound on SR 73 without stopping to investigate. Anderson actively took part in the police investigation into the pedestrian’s death. He spoke with paramedics, interviewed witnesses, briefed and directed officers, filled out an autopsy report, and notified the victim’s family of her death. The indictment alleges that Anderson did not inform his superiors or fellow officers about his likely involvement in the traffic fatality, but rather allowed the investigation to continue. It is further alleged that after returning to his home, Anderson removed the bumper from his patrol vehicle, which had been damaged in the accident, and concealed it. The next day, Anderson resigned from the police department. A conviction for each of the two alleged crimes carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. An indictment is simply a method by which a person is charged with criminal activity and raises no inference of guilt. An individual is presumed innocent until evidence is presented to a jury that establishes guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the White Mountain Apache Tribe Police Department conducted the investigation in this case. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Phoenix, is handling the prosecution. CASE NUMBER: CR-24-08027-PHX-SPL RELEASE NUMBER: 2024-036_Anderson # # # For more information on the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/az/ Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, on X @USAO_AZ for the latest news.


title: Friend and Business Partner of GirlsDoPorn Owner Michael Pratt  Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison

component: USAO - California, Southern

body_text: NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – March 19, 2024 SAN DIEGO – Matthew Isaac Wolfe was sentenced in federal court today to 14 years in prison for his role in a conspiracy with Michael Pratt, owner of the website GirlsDoPorn, and others, to deceive and coerce young women into appearing in pornographic videos. A restitution hearing is scheduled for May 7, 2024 at 10 a.m. The conspiracy included recruiting the victims from throughout the United States and Canada using internet advertisements for clothed modeling jobs. Even after the victims learned the gig involved an adult video-shoot, Wolfe admitted to persuading women to appear in the videos by telling them that the videos would never be posted online, that the videos would never be released in the United States, and that no one who knew the women would ever find out about the videos, representations he knew to be false. In truth, the videos were exclusively marketed and distributed on the internet. Not only did Wolfe lie to the women, he also instructed others to do so. Wolfe told co-defendant Theodore Gyi, the cameraman on hundreds of GirlsDoPorn video shoots, that if asked, he should lie to the women and tell them the videos would not be posted on the internet. Most of the video shoots took place in San Diego – at local hotels and short-term rental units. Although the women were promised that the video shoots would be brief, they often took hours. Once the video productions began, some women were not permitted to leave the shooting locations until the videos were completed; some were threatened with lawsuits or cancelled flights home if they did not complete the videos; and others were allegedly forced to perform certain sex acts, which they had earlier declined to do. After the victims returned home, still believing that they would remain anonymous, clips of the videos were posted on heavily trafficked adult film sites, like Pornhub, meant to funnel viewers to the full-length versions of the videos on Pratt’s website, GirlsDoPorn. Pratt charged visitors to GirlsDoPorn a subscription fee and generated more than $17 million in revenue. Wolfe pleaded guilty to the conspiracy on July 26, 2022, admitting he moved to the United States from New Zealand in 2011 to work for Pratt and had a wide range of responsibilities. He filmed approximately 100 videos; uploaded finished videos onto the internet; oversaw the company’s financial books; and operated various business entities that were used to promote the business. Wolfe worked at GirlsDoPorn from 2011 until his arrest in October 2019. During hearings today and on January 22, 2024, approximately 30 survivors asked a federal judge to impose a significant sentence, describing how the actions of Wolfe and his co-defendants destroyed their lives. Survivors, many of them college students at the time, described answering what they thought were legitimate modeling ads and flying to San Diego for paid modeling gigs, only to be forced to perform sexual acts on camera. The women spoke of struggling with substance and alcohol abuse, anxiety and depression, suicidal thoughts and attempts, and post-traumatic stress syndrome in the aftermath of their videos going viral. Some spoke of lost relationships with friends and family; others dropped out of school; and others went into hiding. One of the women said: “I was robbed of my privacy, my dignity, and my peace of mind… But worst of all, I was robbed of my identity. I was once viewed as a beautiful, fun-loving and strong woman who was known for her athleticism and ability to make just about anyone laugh. I was a caring friend and a daughter my parents were proud of. Mr. Wolfe shattered who I was…Today I'm taking my identity back. I am not a victim. I'm a survivor.” One woman recalled the day she learned that her pornographic video received more than 300 million views on Pornhub, one of the most-visited websites in the world. “That ad seemed harmless, but it wrecked my entire life. In an instant, the life I had was gone: My hopes gone, my relationships gone, everything was gone…The fall-out from the videos spread to every part of my life like cancer, and that cancer remains to this day, making it virtually impossible for me to start a new life. I lost my modeling career, my college years, my whole twenties, my name, my career path, my friends, and my family. Everything I had built was gone, and so too was my future. Doors that were once opened were slammed in my face…Matthew Wolfe stole my life, and it wasn't just my life. He stole hundreds of lives. What kind of price do you put on a life? Mr. Wolfe deserves a jail sentence that accounts for each and every life he has stolen.” Another woman told the court: “It's been nearly 3,650 days of living in a tortuous purgatory, but today marks a major milestone in my recovery. Today there's a shift in the winds. Today is the day all the survivors get their voices back. Today is the day we get to be heard.” Wolfe also admitted he was aware that personal identifying information and social media accounts for some women were being posted on pornwikileaks.com, a site controlled by Pratt and dedicated to “exposing” the true identities of individuals appearing in pornographic videos, causing the victims to be subjected to severe harassment. Even after Wolfe became aware of this, he and others continued to assure prospective models that no one would ever find out about their video shoot or learn their identity. “We applaud all survivors who courageously speak out in pursuit of justice,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath. “Their voices rang out in the courtroom today, and we stand beside them in holding Mr. Wolfe accountable for the incredible pain and suffering he caused.” “Matthew Wolfe’s willingness to use deception, coercion and intimidation to exploit young women paints a sordid picture of the lengths some people will go just to make money,” said FBI San Diego Special Agent in Charge Stacey Moy. “Wolfe’s sentencing today, and any past or future sentencings related to this case, are small slivers of justice for the victims, but ultimately don’t fully heal the deep pain spawned by Mr. Wolfe and the other defendants.” Co-defendant Michael Pratt made his first appearance today after being extradited from Spain following more than three years as an international fugitive. In 2022, Pratt was named to the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted list. Ruben Andre Garcia, the recruiter and male model, was sentenced to 20 years in prison on June 14, 2021. Theodore Gyi was sentenced to four years in prison on November 9, 2022. Valorie Moser, the office manager, is set for sentencing on August 9, 2024. DEFENDANTS Case Number 19cr4488 Michael James Pratt Age: 36 Unknown Matthew Isaac Wolfe Age 37 San Diego, CA Ruben Andre Garcia Age: 31 San Diego, CA Theodore Gyi Age, 46 Solana Beach, CA Valorie Moser Age: 37 San Diego, CA CHARGES Count 1 Conspiracy to Commit Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud and Coercion, 18 U.S.C. § 1594 Maximum Penalty: Life in prison, $250,000 fine. INVESTIGATING AGENCIES FBI – Southern District of California U.S. Marshals Service *The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.


title: Owner Of Oakland Money Services Business Sentenced To 18 Months In Prison For Laundering Drug Proceeds To Mexico

component: USAO - California, Northern

body_text: OAKLAND – Felipe de Jesus Ornelas Mora, the owner of Rincon Musical, a money transmitting business in Oakland, was sentenced today to 18 months in federal prison following his conviction for conspiracy to commit money laundering, announced First Assistant United States Attorney Patrick D. Robbins; IRS Criminal Investigation (CI) Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Mosley of the Oakland Field Office; and Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), San Francisco Field Division, Special Agent in Charge Brian M. Clark. The sentence was handed down by the Hon. Jeffrey S. White, Senior United States District Judge. Ornelas Mora, 51, of Oakland, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h), in October 2023. He had originally been charged with that offense in August 2022. According to his plea agreement, Ornelas Mora owned and operated Rincon Musical. From no later than September 2020 through August 2022, Ornelas Mora and his employees knowingly laundered drug proceeds by accepting large amounts of cash from drug dealers and wiring it to Mexico, disguising it to look like routine remittances. The defendant and his employees used legitimate customers’ names and IDs to circumvent the compliance controls of Rincon’s parent wire service, Money Services Business-1 (MSB-1). The defendant oversaw the structuring of large amounts of cash into multiple wire transfers of less than $3,000, which is the threshold above which federal law imposes mandatory customer reporting requirements. Employees of Rincon then disguised the wire payments as routine remittances by sending them using the names and IDs of legitimate customers to avoid arousing the suspicion of MSB-1 and the U.S. authorities. Ornelas Mora and his employees engaged in these practices after completing extensive anti-money laundering training, which is required annually for money services businesses employees. “This defendant knowingly aided Bay Area drug dealers by disguising drug money as remittances and laundering it through his business through wire payments to Mexico,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick D. Robbins. “By disrupting the flow of drug money, this Office demonstrates its commitment to a sweeping approach to combatting the drug trade in the Northern District of California. Today’s sentence should send a signal to other money services businesses who launder drug proceeds and abuse the financial system: we will find you and we will prosecute you.” “Facilitating the profitability of drug trafficking by laundering illegal drug proceeds perpetuates the deadly drug epidemic in our communities, and we will not stand for it,” said CI Acting Special Agent in Charge Michael Mosley. “Taking money launderers off the street and leading criminal investigations that land them in prison is what CI special agents do. CI special agents are experts at uncovering money trails and dedicated to the safety of our communities.” “Money and greed are the foundation of the cartel business model and Ornelas Mora provided a lifeline by laundering drug proceeds,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Brian M. Clark. “This sentence underscores our commitment to aggressively pursue every level of the drug supply chain to include those facilitators who enable transnational criminal networks.” In its sentencing papers, the government described how the investigation leading to Ornelas Mora’s conviction began with wire receipts found on the cell phones of drug dealers who had been arrested. Wire receipts found on the phone of one drug dealer (Drug Trafficker-1) showed that, between August 2020 and December 2020, Drug Trafficker-1 had wired more than $109,000 to Mexico and Honduras from Rincon. Federal agents determined from the receipts that Drug Trafficker-1 had used Rincon to send more than 60 wire payments to Mexico between August 2020 and December 2020. The receipts showed that Rincon employees had made Drug Trafficker-1’s wire payments look legitimate by using the names of unrelated customers and listing those customers as the senders of the wires. As the investigation continued, federal agents used two confidential witnesses—CW-1 and CW-2—to conduct multiple undercover wire transactions at Rincon. CW-1 and CW-2 told Rincon cashiers that they did not want their names and IDs used to send large amounts of cash from Rincon to recipients in Mexico. Two Rincon cashiers structured the cash brought in by CW-1 and CW-2 into multiple wire transfers that fell below $3,000 to avoid federal reporting requirements. The cashiers then processed the wire payments using legitimate customers’ names and IDs, without authorization from those customers, to feign compliance with MSB-1’s ID requirements. During an undercover operation on June 16, 2022, for example, CW-2 wired more than $12,000 to five recipients in Mexico. With Ornelas Mora present at the adjacent teller window when CW-2 requested the wires, a Rincon cashier sent each of the wire payments in amounts less than $3,000. Later that evening, the Rincon cashier texted CW-2 receipts that reflected the names of other individuals as the senders of the wires. In his plea agreement, Ornelas Mora admitted he knew that large amounts of cash he and his employees received from certain individuals and sent to Mexico and Honduras using the names and IDs of unrelated customers were drug proceeds. He also admitted that he knew the structuring of cash payments in excess of $3,000 into multiple wires falling below that threshold was prohibited by federal law. And he admitted he knew that he and his employees acted with intent to avoid mandatory customer information and customer information reporting requirements by structuring wire payments to fall below the $3,000 threshold. In addition to sentencing Ornelas Mora to prison, Judge White ordered the defendant to serve three years of supervised release to begin after his prison term is completed. This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Assistant United States Attorney Daniel Pastor is prosecuting the case with assistance from Amanda Martinez and Andy Ding. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by CI and DEA, with assistance from the Oakland Police Department.


title: GirlsDoPorn Owner Michael Pratt Extradited to Face Sex Trafficking Charges

body_text: SAN DIEGO – Michael Pratt, the alleged mastermind behind the GirlsDoPorn commercial sex trafficking ring, made his first appearance in federal court today following his extradition from Spain Monday night. Pratt, who was the owner of the website GirlsDoPorn, was charged in October 2019 in the Southern District of California with sex trafficking crimes in connection with a scheme to deceive and coerce young women to appear in pornographic videos. Pratt was an international fugitive for more than three years before he was arrested in Spain in December 2022. Earlier in 2022, he was named to the FBI’s Top Ten Most Wanted list. At today’s hearing, Pratt was arraigned and entered a not-guilty plea before U.S. Magistrate Judge Daniel E. Butcher. A detention hearing is scheduled for March 21 at 3 p.m. before Judge Butcher, followed by a motion hearing/trial setting on April 19 at 1:30 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Janis L. Sammartino. “We cast a wide net in search of Mr. Pratt and now that he is in San Diego, we are prepared to bring him to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Tara K. McGrath. “We extend our deep appreciation to the government of Spain for its assistance in securing his arrest and extradition.” “Michael Pratt’s initial appearance in San Diego is tangible proof that the pursuit of justice never stops, regardless of length of time or location,” said FBI San Diego Special Agent in Charge, Stacey Moy. “Pratt’s arrest and extradition back to the United States reflects a great collaboration among multiple agencies, both in the United States and Spain who were dedicated to seeking justice for the young women he allegedly victimized. This large, internationally coordinated effort could not have been successful without support from our law enforcement partners in Spain, the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Department of Justice, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.” According to public court filings, Pratt and his co-defendants used force, fraud, and coercion to recruit hundreds of young adult women – most in their late teens – and at least one minor victim, to appear in GirlsDoPorn videos. Pratt is accused of recruiting the victims from throughout the United States and Canada using internet advertisements for clothed modeling jobs. Even after the victims were told the gig involved an adult video-shoot, Pratt and his co-defendants convinced the women that their videos would be provided solely to private collectors on DVD in foreign countries, that they would remain anonymous, and that the videos would not be posted on the internet – assurances that Pratt and his co-defendants knew to be false. Most of the video shoots took place in San Diego – at local hotels and short-term rental units. Although the women were promised that the video shoots would be brief, they often took hours. Once the video productions began, some women were not permitted to leave the shooting locations until the videos were completed; some were threatened with lawsuits or cancelled flights home if they did not complete the videos; and others were allegedly forced to perform certain sex acts, which they had earlier declined to do. After the victims returned home, still believing that they would remain anonymous, Pratt and his co-defendants posted clips of the videos on heavily trafficked adult film sites, like Pornhub, to funnel traffic to the full-length versions of the videos on his website, GirlsDoPorn. Pratt charged visitors to GirlsDoPorn a subscription fee. The site generated more than $17 million in revenue for Pratt. Pratt faces 19 felony counts stemming from the operation of GirlsDoPorn. The charges include: • Fifteen counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion; • Conspiracy to commit sex trafficking by force, fraud, and coercion; • Production of child pornography; • Sex trafficking of a minor by force, fraud, and coercion; and • Conspiracy to commit money laundering. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of California recognizes the outstanding efforts of the FBI in San Diego; the FBI Legal Attaché in Spain; the U.S. Marshals Service; Spain’s Ministry of Justice; and law enforcement officials in Spain and Portugal; as well as the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, for their substantial assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of Pratt. DEFENDANTS Case Number 19cr4488 Michael James Pratt Age: 36 Unknown Matthew Isaac Wolfe Age 37 San Diego, CA Ruben Andre Garcia Age: 31 San Diego, CA Theodore Gyi Age, 46 Solana Beach, CA Valorie Moser Age: 37 San Diego, CA SUMMARY OF CHARGES IN SUPERSEDING INDICTMENT Count 1 Conspiracy to Commit Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud and Coercion, 18 U.S.C. § 1594 Maximum Penalty: Life in prison, $250,000 fine. Counts 2-16 Sex Trafficking by Force, Fraud and Coercion 18 U.S.C. §1591(a) and (b)(1) Minimum penalty: Fifteen years in prison; Maximum penalty: life in custody, $250,000 fine. Count 17 Production of Child Pornography, 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a) and (e) Minimum penalty: Fifteen years in prison; Maximum penalty: thirty years in prison, $250,000 fine. Count 18 Sex Trafficking of a Minor and By Force, Fraud and Coercion, 18 U.S.C. § 1591(a)(1), (a)(2), and (c) Minimum penalty: Fifteen years in prison; Maximum penalty: life in custody, $250,000 fine. Count 19 Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments, 18 U.S.C. § 1956(a)(1)(A)(i) and 1956(h). Civil penalty of the greater of (A) the value of the property, fund or monetary instruments involved in the transaction or (B) $10,000 INVESTIGATING AGENCIES FBI – Southern District of California and Legal Attaché in Spain U.S. Marshals Service U.S. Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs Spanish National Police Spain’s Ministry of Justice Spain’s Ministry of Interior *The charges and allegations contained in an indictment or complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.


title: Shipyard Contractor Pleads Guilty to Stealing Nearly $600,000 Worth of Computer Equipment from the U.S. Navy

body_text: NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – March 19, 2024 SAN DIEGO – Ernesto Saldivar, a civilian contractor at General Dynamics NASSCO who was part of the shipyards’ modernization efforts, pleaded guilty today to stealing nearly $600,000 worth of computer equipment from three U.S. Navy ships. According to Saldivar’s plea agreement, from November 2022 to August 2023, he stole hundreds of items, such as hard drives and laptops, from declassified areas on ships undergoing maintenance. Saldivar was selling the stolen items, including two hard drives containing military communications, on eBay. The affected ships included the USS Pinckney, USS Curtis Wilbur and USS Spruance. Saldivar admitted in his plea agreement that the total aggregate value of the stolen items was $596,997.53, almost all of which he will owe the United States government in restitution. The defendant also admitted to receiving $2,584.98 in payments from eBay sales of the stolen items. “Stealing from our military doesn’t just hurt the taxpayer, it puts our national security and service members at risk,” said U.S. Attorney Tara McGrath. “The military relies heavily on civilian support, and we will do our part to ensure our service members can trust the civilians standing by their side.” This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah Goldwasser and Michelle Wasserman. DEFENDANT Case Number 24CR532-JAH Ernesto Saldivar Age: 30 San Diego, CA SUMMARY OF CHARGES Theft of Government Property – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 641 Maximum penalty: Ten years in prison and $250,000 fine INVESTIGATING AGENCY Naval Criminal Investigative Service If you have information regarding fraud, waste, or abuse relating to Department of Defense personnel or operations, please contact the DoD Hotline at 800-424-9098.


title: Texarkana high school band instructor guilty of federal child exploitation violation

component: USAO - Texas, Eastern

body_text: TEXARKANA, Texas – A Texarkana man has pleaded guilty to a child exploitation violation in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs. Brandon Neil Sams, 48, pleaded guilty on March 19, 2024, to coercion and enticement of a minor before U.S. Magistrate Judge James Boone Baxter. According to court documents, while serving as a band instructor at Texas High School in Texarkana, Texas, Sams engaged in repeated attempts to coerce and entice several of his students to engage in sexual activity. Sams admitted to engaging in sexual conduct with several minor victims, all of whom were his students at Texas High. Sams would communicate with the students on social media and messaging applications to persuade, induce, entice, and coerce them to participate in sexual activity. A federal grand jury returned an indictment charging Sams with federal child exploitation violations in September 2023. He faces up to life in federal prison. The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office. This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the 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 www.justice.gov/psc. This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations and the Texarkana Independent School District. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Austin Wells. ###


title: Cincinnati woman pleads guilty to Social Security number fraud

component: USAO - Ohio, Southern

body_text: CINCINNATI – A Cincinnati woman pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to committing Social Security number fraud. The defendant stole the identity of a deceased child and used it to avoid a pending criminal prosecution and to obtain thousands of dollars in government benefits. Christina Vaskovsky, 56, pleaded guilty to five counts of Social Security number fraud. She was charged and arrested in November 2023. According to court documents, Vaskovsky was indicted in Hamilton County in July 2008 for allegedly stealing $14,500 from her employer. Vaskovsky failed to appear at her trial scheduled in December 2008. A nationwide warrant was issued for her arrest. In 2010, Vaskovsky obtained a new Ohio driver’s license using the name, date of birth and Social Security number of a child who was born the same year as Vaskovsky but who died in 1977. The defendant then began using the child’s identity in a variety of contexts over a span of 13 years, including: Receiving $19,570 in food stamp benefits; Filing bankruptcy to discharge nearly $128,000 in debt; Obtaining Social Security disability benefits totaling nearly $39,000; Providing the false identity upon being arrested for shoplifting in Kentucky; Applying for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan; Receiving more than $11,600 in unemployment benefits; Obtaining Supplemental Security Income disability benefits totaling $4,833; and Receiving Medicare benefits under the stolen identity totaling more than $116,000. The plea agreement recommends a sentence of 12 to 30 months in prison. As part of her plea, Vaskovsky has agreed to pay nearly $191,000 in restitution to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Social Security Administration, U.S. Department of Agriculture and Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, announced the guilty plea entered today before U.S. District Judge Jeffery P. Hopkins. This case was investigated by the Social Security Administration’s Office of Inspector General with assistance from the USDA Office of Inspector General, Ohio BMV Investigations, Department of Labor Office of Inspector General, United States Postal Inspection Service and U.S. Marshals Service. Special Assistant United States Attorney Timothy Landry is representing the United States in this case. # # #


title: Oklahoma Man Convicted of Murder-For-Hire of St. Louis Schoolteacher

body_text: ST. LOUIS – A jury in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on March 19, 2024 found Phillip J. Cutler of Muskogee, Oklahoma guilty of conspiring to murder-for-hire and the murder-for-hire of St. Louis Public School teacher Jocelyn Peters, and her unborn child, Micah Leigh, in 2016. Prosecutors proved to jurors that Cutler was enlisted by his longtime friend, Cornelius M. Green, to murder Green’s 30-year-old girlfriend, Jocelyn Peters, and her unborn child. Green, 42, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty on Feb. 28, 2024 to the same charges. He admitted as part of his plea hiring his longtime friend, Cutler, to kill Peters. Peters was 31 weeks pregnant with Green’s child, which she had named Micah Leigh. Green was also involved in sexual relationships with several other women. Green admitted during his plea that he used cash stolen from Carr Lane Middle School, where he was principal, to pay Cutler. On Feb. 28, 2016, Green texted Cutler and asked him to come to St. Louis during the week of March 20, 2016. Cutler asked if Green would be sending “the package,” and on March 7, Green sent Cutler a UPS package containing $2,500 cash. On March 21, Cutler arrived in St. Louis via Greyhound bus, staying with Green’s sister. Green took a train trip to Chicago to establish his alibi for the murder, giving Cutler the keys to his Kia Optima and Peters’ apartment. On March 24, Cutler drove Green’s car to Peters’ apartment in the 4200 block of West Pine in St. Louis, let himself in using Green’s keys, and shot Peters in the eye using a potato as a silencer. During his testimony, Cutler admitted seeing the 1992 film South Central, during which a character similarly used a potato as a silencer. Peters was working on baby shower invitations at the time she was killed. At 6:14 a.m. the morning following the murder, Cutler confirmed to Green that Jocelyn and the baby had been killed. Following their conversation, Green bought his return train ticket, and Cutler then went to North River Front Park to dispose of evidence. Upon arriving back in St. Louis, Green retrieved his car from Cutler and went directly to Peters’ apartment and called 911 to report her death. He repeatedly made false statements to law enforcement and others attempting to evade responsibility for his ordering of the murders and pretending he had no knowledge of the circumstances leading to the deaths. Cutler was detained for questioning that same night after attempting to retrieve the Kia Optima from the crime scene. When told he was being detained, Cutler actually ate two pieces of paper from a notebook in his pocket. Green is scheduled to be sentenced June 5 and faces a sentence of life in prison. As part of the plea, the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office has agreed to dismiss their case against Green for the murders if he is sentenced to life in federal prison. Cutler is scheduled to be sentenced June 18. He faces life in prison on each charge. The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the FBI investigated the case, which is being prosecuted in cooperation with the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tiffany Becker and Zachary Bluestone are prosecuting the case. Former SLMPD Detective Mark Biondolino was the case agent.


title: Durham man sentenced for possession of a firearm

body_text: WINSTON-SALEM – A North Carolina man was sentenced today to 224 total months of imprisonment, after pleading guilty to one count of felon in possession of a firearm, announced United States Attorney Sandra J. Hairston of the Middle District of North Carolina (MDNC). ARMAND SAQUAN SUFYAN LEWIS-LANGSTON, age 26, of Durham, North Carolina, was sentenced by the Honorable Thomas D. Schroeder, United States District Judge in the United States District Court for the MDNC to a 200-month term of imprisonment after pleading guilty on December 11, 2023, to felon in possession of a firearm, a violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(e). He was sentenced to an additional twenty-four-month term of imprisonment to run consecutively to the 200-month term for violating the terms of his federal supervised release. According to court records, LEWIS-LANGSTON, then on federal supervised release after serving a 26-month term of imprisonment for felon in possession of a firearm, was found asleep in a car by a Durham Police Department (DPD) officer on October 22, 2020, with a Cugir 7.62x39 Draco assault-style pistol. He was arrested and charged by the state and bonded out of custody. On November 17, 2020, officers with the DPD Select Enforcement Team arrested LEWIS-LANGSTON at a residence on Scheer Avenue in possession of a Kel-Tec Sub2000 9mm foldable rifle. This firearm was forensically linked to the shooting of an off-duty Durham County Sheriff’s Office deputy that occurred on November 14, 2020. Specifically, a forensic firearms examiner with DPD microscopically compared 9mm cartridge casings recovered from the November 14, 2020, shooting of the deputy with a cartridge casing test fired from the Kel-Tec Sub2000 9mm foldable rifle and determined that, based on similar class characteristics and sufficient agreement of individual characteristics, the 9mm cartridge casings recovered from the scene on November 14, 2020, were fired from the Kel-Tec Sub2000 9mm foldable rifle. At the time of these offenses, LEWIS-LANGSTON had been previously convicted of multiple felonies. In connection with these offenses, LEWIS-LANGSTON was sentenced to multiple terms of imprisonment exceeding one year. Thus, at the time of the offenses, LEWIS-LANGSTON was legally barred from possessing a firearm due to his status as a felon. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Raleigh-Durham Safe Streets Task Force (SSTF), the Durham Police Department, and the Durham County Sheriff’s Office. The lead investigator was an FBI Task Force Officer from the Durham County Sheriff’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney JoAnna G. McFadden. Since 1992, the FBI’s Safe Streets Violent Crime Initiative has successfully aligned FBI Agents, state and local law enforcement investigators, and federal and state prosecutors onto SSTFs to reduce violent crime. This nationwide initiative brings resources together in a “force multiplier concept” and utilizes the expertise of each agency. SSTFs focus primarily upon street gang and drug-related violence through sustained, proactive, coordinated investigations to obtain prosecutions on violations such as racketeering, drug conspiracy, and firearms violations. A copy of this press release will be posted on our website. Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case Nos. 1:23-cr-321-1 and 1:16-cr-10-1.


title: Pontotoc County Teacher Sentenced For Sex Abuse Crimes

body_text: MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced today that Erin Nicole Fixico-Mitchell, age 33, of Ada, Oklahoma, was sentenced to sixty-nine months imprisonment each for three counts of Sexual Abuse of a Minor in Indian Country, followed by a ten-year term of supervised release. The sentences are set to be served concurrently. The charges arose from an investigation by the Chickasaw Nation Lighthorse Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. On May 10, 2023, Fixico-Mitchell pleaded guilty to the charges. Between September and November of 2015, while employed as a coach and teacher at Ada High School, Fixico Mitchell sexually abused a student. Fixico-Mitchell left her employment at Ada High School, and eventually joined on as a teacher and coach at Byng High School. During her tenure at Byng, Fixico-Mitchell sexually abused a student between June and September of 2021. The crimes occurred in Pontotoc County, within the boundaries of the Chickasaw Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma. The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing. Fixico-Mitchell was remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshal pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration. Assistant United States Attorneys Caila M. Cleary and Jessie Pippin represented the United States.


title: Omaha Man Sentenced for Methamphetamine Conspiracy

body_text: United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Gary Lockett, 40, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced March 15, 2024, in federal court in Omaha for his involvement in a methamphetamine conspiracy. Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Lockett to 180 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After his release from prison, he will begin a 10-year term of supervised release. Beginning in October 2020, the FBI began investigating Kashaun Lockett for distributing meth. Over the course of eight months, the FBI utilized a Confidential Source (CS) to make 13 controlled buys of meth from Kashaun Lockett. In total, 419 grams of meth were purchased from Lockett. On one occasion, Kashaun Lockett was in the hospital for a gunshot wound, so he utilized his brother, Gary, to deliver 55 grams of meth. On June 14, 2021, a controlled buy was arranged with Kashaun Lockett. Kashaun Lockett’s residence was under surveillance at the time, and Kashaun Lockett was followed when he left to meet with the CS. The Omaha Police Department attempted a traffic stop on Kashaun Lockett, however, Kashaun Lockett fled from the traffic stop. During Kashaun Lockett’s flight, surveillance officers still at his residence saw Gary Lockett and Robert Culberson exit the residence and toss meth and a firearm into the tree line at the back of the residence. Gary Lockett’s sentence was enhanced due to having a previous federal drug conviction. Kashaun Lockett was sentenced on March 8, 2024, to 204 months. Culberson was sentenced on August 15, 2023, to 120 months. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Omaha Police Department


title: Omaha Man Sentenced to 14 Years’ Imprisonment for Methamphetamine Charge

body_text: United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Christopher Ramos-Rivas, 27, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced March 15, 2024, in federal court in Omaha for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Chief United States District Court Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Ramos-Rivas to 168 months’ imprisonment. He also forfeited $9,159 found in his possession at the time of his arrest. There is no parole in the federal system. After Ramos-Rivas’s release from prison, he will begin a 5-year term of supervised release. On December 30, 2022, OPD officers received information about the location of Ramos-Rivas who had local drug warrants. Officers located Ramos-Rivas at an Omaha gas station where he was taken into custody on his warrants. A search of the car he was driving revealed approximately 6.5 lbs. of meth and $9,159.00 in United States currency. During a post arrest interview, Ramos admitted to dealing meth to support his habit. This case was investigated by the Omaha Police Department the Federal Bureau of Investigation.


title: Court Sentences Leader in Interstate Bank Fraud and Identity Theft Scheme

component: USAO - Nebraska

body_text: United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Saheed B. Dairo, 40, most recently of Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced on March 19, 2024, in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. Chief United States District Court Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Dairo to 151 months’ imprisonment for bank fraud and a consecutive 24 months’ imprisonment for aggravated identity theft. There is no parole in the federal system. After Dairo’s release from prison, he will begin a 5-year term of supervised release. Dairo was also ordered to pay $1,491,802.39 in restitution. Dairo was identified as a Nigerian citizen who may be deported following completion of his sentence. During approximately 2018 to 2021, Dairo and others traveled from city to city conducting fraudulent transactions at bank branches using real customers’ information and false identification documents. Dairo was the leader. He created phony driver’s licenses and credit cards and supplied them to other fraudsters who posed as customers. He also provided other individuals working the fraud scheme with account and personal information about customers and instructed them how to conduct the transactions. The group’s pattern was to conduct a series of fraudulent transactions in a particular area during a short period of time, then travel to a different city and conduct fraudulent transactions there. Overall, individuals acting at Dairo’s direction attempted approximately $5.2 million in fraudulent transactions and obtained about $1.49 million. This case was investigated by the Omaha Police Department, the Council Bluffs, Iowa Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations, in coordination with law enforcement agencies in other states.


title: Grand Island Man Sentenced to 10 Years for Distribution of Methamphetamine

body_text: United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Adam E. Jarzynka, 49, of Grand Island, Nebraska, was sentenced on March 19, 2024, in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska for one count of distribution of methamphetamine mixture, one count of distribution of five grams or more of meth (actual), and two counts of distribution of fifty grams or more of meth (actual). Senior United States District Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Jarzynka to 120 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Jarzynka’s release from prison, he will begin a 5-year term of supervised release. In August and September of 2021, drug investigators used a Confidential Informant (CI) to arrange the controlled purchase of meth from Adam Jarzynka. Four meth purchases were conducted during that time period at various locations in Grand Island. The quantities purchased during those buys ranged from a quarter of an ounce to nearly three ounces. In total, Jarzynka sold over 167 grams of lab-confirmed meth to the CI. This case was investigated by the Tri-City Drug Enforcement Team (TRIDENT). TRIDENT is a task force with law enforcement personnel from the Adams County Sheriff’s Office, Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Grand Island Police Department, Hall County Sheriff’s Office, Hastings Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, Kearney Police Department, and the Nebraska State Patrol.