title: Former Baltimore Department Of Finance Employee Sentenced To Four Years In Connection With Bribery And Covid-19 Cares Act Scheme

component: USAO - Maryland

body_text: Baltimore , Maryland – U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett, today, sentenced Joseph Gillespie, age 35, of Baltimore City, Maryland, to four years in federal prison and three years of supervised release in connection with a bribery scheme and conspiracy to commit wire fraud scheme involving COVID-19 CARES Act relief benefits. Phil Selden, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Baltimore Field Office. “Defendant Gillespie abused the public trust through a bribery scheme and took advantage of money meant to help during the COVID-19 pandemic,” stated Acting United States Attorney Selden. “When government employees take bribes and public funds, it harms the very communities they are meant to serve. The District of Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office will relentlessly pursue those who try to compromise the public trust.” “Gillespie’s extensive schemes and lies ultimately cost hardworking taxpayers. Instead of performing his job with honesty, he looked for illicit ways to line his own pockets. This sentence proves that corruption never pays,” said FBI Baltimore SAC William J. DelBagno. “The FBI and our partners remain committed to holding accountable those who try to cheat the system for their own benefit and profit.” According to Gillespie’s plea agreement, beginning in 2016, and continuing to 2023, the Defendant engaged in a bribery scheme in which he abused his position of trust as a public official within the Baltimore City Department of Finance for his own personal gain. As an employee of the Baltimore City Department of Finance, Revenue Collections Department, Gillespie routinely accepted bribes from various property owners in Baltimore City (“the City”) whose property was subject to certain financial obligations, and if the obligations remained unpaid, to a tax sale. He accepted these bribes — typically 10-15 percent of the amount owed to the City — in exchange for removing or extinguishing these financial obligations, including for citations, tax obligations, and water obligations – thereby causing losses to the City. Gillespie also accepted bribes in exchange for delaying or postponing — without approval or permission from other City officials — due dates for the payment of outstanding financial obligations, fines, and payments owed to the City, thus forestalling the placement of a lien on the property by the City. Once Gillespie received the bribe payment, he would extinguish the financial obligation owed to the City by marking the obligations as paid in the City’s online records. After removing the obligation, the Defendant would, at times, send a photograph of a cashier slip from his office reflecting that a payment was made towards a financial obligation owed to the City when, in fact, no such payment was made. Gillespie engaged in multiple covertly recorded telephone and video conversations with an FBI undercover agent (UC), in which the Defendant and the UC discussed the specifics of the bribery scheme outlined above. For example, in a recorded phone conversation with the UC, the UC confirmed the size of the bribe payment with the Defendant: “[S]o you want 100 for each property?” Defendant said, “yeah that’s basically how I do.” Gillespie then informed the UC that he (Gillespie) had a “girl” in “water”— i.e. , the Baltimore City Department of Public Works — that could “wipe some s*** out,” referring to financial obligations owed to the City. During a covert video recording of the conversation with the UC, Gillespie told the UC that he had the ability to “wipe a bill off” the City’s record of outstanding obligations tied to a particular property or to “put paid next to ‘em,” even though the financial obligation had not in fact been paid. The Defendant further stated that he removed certain financial obligations linked to the properties that the UC told the Defendant were his, stating “[t]here was a couple, extra miscellaneous bills that y’all had that I wiped off . . . . That s*** gone now.” Gillespie also extended the deadline for payment of financial obligations owed to the City on eight properties by three months. Gillespie asked for $800 in bribes in return — $100 for each of the eight properties, and, during the recorded meeting, the UC provided Gillespie $800 cash. Gillespie also stated that he had the ability to wipe out overdue water bills owed to the City, “Once I let you know [about a big water bill], I’ll give it to my girl, and I’ll tell you what you need to give me for her to knock it off.” Gillespie then stated: "Going forward, I’m just your inside man . . . That’s what I do for a lot of different people around the City. You know what I mean – manage their s*** for them a little bit. . . . I’m gonna go look at your s***. Anyone with a high water bill I’m gonna text you the address, and I’m gonna tell you what I need, and we can knock them out going forward with that . . . . Any water bill that’s too high, I’ll get my girl to take care of that." Gillespie’s bribery scheme continued for years thereafter, and he admitted that he enlisted the help of multiple co-conspirators in connection with his scheme. According to the plea agreement, Gillespie received more than $250,000 in connection with the bribery scheme and caused losses to the City in excess of $1,250,000. Further, Gillespie also engaged in a scheme to fraudulent COVID-19 CARES relief funds. Financial assistance offered through the CARES Act included forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses, through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), administered through the United States Small Business Administration (SBA). For example, in 2021, Gillespie and co-defendant Ahmed (“Adam”) Sary submitted a fraudulent PPP loan application to Cross River Bank to obtain a PPP loan for JAG Investments (“JAG”), a company the Defendant owned. The PPP loan application contained numerous material misrepresentations, including that JAG, in 2019, had 19 employees and an average monthly payroll of more than $55,000. In support of the loan application, a fabricated 2019 Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) Form 940 – Employer’s Annual Federal Unemployment Tax Return – was submitted, which falsely stated that JAG’s total payments to employees, in 2019, was more than $275,000. Based on the false representations and fraudulent submissions made on behalf of Gillespie as the owner of JAG, the PPP loan was funded on March 6, 2021, and approximately $138,000 was distributed to a bank account controlled by Gillespie. Gillespie agreed to pay Sary kickbacks totaling $38,000 for his work in submitting the false application and obtaining the fraudulent PPP loan. In addition, after receipt of the PPP loan, Gillespie established payroll services for JAG to facilitate documentation that would later be used to substantiate a request for the PPP loan to be forgiven. The District of Maryland COVID-19 Strike Force is one of five strike forces established throughout the United States by the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute COVID-19 fraud, including fraud relating to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The CARES Act was designed to provide emergency financial assistance to Americans suffering the economic effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The strike forces focus on large-scale, multi-state pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors. The strike forces are interagency law enforcement efforts, using prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams designed to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds. For more information about the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus . Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud (NCDF) Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form . Acting United States Attorney Phil Selden commended the FBI for their work in the investigation, the Small Business Administration’s Office of Inspector General and the Baltimore City Inspector General for assistance as well. Mr. Selden thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Paul A. Riley and Evelyn L. Cusson who are prosecuting the federal case. For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach . # # #


title: U.S. Attorney's Office Announces Sentencing for Fatal DUI Crash on Navajo Nation

component: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

body_text: ALBUQUERQUE – An Arizona man was sentenced to 75 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter and assault resulting in serious bodily injury, stemming from a fatal drunk driving crash on the Navajo Nation in November 2022. There is no parole in the federal system. According to court documents, on the evening of November 25, 2022, Jane Doe and John Doe were driving from Colorado to visit family in Tse Bonito, NM when their sedan broke down. Jane Doe’s family members came to assist, and her nephew began towing the sedan with his SUV. As the group traveled on Navajo Route 12, Olan Jumbo , 31, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, who had been drinking alcohol while driving, crashed his speeding truck into the back of the sedan. The collision caused severe damage to the sedan, resulting in Jane Doe’s death at the scene and serious injuries to John Doe. Jumbo fled the scene but was apprehended two days later. Investigation revealed Jumbo was driving between 74-82 mph in a 45-mph zone at the time of impact and had multiple prior drunk-driving related convictions. Open containers of alcohol were found in Jumbo 's vehicle after the crash. Upon his release from prison, Jumbo will be subject to three years of supervised release. Acting U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrin and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today. The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department and Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Meg Tomlinson is prosecuting the case.


title: Norman Gray, Founder and CEO Of Biomedical Company, Sentenced For Defrauding Investors Of More Than $13 Million

component: USAO - New York, Southern

body_text: Matthew Podolsky, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that NORMAN GRAY, the founder and CEO of a biomedical company (the “Biomedical Company”), who defrauded investors of over $13 million, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer to 10 years in prison. GRAY was convicted of wire fraud at trial on May 29, 2024. Acting U.S. Attorney Matthew Podolsky said: “Norman Gray preyed upon people who wanted to invest in developing life-saving medicine for children with a rare and generally fatal disease. Gray gained his victims’ trust by lying about everything from his educational background and to his supposed access to off-shore trusts he could use to fund his company alongside the investors. He even submitted false patent applications, invented a fake mortgage company, and forged FBI background check records. Thanks to the work of the career prosecutors of this Office and our law enforcement partners, Gray has now received just punishment.” According to the Superseding Indictment, public filings, public court proceedings, the evidence presented at trial and in connection with sentencing: At all relevant times, GRAY was the founder and CEO of the Biomedical Company, which is headquartered in Hamden, Connecticut. GRAY presented himself to investors (including “Victim-1” and “Victim-2”) and others as a billionaire scientist and successful entrepreneur with a Ph.D. from MIT at the helm of a company he was personally funding that was potentially worth hundreds of millions of dollars. GRAY claimed to have previously created a successful medical equipment company (“Prior Company”) with over 1,000 employees, which was earning approximately $900 million in revenues before GRAY sold it to a foreign pharmaceutical company. GRAY claimed that he put the profits from the sale of the Prior Company into his offshore trust (“Offshore Trust”), which he claimed held more than $300 million, and which he was using to self-fund the Biomedical Company. In reality, GRAY did not have a Ph.D., had not created or sold a nearly billion-dollar company, did not have access to hundreds of millions of dollars to fund Biomedical Company, and, as of 2020, both he and the Biomedical Company were in significant debt. Beginning in 2016, GRAY also claimed to employees and investors in Biomedical Company, including Victim-1 and Victim-2, and in written investment materials, that a flagship medication being developed by Biomedical Company was approved for compassionate treatment in Saudi Arabia, where it was saving the lives of two specific children who were suffering from a rare and generally fatal disease known as MVID. Victim-2 sent $200,000 to GRAY to continue funding this supposed program. GRAY submitted treatment data from the supposed program in patent applications for the flagship drug. But the program did not exist. Based on GRAY’s misrepresentations, between 2018 and 2020, Victim-2 invested approximately $7.6 million in the Biomedical Company through wire transfers into accounts controlled by GRAY. In May 2020, at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, GRAY fraudulently induced Victim-2 to invest into a joint venture with GRAY to purchase personal protective equipment (“PPE”) and resell it to hospitals and universities in the United States and Spain. GRAY provided Victim-2 with fabricated purchase orders from two New York-area hospitals purporting to show that he had close to $8 million of committed sales. Victim-2 sent three wire transfers totaling $1,751,342 to GRAY’s account. Ultimately, the PPE that GRAY purchased could not be sold, because it was defective or otherwise not fit for market, and Victim-2 lost the $1.75 million supposedly invested by GRAY into the PPE project. In or about August 2020, GRAY induced Victim-1 to send him $250,000 as a purported investment in the Biomedical Company. Rather than purchase equity for Victim-1, GRAY used nearly all of Victim-1’s $250,000 payment to repay a loan that GRAY had taken out from a tenant in the same building where the Biomedical Company is headquartered in order to make payroll. In the ensuing weeks, GRAY extracted an additional $1,217,000 from Victim-1, representing that Victim-1’s funds would be invested in deals involving the procurement of PPE for two major universities in the tristate area who committed to close to $8 million in sales in essentially the same amounts as GRAY’s prior fabricated purchase orders sent to Victim-2. Notwithstanding the losses Victim-2 had already experienced through GRAY’s venture, GRAY falsely represented to Victim-1 that his prior PPE deals had turned a 40% profit within 90 days, that he already had purchase orders in hand for PPE worth nearly $8 million, and that, therefore, the risk was “virtually zero.” In reality, over the preceding months, GRAY had accumulated a vast inventory of unsellable PPE, the purported purchase orders were recycled fakes, and GRAY did not invest Victim-1’s funds in PPE. Instead, GRAY misappropriated Victim-1’s funds, in part, to purchase himself a nearly $1 million home, a $50,000 luxury SUV, and to pay down $200,000 of his and his family’s credit card debt. As part of his scheme to defraud Victim-1, and as a means of dispelling Victim-1’s concern that an investment with GRAY might require Victim-1 to forego the purchase of a home, GRAY offered Victim-1 a mortgage from a purported boutique mortgage company of which he was the sole investor. GRAY directed Victim-1 to a purported mortgage broker that worked for this boutique mortgage company. In reality, both the mortgage company and the mortgage broker were completely fabricated by GRAY and did not exist. To further this aspect of the fraud on Victim-1, GRAY registered an internet domain in the name of the purported mortgage company and created an email address in the name of the invented mortgage broker contemporaneously with making his false representations to Victim-1. As GRAY’s fraud began to unravel in or about early November 2020, GRAY promised to return all of Victim-1’s money. Ultimately, GRAY never returned any money to Victim-1 and, after Victim-1 asked GRAY to provide her with the purported PPE purchase orders from the two universities, she never heard from GRAY again. Victim-2 was a board member of the Biomedical Company at the time that GRAY defrauded Victim-1. Following Victim-1’s report of GRAY’s fraud to the board in November 2020, accompanied by publicly available evidence of GRAY’s prior criminal history, GRAY reassured Victim-2 that he had no criminal history beyond driving infractions. GRAY also produced to the board a fraudulent record purportedly from the FBI disclaiming any criminal history and falsely asserting that GRAY had a “top secret” clearance status renewed on November 14, 2016. After being reassured by GRAY that Victim-1’s allegations were meritless, Victim-2 provided approximately over $2.3 million in loans separate from his over $7.5 million of Vanessa investments and $1.75 million of PPE investments. At trial, GRAY obstructed justice by attempting to introduce into evidence a false document supposedly drafted after GRAY’s fraud on Victim-1 was complete and purporting to memorialize an agreement by Victim-1 to “convert” her PPE investment into shares of Biomedical Company. * * * In addition to the prison term, GRAY, 69, of Hamden, Connecticut, was sentenced to 3 years of supervised release. GRAY also was ordered to pay forfeiture in the amount of $1,467,000 and to forfeit his interest in the home and luxury vehicle discussed above. The Court also ordered restitution of $1,533,675 to Victim-1. Mr. Podolsky praised the outstanding investigative work of the Special Agents of Homeland Security Investigations. Mr. Podolsky also thanked the New Haven Police Department, as well as law enforcement authorities in the United Kingdom and Spain and the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, for their assistance. This case is being handled by the Office’s Illicit Finance and Money Laundering Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin A. Gianforti, Vladislav Vainberg, and Jessica Greenwood are in charge of the prosecution.


title: Baltimore Man Sentenced to More Than Nine Years for Assaulting Federal Correctional Officers

body_text: Baltimore , Maryland – Today, U.S. District Judge Julie R. Rubin sentenced Igor Yasinov, 35, of Baltimore, Maryland, to 110 months in prison and three years of supervised release for four counts of Assaulting, Resisting, or Impeding Certain Officers or Employees, Inflicting Bodily Injury. Phil Selden, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the sentence with Clinton J. Fuchs, U.S. Marshal for the District of Maryland, and Carolyn J. Scruggs, Secretary of the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services. According to the evidence presented at his four-day trial, on November 16, 2021, Yasinov assaulted multiple correctional-staff members at the Chesapeake Detention Facility (CDF), causing several injuries. CDF is a pretrial detention facility located in Baltimore, Maryland. In November 2021, CDF exclusively housed federal inmates awaiting the disposition of criminal cases in the District of Maryland, pursuant to an intergovernmental agreement between the U.S. Marshal Service (USMS) and the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services (DPSCS). DPSCS employs correctional officers to effectuate the goals and directives of USMS. The assaults began with Yasinov breaking a control-center window within the facility with a broom stick that caused him to sustain minor injuries. As correctional staff transported Yasinov to the medical unit for treatment, he began threatening the escorting correctional officers. After receiving medical treatment, Yasinov was transported to a segregation unit. Although he was initially cooperative, Yasinov became irate and refused to follow the correctional officers’ orders after he learned that he was not returning to his original housing unit. Yasinov refused to lock, or return, into his cell. As correctional officers attempted to escort him into the cell, he began to fight them. Yasinov swept the leg of one correctional officer, causing her and other officers to fall to the ground. Eventually, correctional officers were able to apply leg irons to Yasinov’s legs to prevent further attacks, enabling them to carry him to his cell. While in the cell, Yasinov continued fighting officers. Ultimately, Yasinov relented, and allowed officers to remove the leg irons. Staff ordered Yasinov to face the wall to allow the group to exit the cell individually. Yasinov was told to continue facing the wall until all officers exited and the door to the cell was closed. As the last officer attempted to exit the cell, Yasinov charged the group, slamming his body into them. Yasinov continued to flail on the floor, kicking officers and attempting to strike them with his hands. As a result of Yasinov’s actions, several officers who sustained bodily injuries, including one officer, who suffered a fractured tibia, and three other officers who sustained injuries to their heads, necks, backs, and limbs. Acting United States Attorney Selden commended the U.S. Marshal Service for their work in the investigation. Mr. Selden also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Aubin and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jacob Gordin who prosecuted the case. For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-md . # # #


title: Dallas Man Sentenced to 13+ Years in Multi-Million Dollar Insurance Fraud

body_text: The architect of a nearly $5 million insurance fraud was sentenced today to more than 13 years in federal prison, announced Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad Meacham. Jordan Ford, 32, was charged via criminal complaint in June 2024 and pleaded guilty in September 2024 to a criminal information charging conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He was sentenced Thursday to 157 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman, who also ordered him to pay $4,471,338.92 in restitution to the defrauded insurance companies. According to court documents, Mr. Ford and his coconspirators recruited insurance company employees to pull clients’ personal information from legitimate insurance claims. The employees handed those details over to Mr Ford. Using the stolen information, Mr. Ford – posing as the client – called the insurance companies and requested they update the payment information to accounts he and his coconspirators controlled. Other times, Mr. Ford paid insurance employees to lend him their company-issued laptops, logged onto the companies’ systems, and authorized and issued payments, which were sent to accounts he and his coconspirators controlled. In total, the coconspirators misdirected funds from at least three insurance companies, netting more than $4.4 million. All nine defendants charged in the scheme have pleaded guilty, including Mr. Ford’s lieutenant, Humberto Corona; Jaquan Hall and Elexis McLain, who recruited insurance employees and received and distributed fraudulent proceeds; and insurance employees Timothy Starling, Desiree Thomas, Daja Webb, and Sesedrick Wedlow, who were compensated for handing over stolen client information and allowing Mr. Ford to access company systems. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office and the Texas Department of Insurance conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Weybrecht is prosecuting the case.


title: Sacramento Man Charged With Multimillion-Dollar Bank Fraud and Pandemic Loan Fraud Scheme

component: USAO - California, Eastern

body_text: SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a seven-count indictment last week against Akash Kumar Singh, 48, of Sacramento, charging him with four counts of bank fraud and three counts of money laundering, Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith announced. The indictment was unsealed following Singh’s arrest today. According to court documents, Singh fraudulently obtained more than $3 million in Paycheck Protection Program loan funds intended to help small businesses maintain payroll and operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Singh obtained at least two PPP loans for a Sacramento software development company he purported to lead called Kryptoblocks. Singh falsely claimed that Kryptoblocks generated millions of dollars in revenue and paid millions of dollars in employee wages in 2019 and 2020. In reality, Kryptoblocks generated little to no revenues and employed no individuals in the United States during this time. This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the IRS Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sam Stefanki is prosecuting the case. If convicted, Singh faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million or of twice the amount of criminally derived property involved in each money laundering count. 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 effort is part of a California COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Strike Force operation, one of five interagency COVID-19 fraud strike force teams established by the U.S. Department of Justice. The California Strike Force combines law enforcement and prosecutorial resources in the Eastern and Central Districts of California and focuses on large-scale, multistate pandemic relief fraud perpetrated by criminal organizations and transnational actors. The strike forces use prosecutor-led and data analyst-driven teams to identify and bring to justice those who stole pandemic relief funds.


title: Owner of Durable Medical Equipment Companies Charged in Nearly $30 Million Fraud Scheme

component: USAO - Massachusetts

body_text: BOSTON – The owner of Pharmagears, LLC (Pharmagears) and RR Medco, LLC (RR Medco) has been charged in connection with a nearly $30 million fraud scheme involving medically unnecessary durable medical equipment (DME), including orthotics such as back and knee braces. Raju Sharma, 61, of Sharon, was charged by criminal complaint with one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud. Sharma was arrested this morning and later released on conditions following an initial appearance in federal court in Boston. “As alleged, Mr. Sharma exploited vulnerable Medicare beneficiaries and defrauded the system of millions of dollars meant for legitimate medical care. His actions caused millions of dollars of waste on DME products beneficiaries did not need and did not want. He did this to enrich himself – and allow him to purchase luxury cars and high-end watches – all at the expense of the American people,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley. “This office will continue to hold accountable those who undermine the integrity of our healthcare system for personal gain. Fraudsters who think they can manipulate the system without consequence should take heed: we will investigate you, we will prosecute you, and we will hold you accountable to ensure that justice is served.” “Today's arrest underscores HHS-OIG's commitment to protecting patients and taxpayers from fraudulent schemes that exploit our health care system and are motivated by pure greed,” stated Special Agent in Charge Roberto Coviello with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “We will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement partners to investigate allegations that individuals and entities are profiting from deceiving and abusing federal health care programs.” “Raju Sharma apparently thought he had hit upon a surefire moneymaker when he allegedly conspired with others to fraudulently bill Medicare for almost $30 million worth of durable medical equipment that was unwanted, unnecessary and useless to patients so he could purchase luxury vehicles and expensive watches for himself,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigations, Boston Division. “Health care fraud isn’t some quick and easy way to bulk up your bank account. It’s a costly, consequential federal crime that strains the system and cheats the taxpayers who fund it. Anyone involved in, or entertaining, similar activity should know that the FBI will pursue anyone trying to steal from this country’s vital health care system.” According to the charging documents, between February 2021 and February 2025, Sharma, on behalf of Pharmagears and RR Medco, entered into contracts with telemarketing companies that generated DME orders by targeting Medicare beneficiaries. Sharma then allegedly billed Medicare for this medically unnecessary DME, which Medicare beneficiaries often did not want or could not use and/or a medical practitioner ordered without having met or examined the beneficiary or were ordered by the fraudulent use of practitioners’ national provider identifiers without their knowledge or assent. It is alleged that these DME orders were also obtained in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute, because although Sharma agreed in the contracts to pay the marketing companies a flat fee for their services, Sharma in fact paid the marketing companies on a per-lead, or per-order, basis. It is further alleged that Sharma worked with multiple other co-conspirators, including family and acquaintances, to open and operate additional DME companies in the same fraudulent manner. In total, the companies owned, operated, or connected with Sharma allegedly billed Medicare approximately $29.6 million for these fraudulent DME orders and were paid approximately $15.8 million. According to the charging documents, Sharma made substantial profits from this alleged fraud, which he used to purchase luxury goods, including two Ferraris, a Mercedes-Benz Model S and at least three Rolex watches. The Court issued seizure warrants for these luxury goods in connection with today’s charges. The charge of conspiracy to commit health care fraud provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, supervised release for up to three years, and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross pecuniary gain or loss, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case. U.S. Attorney Foley, HHS-OIG SAC Coviello and FBI SAC Cohen made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the United States Marshals and the Sharon Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Graber and Sarah Hoefle of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case. The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.


title: Former Illinois Police Officer Admits Assaulting Handcuffed Man

body_text: ST. LOUIS – A former police officer in Venice, Ill. on Thursday admitted striking a handcuffed man in the face after a police chase. Justin Gaither, 34, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of deprivation of rights under color of law, namely the right to be free from the use of unreasonable force. He admitted that on Nov. 20, 2022, while working in full uniform and on duty with the Venice Police Department, he began pursuing a car that was displaying stolen license plates. The car drove over spike strips that Gaither deployed, then over the McKinley Bridge and into St. Louis. A Brooklyn (Illinois) Police Department officer was also pursuing the car. The pursuit ended in the 3800 block of Parnell Avenue in St. Louis and all of the vehicle’s occupants ran away from the car. Gaither and the Brooklyn officer, accompanied by that officer’s K9, chased the driver. The driver was bitten while climbing over a fence, fell and was then handcuffed by the Brooklyn officer. As Gaither lifted the driver from the ground to escort him to a police vehicle, he struck the driver twice in the face without justification and without a legitimate purpose, the plea agreement says. The driver suffered a broken nose. Gaither is scheduled to be sentenced on May 2. The charge carries penalty of up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, or both prison and fine. The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christine Krug is prosecuting the case.


title: Oakland Resident Convicted Of Dealing Firearms Without A License And Illegally Possessing Firearm And Ammunition

component: USAO - California, Northern

body_text: OAKLAND – Robert Davis was convicted of engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license and firearms possession by a federal jury, announced Acting United States Attorney Patrick D. Robbins and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Jennifer L. Cicolani. The jury found Davis, 31 of Oakland, California, guilty of selling for profit firearms that he purchased illegally in Texas. The jury also found that on a separate occasion Davis illegally possessed a firearm and ammunition as a felon. The jury acquitted Davis of an additional charge that Davis had possessed and shipped firearms. The verdicts followed a week-long jury trial before the Honorable Araceli Martínez-Olguín, U.S. District Judge. Evidence at trial showed that Davis travelled back and forth between California and Texas, where he illegally bought firearms at gun shows. After purchasing the firearms, the defendant shipped the firearms back to the Bay Area where he advertised and sold them for profit, principally using Instagram. The evidence further showed that on December 22, 2021, law enforcement searched the defendant’s residence and found a loaded 5.7mm firearm in his home. Law enforcement also found more than 100 rounds of ammunition throughout the apartment as well as in Davis’s vehicle. Because Davis previously had been convicted of a felony, he was ineligible to possess the firearm and the ammunition. Davis is currently in custody pending sentencing which has not yet been scheduled. The maximum statutory penalty for the violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(1)(A) is five years in prison and a fine of $250,000, and the maximum statutory penalty violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) is ten years in prison and a fine of $250,000. However, any sentence will be imposed by the court only after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Evan Mateer and Jonah Ross are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Kevin Costello, Mark DiCenzo, and Amala James. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the ATF, Alameda County Sheriff’s Office, and Fort Worth (TX) Police Department.


title: Florida Businessman Sentenced in Connection with Migrant Labor Employment Scheme, Payroll Tax Evasion, and Worker Death

component: Energy and Natural Resources Division

body_text: A Florida man was sentenced yesterday to 48 months in prison and ordered to forfeit more than $5.5 million to the United States as well as forfeit numerous real properties and cash, and to pay over $55 million in restitution for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and willful violation of a workplace standard that resulted in the death of his employee. Manual Domingos Pita, of Wesley Chapel, previously pleaded guilty to those charges on July 9, 2024. According to court documents, Pita owned and operated Domingos 54 Construction, a subcontracting business for the wood framing of new construction homes. Domingos 54 was a shell construction company that Pita used to provide workers, including undocumented aliens, with construction jobs. However, Pita failed to secure the required workers compensation insurance coverage for these employees by falsifying in worker’s compensation insurance applications the number of workers for which he sought coverage. In addition, Pita failed to pay any federal employment taxes on the wages that these workers earned during the course of the scheme between 2018 and 2022. As a result, Pita caused several worker’s compensation insurance companies to sustain a loss of over $22.7 million in premiums that they could have charged had they been aware of the number of workers which they had been manipulated into covering with their policies. In addition, Pita failed to pay to the IRS over $33.7 million in federal employment taxes on those workers’ wages. Between February and July 2019, investigators with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued six citations to Domingos 54 for failure to provide fall protection to workers. Even after being cited for these violations, Pita continued to ignore OSHA requirements. In March 2020, Pita assigned a worker and three other carpenters to install sheeting on the roof of a residential home in windy conditions without providing the required fall-protection gear or ensuring its use. As a result, one of the workers was blown off the roof and died from his injuries. “Pita’s history of OSHA violations and deception tragically led to a worker’s death,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “We are committed to upholding the rule of law by prosecuting fraud and enforcing worker safety standards.” “The defendant in this case engaged in a deliberate scheme to defraud insurance companies, the government and evade taxes, resulting in huge losses to the U.S. Treasury, and to personally enrich himself,” said Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida Sara C. Sweeney. “In addition, flagrant violations of OSHA safety standards put workers at unacceptable risk, ultimately resulting in the death of an employee. My office is committed to federally prosecuting and holding accountable anyone who violates these laws and regulations.” “Mr. Pita repeatedly violated the longstanding policies designed to protect the workforce which resulted in a tragic death,” said Special Agent in Charge Matthew Fodor of the FBI’s Tampa Field Office. “The FBI and its partners will aggressively pursue those who selfishly ignore the laws and policies in place to protect America's workforce.” “Not only does this type of scheme give an illegal advantage over honest competitors, it intends to allow the use of illegal, undocumented labor to achieve that advantage,” said Special Agent in Charge Ron Loecker of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Tampa Field Office. “It’s a blatant form of cheating that undercuts fair competition, costs the government millions of dollars in tax revenue, and skirts our nation’s immigration laws. This case reaffirms our unwavering commitment to prosecuting those who engage in fraud at the expense of workers, taxpayers, and law-abiding businesses.” The FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, Florida Department of Financial Services’ Bureau of Insurance Fraud-Criminal Investigations and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay L. Hoffer for the Middle District of Florida and Senior Trial Attorney Banumathi Rangarajan of the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crimes Section prosecuted the case.


title: 16-Year-Old Charged as Adult with Armed Carjackings and Robberies Over a Three Month Period

component: USAO - District of Columbia

body_text: WASHINGTON – Frederick Etheridge, 16, of Washington, D.C., was charged today as an adult under Title 16 in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, in connection with a spree of armed offenses taking place between October 2024 and January 2025 in D.C. The charges were announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD). According to documents filed in court, Etheridge has been charged in relation to an armed carjacking in October 2024 and an armed robbery in January 2025. First, in the late evening on October 25, 2024, Etheridge and a second suspect approached the victim in a parking lot in the 2800 block of Erie Street Southeast. The victim had just parked their vehicle and, while sitting inside of the vehicle on the phone, was approached by Etheridge and the second suspect at gunpoint. Etheridge demanded the victim’s phone and directed the victim to give their car keys to the second suspect. Etheridge then demanded that the victim unlock their phone, and said something to the effect of, “Don’t make me kill you.” The victim complied and handed over their unlocked phone and vehicle keys. Etheridge and his co-conspirator then drove off in the victim’s vehicle, headed in the direction of Naylor Road Southeast. When police arrived, the victim was able to track their Apple Watch and locate their vehicle in the rear of the 2800 block of Buena Vista Terrace, Southeast. Second, on January 3, 2025, in the early morning, the victim parked their vehicle and began to walk away. Etheridge and a second suspect walked up to the victim, and Etheridge brandished a large black firearm. Etheridge and the second suspect then grabbed the victim’s property and ran to the victim’s car in an attempt to carjack the vehicle. However, Etheridge and the second suspect were unable to enter the vehicle because they did not have the victim’s keys, and instead fled from the location with the victim’s bag, credit cards, and other property. On February 19, 2025, members of the Metropolitan Police Department (“MPD”) executed a court-authorized search warrant at Etheridge’s residence. While executing the search warrant, a member of MPD observed Etheridge throw a black rifle out of his bedroom window. Etheridge was soon thereafter arrested and charged for multiple offenses. Etheridge was presented in court today and ordered detained. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for February 27, 2025. The Metropolitan Police Department is investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Goldstein is prosecuting the case. These charges are merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.


title: Law Enforcement Cooperation Between United States and Mexico Results in Mexican Takedown of Cartel-Linked Alien Smugglers

component: Criminal Division

body_text: Last night, extensive bilateral cooperation between the United States and Mexico resulted in the Mexico Attorney General’s Office “Fiscalía General de la República” (FGR) conducting a significant enforcement operation to dismantle a prolific transnational alien smuggling organization operating in Juarez, Chihuahua, along the U.S.-Mexico border. The targeted alien smuggling organization, a group based in Juarez, Mexico, utilizes smuggling corridors centered in the Anapra, Chihuahua / Santa Teresa, New Mexico area, employs Mexican nationals, many of whom are current and former members of various Mexico-based cartels, and is alleged to be responsible for illegally smuggling large numbers of individuals, including children, from Central America into El Paso, Texas. The criminal organization is also alleged to have kidnapped aliens seeking to enter the United States illegally and extorted their families for money before completing their smuggling journey. The enforcement operation included the execution of two arrest warrants in Mexico for alleged alien smugglers Brian Alan Torres Gonzalez and Soledad Morales Nava. Torres and Morales are Mexican citizens and will be prosecuted in Mexico in part with evidence provided by the United States. “On her first day in office, the Attorney General directed the Department of Justice to prioritize efforts to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and empowered Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA) to increase their contributions to this fight,” said Supervisory Official Antoinette T. Bacon of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Today’s action by Mexican authorities is the latest example of how JTFA provides critical contributions to marshal the investigative and prosecutorial resources of the Department, and its law enforcement partners, to target human smugglers and enhance coordination in transnational law enforcement efforts to better combat these criminal organizations.” U.S. authorities provided assistance to the Mexico Attorney General’s Office through coordination under JTFA, which, since its creation in 2021, has marshalled the investigative and prosecutorial resources of the Department of Justice, in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to enhance U.S. enforcement efforts against the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Colombia, and Panama. Attorney General Pamela Bondi has elevated JTFA to the Office of the Attorney General, to be jointly supervised by the Office of the Deputy Attorney General. The task force focuses on disrupting and dismantling smuggling and trafficking networks that abuse, exploit, and endanger migrants, pose national security threats, or are involved in organized crime. JTFA comprises detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the border, along with dedicated prosecutor support by numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, led by the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and supported by the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section; the Office of Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training; the Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section; the Office of Enforcement Operations; the Office of International Affairs; and the Violent Crime and Racketeering Section. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 350 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of human smuggling; more than 300 U.S. convictions; more than 245 defendants sentenced, including significant jail sentences imposed; and substantial seizures and forfeitures of assets and contraband including millions of dollars in cash, real property, vehicles, firearms and ammunition, and drugs. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) El Paso assisted foreign investigative efforts in the United States, working in concert with the U.S. Border Patrol. Support from ICE HSI-Mexico City was critical in providing coordination between American and Mexican law enforcement agencies. The Justice Department — including the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas in El Paso, HRSP, and the Office of the Judicial Attache in Mexico City — provided significant assistance in this matter.


title: Mexican Man Found Guilty of Illegal Reentry After Deportation

component: USAO - South Dakota

body_text: RAPID CITY - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a jury has convicted Celso Diaz-Martinez, age 52, of Mexico of Illegal Reentry After Deportation following a day-long jury trial in federal district court in Rapid City, South Dakota. The verdict was returned on February 18, 2025. The charge carries a maximum penalty of two years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, one year of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Diaz-Martinez was indicted by a federal grand jury in November 2024. Evidence at trial established that Diaz-Martinez is not a U.S. citizen and had been deported from the United States on four prior occasions. Diaz-Martinez was found in Meade County, South Dakota, in November of 2024. He had not obtained consent for re-entry into the United States from the U.S. Attorney General or the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. This case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Meade County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anna Lindrooth and Benjamin Schroeder prosecuted the case. A presentence investigation was ordered and a sentencing date has not been set. The defendant was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.


title: Lackawanna man pleads guilty to defrauding Medicaid

component: USAO - New York, Western

body_text: BUFFALO, N.Y. – Acting U.S. Attorney Joel L. Violanti announced today that Munef Fadhel, 37, of Lackawanna, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. to health care fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years, and a $250,000 fine. Assistant U.S. Attorney Franz M. Wright, who is handling the case, stated that between June 2017, and December 2020, Fadhel defrauded the Medicaid program. Fadhel was an owner of Great Lake Transportation, Inc., a transportation company that provided rides to Medicaid beneficiaries. While working at Great Lake Transportation, he knowingly submitted multiple false and fraudulent records seeking transportation reimbursement for trips. Fadhel submitted claims for shared rides which he certified as individual rides in order to claim a higher reimbursement amount. This resulted in a loss to Medicaid in excess of $95,000. The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia, and the New York State Department of Financial Services, under the direction of Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris. Sentencing is scheduled for August 19, 2025, at 10:00 a.m. before Judge Sinatra. # # # #


title: Jamestown man going to prison for his role in narcotics conspiracy

body_text: BUFFALO, N.Y. –Acting U.S. Attorney Joel L. Violanti announced today that Kyle Lewis, 33, of Jamestown, NY, who was convicted of narcotics conspiracy, was sentenced to serve 84 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua A. Violanti, who handled the case, stated that Lewis sold heroin and fentanyl, which he received from co-defendants Holly Berenguer, Richard Philbrick, and Joseph Zaso. He used electronic media to carry out his drug trafficking activities, including Facebook and CashApp. In March, June, and July of 2022, investigators conducted five controlled purchases of narcotics from Lewis. Defendants Berenguer, Philbrick, and Zaso were previously convicted and are awaiting sentencing. This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF . The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Jamestown Police Department, under the direction of Chief Timothy Jackson, the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Frank A. Tarentino III, New York Field Division, and the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff James Quattrone. # # # #


title: Rochester man pleads guilty to arson

body_text: ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Acting U.S. Attorney Joel L. Violanti announced today that Jermaine Fields, 38, of Rochester, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Charles J. Siragusa to arson, which carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum penalty of 20 years, and a $250,000 fine. Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles E. Moynihan, who is handling the case, stated that on April 17, 2024, the Rochester Fire Department received an alarm call from the Abundance Co-Op Market on South Avenue in Rochester, for a fire in the men’s bathroom. When firefighters arrived, they entered the bathroom and smelled an odor of burning rubber, but there were no flames visible. Firefighters did observe burned debris with burn patterns on the floor and on the wall behind the toilet. Law enforcement reviewed security camera footage from the store, which depicted a person later identified as Fields, walking throughout the store and entering the men’s bathroom and then exiting. The store fire alarm activated seconds later. Fields was arrested several days later and charged with arson. Fields has also admitted to starting papers on fire in one of the stairwells at the Hall of Justice on Exchange Boulevard in Rochester on April 5, 2024. The plea is the result of an investigation by the Rochester Fire Department, under the direction of Chief Stefano Napolitano, the Rochester Police Department, under the direction of Chief David Smith, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Bryan Miller, New York Field Division. Sentencing is scheduled for June 16, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. before Judge Siragusa. # # # #


title: Members of illegal alien rip crew convicted in armed robbery conspiracy

component: USAO - Texas, Southern

body_text: HOUSTON – Two Honduran brothers who had been illegally residing in Houston after numerous removals have been found guilty of conspiracy to commit armed robbery and related offenses, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. The jury deliberated for approximately five hours before convicting Edwin Olivares-Calderon, 51, and Marcos-Olivares Calderon, 42. The seven-day trial included testimony from two confidential informants and 10 law enforcement officials and approximately 100 exhibits. “With today’s guilty verdict, there are two fewer violent criminals operating in Houston, and that means a safer community for everyone” said Ganjei. “The Southern District of Texas thanks the jury for their service.” Both men were members of the Los Tumbadores rip crew, an armed robbery group of Honduran illegal aliens that focused on targeting drug traffickers, alien smugglers and illegal game room operators. The jury heard that the Olivares-Calderon brothers attempted to rob approximately 27 kilograms of cocaine between March 11, 2016, and March 21, 2016, first from a tire shop on Crosstimbers and then from a BMW that had just crossed the U.S.-Mexican border in Hidalgo. The brothers had been using a tracker to surveil a vehicle that was believed to be transporting cocaine. Law enforcement then identified that vehicle and on March 19, 2016, recovered 27 kilograms of cocaine from underneath the center console. Marco Olivares-Calderon and others later attempted to locate the vehicle they believed was loaded with drugs. Upon the arrest of Marco Olivares-Calderon, authorities discovered a loaded firearm behind the glove compartment in the dashboard of his car. The defense attempted to convince the jury there was insufficient evidence that they were at the identified locations, and if they were present, that they did not plan to engage in any criminal activity. The jury did not believe those claims. U.S. District Judge Alfred Bennett presided over trial and set sentencing for May 22. At that time, the bothers face up to 20 years for the armed robbery conspiracy. Edwin also faces up to two additional years for illegal reentry after removal, while Marcos could receive up life imprisonment and 15 years, respectively, for his convictions of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute at least five kilograms of cocaine and being an illegal alien in possession of a firearm. They will remain in custody pending that hearing. Homeland Security Investigations and the Houston Police Department conducted the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation with the assistance of Customs and Border Protection, Citizenship and Immigration Services and Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found on the Department of Justice’s OCDETF webpage . Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam Laurence Goldman and Anh-Khoa Tran prosecuted the case.


title: Statement from Justice Department Chief of Staff Chad Mizelle

component: Office of the Attorney General

body_text: “Today the Department of Justice determined that multiple layers of removal restrictions shielding administrative law judges (ALJs) are unconstitutional. Unelected and constitutionally unaccountable ALJs have exercised immense power for far too long. In accordance with Supreme Court precedent, the Department is restoring constitutional accountability so that Executive Branch officials answer to the President and to the people.”


title: Law Enforcement Seizes Range Rover and Over $4 Million in Health Care Fraud Proceeds from Miami Couple Charged with Health Care Fraud and Money Laundering Conspiracies

component: USAO - Florida, Southern

body_text: MIAMI – Magaly Travieso, 53, of Miami, Fla., was charged with conspiracy to commit health care fraud, and Yudorki Ramirez, 52, of Miami, Fla., was charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering. According to the allegations, Travieso was an advanced practitioner registered nurse and the owner of ProMed Healthcare, L.L.C., a medical clinic that purportedly provided back and shoulder braces, physical therapy, psychosocial rehabilitation, and other mental health therapy services to beneficiaries with commercial insurance, Medicare, and Medicare Advantage Plans, and to Medicaid recipients. From approximately March 2019 through at least January 2023, Travieso allegedly conspired with others to submit over $20 million in fraudulent claims for reimbursement, of which ProMed received over $10 million. Once those health care fraud proceeds were deposited into ProMed’s bank accounts, Travieso and her former spouse, Ramirez, allegedly used the fraud proceeds for their personal use and benefit. For example, allegedly, Travieso spent approximately $75,000 in proceeds on the purchase of a 2021 Land Rover Range Rover in the name of ProMed and approximately $750,000 in proceeds on the purchase of her residence in Miami, Florida. Similarly, Ramirez allegedly spent approximately $141,923.02 of proceeds on the purchase of his residence in Miami. Ramirez also allegedly transferred approximately $2,068,904.55 of health care fraud proceeds to his investment accounts. In June 2024, pursuant to seizure warrants, law enforcement seized Travieso’s Range Rover and over $4 million in health care fraud proceeds from bank accounts belonging to Travieso and Ramirez. Hayden P. O’Byrne, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Acting Special Agent in Charge Justin E. Fleck from the Federal Bureau of Investigations, Miami Field Office, Acting Special Agent in Charge Isaac Bledsoe of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Miami Regional Office and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier for the Florida Office of the Attorney General Medicaid Fraud Control Unit (MFCU) made the announcement. This case is being investigated by the FBI Miami Field Office, Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Egozi is prosecuting the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Paster is handling asset forfeiture. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov . ###


component: USAO - Florida, Middle

body_text: Tampa, FL — A Florida man was sentenced yesterday to 48 months in prison and ordered to forfeit more than $5.5 million to the United States as well as forfeit numerous real properties and cash, and to pay over $55 million in restitution for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and willful violation of a workplace standard that resulted in the death of his employee. Manual Domingos Pita, of Wesley Chapel, previously pleaded guilty to those charges on July 9, 2024. According to court documents, Pita owned and operated Domingos 54 Construction, a subcontracting business for the wood framing of new construction homes. Domingos 54 was a shell construction company that Pita used to provide workers, including undocumented aliens, with construction jobs. However, Pita failed to secure the required workers compensation insurance coverage for these employees by falsifying in worker’s compensation insurance applications the number of workers for which he sought coverage. In addition, Pita failed to pay any federal employment taxes on the wages that these workers earned during the course of the scheme between 2018 and 2022. As a result, Pita caused several worker’s compensation insurance companies to sustain a loss of over $22.7 million in premiums that they could have charged had they been aware of the number of workers which they had been manipulated into covering with their policies. In addition, Pita failed to pay to the IRS over $33.7 million in federal employment taxes on those workers’ wages. Between February and July 2019, investigators with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued six citations to Domingos 54 for failure to provide fall protection to workers. Even after being cited for these violations, Pita continued to ignore OSHA requirements. In March 2020, Pita assigned a worker and three other carpenters to install sheeting on the roof of a residential home in windy conditions without providing the required fall-protection gear or ensuring its use. As a result, one of the workers was blown off the roof and died from his injuries. “Pita’s history of OSHA violations and deception tragically led to a worker’s death,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “We are committed to upholding the rule of law by prosecuting fraud and enforcing worker safety standards.” “The defendant in this case engaged in a deliberate scheme to defraud insurance companies, the government and evade taxes, resulting in huge losses to the U.S. Treasury, and to personally enrich himself,” said Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Florida Sara C. Sweeney. “In addition, flagrant violations of OSHA safety standards put workers at unacceptable risk, ultimately resulting in the death of an employee. My office is committed to federally prosecuting and holding accountable anyone who violates these laws and regulations.” “Mr. Pita repeatedly violated the longstanding policies designed to protect the workforce which resulted in a tragic death,” said Special Agent in Charge Matthew Fodor of the FBI’s Tampa Field Office. “The FBI and its partners will aggressively pursue those who selfishly ignore the laws and policies in place to protect America's workforce.” “Not only does this type of scheme give an illegal advantage over honest competitors, it intends to allow the use of illegal, undocumented labor to achieve that advantage,” said Special Agent in Charge Ron Loecker of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Tampa Field Office. “It’s a blatant form of cheating that undercuts fair competition, costs the government millions of dollars in tax revenue, and skirts our nation’s immigration laws. This case reaffirms our unwavering commitment to prosecuting those who engage in fraud at the expense of workers, taxpayers, and law-abiding businesses.” The FBI, IRS Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, Florida Department of Financial Services’ Bureau of Insurance Fraud-Criminal Investigations and the Department of Labor’s Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jay L. Hoffer for the Middle District of Florida and Senior Trial Attorney Banumathi Rangarajan of the Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Crimes Section prosecuted the case.


title: Serial Bank Robber Sentenced to 10+ Years in Federal Prison for Robbery Committed While on Supervised Release

body_text: A serial bank robber who robbed three banks while on supervised release for a prior bank robbery conviction was sentenced Thursday to more than 10 years in federal prison, announced Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad Meacham. Taurick Demon Walker, 43, was charged via criminal complaint in August 2023 and indicted the following month. He pleaded guilty in October 2024 to bank robbery and was sentenced Thursday by U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to 105 months for the bank robbery plus 24 months for violating the conditions of his supervised release – which prohibited committing any felonies – for a total of 129 months in federal prison. According to court records, Mr. Walker was convicted of bank robbery in March 2018 and sentenced to six years in federal prison. He served his time and was released in March 2023. Just five months after his release, on Aug. 10, 2023, Mr. Walker entered a Regions Bank in Irving, passed a teller a note, and demanded “all your money now.” The teller handed over a wad of cash and Mr. Walker fled the scene. Eight days later, on Aug. 18, Mr. Walker robbed two other banks: a Truist Bank in Dallas and a Wells Fargo in Garland. On both occasions, he approached a teller and pressed a note against the glass that read “Bank Robbery 20,000.” Investigators were able to link Mr. Walker to both robberies using a network of FLOCK license plate readers. In an interview with law enforcement, a family member told police she recognized a cowboy hat worn during one of the robberies as Mr. Walker’s. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Dallas, Garland, and Irving Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Withers prosecuted the case..


title: Owner of School Equipment Company Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Fort Worth ISD

component: USAO - Texas, Northern

body_text: The owner of a company that distributed school swag pleaded guilty to defrauding the Fort Worth Independent School District, announced Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad Meacham. Virenkumar Patel, the 33-year-old owner of VR Group Promotions, was indicted in January. He pleaded guilty Wednesday to three counts of wire fraud. According to court documents, Mr. Patel admits that in the spring of 2021, the principal of a Fort Worth ISD high school told Mr. Patel she needed to purchase planners, notepads, and flash drives for the school. Knowing that the district required principals to obtain three quotes before agreeing to purchase such items, Mr. Patel fabricated to quotes from competitors, along with a quote from VR Group Promotions, which quoted the lowest price. Mr. Patel hand-delivered the quotes to the principal, who selected VR Group’s $18,287 quote. In the winter of 2022, the principal of another Fort Worth ISD high school told Mr. Patel he needed to purchase flash drives. Mr. Patel again fabricated two competitor quotes, along with a quote from VR Group Promotions, which quoted the lowest price. The principal selected VR Group’s $5,250 quote. In spring 2023, the principal of the first high school again contacted Mr. Patel, and told him that she needed to purchase headphones, wireless charges, and power banks for the school. Once again, Mr. Patel fabricated competitor quotes, and once again, the principal selected VR Group Promotion’s $9,245 bid. Mr. Patel now faces up to 30 years in federal prison per count. His sentencing hearing has been set for June 6, 2025. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney P.J. Meitl is prosecuting the case.


title: Mexican National with 12 Prior Occasions of Illegal Reentry into the United States and Three Prior Federal Convictions is Sentenced to Serve Four Years in Federal Prison

component: USAO - Oklahoma, Western

body_text: OKLAHOMA CITY – GERONIMO ESTRADA-VILLA , 46, a Mexican citizen, has been sentenced to serve 48 months in federal prison for illegally entering the United States after deportation, announced U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester. According to public record, on October 5, 2024, a police officer with the Oklahoma City Police Department conducted a traffic stop of Estrada-Villa, the driver of the vehicle. Estrada-Villa did not possess a valid driver’s license and had an active state felony warrant. Public records reflect the warrant stemmed from Estrada-Villa allegedly violating the terms and conditions of a deferred sentence for possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and possession of drug paraphernalia in Oklahoma County District Court Case CF-2004-3202. The officer arrested Estrada-Villa and booked him in Oklahoma County jail, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers later took him into custody and determined that he was a Mexican citizen. On October 15, 2024, a federal Grand Jury returned an Indictment against Estrada-Villa, charging him with reentry of a removed alien. On November 19, 2024, Estrada-Villa pleaded guilty to the charge before U.S. District Court Judge Jodi W. Dishman. At the sentencing hearing on February 20, 2025, Judge Dishman sentenced Estrada-Villa to serve 48 months in federal prison. In announcing her sentence, the court noted the nature and circumstances of the offense, Estrada-Villa’s criminal history, and the need to deter him from illegally reentering the U.S. On at least 12 prior occasions, Estrada-Villa had illegally entered the U.S., voluntarily agreeing return to Mexico on seven of those occasions and being formally deported on five of those occasions. Judge Dishman also noted Estrada-Villa’s three prior convictions in federal court for illegal reentry into the U.S., which had resulted in federal prison sentences of 27 months, 37 months, and 40 months. This case is the result of an investigation by U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brandon Hale prosecuted the case. Reference is made to public filings for additional information.


title: Grand Island Man Sentenced to Over 4 Years for Distribution of Methamphetamine

component: USAO - Nebraska

body_text: Acting United States Attorney Matthew Molsen announced that Jose Luis Deleon, 65, of Grand Island, Nebraska, was sentenced on February 13, 2025, in federal court in Lincoln, Nebraska for two counts of distribution of methamphetamine. United States District Judge Susan M. Bazis sentenced Deleon to a total of 57 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Deleon’s release from prison, he will begin a 3-year term of supervised release. On or about May 12, 2014, a Confidential Informant (“CI”) working with the Central Nebraska Drug and Safe Streets Task Force arranged to purchase one ounce of meth for $1,100 in Grand Island. The CI and Deleon met at a location, where the CI gave the money to Deleon in exchange for 23 grams of actual meth. On or about May 22, 2014, the same CI from the buy on May 12, arranged to purchase another one-ounce quantity of meth for $1,100 from Deleon. The CI and Deleon met at a location, where the CI gave the money to Deleon in exchange for another 23 grams of actual meth. Deleon was originally set for an entry of plea in July of 2015. He failed to appear for that hearing and did not appear again, until he was arrested in Houston, Texas in June of 2024. This case was investigated by the Central Nebraska Drug and Safe Streets Task Force.


title: Grand Jury for the District of Nebraska

body_text: Acting United States Attorney Matthew Molsen announced the federal Grand Jury for the District of Nebraska has returned 33 unsealed Indictments charging 35 defendants. Indictments are charging documents that contain one or more individual counts that are merely accusations, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. Jacob Smith , age 33, of Lincoln, Nebraska, is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I charges Smith with distribution of child pornography beginning at least on or about August 10, 2024, and continuing to on or about January 15, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 5 years’ and up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 5 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment. Count II charges Smith with possession of child pornography on or about January 17, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 5 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment. Jordan Vaughn , age 34, of Scribner, Nebraska, is charged in a three-count Indictment. Count I charges Vaughn with production of child pornography between on or about November 1, 2019, and February 4, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 15 years’ and up to 30 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 5 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment. Count II charges Vaughn with possession of child pornography on or about February 4, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 5 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment. Count III charges Vaughn with transfer of obscene materials to a minor. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not more than 3 years, and a $100 special assessment. Cody Williams , age 31, of Lincoln, Nebraska, is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm on or about October 2, 2024. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 15 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not more than 3 years, and a $100 special assessment. Dustin Garcia Santiago , age 29, of Lincoln, Nebraska, and Isabelle Ruth Engel, age 25, of Lincoln, Nebraska, are charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I charges Garcia Santiago with marriage fraud on about or between March 23, 2020, and March 30, 2020. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not more than 3 years, and a $100 special assessment. Count II charges Engel with aiding and abetting marriage fraud on about or between March 23, 2020, and March 30, 2020. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not more than 3 years, and a $100 special assessment. Darrell Damme , age 52, of York, Nebraska, and Jason Wainwright , age 36, of Seward, Nebraska, are charged in a three-count Indictment. Count I charges Damme and Wainwright with conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine beginning on or about September 10, 2024, and continuing to on or about October 21, 2024. The maximum possible penalty for Damme, if convicted is not less than 10 years’ and up to life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 5 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment. The maximum possible penalty for Wainwright, if convicted on count I, is not less than 15 years’ and up to life imprisonment, a $20,000,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 10 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment, based on his prior criminal history. Count II charges Wainwright with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on or about October 18, 2024. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 15 years’ and up to life imprisonment, a $20,000,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 10 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment. Count III charges Damme with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on or about October 21, 2024. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 10 years’ and up to life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 5 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment. Sherman R. Wade , age 44, of Lincoln, Nebraska, is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I charges Wade with bank robbery on or about July 3, 2024. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 10 years’ and up to life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 5-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Count II charges Wade with use of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence on or about July 3, 2024. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 25 years’ and up to life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 5-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Adrian Gonzalez , age 22, of River, Nebraska, is charged in a one-count Indictment with possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine on or about September 9, 2024. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 10 years’ and up to life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 5 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment. Tyler Foreman , age 22, of Honey Creek, Iowa, is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I charges Foreman with possession with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of methamphetamine on or about September 10, 2024. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 5 years’ and up to 40 years’ imprisonment, a $5,000,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 4 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment. Count II charges Foreman with distribution of methamphetamine resulting in death on or about September 10, 2024. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 20 years’ and up to life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 3 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment. Julius Leon Ditto , age 38, of Omaha, Nebraska, is charged in a two-count Indictment. Count I charges Ditto with possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl on or about October 25, 2024. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is not less than 10 years’ and up to life imprisonment, a $10,000,000 fine, a term of supervised release of not less than 5 years and up to life, and a $100 special assessment. Count II charges Ditto with assaulting, resisting, or impeding an officer on or about October 25, 2024. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 8 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Donald Isaiah Riley, age 47, of Omaha, Nebraska, is charged in a one-count Indictment with being a felon in possession of a firearm on or about January 27, 2025. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 15 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. Justin R. Anderson , age 40, of Omaha, Nebraska, is charged in a one-count Indictment with using a false document on or about November 6, 2021. The maximum possible penalty if convicted is up to 5 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. The following individuals were charged with being an alien, who previously had been excluded, deported and removed from the United States and were found in the United States, without the Attorney General of the United States or her designated successor having expressly consented to the defendant’s reapplication for admission into the United States: Enrique Mendez Lopez, age 44 Julio Adrian Hernandez-Rodriguez , age 24 Carlos Narciso-Mendoza , age 37 Victor Reynoso-Perez , age 37 Manuel Zacarias-De La Cruz , age 28 Agustin Valenzo-Villanueva , age 36 Juan Chajal Ramos , age 41 Nicolas Bartolo Ramirez , age 38 Pascual Marcos Bernabe-Bernabe , age 27 Hector Antonio Rodriguez Menjivar , age 46 Luis Toscano-Perez , age 37 Marvel Anibal Pineda-Erazo , age 37 Jonatan Reyes-Ramirez , age 23 Hugo Lopez Jimenez , age 42 Orlando Caal-Cal , age 37 Carlos Manuel Castro-Cuin , age 34 Jose Gerardo Ibanez-Avila , age 34 The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 2 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a one-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. The following individuals were charged with being an alien, who previously had been excluded, deported and removed from the United States after a felony conviction and were found in the United States, without the Attorney General of the United States or her designated successor having expressly consented to the defendant’s reapplication for admission into the United States: Luis Rigoberto Medrano-Ramirez , age 45 Nelson Reina Lopez , age 32 The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 10 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment. The following individuals were charged with being an alien, who previously had been excluded, deported and removed from the United States following an aggravated felony conviction and were found in the United States, without the Attorney General of the United States or her designated successor having expressly consented to the defendant’s reapplication for admission into the United States: Roberto Ortiz-Gomez , age 53 Melvin Javier Avila-Erazo , age 37 Edwin Jose Melendez-Lopez , age 44 The maximum possible penalty if convicted is 20 years’ imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, a 3-year term of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment.


title: Honolulu Man Sentenced to 151 Months in Prison for Child Exploitation of Multiple Minors

component: USAO - Hawaii

body_text: HONOLULU – Acting United States Attorney Kenneth M. Sorenson announced that Jonathan Farr, 31, of Honolulu, was sentenced today in federal court by U.S. District Judge Shanlyn A.S. Park to 151 months of imprisonment followed by 30 years of supervised release for receipt of child pornography. Farr will also be required to pay $3,000 in restitution to two minor victims and register as a sex offender when he is released. Farr previously pled guilty on February 14, 2024. In his plea agreement, Farr admitted that from approximately June 2019 through May 2020, he used the internet to contact two minor females and engaged in sexually explicit conversations with them. Farr also solicited and received images and videos of the minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including masturbation videos. In Court at sentencing, the government explained that Farr not only groomed the minors over time and solicited sexually explicit images and videos, `but also distributed those videos to others, including to other minors. Farr also discussed purchasing flights for the minors to travel to Hawaii or for him travel to the mainland where they were located. According to information provided to the Court, Farr’s predatory conduct included additional victims beyond the two minors who were victimized as part of the federal charges. Farr admitted to law enforcement and told other minor victims that he had hands-on sexual contact with at least three minor females and another minor, all located in Hawaii. 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 U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc . This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Violent Crimes Against Children Section. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rebecca A. Perlmutter prosecuted the case.


title: Nearly Two Dozen Trinitarios Gang Members Charged with RICO Conspiracy; State Leader Charged with Four Murders

body_text: BOSTON – Federal charges were unsealed today against two dozen leaders, members and associates of the Trinitarios gang – a violent transnational criminal organization. Twenty-two individuals have been charged with federal offenses, including racketeering conspiracy in connection with six murders and 11 attempted murders. Two individuals, who were juveniles at the time of the alleged criminal offenses, have been charged by the Essex County District Attorney’s Office with murder. The charges unsealed today are the result of a multijurisdictional investigation that began in the aftermath of four murders as well as a series of attempted murders and shootings that took place in Lynn, Mass. in 2023, allegedly committed by the Trinitarios criminal enterprise. According to court documents , Chapters of the Trinitarios were identified in in Lawrence, Lynn, Boston and Haverhill, Mass. Trinitarios members in these cities allegedly undertake efforts to dominate their communities by intimidating rival gangs and establishing control over certain neighborhoods. It is further alleged that the Trinitarios do not hesitate to utilize violence, including murder, in furtherance of the organization’s goals and purposes. According to the charging document, these gang rivalries develop through personal enmity and disrespect between members of the rival gangs, competition over drug territory and customers as well as violent acts (such as robberies, shootings and murders) that have been committed by the gangs against each other in the past. It is alleged that these rivalries have become deadly and multiple murders have been committed by Trinitarios gang members. Specifically, the investigation allegedly identified that the Massachusetts Trinitarios have committed at least 10 homicides in Essex County over the past decade and are believed to be responsible for numerous attempted murders, shootings, kidnappings and robberies. Sixteen members of the Trinitarios criminal enterprise in Massachusetts have been charged with six of these murders – two of which took place in Lawrence in 2017 and two double murders in Lynn in 2023. The remaining four homicides are being prosecuted by the Essex District Attorney’s Office. According to the charging documents, the Trinitarios are a hierarchical criminal organization, with positions that are known to exist at the state and local chapter level, whose members adhere to a code of conduct. Enmanuel Paula-Cabral, a/k/a, “Nelfew,” a/k/a “Gordo,” “Manny,” allegedly serves as the State Supreme of the Trinitarios for Massachusetts, responsible for the entirety of the gang’s criminal activities, coordination with other state leaders and communication with leadership of the Trinitarios in the Dominican Republic. Paula-Cabral is also allegedly responsible for the Trinitarios Chapter operating in Manchester, N.H. as well the Trinitarios located in Maine, where the gang operates a lucrative drug-trade. Below the Supreme is a position referred to as the “Flag” or “Segundo,” which in Massachusetts is allegedly held by Ery Jordani Rosario, a/k/a “Racacha.” Additionally, each individual Chapter allegedly has a “Cabinet” of leaders who are responsible for recruiting new members, providing discipline to members in violation of Trinitarios directives and collecting money into a communal account used to support illegal operations as well as incarcerated Trinitarios members and their families. It is alleged that the Trinitarios employ a written “Magna Carta” that defines the structure and rules of the organization, as well as slogans, symbols, colors and practices. This includes a green logo that consists of two crossed machetes and embellishments of “The Green Nation” and “Trinitarios Hasta La Muerte,” which translated from Spanish means, “Trinitarios Until Death.” It is alleged that the Massachusetts Trinitarios have particularly embraced this logo and have created custom t-shirts bearing this logo and each member’s gang name printed in green. The Massachusetts Trinitarios allegedly recruit new members among communities of legal immigrants and illegal aliens from the Dominican Republic – specifically juveniles in local high schools in Lawrence and Lynn. To curry favor with these new recruits, the Trinitarios allegedly appeal to their shared Spanish language and culture, Dominican patriotism and use the appearance of prosperity and brotherhood. It is further alleged that members are generally initiated into the gang after a period of observation or probation and are often inducted following the completion of a “mission” – which is generally a substantial act of violence such as shootings, beatings, or fist fights with rival gang members that were the same age or stature. According to the court documents, upon induction, new members are formally “blessed” into the organization during a formal ceremony, are administered oaths by the State Supreme and are awarded with ceremonial beaded necklaces. Younger members are allegedly tasked with lesser roles during many violent “missions,” including standing lookout during a shooting, holding or concealing weapons on behalf of full members and transporting weapons after their use in shootings. According to the charging documents, the Trinitarios endeavor to project power over the internet and social media through. Specifically, the Trinitarios allegedly produce music and music videos featuring members in Trinitarios colors and clothing holding weapons, cash and other items, as well as lyrics that boast about violence, drugs and other criminal endeavors as warnings and threats to other rival gangs. “As the court papers make clear, for well over a decade, Trinitarios gang members have engaged in brazen acts of murder, assault, and drug distribution — instilling fear in the communities of Lynn and Lawrence in particular. Today’s law enforcement operation has struck a significant blow against the leadership of the Trinitarios operating in Massachusetts — virtually dismantling an organization responsible for years of bloodshed, drug trafficking, and lawlessness,” said United States Attorney Leah B. Foley. “This enforcement action ends the Trinitarios reign of terror in Massachusetts. Today, our communities are safer with the removal of these alleged violent offenders from our streets, and where appropriate, from our country. This operation is a testament to the tireless collaboration among the dedicated members of our federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. Such shameless and senseless acts of violence have no place anywhere; especially not in any city in Massachusetts. If you threaten the safety of our residents, we will find you, we will hold you accountable, and we will ensure that justice is served.” “Today the message should be loud and clear: transnational criminal organizations and foreign-born malign actors committing violent acts in our communities will never have refuge in the United States. We are working every day with our state, local, and federal partners to tackle transnational crime from all angles with all of the resources available to us to make our streets safer,” said Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations in New England. “This operation is another example of how the FBI and our law enforcement partners work together to dismantle large-scale, violent transnational criminal organizations that cause chaos and death in our communities. We believe those arrested today – leaders, members, and close associates of the Trinitarios - have allegedly shown a reckless indifference to human life in order to control their turf, push their poison, and make money. There is no question our streets are safer because of this takedown,” said Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division. “The FBI’s North Shore Gang Task Force will continue to work on the public’s behalf to lock up these dangerous offenders who shatter folks’ sense of security and quality of life.” “Gang violence, as well as illegal gun and drug trafficking, have no place in the Commonwealth,” said Massachusetts State Police Colonel Geoff Noble. “Operations like this show the Massachusetts State Police is committed to working alongside our law enforcement partners to find those responsible for these crimes, arrest them, and pursue justice. Getting these criminals off the street makes Massachusetts a safer place to live.” “This investigation and the results represent the best of law enforcement partnerships. The residents of Essex County are safer today with the dismantling of this violent criminal enterprise,” said Essex County District Attorney Paul F. Tucker. “Today's operation marks the culmination of an extensive investigation, demonstrating the strength of our collaborative efforts to combat gangs and violent criminal activity. These significant arrests will undoubtedly prevent further harm to our community. I want to express my deepest gratitude to our officers and our State and Federal law enforcement partners, the Essex County District Attorney’s Office and the Office of the United States Attorney for Massachusetts for their relentless pursuit of justice and for their commitment to making our city safer,” said Lynn Police Chief Christopher P. Reddy. “I commend the successful collaboration with the U.S. Attorney’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations,” says Manchester (N.H.) Police Chief Peter Marr. “By arresting multiple gang members involved in violent criminal activities throughout the region, we are reinforcing the commitment to making our community safer.” The charge of conspiracy to conduct enterprise affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity (also known as “racketeering conspiracy” or “RICO conspiracy”) provides for a sentence of up to life in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of conspiracy to interfere with commerce by robbery (Hobbs Act conspiracy) provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case. U.S. Attorney Foley, HSI SAC Krol, FBI SAC Cohen, MSP Colonel Noble, Essex DA Tucker, Chief Reddy and Chief Marr made the announcement. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Hampshire; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; and the Andover, Boston, Lawrence, Peabody and Salem Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip A. Mallard of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit is prosecuting the case. ### APPENDIX DEFENDANTS – U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE First Name Last Name Street Name(s) Age Role Charge Justin Alba Tuto; Mimi 25 Discipline (“Disciplina”) - Lynn Chapter RICO Conspiracy with Murder Darwin Batista El Py 21 Member - Lynn Chapter RICO Conspiracy with Murder Janoy Batista El Viejo 34 Member - Lynn Chapter RICO Conspiracy Aaron Diaz Liranzo Sosa 26 Leader #1 - Lynn Chapter RICO Conspiracy Luis Enrique Santana Chiquito; Young LS 30 Member - Lynn Chapter RICO Conspiracy David Garcia Bambino 23 Member - Lynn Chapter RICO Conspiracy with Murder Israel Garcia Vasquez Menol; Menor 23 Member - Lynn Chapter RICO Conspiracy Luis Jeffrey Santana Sopita 27 Primera Number One - Manchester Chapter RICO Conspiracy James Jimenez 25 Member - Lynn Chapter RICO Conspiracy with Murder Ery Jordani Rosario Jordani; Racacha 32 Second-in-Command (“Flag;” “Seundo”) RICO Conspiracy Westyn Lantigua Wes; Muddy; Wes Trippy 24 Member - Lynn Chapter RICO Conspiracy Michael Miliano Trucho 22 Member - Lynn Chapter RICO Conspiracy with Murder Enmanuel Paula-Cabral Nelfew; Gordo; Manny; Few 33 State Supreme Leader RICO Conspiracy with Murder Carlos Javier Ramirez Cornielle Kreepy 16 Menore (juvenile) RICO with Murder Kelvin Liranzo Roman Woopty 25 Member - Lynn Chapter RICO Conspiracy with Murder Warly Ruiz 30 Member - Lynn Chapter RICO Conspiracy with Murder Tomy Sanchez Tejeda Manito Bello 35 Leader #3 - Lynn Chapter RICO Conspiracy with Murder Angel Santos Biggie; Big Boy 25 Security Officer (“Securidad”) RICO Conspiracy with Murder Abel Severino Reyes Riko; Indio 21 Member - Lynn Chapter RICO Conspiracy with Murder Elvis Trujillo Honduras 27 Member - Lawrence Chapter RICO Conspiracy with Murder Yeferson Vallecillo Cambar Illuminati 23 Member - Lynn Chapter RICO Conspiracy with Murder Wilving Lopez Bolu 24 Member - Lynn Chapter RICO Conspiracy DEFENDANTS – ESSEX COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE First Name Last Name Street Name(s) Age Role Charge Leonardo Espinoza Pinina 15 Menore (juvenile) Murder Robert Severino Petete 25 Member - Lawrence Chapter Murder DEFENDANTS – U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE (PREVIOUSLY UNSEALED CHARGES) First Name Last Name Street Name(s) Age Role Charge Eric Rosario Maniactico; MT 26 Member - Lawrence Chapter Hobbs Act Robbery Robert Santana Piccarine 29 Member - Lawrence Chapter Hobbs Act Robbery Rosnel Polanco Jai 26 Member - Lawrence Chapter Hobbs Act Robbery Ricardo Bratini-Perez Rico from the Sin 26 Member - Lynn Chapter Drug Offenses