title: U.S. Attorney's Office Announces Sentencing of Colorado Man for Defrauding Federal-Funded Nonprofit

component: USAO - New Mexico

body_text: ALBUQUERQUE – A Colorado man was sentenced to three years of probation and ordered to pay $242,210 in restitution for defrauding a nonprofit organization funded by federal agencies, in a scheme that resulted in over $240,000 in fraudulent payments. According to court documents, Jeffrey Ham , 47, owned Timberline Environmental, LLC, an environmental restoration company. Ham ’s co-defendant James Matison worked as the Program Director at WildEarth Guardians, a nonprofit organization whose goal is to protect and restore wildlife, natural resources, and ecosystems of the American west. WildEarth Guardians relies on funding primarily through grants that it receives either directly from federal agencies, such as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI), or indirectly via the State of New Mexico or other not-for-profit organizations. Between February 2015 and April 2019, Ham conspired with Matison to generate and submit fraudulent invoices from Timberline Environmental for payment by WildEarth Guardians. These invoices were for hours not actually worked, and expenses not actually incurred. To facilitate the scheme, Ham provided Matison with pre-signed blank checks from Timberline's account. Matison used these checks to transfer fraudulently obtained funds to accounts under his control, including an account associated with an Arizona company called Euro-American Development. Prior to his arrest, Ham had attempted to make restitution by arranging an anonymous gift to WildEarth Guardians through his attorney. Matison pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering and remains on conditions of release pending sentencing, which is currently scheduled for October 31, 2024. At sentencing, Matison faces up to twenty years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines. U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez and the Department of the Interior (DOI) Office of Inspector General, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General made the announcement today. The Environmental Protection Agency Office of Inspector General and the Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General investigated this case. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy Peña is prosecuting the case. # # #


title: Former Cape Girardeau City Councilman Indicted

component: USAO - Missouri, Eastern

body_text: CAPE GIRARDEAU – A former Cape Girardeau city councilman has been indicted on drug and gun charges. Rhettney B. Pierce, 54, was indicted Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau on one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of being an unlawful user of a controlled substance in possession of a firearm. The indictment accuses Pierce of possessing more than 50 grams of meth between September 26 and 27, and possessing two 9mm handguns while a user of illegal drugs. Pierce was arrested on the federal charges Thursday and pleaded not guilty. A motion seeking to have him held in jail until trial says that a confidential source working with investigators said Pierce had purchased about four ounces of meth in the previous month and was scheduled to buy more. The confidential source contacted Pierce and the two arranged for the purchase of four more ounces at a Cape Girardeau hotel on September 26, the motion says. Pierce paid $300 and was arrested immediately after leaving the hotel room, the motion says. Investigators found more meth and the two handguns in a court-approved search of Pierce’s home, the motion says. Charges set forth in an indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty. This case was investigated by the Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force, the Cape Girardeau Sheriff’s Office and the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Shelton is prosecuting the case.


title: Butte County Man Indicted for Child Enticement

component: USAO - California, Eastern

body_text: SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned an indictment today against Kevin Leslie Gipson, 58, of Oroville, charging him with attempted coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced. According to court documents, Gipson attempted to persuade, coerce, and entice a minor to engage in oral copulation and to commit lewd and lascivious acts on a child under 14 years old. This case is the product of an investigation by the Sacramento Sheriff’s Office, the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force/Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Delaney is prosecuting the case. If convicted, Gipson faces a maximum statutory penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet-safety education.


title: New Charges Filed Against Alleged Stalker Who Distributed Revenge Porn, Threatened, and Fired Shots at Ex-Girlfriend

component: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

body_text: WASHINGTON – A U.S. District Court grand jury returned a 27-count superseding indictment today charging Nahvarj Mills, 31, of Brandywine, MD, with stalking, disseminating non-consensual pornography, and numerous firearms charges related to three shootings. The indictment was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves; FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge David Geist of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division; and Chief Pamela A. Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). Mills is charged with cyberstalking in violation of a protective order; cyberstalking; interstate stalking in violation of a protection order; interstate stalking in violation of a protection order – emotional distress, use of a dangerous weapon; two counts of interstate stalking in violation of a protection order – bodily injury, emotional distress, use of a dangerous weapon; interstate violation of a protection order; three counts of interstate violation of a protection, use of a dangerous weapon; three counts of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon; possessing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence; interstate communications with intent to extort; assault with intent to kill while armed; three counts of assault with a dangerous weapon; three counts of possession of a firearm during a crime of violence; and four counts of first degree unlawful publication. Mills has been detained since February 2024. According to court documents, Mills and the alleged victim, his former significant other, began dating in approximately December 2022. Mills physically abused the victim on multiple occasions. In approximately the summer of 2023, the victim ended the relationship with Mills. Angry about the breakup, Mills began contacting the victim by phone. He appeared uninvited at her workplace in Maryland and at her home in the District. Mills threatened to distribute sexually explicit images of the victim and then he made good on his threat. On November 23, 2023, the victim received text messages stating in part, “Got no job, got no kids, got no family. I have nothing to do. But what I do have, is the money to keep bothering you.” Around December 31, 2023, the victim received 30 phone calls from “No Caller ID.” The calls followed an attempt by the victim to meet up with Mills in an effort to make amends. Those efforts ended when Mills pulled out a gun and pointed it at the victim’s head. On January 2, 2024, the victim reported Mills’ conduct to the MPD and filed a petition for a Civil Protection Order (CPO). The victim’s mother subsequently electronically served Mills with a Temporary Protection Order at his known phone number. In the same conversation, Mills sent the mother numerous sexually explicit photos and videos of the victim. Mills also wrote, “I can easily pull this .40 trigger,” followed by photos of a firearm and ammunition that appear consistent with the .40 caliber firearm and ammunition later recovered from Mills’ home pursuant to a residential search warrant. Also in early January, Mills allegedly created a fake Instagram account in the victim’s name. The victim then received several messages from the account threatening to disseminate sexually explicit images and videos of her. Mills later made good on his threat and sent out the images and videos to several individuals who knew the victim. On January 6, 2024, Ring camera footage captured footage of a man believed to be Mills outside the victim’s home. The man spread typed-out paragraphs containing threatening messages along with explicit images. A few days later, on January 11, 2024, the victim found more sexually explicit photos on her lawn. On January 19, 2024, a D.C. Superior Court Judge granted a CPO, which ordered Mills to stay away from the victim, her home, her workplace, her vehicle, and her family. On January 20, 2024, Mills again spread sexually explicit images outside the victim’s home. On this occasion, the victim personally observed Mills in her front yard and saw him return to a vehicle along with another individual. Also on January 20, 2024, Mills allegedly spread sexually explicit images outside another victim’s home. He also reportedly sent numerous unwanted and threatening text messages and made unwanted calls to this victim. Mills is now charged with one count of cyberstalking in connection with this victim. The campaign of stalking and violence against the first victim escalated further in late January 2024. Three separate shootings targeted the victim’s bedroom on January 21, 22, and 23. The third shooting occurred after Mills called the victim and threatened to kill her. On January 26, 2024, Mills returned to the victim’s home where police arrested him and charged him with violating the protection order. Once again, the court ordered Mills to stay away from the victim and not contact her. Nonetheless, Mills made continued efforts to contact the victim. On February 7, 2024, Mills was arrested pursuant to a warrant issued by the Superior Court of the District of Columbia. Mills has been detained since his arrest on February 7, 2024.On July 18, 2024, a federal Grand Jury returned an initial seven-count indictment, and Mills was transferred to federal custody. This case is being investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for Washington D.C., the FBI’s Washington Field Office Violent Crimes Task Force, and the Metropolitan Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kathleen Houck, Marco Crocetti and Caroline Burrell of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. mills_superseding_indictment_20241003.pdf ## 24cr332


title: Co-Conspirators Sentenced to Multiple Years in Prison for Possessing Machineguns

component: USAO - Arizona

body_text: PHOENIX, Ariz. – Alfredo Macias, 20, Daniel Alfredo Galvan, 20, both of Phoenix, and Jesus David Vega-Rivera, 26, of Mexico, were sentenced to prison last week by United States District Judge Krissa M. Lanham for Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns. Macias and Vega-River were each sentenced to 51 months in prison, and Galvan was sentenced to 42 months in prison. All three defendants were also sentenced to 36 months of supervised release following their release from prison. Macias and Galvan negotiated with another person to purchase machineguns, with the intention of trafficking those firearms to Mexico. The parties exchanged text messages depicting the firearms and cash. At the time of the in-person exchange, Vega-Rivera was present with the cash for the machineguns. All three individuals were arrested by ATF agents. Before handing down the sentence, Judge Lanham explained the seriousness and danger of machineguns being able to fire many rounds in rapid succession and the capability to cause immense injury to multiple people. Macias pleaded guilty to Possession or Transfer of a Machinegun on July 2, 2024. Galvan pleaded guilty to Possession or Transfer of a Machinegun on June 7, 2024. And Vega-Rivera pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Possess or Transfer a Machinegun on June 7, 2024. This case was part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. The Department of Justice reinvigorated PSN in 2017 as part of the Department’s renewed focus on targeting violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation in this case. The United States Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Phoenix, handled the prosecution. CASE NUMBER: CR-24-00258-PHX-KML RELEASE NUMBER: 2024-136_Macias # # # 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: New Orleans Man Sentenced for Possessing Postal Service Key and Stolen Mail

component: USAO - Louisiana, Eastern

body_text: NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced the October 1, 2024 sentencing of HAVON MONTGOMERY (“MONTGOMERY”) , age 20, of New Orleans, who previously pled guilty on April 30, 2024 to a two-count indictment. The indictment charged him with Unlawful Possession of Stolen Mail and Use of a United States Postal Service (USPS) mail “arrow” key, a device used by USPS employees to access authorized mail receptacles. According to the indictment, on August 22, 2023, MONTGOMERY was found in possession of approximately 132 pieces of stolen mail as well as the USPS “arrow” key during the execution of a search warrant at his residence. United States District Court Judge Greg G. Guidry sentenced MONTGOMERY six (6) months of home incarceration, to be followed by four (4) years of probation, 100 hours of community service and a mandatory $200 special assessment fee. U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office and the New Orleans Police Department in investigating this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jon Maestri of the General Crimes Unit is charge of the prosecution.


title: New Orleans Couple Sentenced for  Federal Controlled Substances and Federal Gun Control Acts Violations

body_text: NEW ORLEANS – JAVAN ROBINSON a/k/a “Diddy” (“ROBINSON”) , age 61, and MICHELE COLEMAN (“COLEMAN”) , age 57, both of New Orleans, were sentenced on October 1, 2024, by United States District Judge Greg G. Guidry, after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute, and possess with the intent to distribute, cocaine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, distribution of cocaine, possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), 846, and 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(a)(1), 924(a)(2), 924(e)(1), and 924(c)(1)(A)(i) respectively. Specifically, ROBINSON was sentenced to 280 months of imprisonment, five years of supervised release, and a $700 mandatory special assessment fee. COLEMAN was sentenced to 97 months of imprisonment, five years of supervised release, and a $300 mandatory special assessment fee. According to court documents, ROBINSON and COLEMAN conspired to distribute a quantity of cocaine within the Eastern District of Louisiana. After receiving information that both defendants were conducting narcotics transactions within Orleans Parish, Federal Bureau of Investigation agents and New Orleans Gang Task Force (NOGTF) members conducted surveillance, set up pole cameras, conducted controlled purchases, and executed search warrants on two residences associated with both defendants. Agents located multiple firearms, cocaine, crack cocaine, marijuana, paraphernalia, and a large amount of money between those residences. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the New Orleans Police Department, and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lynn E. Schiffman of the Narcotics Unit.


title: California woman charged with international parental kidnapping after attempting to flee to Canada with 12-year-old-daughter

component: USAO - New York, Western

body_text: BUFFALO, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Mei Tian, 55, of Irvine, CA, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with international parental kidnapping and making a false statement to Customs and Border Protection officers. The charges carry a maximum penalty of eight years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron J. Mango, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, on the evening of September 27, 2024, Tian and her 12-year- old daughter were riding in an Uber vehicle, and attempted to make entry into Canada, but were refused because an officer had suspicions related to Tian’s admissibility as a visitor. She presented a letter indicating that she had permission from her husband to bring her daughter to Canada, but the officer questioned the authenticity of the letter and believed the signature on it was forged. As a result, Tian and her daughter re-entered the United States at the Rainbow Bridge Port of Entry in Niagara Falls, NY. Customs and Border Protection primary queries returned a positive alert, with records indicating that Tian had no legal right to take her daughter out of the country. The vehicle was referred to secondary for additional processing. During secondary inspection, CBP officers discovered several alert records related to Tian and her daughter. One indicated that Tian’s daughter was prohibited by court order from departing the United States, and that Tian and her daughter had been “on the run” since August 2024 and were not supposed to leave Orange County, California, without court approval. Tian and her daughter were traveling with multiple pieces of luggage and multiple travel documents, including a U.S. Passport, a People’s Republic of China Passport, several cancelled People’s Republic of China passports, an Orange County Certificate of Live Birth, and a handwritten letter with a signature and notarized in the name of the father that purportedly gave permission to Tian to travel out of the country with her daughter. Subsequent investigation determined that once in Canada, Tian was allegedly planning to travel to China with her daughter. In addition, investigators learned that the Riverside County, California, District Attorney’s Office was investigating the abduction of Tian’s daughter, and that the daughter’s father is the sole custodian of the minor child. The daughter was on a visitation with Tian, and was scheduled to be returned to her father on August 11, 2024, but was never returned. Tian made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge H. Kenneth Schroeder, Jr. and is being held pending a detention hearing on October 3, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. The complaint is the result of an investigation by Customs and Border Protection, under the direction of Director of Field Operations Rose Brophy, and Homeland Security Investigations Border Enforcement and Security Task Force (Best), under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Scarpino. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. # # # #


title: Three Former Memphis, Tennessee, Police Officers Convicted of Federal Felonies Related to Death of Tyre Nichols

component: Civil Rights Division

body_text: Following a trial that lasted nearly four weeks, a federal jury in Memphis, Tennessee, found three former Memphis Police Department (MPD) officers guilty of federal felonies related to the death of Tyre Nichols on Jan. 7, 2023. “All three former Memphis Police Department officers were convicted of federal felonies for their role in Tyre Nichols’ death,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “They join two additional former officers who had already pled guilty. With these convictions, all five of the former officers involved in the death of Mr. Nichols have been convicted of federal felonies. Tyre Nichols should be alive today. We extend our condolences to the family and loved ones of Mr. Nichols. We hope this prosecution provides some measure of comfort as the law enforcement officers tied to his death have been held accountable. We thank the trial team for their extraordinary dedication to prosecuting this case, and we thank the jury for their service. We will never rest in our ongoing efforts to ensure that law enforcement officers are held accountable for violating people’s civil and constitutional rights.” “A basic principle for our system of justice is that there is — and there only can be — one rule of law,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Reagan Fondren for the Western District of Tennessee. “Law enforcement officers must be held to the same rules as the citizens they’re sworn to protect. More than a year ago, this office made a commitment to following the truth where it led in this case. Thanks to our trial team who worked tirelessly over the past 21 months to ensure that this case was properly investigated and tried and to the men and women in the jury for their service. The defendants have been found guilty of serious federal felonies and face significant penalties for those actions.” Former MPD Officer Demetrius Haley was found to have deprived Nichols of his constitutional right to be free from an officer’s unreasonable force when he, and two other former MPD officers, Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr., unlawfully assaulted Nichols and willfully failed to intervene to stop his co-defendants from using unreasonable force. The jury found that Haley’s conduct resulted in bodily injury to Nichols. The jury also found that Haley deprived Nichols of his constitutional right to be free from a police officer’s deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs resulting in bodily injury to Nichols. Defendants Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills, Jr. previously pleaded guilty of using unreasonable force against Nichols, resulting in his death. The jury also convicted Haley of conspiring to commit witness tampering. The jury also convicted Haley and former MPD officers Tadarrius Bean and Justin Smith for their effort to cover up the use of excessive force against Nichols by omitting material information and providing misleading and false statements to their MPD supervising lieutenant and an MPD detective who was tasked with writing the report documenting this incident. Evidence presented at the trial established that, on Jan. 7, 2023, defendant Haley assaulted Nichols after a traffic stop. Martin initiated the traffic stop, and Haley and another MPD officer subsequently arrived at the stop. When Nichols was on the ground, Haley pepper-sprayed Nichols and another officer tried to tase him, at which point Nichols fled the area. Bean and Mills responded to the location where dispatch reported that Nichols had run and saw Nichols walking down the street. Nichols ran from the officers, and Bean ran after him and tackled him to the ground. When Martin arrived at the scene he immediately kicked Nichols in the head at least twice. As officers held Nichols on the ground, Mills pepper sprayed Nichols, expanded his baton and repeatedly used the baton to strike Nichols. Martin then repeatedly punched Nichols in the head and chest. Nichols went back to the ground, and, as two officers held him down, Haley ran up to the scene and kicked Nichols. Martin then kicked Nichols again. After the assault, the officers placed Nichols in handcuffs and walked away from him, leaving him writhing on the ground. After several minutes, the officers dragged Nichols to sit against a police vehicle. Haley failed to render any medical aid to Nichols despite his visibly bloodied and swollen face. Memphis Fire Department (MFD) first responders and EMTs arrived on the scene. Despite knowing that Nichols had been injured by the officers’ kicks, punches and baton strikes and was at substantial risk of serious harm if those injuries went untreated, Haley willfully failed to inform responding emergency medical personnel of the blows suffered by Nichols. Nichols’ condition deteriorated, and he was unable to communicate or sit upright. Nichols was eventually transported to a hospital, where he died three days later. The Chief Medical Examiner for the West Tennessee Regional Forensic Center identified the manner of death as homicide due to blunt force trauma to the head, including rotational brain injury and brain bleeding and identified additional, extensive blunt force injuries to Nichols’ neck, arms, legs and torso. A medical emergency responder testified that had they been told that Nichols’ injuries were caused by strikes to the head, they would have significantly altered their course of care. Nichols’ treating physicians testified that patients like Nichols who suffer from traumatic brain injury require immediate care and that a delay of even a few minutes of receiving appropriate care can cause death. After the assault, the defendants spoke to an MPD lieutenant and an MPD detective tasked with writing the report documenting this incident where they omitted material information or provided false information. Specifically, the defendants falsely claimed that Nichols actively resisted arrest; Smith falsely stated that Nichols grabbed his vest and officers’ duty belts; and Mills and Smith falsely claimed that Nichols lifted both officers in the air. Each of the defendants also willfully omitted material information, including that they had repeatedly punched Nichols, that Martin and Haley had kicked him and that he had been repeatedly struck in the head. The evidence at trial established that MPD policy and training require officers to use reasonable force and to intervene when they see other officers using unreasonable force. The defendants’ supervising lieutenant as well as MPD officers who trained the defendants on use of force all testified that Nichols posed little or no threat to officers and that Haley’s use of force was inconsistent with MPD training and policy. Co-defendants Martin and Mills also testified at trial that at the time of the beating, they knew that Nichols did not pose a threat during the incident and that the force used by them and Haley was contrary to their training. Martin testified that MPD officers regularly inflicted a “run tax,” which refers to the use of unjustified violence to punish anyone who runs from the police. The evidence also established that MPD policy and training require officers to provide medical care to injured arrestees and that officers are trained that they must provide truthful and complete information to first responders and other healthcare providers. The jury found that Haley disregarded this training and willfully violated Nichols of his constitutional rights. The jury found that Haley used excessive force, failed to intervene to stop other officers’ use of unlawful force and failed to provide aid to Nichols as he suffered a medical emergency and misled medical personnel who could have rendered life-saving aid. The jury found that the defendants also lied or omitted material information about the incident to their supervising lieutenant and an MPD detective in an effort to cover up their unlawful conduct. Sentencing dates for the three defendants are set for January 2025. Haley faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for both the violations of depriving an individual of their civil rights under color of law resulting in bodily injury and for being deliberately indifferent to the known serious medical needs of a person in his custody. Haley faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the conspiracy to witness tamper and witness tampering charges. Bean and Smith each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the witness tampering charge. Martin and Mills previously entered guilty pleas on federal charges, admitting that they each used excessive force and failed to intervene in the unlawful assault, resulting in bodily injury to and the death of Nichols, and that they conspired with their co-defendants to cover up the officers’ use of unlawful force against Nichols. A sentencing hearing for Martin is scheduled for Dec. 5 and a sentencing hearing for Mills will be scheduled at a later date. The FBI Nashville Field Office investigated the case with the cooperation of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Deputy Chief Forrest Christian, Special Litigation Counsel Kathryn E. Gilbert and Trial Attorney Andrew Manns of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Pritchard and Elizabeth Rogers for the Western District of Tennessee are prosecuting the case.


title: Jamestown man arrested on meth charge

body_text: BUFFALO, N.Y. – U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Raymond Medina, 19, of Jamestown, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a 1,000,000 fine. Assistant U.S. Attorney Donna M. Duncan, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, on the evening of February 28, 2024, Jamestown Police officers were dispatched to an 8 th Street residence for a domestic incident involving Medina. The resident living at the residence has a valid order of protection against Medina from Jamestown City Court. Medina is known to the Jamestown Police Department from several past incidents, which led to the imposition of officer safety alerts. An officer made contact with Medina, who immediately became argumentative and began to back away. The officer attempted to detain him, but Medina pulled away and the officer grabbed his hooded sweater and advised him to stop pulling away. Medina refused, yelling “I don’t got nothing bro.” Medina then pulled away and fled on foot. As a result, the officer deployed his taser with negative results. Officers tracked Medina a short time later and took him into custody. Along the route that Media fled, officers recovered a quantity of suspected methamphetamine, packaged for individual sale. The complaint is the result of an investigation by the Jamestown Police Department, under the direction of Jamestown Police Chief Timothy Jackson, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Frank A. Tarentino III, New York Field Division. The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. # # # #


title: Cincinnati man pleads guilty to conspiring to steal mail from USPS collection boxes, faces 4 years in prison

component: USAO - Ohio, Southern

body_text: CINCINNATI – DuJuane L. Samuels, 25, of Cincinnati, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to conspiring to commit mail theft. The plea agreement includes a recommended sentence of 48 months in prison. According to court documents, at 3am on March 11, Samuels unlawfully possessed a postal key, which he used to access mail collection boxes on Cornell Road in Cincinnati. Samuels stole mail from the boxes, including a GPS device that was monitored by the United States Postal Inspection Service. The GPS data led investigators back to Samuels’s residence on Republic Avenue in Cincinnati. During a subsequent search of the property, agents discovered a stolen USPS arrow key, a firearm and numerous stolen checks. Samuels was indicted on March 25. Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; and Lesley Allison, Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Pittsburgh Division announced the guilty plea entered today before Senior U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Black. Assistant United States Attorney Timothy S. Mangan is representing the United States in this case. # # #


title: Man Sentenced to 63 Months in Ponzi Scheme Case

component: USAO - North Carolina, Middle

body_text: WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - A former resident of Durham, NC was sentenced to 63 months of imprisonment and ordered to pay restitution totaling $6,170,045.68 after pleading guilty to one count of the use of manipulative and deceptive devices and one count of wire fraud, announced United States Attorney Sandra J. Hairston of the Middle District of North Carolina. NAYEEM CHOUDHURY, currently of Fort Worth, TX was sentenced to a 63-month term of imprisonment by the Honorable Loretta C. Biggs, United States District Judge in the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina. In addition to prison time, CHOUDHURY was ordered to serve three years of supervised release. According to court filings, CHOUDHURY, while a resident of Durham, NC, began soliciting option trading investments for his company, Dream Venture Capital Group, LLC, through friends and family networks, as well as through social media accounts and webpages. CHOUDHURY told potential investors that their investments were no-risk because he guaranteed the principal, that he would pay investors exorbitant monthly returns sometimes as high as twenty-five percent, and that he had a proven track record of successful options trading and won far more than he lost. None of these statements were true. In fact, of the eleven months CHOUDHURY traded investor funds before his fraud was identified, he suffered net trading losses in nine of those eleven months. Despite this, CHOUDHURY continued to solicit new investors, repeating the same misrepresentations identified above. He also paid older investors with principal invested by new investors, representing it to be trading gains, in what is colloquially known as a Ponzi scheme. CHOUDHURY lost over $5 million dollars in investor funds and used other funds for extravagant personal purchases, including an $85,000 Mercedes Benz G63. In total, he was responsible for a loss of $6,170,045.68, victimizing 88 different individuals. “CHOUDHURY’s mendacity knew no bounds: he mined the trust of friends and family to find new victims, even as the losses were piling up,” said U.S. Attorney Hairston. “We are grateful to the agencies that investigated this unconscionable conduct and helped hold this defendant accountable.” “CHOUDHURY presented himself as an investment expert promising significant profits with little to no financial risks. He took money from his own family and friends to cover massive trading losses and fund extravagant personal expenses. While fraud of this magnitude can have a lasting impact, we hope CHOUDHURY’s federal prison sentence will bring a sense of justice to his victims,” said Robert M. DeWitt, the FBI Special Agent in Charge in North Carolina. The investigation was undertaken by Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ashley E. Waid. ###


title: Orlando Convicted Felon Indicted For Illegal Possession Of A Firearm And Ammunition

component: USAO - Florida, Middle

body_text: Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Elijah Noah Petit-Frere (24, Orlando) with possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon. If convicted, Petit-Frere faces a maximum penalty of 15 years in federal prison. Petit-Frere is currently detained pending the resolution of the case. According to the indictment, on March 11, 2024, Petit-Frere possessed a firearm and ammunition. He was previously convicted of felony offenses, including carrying a concealed firearm, possession of more than 20 grams of marijuana, and fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer. As a convicted felon, he is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law. 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 the Ocala Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg. This case is part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence for occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.


title: Mobile Man Sentenced to 18 Months in Prison  for Illegally Possessing a Machinegun

component: USAO - Alabama, Southern

body_text: MOBILE, AL – A Mobile man was sentenced to 18 months in prison for illegally possessing a machinegun. According to court documents, on January 23, 2024, Hunter Lee Powell, 21, was arrested by agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation after Powell sold a machinegun-conversion device to another individual. A machinegun-conversion device is commonly referred to as a “Glock switch,” and renders a pistol into a fully automatic weapon. Powell was indicted for being in possession of a machinegun and pled guilty to the charge. United States District Court Judge Terry F. Moorer sentenced Powell to 18 months in prison followed by a 3-year term of supervised release for possessing the machinegun. U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica S. Terrill prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.


title: Three Former Memphis Police Officers Convicted of Federal Felonies Related to Death of Tyre Nichols

component: USAO - Tennessee, Western

body_text: Memphis, TN – Following a trial that lasted nearly four weeks, a federal jury found three former Memphis Police Department (MPD) officers guilty of federal felonies arising out of the assault on Tyre Nichols on January 7, 2023, which led to his death. “All three former Memphis Police Department officers were convicted of federal felonies for their role in Tyre Nichols’ death,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “They join two additional former officers who had already pled guilty. With these convictions, all five of the former officers involved in the death of Mr. Nichols have been convicted of federal felonies. Tyre Nichols should be alive today. We extend our condolences to the family and loved ones of Mr. Nichols. We hope this prosecution provides some measure of comfort as the law enforcement officers tied to his death have been held accountable. We thank the trial team for their extraordinary dedication to prosecuting this case, and we thank the jury for their service. We will never rest in our ongoing efforts to ensure that law enforcement officers are held accountable for violating people’s civil and constitutional rights.” “A basic principle for our system of justice is that there is — and there only can be — one rule of law,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Reagan Fondren for the Western District of Tennessee. “Law enforcement officers must be held to the same rules as the citizens they’re sworn to protect. More than a year ago, this office made a commitment to following the truth where it led in this case. Thanks to our trial team who worked tirelessly over the past 21 months to ensure that this case was properly investigated and tried and to the men and women in the jury for their service. The defendants have been found guilty of serious federal felonies and face significant penalties for those actions.” “When law enforcement officers abuse their authority, it not only violates our civil rights laws, but it also undermines the criminal justice system as a whole,” said Joseph E. Carrico, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Nashville Field Office, Memphis Resident Agency. “This verdict should send a clear message that the FBI makes it a priority to bring to justice any law enforcement officer who violates the civil rights of those they are sworn to protect.” Former MPD Officer Demetrius Haley was found to have deprived Nichols of his constitutional right to be free from an officer’s unreasonable force when he and two other former MPD officers, Emmitt Martin III and Desmond Mills Jr., unlawfully assaulted Nichols and willfully failed to intervene to stop his co-defendants from using unreasonable force. The jury found that Haley’s conduct resulted in bodily injury to Nichols. The jury also found that Haley deprived Nichols of his constitutional right to be free from a police officer’s deliberate indifference to his serious medical needs resulting in bodily injury to Nichols. Defendants Emmitt Martin and Desmond Mills, Jr. previously pleaded guilty of using unreasonable force against Nichols, resulting in his death. The jury also convicted Haley of conspiring to commit witness tampering. The jury also convicted Haley and former MPD officers Tadarrius Bean and Justin Smith for their effort to cover up the use of excessive force against Nichols by omitting material information and providing misleading and false statements to their MPD supervising lieutenant and an MPD detective who was tasked with writing the report documenting this incident. Evidence presented at the trial established that, on January 7, 2023, defendant Haley assaulted Nichols after a traffic stop. Martin initiated the traffic stop, and Haley and another MPD officer subsequently arrived at the stop. When Nichols was on the ground, Haley pepper-sprayed Nichols and another officer tried to tase him, at which point Nichols fled the area. Bean and Mills responded to the location where dispatch reported that Nichols had run and saw Nichols walking down the street. Nichols ran from the officers, and Bean ran after him and tackled him to the ground. When Martin arrived at the scene, he immediately kicked Nichols in the head at least twice. As officers held Nichols on the ground, Mills pepper sprayed Nichols, expanded his baton and repeatedly used the baton to strike Nichols. Martin then repeatedly punched Nichols in the head and chest. Nichols went back to the ground, and, as two officers held him down, Haley ran up to the scene and kicked Nichols. Martin then kicked Nichols again. After the assault, the officers placed Nichols in handcuffs and walked away from him, leaving him writhing on the ground. After several minutes, the officers dragged Nichols to sit against a police vehicle. Haley failed to render any medical aid to Nichols despite his visibly bloodied and swollen face. Memphis Fire Department (MFD) first responders and EMTs arrived on the scene. Despite knowing that Nichols had been injured by the officers’ kicks, punches and baton strikes and was at substantial risk of serious harm if those injuries went untreated, Haley willfully failed to inform responding emergency medical personnel of the blows suffered by Nichols. Nichols’ condition deteriorated, and he was unable to communicate or sit upright. Nichols was eventually transported to a hospital, where he died three days later. The Chief Medical Examiner for the West Tennessee Regional Forensic Center identified the manner of death as homicide due to blunt force trauma to the head, including rotational brain injury and brain bleeding and identified additional, extensive blunt force injuries to Nichols’ neck, arms, legs and torso. A medical emergency responder testified that had they been told that Nichols’ injuries were caused by strikes to the head, they would have significantly altered their course of care. Nichols’ treating physicians testified that patients like Nichols who suffer from traumatic brain injury require immediate care and that a delay of even a few minutes of receiving appropriate care can cause death. After the assault, the defendants spoke to an MPD lieutenant and an MPD detective tasked with writing the report documenting this incident where they omitted material information or provided false information. Specifically, the defendants falsely claimed that Nichols actively resisted arrest; Smith falsely stated that Nichols grabbed his vest and officers’ duty belts; and Mills and Smith falsely claimed that Nichols lifted both officers in the air. Each of the defendants also willfully omitted material information, including that they had repeatedly punched Nichols, that Martin and Haley had kicked him and that he had been repeatedly struck in the head. The evidence at trial established that MPD policy and training require officers to use reasonable force and to intervene when they see other officers using unreasonable force. The defendants’ supervising lieutenant as well as MPD officers who trained the defendants on use of force all testified that Nichols posed little or no threat to officers and that Haley’s use of force was inconsistent with MPD training and policy. Co-defendants Martin and Mills also testified at trial that at the time of the beating, they knew that Nichols did not pose a threat during the incident and that the force used by them and Haley was contrary to their training. Martin testified that MPD officers regularly inflicted a “run tax,” which refers to the use of unjustified violence to punish anyone who runs from the police. The evidence also established that MPD policy and training require officers to provide medical care to injured arrestees and that officers are trained that they must provide truthful and complete information to first responders and other healthcare providers. The jury found that Haley disregarded this training and willfully violated Nichols of his constitutional rights. The jury found that Haley used excessive force, failed to intervene to stop other officers’ use of unlawful force and failed to provide aid to Nichols as he suffered a medical emergency and misled medical personnel who could have rendered life-saving aid. The jury found that the defendants also lied or omitted material information about the incident to their supervising lieutenant and an MPD detective in an effort to cover up their unlawful conduct. Sentencing hearings for the three defendants are set for January 2025. Haley faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for both the violations of depriving an individual of their civil rights under color of law resulting in bodily injury and for being deliberately indifferent to the known serious medical needs of a person in his custody. Haley faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the conspiracy to witness tamper and witness tampering charges. Bean and Smith each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the witness tampering charge. Martin and Mills previously entered guilty pleas on federal charges, admitting that they each used excessive force and failed to intervene in the unlawful assault, resulting in bodily injury to and the death of Nichols, and that they conspired with their co-defendants to cover up the officers’ use of unlawful force against Nichols. A sentencing hearing for Martin is scheduled for Dec. 5 and a sentencing hearing for Mills will be scheduled at a later date. The FBI Nashville Field Office, Memphis Resident Agency investigated the case with the cooperation of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Acting United States Attorney Reagan Fondren thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Pritchard and Elizabeth Rogers and Deputy Chief Forrest Christian, Special Litigation Counsel Kathryn E. Gilbert, and Trial Attorney Andrew Manns of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, who prosecuted this case, as well as law enforcement partners who investigated the case. ### For more information, please contact the media relations team at USATNW.Media@usdoj.gov . Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Facebook or on X at @WDTNNews for office news and updates.


title: Maui Man Pleads Guilty to Illegally Possessing Explosive Device and Powders

component: USAO - Hawaii

body_text: HONOLULU – United States Attorney Clare E. Connors announced that Robert Francis Dumaran, 47, of Kahului, Maui, pleaded guilty in federal court yesterday to possessing explosive powders as a convicted felon and possessing an unregistered destructive device. Dumaran’s sentencing is set for February 2, 2025, before United States District Judge Jill A. Otake. According to court documents and information presented in court, Dumaran admitted he attempted to detonate a homemade firework at the intersection of Lono Avenue and Hina Avenue on Maui, Hawaii, during either the late evening of July 22, 2024, or the early morning of July 23, 2024. Dumaran’s homemade firework contained black powder (gunpowder) and flash powder. As a convicted felon, Dumaran was prohibited from possessing explosives. The Maui Police Department (“MPD”) discovered and rendered safe Dumaran’s homemade firework in the morning of July 23, as reported in a prior press release . The Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) later searched Dumaran’s residence and discovered an improvised hand grenade. Dumaran admitted he crafted and possessed that grenade for use as a defensive weapon capable of causing destruction and death. Dumaran is not charged in connection with improvised explosive devices recovered on August 7, 2024, in Kula, Maui or the August 8, 2024 explosion in Pukalani, Maui. The case was investigated by the FBI and MPD. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jonathan D. Slack and Wayne A. Myers are prosecuting the case.


title: Kearney Man Sentenced for Multiple Child Pornography Offenses

component: USAO - Nebraska

body_text: United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Tucker Steven Harders, age 26, of Kearney, Nebraska, was sentenced October 3, 2024, in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska for receipt and possession of child pornography and transportation of obscene materials. Senior United States Judge John M. Gerrard sentenced Harders to 96 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Harder’s release from prison, he will begin an 8-year term of supervised release and be required to register as a sex offender. In October of 2022, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a report of someone uploading photos depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. NCMEC then received another eight reports in January 2023 for the same account. All of the NCMEC reports included the IP address of the offending accounts. Investigation identified the subscriber as Tucker Harders at an address in Kearney, Nebraska. In May,2023, the Kearney Police Department served a search warrant on Harders’s physical address. Multiple electronic devices were seized and searched. A search of one of the computers located over 10,000 images of child exploitive and age difficult images, of these, over 1,000 were confirmed child pornography and over 400 were identified via hash values as known to NCMEC. These specific images were located in the downloads folder and indicated a last accessed date of May 5, 2023. The images depicted children as young as three-years-old. A review of additional files located a multitude of chats where Harders would ask for, share, or offer to trade child porn with others. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc . This case was investigated by the Kearney Police Department.


title: Sequoyah County Resident Pleads Guilty To Arson In Indian Country

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

body_text: MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Trevor Scott McGuire, age 24, of Muldrow, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to one count of Arson in Indian Country. The Indictment alleged that, on or about May 26, 2024, McGuire willfully and maliciously set fire to a dwelling. The crime occurred in Sequoyah County, within the boundaries of the Cherokee Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma. The charge arose from an investigation by the Muldrow Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The Honorable Jason A. Robertson, Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report. McGuire will remain in the custody of the United States Marshal Service pending sentencing. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Gross represented the United States.


title: Former Corrections Officer Charged With Conspiring To Smuggle Narcotics Into Rikers Island

component: USAO - New York, Southern

body_text: Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jocelyn E. Strauber, the Commissioner of the New York City Department of Investigation (“DOI”), and James E. Dennehy, the Assistant Director in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”), announced the unsealing of a Complaint charging GHISLAINE BARRIENTOS with conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, and false statements as part of a scheme to smuggle narcotics into Rikers Island. BARRIENTOS was arrested today and will be presented before Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge Sarah Netburn later today. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Rikers Island is less safe, for inmates and officers alike, when corrections officers and others in positions of public trust accept bribes to smuggle contraband. As alleged, the defendant in this case engaged in corruption for her own enrichment. In our relentless pursuit of justice, we leave no stone unturned, especially within the confines of jails and prisons, where the safety and dignity of all individuals must be safeguarded. We will not tolerate any breach of trust or corruption that jeopardizes the well-being of inmates and staff.” DOI Commissioner Jocelyn E. Strauber said: “The contraband trade destabilizes the City’s jails, and City Correction Officers play a vital role in maintaining order and keeping persons in custody, and their fellow officers, safe. But this defendant, as charged, ignored her obligations and violated the trust the City placed in her when she took bribes in exchange for smuggling dangerous narcotics and other contraband into Rikers Island jail facilities. I thank the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and the FBI for their partnership with DOI in the effort to stop illegal contraband smuggling in the City’s jails.” As alleged in the Complaint: [1] BARRIENTOS, a former New York City Department of Correction (“DOC”) correction officer, conspired with others to smuggle contraband, including cocaine, smokeable synthetic cannabinoids (known as “K2”), and food, to inmates housed at the Robert N. Davoren Complex on Rikers Island in exchange for thousands of dollars in bribe payments. For example, on April 11, 2024, CC-1, an associate of an inmate (“Inmate-1”), and BARRIENTOS discussed CC-1 sending BARRIENTOS a package through a delivery service. On April 15, 2024, surveillance footage showed BARRIENTOS entering Inmate-1’s cell, where surveillance footage could not capture her actions. Two days later, DOC searched Inmate-1’s cell and recovered sheets of paper that tested positive for the presence of cocaine. On April 24, 2024, CC-1 sent BARRIENTOS another package using the delivery service. When BARRIENTOS went to work later that day, a drug-detecting canine alerted for the presence of narcotics. DOC employees searched BARRIENTOS’s belongings and found approximately 10 sheets of paper that tested positive for the presence of K2. In an interview with law enforcement, BARRIENTOS falsely stated, among other things, that no inmate had ever asked her to bring them contraband. Law enforcement officers then searched BARRIENTOS’s vehicle and recovered additional sheets of paper, as well as approximately $2,466 in cash, as shown in the following photographs: * * * BARRIENTOS, 37, of Mount Vernon, New York, is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit honest services wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, each of which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison; and one count of false statements, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The statutory maximum sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge. Mr. Williams praised the outstanding investigative work of the FBI and DOI. This case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption and Narcotics Units. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Coyle and Sheb Swett are in charge of the prosecution. The charges contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. [1] As the introductory phrase signifies, the entirety of the text of the Complaint constitutes only allegations, and every fact described herein should be treated as an allegation.


title: Martin Handler Sentenced To 58 Months For Fraud On Federal Head Start Program And Tax Evasion

body_text: Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that MARTIN HANDLER was sentenced today to 58 months in prison for defrauding the federal Head Start program, misappropriating over $1 million from his federally-funded childcare company, and tax evasion. HANDLER pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Jennifer H. Rearden on March 15, 2024. Judge Rearden imposed today’s sentence. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said: “Martin Handler and his co-conspirators defrauded a vital federal childcare program that aims to serve one of society’s most vulnerable populations. By secretly exploiting a non-profit entity for his own financial gain, Handler exploited the system and undermined the public’s trust in the Head Start program. My Office is committed to pursuing justice against those who place greed above their responsibility to be stewards of federal funds, and I commend our law enforcement partners and the dedicated team of career prosecutors for their outstanding work.” According to the Indictment, public court filings, and statements made in court proceedings: Handler participated in two related schemes involving the federal Head Start program and a third scheme to commit tax evasion. First, between 2017 and August 2021, Handler secretly “owned” and exercised control over a non-profit entity, Project Social Care Head Start Inc. (“PSCHS”), that until recently operated in the New York City area. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (“HHS”), which administers the Head Start program, annually granted to PSCHS millions of dollars that were to be used exclusively on the Head Start program and from which earning a profit is prohibited by law. Through this control over PSCHS, Handler conspired to submit multiple fictitious documents to HHS that fraudulently asserted PSCHS had an independent board and had in place controls to guard against fraud, waste, and abuse. In truth, PSCHS had neither an independent board nor sufficient controls in place, and Handler used his control over PSCHS to impermissibly direct PSCHS’s Head Start funding to his own for-profit companies through rampant undisclosed self-dealing. Indeed, through Handler’s “ownership,” he was able to secretly “sell” control over the proceeds of PSCHS’s federal funding streams for $4.7 million to a co-conspirator. Second, between April 2019 and January 2023, as majority owner of New York City Early Learning Co. (“NYCELC”), a for-profit entity that also received Head Start grants, Handler misapplied and misappropriated NYCELC’s corporate treasury funds to, among other things, repay personal loans and finance the leasing of luxury vehicles for the benefit of two members of NYCELC’s statutorily-required Head Start board. Under the Head Start Act, members of that board owed a fiduciary duty to the Head Start program and were prohibited from having a financial conflict of interest with NYCELC. Handler corrupted NYCLEC’s Head Start program through his actions. Third, in 2021 and 2022, Handler falsely reported to the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) $2,000,000 in charitable contributions, thereby evading taxes of at least $740,000 for tax year 2021. * * * In addition to today’s prison sentence, HANDLER, 50, of Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release, ordered to pay a fine of $200,000, to forfeit $1,156,068.10, and to pay restitution of $1,156,068.10 to HHS, and to pay restitution of $740,000 to the IRS. Mr. Williams praised the outstanding work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and HHS, Office of the Inspector General. Mr. Williams also thanked U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Inspector General, and the New York City Department of Investigation for their assistance with this investigation. The prosecution of this case is being handled by the Office’s Public Corruption Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel H. Wolf, Catherine Ghosh, Jacob R. Fiddelman, and Stephanie Simon are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Jayda Foote.


title: Atlanta Man Sentenced for Million-Dollar Money Order Scheme

component: USAO - Georgia, Northern

body_text: ATLANTA - Jeremiah Carbon has been sentenced to federal prison for depositing nearly $1.5 million in fraudulent money orders into accounts at several metro Atlanta banks and for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. “Carbon took advantage of a monetary instrument intended to serve as a secure means for transferring funds and used it for his personal gain,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “Maintaining the security of our banking systems is paramount as millions of Americans rely on these institutions to protect and grow their finances. Thanks to the investigative efforts of our law enforcement partners at the U.S. Secret Service, Carbon will be held accountable and will face the consequences for his crimes.” “Carbon believed he could evade law enforcement when he resumed his criminal ways,” said Frederick D. Houston, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service Atlanta Field Office. “What he learned is that the Secret Service consistently adapts our methods to uncover illicit financial schemes. We are mandated to safeguard our nation’s critical financial infrastructure and will continue to deploy every asset to do just that.” According to U.S. Attorney Buchanan, the charges and other information presented in court: Between December 2019 and September 2022, Carbon purchased nearly 1,500 money orders from retail stores in Georgia and at least two other states using fake names and fake driver’s licenses, many of which were legitimate driver’s license numbers of individuals. Carbon made copies of the blank money orders, completed those money orders with fictitious purchasers’ names, and then deposited the copied money orders into one of multiple bank accounts in at least five different federally insured banks. Some of the bank accounts were in Carbon’s name, and others were in the names of his conspirators. After Carbon deposited the copied money orders into the bank accounts, he returned all of the originally purchased blank money orders to the various retail stores and received refunds. Carbon purchased, copied, deposited, and then returned almost 1,500 money orders totaling nearly $1.5 million. Carbon was also recorded on surveillance cameras at the various retail store locations buying and returning the money orders. In some instances, after using a fake driver’s license to purchase money orders, Carbon made additional purchases from the retail store using his actual debit card. On February 22, 2022, deputies with the Gwinnett County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop while Carbon was driving due to an unrelated traffic violation. During the stop, deputies discovered multiple blank money orders, a receipt for the recently purchased money orders, a printer/copier, and a paper cutter. Additionally, Carbon was found to be in possession of a semi-automatic firearm, which he was prohibited from possessing due to his status as a convicted felon. Jeremiah Carbon, 36, of Lithonia, Georgia was sentenced by U.S District Judge Victoria M. Calvert to three years, five months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. Carbon was convicted on charges of bank fraud conspiracy, bank fraud, and being a felon in possession of a firearm, after he pleaded guilty on June 6, 2024. This case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bethany L. Rupert and Alison Prout prosecuted the case. For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga .


title: Illinois man sentenced to 10 years for trafficking guns  from Mississippi to Chicago

body_text: ABERDEEN, MS – Derrick Stewart, Jr., 20, was sentenced on Tuesday afternoon to 10 years in prison for firearms trafficking and conspiracy to traffic firearms. The investigation began after agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives noticed a high volume of firearms recovered in crimes in the city of Chicago, Illinois had been purchased in the Northern District of Mississippi. Some of the firearms involved in new crimes had been purchased as recent as one day prior to use in the new offense. Several of the firearms were recovered in violent crimes and had machinegun devices attached that converted the firearms to be able to fire automatically. In total, investigators identified over 60 firearms that were purchased illegally and transported to Chicago for resale by Stewart and others. On October 1, 2024, U.S. District Court Judge Sharion Aycock sentenced Stewart, Jr. to 120 months in federal prison for the offenses to be followed by three years of supervised release. Judge Aycock imposed a 60-month sentence for the conspiracy violation to run consecutive to the 60-month sentence for firearms trafficking. “Illegal firearms traffickers are some of the main drivers of violence in cities like Chicago, and disrupting these networks is central to curbing gun crime,” said U.S. Attorney Clay Joyner. “AUSA Julie Addison is to be commended for leading this joint prosecution involving our federal, state, and local partners to disrupt the flow of guns to Chicago.” “This defendant perpetuated violence as law enforcement recovered dozens of firearms he trafficked between Mississippi and the streets of Chicago,” commented ATF Special Agent in Charge Christopher Amon of the Chicago Field Division. “We will continue to prioritize firearms trafficking investigations alongside the United States Attorney’s Office, holding accountable those who help to arm violent individuals.” The case was investigated by the Chicago Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, with assistance from the ATF Oxford, Mississippi Field Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Howell Addison prosecuted the case. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.


title: Former Union Treasurer Sentenced for Embezzlement of Funds and Falsifying of Financial Records

component: USAO - Pennsylvania, Western

body_text: PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Blaine, Minnesota, has been sentenced in federal court to six months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release that includes in-home incarceration for the first 180 days, on his conviction of embezzlement and theft of union assets, and falsification of financial records required to be kept by labor unions, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today. United States District Judge Robert J. Colville imposed the sentence on Donald W. Byers, 50, formerly of Tyrone, Pennsylvania, on October 1, 2024. According to information presented to the Court, Byers was the treasurer of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Division 287. From June 2017 through December 2020, Byers used his position to embezzle over $44,000 of union money by issuing more than 50 unauthorized checks to himself. Byers also falsified a financial report filed with the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards and forged the signature of a union officer on many of the checks. Prior to imposing sentence, Judge Colville stated that Byers’s crime was serious and that incarceration was warranted because of Byers’s criminal history, among other factors. Assistant United States Attorneys Robert Cessar and Jacqueline Brown prosecuted this case on behalf of the government. United States Attorney Olshan commended the Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Byers.


title: U.S. Attorney’s Office for District of New Jersey and Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division Reach Proposed Consent Decree with New Jersey to Resolve Claims of Unconstitutional Conditions in New Jersey’s State-Run Veterans Homes

component: USAO - New Jersey

body_text: Link to video statement: https://youtu.be/pl3o8-n5p6w NEWARK, N.J. – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey and the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division today filed a complaint against the state of New Jersey and joined with the state in filing a proposed consent decree to address findings of unconstitutional conditions at the New Jersey Veterans Memorial Homes at Menlo Park and Paramus. The proposed consent decree, which must still be approved by the court, would resolve the department’s claims that New Jersey violates the Constitution by failing to keep the residents of its Veterans Homes safe from harm and an unreasonable risk of harm. The proposed consent decree requires the state to meet specific standards of clinical care, to overhaul its infection control and emergency operations practices and to implement measures for improved leadership and accountability. The proposed consent decree also asks the court to appoint an independent monitor who will oversee and assess the state’s compliance with the terms of the proposed consent decree. “Our veterans, who have sacrificed so much, should never have been subject to deficient care. This consent decree provides a detailed roadmap and expert oversight to ensure they are protected, so that they and their families can rely on the veterans homes. We look forward to working with the state and the independent monitor to implement this decree and ensure that every resident of the veterans homes lives with the safety and dignity that they so richly deserve.” U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger “Our veterans deserve to receive appropriate care, as required by law, and their families deserve to have confidence that their loved ones’ needs will be met,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This agreement requires the state to deliver that care and have the oversight in place to provide families that confidence. The Justice Department will work diligently with the state to ensure the reforms are properly implemented.” The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey and the Civil Rights Division initiated the investigation into the Veterans Homes in October 2020 under the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act (CRIPA). CRIPA authorizes the department to take action to address a pattern or practice of deprivation of federal rights of individuals in the custody of state or local governments. In September 2023, the department notified the state that it found reasonable cause to believe the residents of the New Jersey Veterans Memorial Homes at Menlo Park and Paramus face unreasonable harm and risk of harm due to inadequate infection control practices and inadequate medical care. The department also identified the remedial measures necessary to address those unlawful conditions. Specifically, the department concluded that the state failed to provide the residents of its Veterans Homes with conditions of reasonable care and safety, in violation of the 14th Amendment. Additional information about the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department is available on its website at www.justice.gov/crt . Additional information about the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey is available on its website at www.justice.gov/usao-nj/civil-rights-enforcement . The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Susan Millenky and Thandiwe Boylan of the U.S. Attorney’s Civil Rights Division; Michael Campion, Chief of the Civil Rights Division; Caroline Sadlowski, Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney; and attorneys from the Special Litigation Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. veterans.consentdecree.pdf veterans.complaint.pdf


title: Federal Judge Sentences Rockford Man to Eight Years in Prison for Illegally Possessing Firearm

body_text: ROCKFORD — A federal judge has sentenced a Rockford man to eight years in federal prison for illegally possessing a firearm in Rockford. TYRONE SMITH, 37, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a charge of illegal firearm possession. As a previously convicted felon, Smith was prohibited by federal law from possessing a firearm. Smith admitted in a plea agreement that while in Rockford in September 2022, he possessed a handgun that was loaded with 13 rounds of ammunition, including one in the chamber. U.S. District Judge Lindsay C. Jenkins imposed the sentence Monday in U.S. District Court in Rockford. The sentence was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, and Carla Redd, Chief of the Rockford Police Department. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Theodora Anderson. Holding illegal firearm possessors accountable through federal prosecution is a centerpiece of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) – the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction strategy. In the Northern District of Illinois, the U.S. Attorney's Office and law enforcement partners have deployed the PSN program to attack a broad range of violent crime issues facing the district, particularly firearm offenses.


title: Tampa Man Indicted For Receiving Child Sexual Abuse Material

body_text: Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the unsealing of an indictment charging Steven Dennis Mack (40, Tampa) with eight counts of receiving child sexual abuse material. If convicted, Mack faces a minimum mandatory penalty of 5 years, up to 20 years, in federal prison for each count. The indictment also notifies Mack that the United States intends to forfeit a cellphone and laptop, which are alleged to be used to commit the offense. According to the indictment, on several days in June and December 2023, Mack knowingly received visual depictions of minors being sexually abused. 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 the United States Air Force Office of Special Investigations Detachment 340 at MacDill Air Force Base and the Tampa Police Department. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Ross Roberts. This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc .


title: Justice Department Awards $4B to Support Community Safety

component: Office of the Attorney General

body_text: The Justice Department announced today that it is awarding $4 billion to support public safety and community justice activities in the states and territories and in local and Tribal communities. The grants, from the Department’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP), will fund efforts across the country to reduce violence, expand services for crime victims and survivors, and improve outcomes for youth and adults involved in the criminal and juvenile justice systems. “The Justice Department is working together with our law enforcement and community partners across the country to turn the tide in the fight against violent crime,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “This $4 billion investment across more than 3,800 different programs will advance our efforts to drive down violent crime, support victims, build trust between law enforcement and the communities we serve, and ensure that all Americans feel safe and are safe in their communities.” The more than 3,800 fiscal year 2024 grants that OJP is awarding will support community-driven public safety efforts and evidence-informed interventions designed to curb violent crime, address victimization, reduce recidivism, and strengthen bonds of trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. This funding continues the investments in community safety made by the Justice Department since the release of its Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Violent Crime in 2021. Last week, the White House and the Justice Department announced targeted investments to aid communities in reducing gun violence, a centerpiece of which is OJP’s Community Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative. This initiative has now awarded more than $270 million to support community-led violence intervention programs and related training and technical assistance and research, funded in part through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. “The Department of Justice is committed to supporting violence prevention efforts, increasing safety and wellness for law enforcement and the communities they serve, expanding services for victims, and enhancing our research and data collection capacity to advance effective community safety strategies,” said Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer. “The grants announced today further our longstanding efforts to work with our state, local, and Tribal partners to advance community-based approaches to promoting safety and justice for all communities.” The funding announced today will expand partnerships between the justice system and community-based organizations, support collaboration between law enforcement officials and behavioral health professionals when responding to crises, help people involved in the criminal and juvenile justice systems successfully return to their communities, provide trauma-informed services to victims and survivors of crime, including those in underserved areas, make available a full range of support for children and youth, improve registration and management practices for people convicted of sex offenses, and support research and statistical activities to expand the base of knowledge and available data about the nation’s community safety challenges for years to come. “Over the last three-and-a-half years, we have been working closely with our justice system and community partners, as co-producers of safety and justice, to advance comprehensive solutions to the most pressing public safety challenges facing America’s communities,” said OJP Acting Assistant Attorney General Brent J. Cohen. “Today, we are proud to deliver billions of dollars in additional resources to promote community safety and create a more equitable justice system for all. I look forward to the progress we will continue to make, together, to achieve safer and more just communities.” Grants will support five major community safety and justice priorities: Promoting safety and strengthening trust through both long-standing programs like Project Safe Neighborhoods and the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grants programs and more recent innovative efforts like the groundbreaking Community Based Violence Intervention and Prevention Initiative and the Byrne State Crisis Intervention Program. Funding will also support the well-being and safety of law enforcement and public safety professionals, promote rehabilitation and reentry success through initiatives like OJP’s Second Chance Act programs and address the rise in hate crimes across the country. Accelerating justice system reforms designed to achieve justice and fair treatment for all. Through programs like Reimagining Justice, funding will support alternative solutions to low-level offenses in historically underserved and marginalized communities, and efforts like the Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program and the Connect and Protect initiative will increase opportunities for deflection and diversion and build pathways to treatment and other recovery support services for individuals with behavioral health conditions. Funding from the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant and Substance Use Program will improve prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery options to address the substance use and overdose challenges facing communities across America. Improving the fairness and effectiveness of the juvenile justice system by supporting developmentally appropriate and culturally responsive interventions for youth. Programs like the Building Local Continuums of Care to Support Youth Success initiative will help build an infrastructure of support for youth, from prevention and intervention to trauma-informed services and reentry. Funding will also support programs designed to protect children from violence and abuse, and support the new Children’s Justice Project to help identify children who have been found deceased but have not yet been identified. Expanding access to victim services by investing in programs that provide trauma-informed and culturally responsive services to victims and survivors. In addition to supporting thousands of local victim assistance and state victim compensation programs in every state and five territories, initiatives like the Trauma Recovery Center Demonstration Project and the Meeting the Basic Needs of Crime Victims in Underserved Communities Program will help bring services to survivors of violence in neighborhoods disproportionately impacted by violence and victimization. The Tribal Victim Services Set-Aside Program will fund healing and support services for victims and survivors in American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Advancing science and innovation to strengthen the base of knowledge that policymakers, practitioners and communities can use to design and deploy effective community safety strategies. Awards will support research and data collection on a wide range of public safety issues, from firearms violence and domestic radicalization to hate crimes and school safety. Funding will also help maintain timely and accurate criminal history records and improve the capacity of crime labs and forensic analysts to solve crimes, absolve the innocent and deliver justice to victims. More information about the awards announced today can be found by visiting the OJP Grant Awards homepage .


title: New Orleans Woman Sentenced for Making False Statements on Individual Tax Return

body_text: NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – United States Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that on September 26, 2024, ANGELA SHELTON (“SHELTON”) , age 58, of New Orleans, was sentenced for making false statements on an individual tax return, in violation of Title 26, United States Code, Section 7206(1). According to court documents, SHELTON owned and operated “Big Easy Accommodations, LLC,” a vacation rental and property management company in New Orleans. Between 2017 and 2019, SHELTON under-reported her income on her individual tax returns from Big Easy Accommodations, by approximately $879,020. This underreporting caused a loss of approximately $294,690.00 to the Internal Revenue Service. Chief United States District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown sentenced SHELTON to serve four (4) months probation. SHELTON was ordered to pay restitution to the Internal Revenue Service in the amount of $294,690.00. Judge Brown also imposed a mandatory special assessment fee of $100. The U.S. Attorney’s Office would like to acknowledge the work of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations on this matter. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Maria Carboni of the Financial Crimes Unit.


title: New Orleans Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Gun and Drug Charges

body_text: NEW ORLEANS, LA – U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced today that DANIEL SMITH (“SMITH”) , age 55, of New Orleans, pled guilty on September 26, 2024 to Conspiracy to Distribute, and Possession with Intent to Distribute, a quantity of Fentanyl, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), 846, Possession of Firearms in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Offense, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 924(c)(1)(A), and Maintaining a Drug-Involved Premises, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 856, and Title 18, United States Code, Section 2. United States District Judge Carl J. Barbier scheduled sentencing for January 16, 2025. At sentencing, as to the conspiracy charge, SMITH faces up to twenty (20) years imprisonment, a fine of up to $1,000,000, and at least three (3) years of supervised release. As to the firearm charge, he faces a minimum of five (5) years and up to life imprisonment, to run consecutive to any other sentence imposed, a fine of up to $250,000 and up to five (5) years of supervised release. Finally, as to the charge of maintaining a drug-involved premises, he faces up to twenty (20) years imprisonment, a fine of up to $500,000, and up to four (4) years of supervised release. Each of the three charges also carries a $100 mandatory special assessment fee. According to court documents, SMITH conspired with others to maintain multiple residences on Harmony Street as drug-involved stash houses where fentanyl and heroin were trafficked. SMITH assisted others in the distribution of fentanyl and heroin from these residences and was arrested while attempting to flee a residence. Firearms and fentanyl were later discovered within this residence. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. This case was part of Operation Big Easy. Operation Big Easy was a National Integrated Ballistics Information Network (NIBIN) enforcement initiative of collected firearm casings for the time period of August 1, 2023 to January 31, 2023 that produced data points of high-density shootings and homicides in seven areas of New Orleans related to individuals engaged in criminal activity. U.S. Attorney Evans praised the work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the New Orleans Police Department, and the Louisiana State Police. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stuart Theriot of the Narcotics Unit.


title: Buckhannon Man Indicted on Child Pornography Charges

component: USAO - West Virginia, Northern

body_text: WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – David Walter McCauley has been indicted by a federal grand jury on child pornography charges, United States Attorney William Ihlenfeld announced. McCauley, age 66 of Buckhannon, West Virginia, is charged with two counts of production and one count of possession of child pornography. The indictment alleges that McCauley enticed a 17-year-old boy to engage in sexually explicit conduct for photo and video production. The indictment further charges McCauley with knowingly possessing illegal images on his computer. “As alleged, David McCauley produced child pornography involving a juvenile boy on multiple occasions,” said U.S. Attorney Ihlenfeld. “Those who prey upon and exploit our youth will be held accountable, no matter their status in the community.” McCauley faces at least 15 years and up to 30 years in prison for each of the production charges and up to 10 years on the possession charge. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberley Crockett is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Pittsburgh Police Department, and the Upshur County Sheriff’s Office. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and 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 Justice.gov/PSC . An indictment is merely an allegation, and each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.


title: Burlington, Vermont Man Sentenced to 60 Months in Gun and Assault Case

component: USAO - Vermont

body_text: Burlington, Vermont – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont stated that on September 30, 2024, Hasan Williams, 27, recently of Burlington, Vermont was sentenced by United States District Judge William K. Sessions III to a term of 60 months’ imprisonment to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release. Williams previously pleaded guilty to possessing a loaded handgun after having been convicted of a felony, specifically assault and robbery in 2016. According to court records, Burlington Police Department responded to a late-night call shortly after midnight between August 27-28, 2023 in downtown Burlington regarding a possible assault and possession of a firearm. When police arrived, they located Williams walking away from the call location and on the grounds of the Chittenden County Superior Court. Police approached Williams who denied being involved in the alleged assault. The police asked Williams if he had a gun on him and he replied that he did not. Williams was wearing a shoulder bag that the police stated they wanted to remove without looking inside, knowing that another recent call involved someone with a similar shoulder bag containing a gun. Williams refused to comply, turned his back on the officer and began reaching for the shoulder bag. Williams instigated an altercation with the officer, punching him in the head before four additional officers and a civilian helped restrain Williams. After the altercation, the zipper on Williams’s shoulder bag had opened, making plainly visible a handgun inside. Police obtained a search warrant for the shoulder bag which contained a loaded handgun. United States Attorney Nikolas P. Kerest stated: “I want to thank the officers and agents of the Burlington Police Department and the ATF for their vigilance and care investigating and apprehending the defendant in this case, which is another example of members of law enforcement putting themselves at risk while protecting this community.” “Firearms in the hands of violent felons are a major driver of additional violent crime in our communities,” said ATF Boston Field Division Special Agent in Charge James M. Ferguson. “The sentence handed down today delivers a clear message: violent offenders will be held accountable. ATF remains steadfast in its commitment to safeguarding our neighborhoods, with the reduction of gun violence as a top priority.” “Getting violent criminals off the street is a key responsibility for law enforcement,” said Burlington Police Chief Jon Murad. “I’m grateful for our federal partners and the fair but effective sentences they win. The community is safer when such offenders are incarcerated not only because the offenders can’t hurt more people from prison, but also because these types of offenders tend to be ‘violence drivers,’ who make others around them more prone to violence, as well. Thanks to the great work by our officers and by the prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney’s Office, that’s what happened here.” The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Colin Owyang. Williams was represented by Timothy B. Fair, Esq. and Assistant Federal Public Defender Steven L. Barth. This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN .