Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)
WASHINGTON – Trevon Timothy Vines, 30, of Washington, D.C., has been indicted on a federal gun charge in the latest case to be federally adopted as part of the “Make D.C. Safe Again” initiative.
The indictment was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin Jr., Sean T. Ryan, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).
Vines was indicted on one count of Unlawful Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition by a Person Convicted of a Crime Punishable by Imprisonment for a Term Exceeding One Year.
According to court documents, on March 15, 2025, officers with the Metropolitan Police Department conducted a traffic stop in the vicinity of 1820 7th Street NW after observing a traffic infraction. It is alleged that during the course of the stop, officers observed several open containers of alcohol and requested that all occupants exit the vehicle.
It is alleged that one of the occupants, defendant Vines, was seated in the front passenger seat and holding a cup consistent with the others observed. As officers attempted to place Vines in handcuffs, they felt what they immediately recognized to be a handgun on his person in a front left jacket pocket. Vines then began physically resisting, grabbing one officer’s vest and attempting to move him while repeatedly reaching for the weapon forcibly.
Officers eventually recovered the firearm and discovered that it had been reported stolen from a gun dealer in White Plains, Maryland.
An investigation revealed that Vines is a convicted felon with multiple prior convictions. At the time of the incident, Vines was prohibited from possessing a firearm or ammunition under federal and D.C. law. He did not have a license to carry or own a firearm in the District of Columbia.
This case is being investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office, ATF Baltimore Field Office, and the Metropolitan Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Emory V. Cole.
This case is part of Make D.C. Safe Again, a public safety initiative led by U.S. Attorney Martin that is surging resources to reduce violent crime in the District of Columbia. This initiative was created to address gun violence in the District, prioritize federal firearms violations, pursue tougher penalties for offenders, and seek detention for federal firearms violators.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that Cristian Javier Vente Ocoro (39, Colombia), a/k/a “Shrek,” “Happy,” and “Teletubis,” has pleaded guilty to conspiring to traffic cocaine on vessels subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. Vente Ocoro faces a maximum penalty of life in federal prison. He was arrested in Colombia in September 2023 at the request of the United States and extradited to the United States a year later. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
According to the plea agreement, Vente Ocoro was part of an organization that smuggled cocaine from South America to Central America and Mexico, a substantial portion of which passed through points of entry on the United States/Mexico border. Vente Ocoro handled the organization, logistics, and planning of smuggling ventures, as well as recruited and paid crewmembers. As part of the investigation, investigators associated Vente Ocoro with two failed smuggling ventures – the first on June 25, 2019, that involved 1,090 kilograms of cocaine; the second on July 31, 2019, that involved 2,125 kilograms of cocaine.
This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi- jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.
The specific mission of the OCDETF Panama Express Strike Force is to disrupt and dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations involved in large scale drug trafficking, money laundering, and related activities. The OCDETF Panama Express Strike Force is comprised of agents and officers from the Coast Guard Investigative Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations. The Colombian National Police provided critical investigative support. The Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs and the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Office of Judicial Attaché in Bogotá, Colombia provided significant assistance in securing the arrest and extradition of the defendant. The prosecution is being led by the Office of the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Dan Baeza.
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) joined the National Security Agency (NSA) and other government and international partners to release a joint Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) that warns organizations, internet service providers (ISPs), and cybersecurity service providers about fast flux enabled malicious activities that consistently evade detection. The CSA also provides recommended actions to defend against fast flux.
An ongoing threat, fast flux networks create resilient adversary infrastructure used to evade tracking and blocking. Such infrastructure can be used for cyberattacks such as phishing, command and control of botnets, and data exfiltration. This advisory provides several techniques that should be implemented for a multi-layered security approach including DNS and internet protocol (IP) blocking and sinkholing; enhanced monitoring and logging; phishing awareness and training for users; and reputational filtering.
”Threat actors leveraging fast flux techniques remain a threat to government and critical infrastructure organizations. Fast flux makes individual computers in a botnet harder to find and block. A useful solution is to find and block the behavior of fast flux itself,” said CISA Deputy Executive Assistant Director for Cybersecurity Matt Hartman. “CISA is pleased to join with our government and international partners to provide this important guidance on mitigating and blocking malicious fast flux activity. We encourage organizations to implement the advisory recommendations to reduce risk and strengthen resilience.”
The authoring agencies encourage ISPs, cybersecurity service providers and Protective Domain Name System (PDNS) providers to help mitigate this threat by taking proactive steps to develop accurate and reliable fast flux detection analytics and block fast flux activities for their customers.
Additional co-sealers for this joint CSA are Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD’s ACSC), Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS), and New Zealand National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-NZ).
As the nation’s cyber defense agency and national coordinator for critical infrastructure security, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency leads the national effort to understand, manage, and reduce risk to the digital and physical infrastructure Americans rely on every hour of every day.
Many networks have a gap in their defenses for detecting and blocking a malicious technique known as “fast flux.” This technique poses a significant threat to national security, enabling malicious cyber actors to consistently evade detection. Malicious cyber actors, including cybercriminals and nation-state actors, use fast flux to obfuscate the locations of malicious servers by rapidly changing Domain Name System (DNS) records. Additionally, they can create resilient, highly available command and control (C2) infrastructure, concealing their subsequent malicious operations. This resilient and fast changing infrastructure makes tracking and blocking malicious activities that use fast flux more difficult.
The National Security Agency (NSA), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD’s ACSC), Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS), and New Zealand National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-NZ) are releasing this joint cybersecurity advisory (CSA) to warn organizations, Internet service providers (ISPs), and cybersecurity service providers of the ongoing threat of fast flux enabled malicious activities as a defensive gap in many networks. This advisory is meant to encourage service providers, especially Protective DNS (PDNS) providers, to help mitigate this threat by taking proactive steps to develop accurate, reliable, and timely fast flux detection analytics and blocking capabilities for their customers. This CSA also provides guidance on detecting and mitigating elements of malicious fast flux by adopting a multi-layered approach that combines DNS analysis, network monitoring, and threat intelligence.
The authoring agencies recommend all stakeholders—government and providers—collaborate to develop and implement scalable solutions to close this ongoing gap in network defenses against malicious fast flux activity.
When malicious cyber actors compromise devices and networks, the malware they use needs to “call home” to send status updates and receive further instructions. To decrease the risk of detection by network defenders, malicious cyber actors use dynamic resolution techniques, such as fast flux, so their communications are less likely to be detected as malicious and blocked.
Fast flux refers to a domain-based technique that is characterized by rapidly changing the DNS records (e.g., IP addresses) associated with a single domain [T1568.001].
Single and double flux
Malicious cyber actors use two common variants of fast flux to perform operations:
1. Single flux: A single domain name is linked to numerous IP addresses, which are frequently rotated in DNS responses. This setup ensures that if one IP address is blocked or taken down, the domain remains accessible through the other IP addresses. See Figure 1 as an example to illustrate this technique.
Figure 1: Single flux technique.
Note: This behavior can also be used for legitimate purposes for performance reasons in dynamic hosting environments, such as in content delivery networks and load balancers.
2. Double flux: In addition to rapidly changing the IP addresses as in single flux, the DNS name servers responsible for resolving the domain also change frequently. This provides an additional layer of redundancy and anonymity for malicious domains. Double flux techniques have been observed using both Name Server (NS) and Canonical Name (CNAME) DNS records. See Figure 2 as an example to illustrate this technique.
Figure 2: Double flux technique.
Both techniques leverage a large number of compromised hosts, usually as a botnet from across the Internet that acts as proxies or relay points, making it difficult for network defenders to identify the malicious traffic and block or perform legal enforcement takedowns of the malicious infrastructure. Numerous malicious cyber actors have been reported using the fast flux technique to hide C2 channels and remain operational. Examples include:
Bulletproof hosting (BPH) services offer Internet hosting that disregards or evades law enforcement requests and abuse notices. These providers host malicious content and activities while providing anonymity for malicious cyber actors. Some BPH companies also provide fast flux services, which help malicious cyber actors maintain connectivity and improve the reliability of their malicious infrastructure. [1]
Fast flux has been used in Hive and Nefilim ransomware attacks. [3], [4]
Gamaredon uses fast flux to limit the effectiveness of IP blocking. [5], [6], [7]
The key advantages of fast flux networks for malicious cyber actors include:
Increased resilience. As a fast flux network rapidly rotates through botnet devices, it is difficult for law enforcement or abuse notifications to process the changes quickly and disrupt their services.
Render IP blocking ineffective. The rapid turnover of IP addresses renders IP blocking irrelevant since each IP address is no longer in use by the time it is blocked. This allows criminals to maintain resilient operations.
Anonymity. Investigators face challenges in tracing malicious content back to the source through fast flux networks. This is because malicious cyber actors’ C2 botnets are constantly changing the associated IP addresses throughout the investigation.
Additional malicious uses
Fast flux is not only used for maintaining C2 communications, it also can play a significant role in phishing campaigns to make social engineering websites harder to block or take down. Phishing is often the first step in a larger and more complex cyber compromise. Phishing is typically used to trick victims into revealing sensitive information (such as login passwords, credit card numbers, and personal data), but can also be used to distribute malware or exploit system vulnerabilities. Similarly, fast flux is used for maintaining high availability for cybercriminal forums and marketplaces, making them resilient against law enforcement takedown efforts.
Some BPH providers promote fast flux as a service differentiator that increases the effectiveness of their clients’ malicious activities. For example, one BPH provider posted on a dark web forum that it protects clients from being added to Spamhaus blocklists by easily enabling the fast flux capability through the service management panel (See Figure 3). A customer just needs to add a “dummy server interface,” which redirects incoming queries to the host server automatically. By doing so, only the dummy server interfaces are reported for abuse and added to the Spamhaus blocklist, while the servers of the BPH customers remain “clean” and unblocked.
Figure 3: Example dark web fast flux advertisement.
The BPH provider further explained that numerous malicious activities beyond C2, including botnet managers, fake shops, credential stealers, viruses, spam mailers, and others, could use fast flux to avoid identification and blocking.
As another example, a BPH provider that offers fast flux as a service advertised that it automatically updates name servers to prevent the blocking of customer domains. Additionally, this provider further promoted its use of separate pools of IP addresses for each customer, offering globally dispersed domain registrations for increased reliability.
Detection techniques
The authoring agencies recommend that ISPs and cybersecurity service providers, especially PDNS providers, implement a multi-layered approach, in coordination with customers, using the following techniques to aid in detecting fast flux activity [CISA CPG 3.A]. However, quickly detecting malicious fast flux activity and differentiating it from legitimate activity remains an ongoing challenge to developing accurate, reliable, and timely fast flux detection analytics.
1. Leverage threat intelligence feeds and reputation services to identify known fast flux domains and associated IP addresses, such as in boundary firewalls, DNS resolvers, and/or SIEM solutions.
2. Implement anomaly detection systems for DNS query logs to identify domains exhibiting high entropy or IP diversity in DNS responses and frequent IP address rotations. Fast flux domains will frequently cycle though tens or hundreds of IP addresses per day.
3. Analyze the time-to-live (TTL) values in DNS records. Fast flux domains often have unusually low TTL values. A typical fast flux domain may change its IP address every 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Review DNS resolution for inconsistent geolocation. Malicious domains associated with fast flux typically generate high volumes of traffic with inconsistent IP-geolocation information.
5. Use flow data to identify large-scale communications with numerous different IP addresses over short periods.
6. Develop fast flux detection algorithms to identify anomalous traffic patterns that deviate from usual network DNS behavior.
7. Monitor for signs of phishing activities, such as suspicious emails, websites, or links, and correlate these with fast flux activity. Fast flux may be used to rapidly spread phishing campaigns and to keep phishing websites online despite blocking attempts.
8. Implement customer transparency and share information about detected fast flux activity, ensuring to alert customers promptly after confirmed presence of malicious activity.
Mitigations
All organizations
To defend against fast flux, government and critical infrastructure organizations should coordinate with their Internet service providers, cybersecurity service providers, and/or their Protective DNS services to implement the following mitigations utilizing accurate, reliable, and timely fast flux detection analytics.
Note: Some legitimate activity, such as common content delivery network (CDN) behaviors, may look like malicious fast flux activity. Protective DNS services, service providers, and network defenders should make reasonable efforts, such as allowlisting expected CDN services, to avoid blocking or impeding legitimate content.
1. DNS and IP blocking and sinkholing of malicious fast flux domains and IP addresses
Block access to domains identified as using fast flux through non-routable DNS responses or firewall rules.
Consider sinkholing the malicious domains, redirecting traffic from those domains to a controlled server to capture and analyze the traffic, helping to identify compromised hosts within the network.
Block IP addresses known to be associated with malicious fast flux networks.
2. Reputational filtering of fast flux enabled malicious activity
Block traffic to and from domains or IP addresses with poor reputations, especially ones identified as participating in malicious fast flux activity.
3. Enhanced monitoring and logging
Increase logging and monitoring of DNS traffic and network communications to identify new or ongoing fast flux activities.
Implement automated alerting mechanisms to respond swiftly to detected fast flux patterns.
Share detected fast flux indicators (e.g., domains, IP addresses) with trusted partners and threat intelligence communities to enhance collective defense efforts. Examples of indicator sharing initiatives include CISA’s Automated Indicator Sharing or sector-based Information Sharing and Analysis Centers (ISACs) and ASD’s Cyber Threat Intelligence Sharing Platform (CTIS) in Australia.
Participate in public and private information-sharing programs to stay informed about emerging fast flux tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs). Regular collaboration is particularly important because most malicious activity by these domains occurs within just a few days of their initial use; therefore, early discovery and information sharing by the cybersecurity community is crucial to minimizing such malicious activity. [8]
5. Phishing awareness and training
Implement employee awareness and training programs to help personnel identify and respond appropriately to phishing attempts.
Develop policies and procedures to manage and contain phishing incidents, particularly those facilitated by fast flux networks.
The authoring agencies encourage organizations to use cybersecurity and PDNS services that detect and block fast flux. By leveraging providers that detect fast flux and implement capabilities for DNS and IP blocking, sinkholing, reputational filtering, enhanced monitoring, logging, and collaborative defense of malicious fast flux domains and IP addresses, organizations can mitigate many risks associated with fast flux and maintain a more secure environment.
However, some PDNS providers may not detect and block malicious fast flux activities. Organizations should not assume that their PDNS providers block malicious fast flux activity automatically and should contact their PDNS providers to validate coverage of this specific cyber threat.
For more information on PDNS services, see the 2021 joint cybersecurity information sheet from NSA and CISA about Selecting a Protective DNS Service. [9] In addition, NSA offers no-cost cybersecurity services to Defense Industrial Base (DIB) companies, including a PDNS service. For more information, see NSA’s DIB Cybersecurity Services and factsheet. CISA also offers a Protective DNS service for federal civilian executive branch (FCEB) agencies. See CISA’s Protective Domain Name System Resolver page and factsheet for more information.
Conclusion
Fast flux represents a persistent threat to network security, leveraging rapidly changing infrastructure to obfuscate malicious activity. By implementing robust detection and mitigation strategies, organizations can significantly reduce their risk of compromise by fast flux-enabled threats.
The authoring agencies strongly recommend organizations engage their cybersecurity providers on developing a multi-layered approach to detect and mitigate malicious fast flux operations. Utilizing services that detect and block fast flux enabled malicious cyber activity can significantly bolster an organization’s cyber defenses.
The information and opinions contained in this document are provided “as is” and without any warranties or guarantees. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government, and this guidance shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes.
Purpose
This document was developed in furtherance of the authoring cybersecurity agencies’ missions, including their responsibilities to identify and disseminate threats, and develop and issue cybersecurity specifications and mitigations. This information may be shared broadly to reach all appropriate stakeholders.
Contact
National Security Agency (NSA):
Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA):
All organizations should report incidents and anomalous activity to CISA via the agency’s Incident Reporting System, its 24/7 Operations Center at report@cisa.gov, or by calling 1-844-Say-CISA (1-844-729-2472). When available, please include the following information regarding the incident: date, time, and location of the incident; type of activity; number of people affected; type of equipment user for the activity; the name of the submitting company or organization; and a designated point of contact.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI):
To report suspicious or criminal activity related to information found in this advisory, contact your local FBI field office or the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). When available, please include the following information regarding the incident: date, time, and location of the incident; type of activity; number of people affected; type of equipment used for the activity; the name of the submitting company or organization; and a designated point of contact.
Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre (ASD’s ACSC):
For inquiries, visit ASD’s website at www.cyber.gov.au or call the Australian Cyber Security Hotline at 1300 CYBER1 (1300 292 371).
Canadian Centre for Cyber Security (CCCS):
New Zealand National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC-NZ):
The English-language track will be distributed on major global streaming platforms including Spotify, Apple Music, and Audiomack, targeting both African and international audiences. According to industry analysts, the release aligns with growing market interest in content addressing historical narratives from an African perspective.
The single explores the economic and social impacts of colonialism on the continent while highlighting the resilience of African communities. The track features a fusion of traditional Guinean rhythms with contemporary production techniques, establishing a commercial appeal while maintaining cultural authenticity.
“This song examines our shared history while looking toward economic justice and development,” Kamano said in a statement. “I wanted to create art that not only entertains but stimulates meaningful discussion about Africa’s place in the global economic system.”
The release coincides with the African Union’s 2025 theme, “Justice for Africans and People of African Descent Through Reparations,” which has generated significant policy discussions across the continent.
Kamano, whose previous releases have accumulated over 12 million streams globally, drew inspiration for the single from historical documentation in The New York Times regarding the 1944 Thiaroye massacre in Senegal, where West African soldiers were killed by colonial troops after World War II.
“Thiaroye can become the foundation of a pan-African consciousness, uniting all African countries that lost citizens in this tragedy,” said Mamadou Diop, Senegalese historian and Director of African Studies at Columbia University, regarding the historical events that influenced the composition.
On March 21, 2025, pan-African representatives and civil society organizations convened in Dakar to examine potential frameworks for addressing historical economic imbalances. The summit produced a detailed report outlining specific economic metrics and proposed accountability mechanisms.
CAJ News Africa’s decision to host the single’s presentation reflects the media company’s strategic expansion into cultural content with historical and economic significance, according to industry observers. The agency has recently increased investment in multimedia platforms by 35% compared to fiscal year 2024.
“We’re facilitating conversations that connect cultural expression with economic discourse,” said Savious Kwinika, Director of Research at CAJ Africa. “This presentation allows us to highlight how creative industries can contextualize complex historical narratives within contemporary market frameworks.”
Financial analysts note that the global market for content exploring historical African narratives has grown 28% annually since 2023, with particularly strong performance in streaming and digital distribution channels.
The presentation will include a panel discussion featuring economists and cultural analysts examining how artistic expression intersects with ongoing policy dialogues regarding economic development and international relations. The track will be available for purchase and streaming on all major platforms at 00:01 GMT on April 5, 2025.
About CAJ News Africa
CAJ News Africa is a leading pan-African media agency providing business, technology, and cultural news across the continent. Established in 2008, the agency operates bureaus in 18 African countries and maintains strategic partnerships with global media organizations.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Quigley (IL-05)
Democratic Leaders, Members of Senate, House Appropriations Subcommittees Overseeing Foreign Assistance and International Broadcasting Programs Demand Legal Compliance
U.S. Repreesentative Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) signed a letter led by U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), Ranking Member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations, and U.S. Representative Lois Frankel (D-Fla.), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on National Security and Department of State, United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) Acting CEO Victor Morales and Special Advisor Kari Lake to rescind the Trump administration’s illegal actions to dismantle the agency, terminate grants for several government-funded outlets worldwide, and place Voice of America and other federal staff on administrative leave. the letter was signed by Democratic members of the their respective committees including U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Chris Coons (D-Del.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), as well as U.S. Representatives Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) and Norma Torres (D-Calif.).
“Congress reaffirmed its commitment to your agency, its mission, and its personnel by funding the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) at $866.9 million in the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extension Act, 2025, and expects that each of the entities will continue their unique mission of broadcasting content to audiences around the world,” the lawmakers wrote. “Your decisions to terminate the grants to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia (RFA) (in addition to withholding funds for the BenarNews service), Middle East Broadcasting Networks, and Open Technology Fund; place on administrative leave Voice of America (VOA), Office of Cuba Broadcasting, Technology, Services, and Innovation, and other federal staff; cancel hundreds of contracts; and pull transmissions from the air violate several provisions in the appropriations bill.”
The lawmakers continued, “These actions are not just illegal and wasteful, they run counter to our interests. America’s authoritarian adversaries are investing billions in state-backed media, targeting the same countries USAGM entities reach. With an audience of 427 million people speaking more than 60 languages, USAGM networks are a trusted and reliable source of information in the face of state censorship, including in the People’s Republic of China, Iran, Russia, North Korea, Cuba, and Afghanistan, and across Eastern Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia. The technology developed by the Open Technology Fund and used across grantees will leave users who are dependent on their tools to circumvent censorship stranded. Once America loses the trust of these audiences, it will be difficult to get it back.”
“We respectfully request that you rescind the actions you have taken to date and refrain from any further downsizing or terminations, and that you ensure you are in compliance with your legal requirements, including to consult and notify Congress of any proposed changes and to meet congressional spending directives,” the lawmakers concluded.
The full text of the letter is below andavailable here.
Dear Acting CEO Morales and Ms. Lake:
You are at the helm of an agency with a critical mission to increase freedom of expression, circumvent censorship, and deliver objective, accurate, and relevant information to hundreds of millions of people worldwide. This mission directly supports U.S. national security and foreign policy interests.
Given its importance, we write to express our concerns with the decisions you have made in response to the March 14, 2025 Executive Order titled “Executive Order on Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy.”
Congress reaffirmed its commitment to your agency, its mission, and its personnel by funding the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) at $866.9 million in the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extension Act, 2025, and expects that each of the entities will continue their unique mission of broadcasting content to audiences around the world. Your decisions to terminate the grants to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia (RFA) (in addition to withholding funds for the BenarNews service), Middle East Broadcasting Networks, and Open Technology Fund; place on administrative leave Voice of America (VOA), Office of Cuba Broadcasting, Technology, Services, and Innovation, and other federal staff; cancel hundreds of contracts; and pull transmissions from the air violate several provisions in the appropriations bill. This includes sections 7015 and 7063, and the provisions under the United States Agency for Global Media heading, of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2024, as carried forward by the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extension Act, 2025.
Additionally, the actions you have taken to significantly downsize the agency, including termination of the new building lease and closeout costs, will cost the U.S. taxpayer hundreds of millions of dollars.
These actions are not just illegal and wasteful, they run counter to our interests. America’s authoritarian adversaries are investing billions in state-backed media, targeting the same countries USAGM entities reach. With an audience of 427 million people speaking more than 60 languages, USAGM networks are a trusted and reliable source of information in the face of state censorship, including in the People’s Republic of China, Iran, Russia, North Korea, Cuba, and Afghanistan, and across Eastern Europe, Africa, and Southeast Asia. The technology developed by the Open Technology Fund and used across grantees will leave users who are dependent on their tools to circumvent censorship stranded. Once America loses the trust of these audiences, it will be difficult to get it back.
In 2020, when then-USAGM CEO Michael Pack instituted mass firings, then-Senator Rubio led a bipartisan effort to have such actions reversed. In the letter, Senator Rubio and colleagues stated:
“We are at a critical moment in history where malign actors including Russia, China, and Iran, are using advanced tools and technology to undermine global democratic norms, spreading disinformation, and severely restricting their own free press to hamper access to independent news for their citizens. As these and other authoritarian regimes further crack down domestically, their citizens turn to outside media as their only trustworthy source of unbiased, accurate news.”
This is no less true today.
We are equally troubled that these actions put staff across all of those entities, who have faithfully served the interests of the U.S. government, at risk if they are forced to return to authoritarian countries where they may be subject to harassment, persecution, or arbitrary arrest. The agency appears to have no plan in place to address these risks. Already, 1,300 VOA staff and 75 percent of RFA U.S.-based staff have been put on leave.
We respectfully request that you rescind the actions you have taken to date and refrain from any further downsizing or terminations, and that you ensure you are in compliance with your legal requirements, including to consult and notify Congress of any proposed changes and to meet congressional spending directives. We request that you respond to this letter no later than April 4, 2025 confirming your intent to do so.
Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley
WASHINGTON – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) is following up on his oversight of the U.S. Center for SafeSport’s vetting and hiring practices. The organization previously hired an investigator, Jason Krasley, who was later charged with theft, harassment and sex crimes.
“Congress established SafeSport to protect young athletes from abuse and act as a good steward of taxpayer dollars. The arrest of a former investigator and my subsequent oversight has called into question the quality of SafeSport’s hiring process, the Board’s ability to supervise SafeSport officers and directors, and SafeSport’s management of funds,” Grassley said. “American athletes and taxpayers deserve better.”
In letters to SafeSport’s CEO, Ju’Riese Colón, and Board of Directors, Grassley notes:
SafeSport was aware of a previous internal investigation into Krasley prior to hiring him and kept him on payroll for two months after learning of the criminal allegations against him.
SafeSport intentionally withheld pertinent evidence from law enforcement.
Florida court found SafeSport “perpetrated a fraud” against a Florida State Court and “filtered” and withheld evidence from law enforcement regarding a sexual abuse claim.
SafeSport in 2023 spent $2.4 million on legal contractors, including over $1.2 million on a single Denver-based tort law firm. It’s unclear what type of work these firms handled on behalf of SafeSport.
SafeSport in 2023 spent $390,000 on travel, paid 11 executives between $111,000 and $350,000 each, and spent nearly $408,000 on the CEO’s salary – $100,000 more than the highest end of average nonprofit CEO salaries.
Read Grassley’s letter to the SafeSport CEO HERE and his letter to the SafeSport Board of Directors HERE.
Background:
Grassley’s bipartisan legislation established SafeSport in 2017 to investigate cases of athlete sex abuse and harassment in Olympic governing bodies.
Grassley was the first in history to convene a congressional hearing on athlete protections as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2017. He also spearheaded oversight of the U.S. Olympic Committee, the FBI’s failed response to the Larry Nassar abuse scandal and the failures of SafeSport and USA Gymnastics to effectively safeguard athletes.
Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Don Bacon (2nd District of Nebraska)
Bacon and Cuellar Introduce Bipartisan Law Enforcement Officers Safety Reform Act (LEOSA)
Offers Real Solutions to Terrorism and Mass Shootings
Washington – Recently, Reps. Don Bacon (R-NE-02) and Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28) introduced H.R.2243, The Law Enforcement Officers Safety Reform Act (LEOSA). The bipartisan LEOSA Reform Act will improve public safety by allowing qualified law enforcement officers who have committed themselves to our communities the opportunity to continue doing so by extending their concealed carry privileges. The legislation removes existing prohibitions and will allow trained professionals to respond quickly to emergencies, should they happen to be in public places such as shopping malls, school zones, mass transit, etc. During the 118th Congress, the LEOSA Reform Act was passed by the House of Representatives in a 221-185 vote.
“The bipartisan LEOSA Reform Act offers real solutions to address threats such as terrorism and mass shootings by ensuring that our retired and off-duty law enforcement officers can exercise their right to concealed carry – no matter where they live or visit,” said Rep. Bacon. “These measured changes will make existing law stronger and more workable for those who seek its benefits while maintaining the rigorous standards that currently apply. I want to thank Rep. Henry Cuellar for his support of this important legislation.”
“Many of our retired law enforcement officers are ready to continue serving our community but are unable to due to current law,” said Rep. Cuellar. “This bipartisan legislation will fix the issues that our nation’s off-duty officers and retired cops face while concealed carrying. I remain steadfast in my support for the men and woman who put their lives on the line every day to protect our homes, neighborhoods, businesses and communities.”
Locally, the sheriffs of the three counties for Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District and other law enforcement agencies support the legislation: Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson, Sarpy County Sheriff Greg London, Saunders County Sheriff Chris Lichtenberg, Omaha Police Association President Patrick Dempsey, and Nebraska State FOP President Anthony Connor.
The bill also was endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), the Federal Law Enforcement Officers Association (FLEOA), The Air Marshal Association, the FBI Agents Association (FBIAA), International Union of Police Associations, Major Cities Chiefs Association, National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO), Association of State Criminal Investigative Agencies, Major County Sheriffs of America, National Narcotics Officers’ Associations’ Coalition, Society of Former Special Agents of the FBI, and Sergeants Benevolent Association NYPD.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A Palmer man was sentenced today to three years’ probation and is required to pay a $10,000 fine for operating an aircraft without a license and operating an unregistered aircraft.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, for roughly 30 years, William Marsan, 57, held an Airman Certificate as an Airline Transport Pilot issued by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). He operated an aviation business out of Palmer, Alaska, transporting services, goods and people across Alaska on his Piper Cherokee aircraft.
In June 2023, the FAA received a report that Marsan, as the pilot in command of the Piper Cherokee aircraft, failed to radio his intention to take off from Warren “Bud” Woods Palmer Municipal Airport and operated the aircraft against the flow of landing traffic, resulting in a near mid-air collision with another aircraft attempting to land.
Law enforcement investigated the June 2023 incident and discovered that Marsan was operating an aircraft without a valid license or valid registration. The investigation revealed that in June 2022, Marsan sent a letter to the FAA revoking the registration of his aircraft. Investigators also discovered that Marsan allowed his medical certificate to lapse in 2020 and 2021, which was required to keep his pilot’s license.
When FAA inspectors contacted him in July 2023 as part of the investigation, Marsan refused to provide his airman certificate, aircraft registration and airworthiness certificates, all of which are requirements through the FAA, and claimed he was not required to have any of those documents. As a result of the investigation, the FAA issued an Emergency Order of Revocation of Marsan’s pilot’s license in January 2024, which required the immediate surrender of his pilot’s license or the filing of an appeal of the decision within 10 days. Marsan failed to file an appeal or surrender his license but continued to fly his aircraft until his initial arrest in July 2024.
Marsan was released pending trial. He failed to appear for multiple court hearings prior to his trial and he was rearrested in September 2024. On Dec. 4, 2024, Marsan was convicted of one count of operating an aircraft without a license and one count of operating an unregistered aircraft.
“Alaska’s aviation industry is a vital part of our infrastructure, safely connecting people and goods across the state. Mr. Marsan’s actions—operating an unregistered aircraft without a license and nearly causing a mid-air collision—put lives at risk,” said U.S. Attorney Michael J. Heyman for the District of Alaska. “To prevent further violations and protect communities, Mr. Marsan will serve a significant term of probation under the relevant statutes and pay a fine for the money he made at the risk of others.”
“Marsan’s flagrant disregard for aviation regulations put countless lives at risk and undermined the integrity of Alaska’s airspace,” said Special Agent in Charge Rebecca Day of the FBI Anchorage Field Office. “Such reckless, criminal behavior will not be tolerated by the FBI and aviation authorities.”
The FBI Anchorage Field Office and FAA, Alaska Region investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tom Bradley and Mac Caille Petursson prosecuted the case.
NEW YORK, April 02, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Monteverde & Associates PC (the “M&A Class Action Firm”), has recovered millions of dollars for shareholders and is recognized as a Top 50 Firm in the 2024 ISS Securities Class Action Services Report. We are headquartered at the Empire State Building in New York City and are investigating:
Paragon 28, Inc. (NYSE:FNA), relating to the proposed merger with Zimmer Biomet Holdings, Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, Zimmer Biomet will acquire all outstanding shares of Paragon 28 common stock for $13.00 per share. Paragon 28 shareholders will also receive a non-tradeable contingent value right entitling holders to receive up to $1.00 per share in cash if certain revenue milestones are achieved.
ACT NOW. The Shareholder Vote is scheduled for April 16, 2025.
Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc. (NASDAQ:BECN), relating to the proposed merger with QXO, Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, Beacon shareholders will receive $124.35 per share in cash.
ACT NOW. The Tender Offer expires on April 14, 2025.
Quanterix Corporation (NASDAQ:QTRX), relating to the proposed merger with Akoya Biosciences. Under the terms of the agreement, Akoya shareholders will receive 0.318 shares of Quanterix common stock for each share of Akoya common stock owned. Quanterix shareholders will own approximately 70% of the combined company.
Playa Hotels & Resorts N.V. (NASDAQ:PLYA), relating to the proposed merger with Hyatt Hotels Corporation. Under the terms of the agreement, Hyatt will acquire all outstanding shares of Playa for $13.50 per share in cash.
ACT NOW. The Tender Offer expires on April 25, 2025.
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Attorney Advertising. (C) 2025 Monteverde & Associates PC. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Monteverde & Associates PC (www.monteverdelaw.com). Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.
WASHINGTON – The Justice Department today announced that it will surge FBI assets across the country to address unresolved violent crimes in Indian Country, including crimes relating to missing and murdered indigenous persons.
FBI will send 60 personnel, rotating in 90-day temporary duty assignments over a six-month period. This operation is the longest and most intense national deployment of FBI resources to address Indian Country crime to date. FBI personnel will support field offices in Albuquerque; Denver; Detroit; Jackson, Miss.; Minneapolis; Oklahoma City; Phoenix; Portland, Oreg.; Seattle; and Salt Lake City. The FBI will work in partnership with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Tribal law enforcement agencies across jurisdictions.
FBI personnel will be assisted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs Missing and Murdered Unit, and they will use the latest forensic evidence processing tools to solve cases and hold perpetrators accountable. U.S. Attorney’s Offices will aggressively prosecute case referrals.
“Crime rates in American Indian and Alaska Native communities are unacceptably high. By surging FBI resources and collaborating closely with US Attorneys and Tribal law enforcement to prosecute cases, the Department of Justice will help deliver the accountability
that these communities deserve,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi.
“The FBI will manhunt violent criminals on all lands – and Operation Not Forgotten ensures a surge in resources to locate violent offenders on tribal lands and find those who have gone missing,” said FBI Director Kash Patel.
Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Washington Teal Luthy Miller added that “investigating and prosecuting crimes in Indian Country in collaboration with our tribal partners is critical to our shared mission of addressing public safety in our communities. We welcome the opportunity for continued collaboration as we seek justice on behalf of victims of violent crime.”
Indian Country faces persistent levels of crime and victimization. At the beginning of Fiscal Year 2025, FBI’s Indian Country program had approximately 4,300 open investigations, including over 900 death investigations, 1,000 child abuse investigations, and more than 500 domestic violence and adult sexual abuse investigations.
Operation Not Forgotten renews efforts begun during President Trump’s first term under E.O. 13898, Establishing the Task Force on Missing and Murdered American Indians and Alaska Natives. This is the third deployment under Operation Not Forgotten, which has provided investigative support to over 500 cases in the past two years. Combined, these operations resulted in the recovery of 10 child victims, 52 arrests, and 25 indictments or judicial complaints.
Operation Not Forgotten also expands upon the resources deployed in recent years to address cases of missing and murdered indigenous people. The effort will be supported by the Department’s MMIP Regional Outreach Program, which places attorneys and coordinators in
U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the United States to help prevent and respond to cases of missing or murdered indigenous people.
Baltimore, Maryland – Today, U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman sentenced Stephen L. Snyder, 77, of Baltimore, Maryland, to three years of probation with six months of home confinement, for one count of attempted extortion and seven counts of the Travel Act. A federal jury found Snyder guilty back on November 22, 2024, after a nine-day trial.
Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. 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.
According to the evidence at trial, Snyder, a plaintiffs medical malpractice attorney in the Baltimore area, represented two medical malpractice claimants who allegedly experienced injury following organ transplants at the University of Maryland Medical Center (UMMC). From January 2018 through September 2018, Snyder attempted to extort the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) by threatening to “destroy” the UMMC transplant department unless UMMS paid him $25 million personally and separate from any settlement with his client.
Specifically, Snyder threatened to launch a public-relations campaign that would falsely accuse UMMC of tricking unsophisticated patients into accepting diseased organs. He claimed that he would run a front-page ad in The Baltimore Sun, hold a press conference, and create an internet advertisement directing anyone searching for the UMMC transplant program to his law firm’s website. Snyder also threatened to create commercials conveying his false message and accusing UMMC of putting “profits over safety.” Snyder played these commercials during meetings with attorneys representing UMMS. Snyder claimed that the parties could enter into a sham consulting agreement that would provide cover for the $25 million payment.
Snyder made his extortionate demands and threats over a series of meetings and phone calls with attorneys for UMMS in 2018. One of those meetings, which occurred on August 23, 2018, was recorded by Federal law enforcement using hidden video cameras.
U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew P. Phelps and Evelyn L. Cusson who prosecuted the federal case.
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Sullivan, Mo., man who was arrested in southwest Missouri with 16.8 pounds of methamphetamine and 4.7 pounds of fentanyl has been indicted by a federal grand jury for possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl.
Tyler Kittrell, 38, was charged in a two-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Springfield, Mo. Today’s indictment replaces a criminal complaint that was filed against Kittrell on Feb. 24, 2025.
According to an affidavit filed in support of the original criminal complaint, Kittrell was stopped on Interstate 44 by Joplin, Mo., police officers on Feb. 14, 2025. When officers searched his vehicle, they found $13,120 in cash and multiple packages containing methamphetamine and fentanyl. Officers seized approximately 7,658 grams of methamphetamine and 2,142 grams of fentanyl from inside the vehicle.
The charges contained in this indictment are simply accusations, and not evidence of guilt. Evidence supporting the charges must be presented to a federal trial jury, whose duty is to determine guilt or innocence.
This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Hannah R. Lucas. It was investigated by the Joplin, Mo., Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
A federal jury convicted a Louisiana chiropractor yesterday for his role in health care fraud and unemployment insurance fraud schemes totaling millions of dollars.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Dr. Benjamin Tekippe, 40, of New Orleans, was a chiropractor and owner of Metairie Chiropractic & Rehab in New Orleans. Tekippe solicited patients with insurance from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana (BCBSLA) at schools, public events, and on social media to receive chiropractic massages, which he misleadingly advertised as “free.” Tekippe would then routinely bill BCBSLA for chiropractic services he did not perform. In total, Tekippe fraudulently submitted over $2.3 million in claims to BCBSLA for services not performed and was reimbursed approximately $740,000 by the insurance provider. The fraudulent claims sought payment for thousands of chiropractic services purportedly provided by Tekippe during periods when he was out of the office, traveling on vacation, or incarcerated for past arrests. The evidence also showed that in response to a medical records request from a BCBSLA auditor, Tekippe fabricated patient records and instructed his staff to write them in their own handwriting to make it falsely appear that the services had been performed as billed. Evidence at trial showed that Tekippe spent the fraud proceeds on, among other things, luxury goods and gambling.
In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tekippe submitted weekly certifications falsely claiming that he was unemployed when he was billing for chiropractic services purportedly performed during his claimed unemployment. Through this scheme, Tekippe received $12,952 in unemployment insurance benefits to which he was not entitled.
Tekippe was convicted of six counts of health care fraud and one count of wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 17 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the wire fraud count and 10 years in prison on each health care fraud count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson for the Eastern District of Louisiana; Acting Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Tapp of the FBI New Orleans Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Jason Meadows of the Department of Health and Human Service Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Dallas Region, Baton Rouge Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Kelly Z. Walters and Samantha Usher of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of 9 strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
Last night, a high-ranking leader of La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13, was arrested in New York for his alleged role in a conspiracy responsible for 11 murders.
Joel Vargas-Escobar, also known as Momia, was indicted the District of Nevada and charged with racketeering conspiracy that involved 11 murders. Vargas-Escobar is also charged with two counts of murder-in-aid of racketeering and associated firearms charges. Vargas-Escobar – who previously had been deported to El Salvador and illegally re-entered the United States – had been a fugitive from justice for nearly four years.
“The American people are safer following the arrest of yet another MS-13 leader thanks to the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and Joint Task Force Vulcan,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This terrorist entered our country illegally and is accused of orchestrating 11 murders — under President Trump’s leadership, we will not rest until this terrorist organization is completely dismantled and its members are behind bars.”
“The arrest of yet another violent and dangerous MS-13 leader is a major win for our FBI agents, law enforcement partners, and safer American streets,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Our agents and analysts are continuously coordinating across multiple field offices and investigating with our valued partners to keep this work going — and we will not stop until that work is done.”
According to court documents, MS-13 is a national and transnational gang composed largely of individuals of Salvadoran or other Central American descent. MS-13 has more than 10,000 members regularly conducting gang activities in at least 10 states and Washington, D.C., with thousands more conducting gang activities in Central America and Mexico. MS-13 operates through the use of intimidation and violence, including murder, and enriching members and associates through criminal activities, including breaking into houses and stealing firearms, jewelry, cash, and other items of value, and selling narcotics. MS-13 is organized by subsets known as “cliques,” and each clique typically has one or more leaders, commonly referred to as “shot callers.”
Vargas-Escobar and his co-defendants are allegedly part of MS-13’s command and control structure in Las Vegas and California and exercised significant leadership roles in the organization’s operations. The indictment charges members of the “Parkview” clique of MS-13 with committing 11 murders over about a year in Nevada and California. According to the indictment, many of the victims were allegedly kidnapped by MS-13 members and taken to remote locations in the mountains and desert where they were tortured and killed.
Vargas-Escobar was the alleged leader of the Parkview clique of MS-13 in Las Vegas and personally ordered two of the charged murders. He was deported to El Salvador in 2018 but illegally re-entered the country.
The arrest operation was coordinated by the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division in Washington, D.C., with support from the FBI’s Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and New York field offices, the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section (VCRS), the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada, and Joint Task Force Vulcan (JTFV).
JTFV, which was created in 2019 to destroy MS-13 and now expanded to target Tren de Aragua, is comprised of U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, including the Southern District of New York; the Eastern District of New York; the District of New Jersey; the Northern District of Ohio; the District of Utah; the District of Massachusetts; the Eastern District of Texas; the Southern District of Florida; the Eastern District of Virginia; the Southern District of California; the District of Nevada; the District of Alaska; the Southern District of Texas; and the District of Columbia, as well as the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and the Criminal Division. Additionally, the FBI; DEA; HSI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; and the Federal Bureau of Prisons have been essential law enforcement partners with JTFV.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America and an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Vargas-Escobar appeared this morning for his initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge James M. Wicks of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York – Central Islip. He was ordered detained and will be transferred to the District of Nevada for trial. If convicted, Vargas-Escobar faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Christopher Taylor and Justin Bish from the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melanee Smith and Steven Rose for the District of Nevada, with substantial assistance from Joint Task Force Vulcan Deputy Director Jeremy Franker, as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Last night, a high-ranking leader of La Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13, was arrested in New York for his alleged role in a conspiracy responsible for 11 murders.
Joel Vargas-Escobar, also known as Momia, was indicted the District of Nevada and charged with racketeering conspiracy that involved 11 murders. Vargas-Escobar is also charged with two counts of murder-in-aid of racketeering and associated firearms charges. Vargas-Escobar – who previously had been deported to El Salvador and illegally re-entered the United States – had been a fugitive from justice for nearly four years.
“The American people are safer following the arrest of yet another MS-13 leader thanks to the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division and Joint Task Force Vulcan,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This terrorist entered our country illegally and is accused of orchestrating 11 murders — under President Trump’s leadership, we will not rest until this terrorist organization is completely dismantled and its members are behind bars.”
“The arrest of yet another violent and dangerous MS-13 leader is a major win for our FBI agents, law enforcement partners, and safer American streets,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “Our agents and analysts are continuously coordinating across multiple field offices and investigating with our valued partners to keep this work going — and we will not stop until that work is done.”
According to court documents, MS-13 is a national and transnational gang composed largely of individuals of Salvadoran or other Central American descent. MS-13 has more than 10,000 members regularly conducting gang activities in at least 10 states and Washington, D.C., with thousands more conducting gang activities in Central America and Mexico. MS-13 operates through the use of intimidation and violence, including murder, and enriching members and associates through criminal activities, including breaking into houses and stealing firearms, jewelry, cash, and other items of value, and selling narcotics. MS-13 is organized by subsets known as “cliques,” and each clique typically has one or more leaders, commonly referred to as “shot callers.”
Vargas-Escobar and his co-defendants are allegedly part of MS-13’s command and control structure in Las Vegas and California and exercised significant leadership roles in the organization’s operations. The indictment charges members of the “Parkview” clique of MS-13 with committing 11 murders over about a year in Nevada and California. According to the indictment, many of the victims were allegedly kidnapped by MS-13 members and taken to remote locations in the mountains and desert where they were tortured and killed.
Vargas-Escobar was the alleged leader of the Parkview clique of MS-13 in Las Vegas and personally ordered two of the charged murders. He was deported to El Salvador in 2018 but illegally re-entered the country.
The arrest operation was coordinated by the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division in Washington, D.C., with support from the FBI’s Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and New York field offices, the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section (VCRS), the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada, and Joint Task Force Vulcan (JTFV).
JTFV, which was created in 2019 to destroy MS-13 and now expanded to target Tren de Aragua, is comprised of U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, including the Southern District of New York; the Eastern District of New York; the District of New Jersey; the Northern District of Ohio; the District of Utah; the District of Massachusetts; the Eastern District of Texas; the Southern District of Florida; the Eastern District of Virginia; the Southern District of California; the District of Nevada; the District of Alaska; the Southern District of Texas; and the District of Columbia, as well as the Department of Justice’s National Security Division and the Criminal Division. Additionally, the FBI; DEA; HSI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the U.S. Marshals Service; and the Federal Bureau of Prisons have been essential law enforcement partners with JTFV.
This case is part of Operation Take Back America and an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. Operation Take Back America is a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Vargas-Escobar appeared this morning for his initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge James M. Wicks of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York – Central Islip. He was ordered detained and will be transferred to the District of Nevada for trial. If convicted, Vargas-Escobar faces a mandatory sentence of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Christopher Taylor and Justin Bish from the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melanee Smith and Steven Rose for the District of Nevada, with substantial assistance from Joint Task Force Vulcan Deputy Director Jeremy Franker, as well as the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California.
An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Defendant and Co-Conspirator Both Sentenced to Prison for Conspiring to Send Controlled Aircraft Components to Russia
Oleg Sergeyevhich Patsulya, a Russian national, was sentenced today to 70 months, or nearly six years, in prison for his role in a conspiracy to export controlled aviation technology to Russia and to launder money in connection with the illegal export scheme. In December 2024, Patsulya’s co-conspirator, Russian national Vasilii Sergeyevich Besedin, was sentenced to two years in prison for his role in the scheme.
In April 2024, Patsulya, 46, of Miami-Dade County, Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to export items from the United States without a license in violation of the Export Control Reform Act and conspiracy to commit international money laundering. At today’s sentencing hearing, U.S. District Court Judge Dominic W. Lanza for the District of Arizona. found that Patsulya was an organizer and leader of the conspiracy and that the money laundering scheme – which employed numerous shell companies, offshore accounts, and multi-layered transactions – was sophisticated in nature, which led to the application of sentencing enhancements.
In handing down Patsulya’s 70-month sentence, Judge Lanza emphasized the seriousness of the offense, Patsulya’s leadership role in planning and carrying it out, and the fact that Patsulya committed these crimes not long after being granted the privilege of a visa to enter the United States. “It’s hard to imagine a bigger betrayal of the United States than what you did,” Judge Lanza said. The proceedings also established that Patsulya currently lacks legal status to be present in the United States.
According to court documents, beginning in or about May 2022, Patsulya and Besedin conspired with each other and several others to obtain orders for various aircraft parts and components from Russian buyers – primarily commercial airline companies – and then fulfill those requests by acquiring the parts from the U.S. suppliers and unlawfully exporting the parts to Russia. The defendants admitted to knowing the items were controlled and required a license from the Department of Commerce to export.
As part of the scheme, the defendants conspired to export multiple shipments of a carbon disc brake system used on Boeing 737 aircraft. When they contacted various U.S. suppliers in efforts to obtain the brake system, Besedin and Patsulya provided false information that the parts were intended for countries other than Russia. The United States was able to detain, prior to export, multiple shipments made by the defendants containing units of the brake assembly technology.
As part of their guilty pleas, Besedin and Patsulya admitted that they attempted to conceal the illegal exports and avoid detection by law enforcement, including by making false representations about the identities of their true customers and using straw buyer-companies located overseas to obscure the origin of revenue. For example, on Sept. 8, 2022, Besedin and Patsulya traveled to Arizona to close a deal with a U.S. company, in which the defendants sought to purchase units of the brake assembly technology. During their discussions with the company, the defendants misrepresented that the aircraft parts were going to be exported to Turkey, when they were in fact destined for Russia. The defendants made false statements to the company both orally and in signed export compliance forms. In connection with this transaction, the defendants received money from a Russian airline company to make the purchase. The funds were transferred to Patsulya’s American bank account from a Turkish bank account that had previously received the money from Russia.
In total, throughout the conspiracy, American bank accounts associated with MIC P&I LLC, Patsulya’s company, received at least $4,582,288.51 sent from Russian airline companies through Turkish bank accounts to purchase aircraft parts and components intended for unlawful export. As part of his plea and sentence, Patsulya is required to forfeit assets, including a luxury car and personal boat, in the amount of $4,582,288.51.
Sue Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine for the District of Arizona, Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division, and Special Agent in Charge Richard Fitzpatrick of the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) Phoenix Field Office made the announcement.
The BIS Phoenix Field Office and the FBI Phoenix Field Office investigated the case, with valuable assistance provided by the BIS Boston Field Office, the FBI Miami Field Office, Homeland Security Investigations Phoenix Field Office, Customs and Border Protection-Phoenix Field Office, and the U.S. Marshals Office in Miami.
Trial Attorney Christopher M. Rigali of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney William G. Voit for the District of Arizona prosecuted the case.
This case was coordinated through the Disruptive Technology Strike Force, an interagency law enforcement strike force co-led by the Departments of Justice and Commerce designed to target illicit actors, protect supply chains, and prevent critical technology from being acquired by authoritarian regimes and hostile nation-states. The Strike Force leverages tools and authorities across the U.S. government to enhance the criminal and administrative enforcement of export control laws.
A federal jury convicted a Louisiana chiropractor yesterday for his role in health care fraud and unemployment insurance fraud schemes totaling millions of dollars.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Dr. Benjamin Tekippe, 40, of New Orleans, was a chiropractor and owner of Metairie Chiropractic & Rehab in New Orleans. Tekippe solicited patients with insurance from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana (BCBSLA) at schools, public events, and on social media to receive chiropractic massages, which he misleadingly advertised as “free.” Tekippe would then routinely bill BCBSLA for chiropractic services he did not perform. In total, Tekippe fraudulently submitted over $2.3 million in claims to BCBSLA for services not performed and was reimbursed approximately $740,000 by the insurance provider. The fraudulent claims sought payment for thousands of chiropractic services purportedly provided by Tekippe during periods when he was out of the office, traveling on vacation, or incarcerated for past arrests. The evidence also showed that in response to a medical records request from a BCBSLA auditor, Tekippe fabricated patient records and instructed his staff to write them in their own handwriting to make it falsely appear that the services had been performed as billed. Evidence at trial showed that Tekippe spent the fraud proceeds on, among other things, luxury goods and gambling.
In addition, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Tekippe submitted weekly certifications falsely claiming that he was unemployed when he was billing for chiropractic services purportedly performed during his claimed unemployment. Through this scheme, Tekippe received $12,952 in unemployment insurance benefits to which he was not entitled.
Tekippe was convicted of six counts of health care fraud and one count of wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on July 17 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the wire fraud count and 10 years in prison on each health care fraud count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson for the Eastern District of Louisiana; Acting Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Tapp of the FBI New Orleans Field Office; and Special Agent in Charge Jason Meadows of the Department of Health and Human Service Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Dallas Region, Baton Rouge Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Kelly Z. Walters and Samantha Usher of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of 9 strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
A Minnesota man was sentenced yesterday to 21 years and 10 months in prison for possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) found in his apartment and for using the dark web to advertise and distribute CSAM images and videos.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Craig James Myran, 47, of Bemidji, was an active participant on a website only accessible through the dark web that was dedicated to discussing and trafficking CSAM. For years, he used an account with a unique username to make over a thousand posts in which he shared images of CSAM. In at least one post, Myran requested specific files of known CSAM from other users that he disturbingly referred to as his “holy grail.” In another post, he advertised over 100 images depicting the sadomasochistic sexual abuse of two prepubescent minors. On Dec. 8, 2022, FBI special agents executed a search warrant on Myran’s apartment in Bemidji, where they found a cell phone and numerous hard drives that contained evidence that he used the dark web to advertise, publish, and solicit CSAM. Agents also found thousands of other CSAM images.
According to the government’s sentencing memorandum, Myran’s sexual exploitation of minors was not limited to his activity on just one particular dark-web site. He was simultaneously an active participant on multiple other dark-web sites dedicated to trafficking in CSAM, and he previously made posts on the dark web about producing his own CSAM by screen-recording minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct during online webcam interactions. On Nov. 20, 2024, a federal jury convicted Myran on two counts of advertising child pornography, one count of distributing child pornography, and one count of possessing child pornography.
Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa D. Kirkpatrick for the District of Minnesota; and Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of the FBI Minneapolis Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI Minneapolis Field Office investigated the case.
Trial Attorney William G. Clayman of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney David B. Green for the District of Minnesota prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Justice Department. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
A Florida man pleaded guilty on Monday to purchasing Medicare identification numbers and using those numbers to cause over $8.4 million of false and fraudulent claims to be submitted to Medicare.
Corey Alston, 47, of Fort Lauderdale, pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States and to illegally purchase Medicare beneficiary identification numbers in connection with a scheme to bill Medicare for COVID-19 test kits that were ineligible for reimbursement. According to court documents, Alston and his co-defendant, Latresia A. Wilson, conspired to unlawfully purchase Medicare beneficiary identification information (including Medicare Beneficiary Identification Numbers) and used that information to submit millions of dollars in claims to Medicare for COVID-19 test kits that the beneficiaries did not want or request.
Over the course of just seven months, from July 2022 through February 2023, Alston, Wilson, and others, through companies they owned and controlled, submitted over $8.4 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare that were ineligible for reimbursement. Medicare paid over $2.6 million based on the false and fraudulent claims. Alston personally earned over $2.3 million from the scheme.
Wilson previously pleaded guilty on June 10, 2024, to conspiracy to defraud the United States and to illegally purchase Medicare beneficiary identification. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 15. Alston is scheduled to be sentenced on July 9. Alston and Wilson each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe for the Middle District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Matthew W. Fodor of the FBI Tampa Field Office; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jesus Barranco of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement.
The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Shane Butland and Keith Clouser and Senior Litigation Counsel Catherine Wagner of the National Rapid Response Strike Force of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. Acting Assistant Chief Justin Woodard assisted in charging the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
A Florida man pleaded guilty on Monday to purchasing Medicare identification numbers and using those numbers to cause over $8.4 million of false and fraudulent claims to be submitted to Medicare.
Corey Alston, 47, of Fort Lauderdale, pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the United States and to illegally purchase Medicare beneficiary identification numbers in connection with a scheme to bill Medicare for COVID-19 test kits that were ineligible for reimbursement. According to court documents, Alston and his co-defendant, Latresia A. Wilson, conspired to unlawfully purchase Medicare beneficiary identification information (including Medicare Beneficiary Identification Numbers) and used that information to submit millions of dollars in claims to Medicare for COVID-19 test kits that the beneficiaries did not want or request.
Over the course of just seven months, from July 2022 through February 2023, Alston, Wilson, and others, through companies they owned and controlled, submitted over $8.4 million in false and fraudulent claims to Medicare that were ineligible for reimbursement. Medicare paid over $2.6 million based on the false and fraudulent claims. Alston personally earned over $2.3 million from the scheme.
Wilson previously pleaded guilty on June 10, 2024, to conspiracy to defraud the United States and to illegally purchase Medicare beneficiary identification. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 15. Alston is scheduled to be sentenced on July 9. Alston and Wilson each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe for the Middle District of Florida; Special Agent in Charge Matthew W. Fodor of the FBI Tampa Field Office; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Jesus Barranco of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement.
The FBI and HHS-OIG investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Shane Butland and Keith Clouser and Senior Litigation Counsel Catherine Wagner of the National Rapid Response Strike Force of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case. Acting Assistant Chief Justin Woodard assisted in charging the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.
Disinfectant Wipes/Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act
Trials
United States v. Don M. Rynn
No. 2:24-CR-00653 (District of South Carolina)
AUSA Winston Holliday
AUSA Amy Bower
On March 20, 2025, a jury convicted Don M. Rynn of making false statements to federal agents and falsifying fishing records (18 U.S.C. §§ 1001, 1519).
Rynn managed several commercial fishing vessels in the McClellanville area, including the Maximum Retriever and the Crystal C. The vessels docked at Carolina Seafood, a federally licensed dealer.
On March 21, 2023, the Maximum Retriever embarked on a commercial fishing trip captained by the defendant’s son, who Rynn instructed to catch as many fish as he could (ignoring federally imposed quotas). Rynn told his son he would “take care of things” when he returned.
The Maximum Retriever returned to McClellanville shortly after midnight on March 27, 2023, with almost three times the legal limit of snowy grouper on board, and one and a half times the allowable number of grey tilefish. Rynn was waiting for the boat to arrive. Once the Maximum Retriever was in place, the Crystal C was maneuvered so that the two boats were side-by-side.
Rynn then directed deckhands to move fish from the ice hold of the Maximum Retriever to the Crystal C. They removed additional fish from the Maximum Retriever to Rynn’s truck to take to another seafood dealer in Georgetown.
In the mandatory trip report filed shortly thereafter, Rynn reported his catch only up to the limit, hiding the fact that the Maximum Retriever had vastly overfished. He attributed a substantial portion of the catch to the Crystal C, which had remained moored at the dock.
On March 27, 2023, law enforcement officers received an anonymous tip alerting them to the excessive catch. The Georgetown seafood dealer that had received some of the overage initially lied to cover for Rynn. When he realized the agents were closing in, the dealer threw the fish in the river to get rid of them.
In October 2023, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) agents interviewed Rynn about the incidents in March. Rynn lied, saying the snowy grouper and tilefish had been contaminated by a fuel spill while at sea, and that he had disposed of them in a dumpster. Rynn further implied that a U.S. Coast Guard report addressing an unlawful discharge into Jeremy Creek was inaccurate and should have been attributed to the Crystal C, which would have bolstered his fuel spill story.
In total, the Maximum Retriever caught approximately 560 pounds of snowy grouper and 450 pounds of tilefish. The legal limit for grouper is 200 pounds and 300 for tilefish.
NOAA, the U. S. Coast Guard, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Saltwater Team conducted the investigation.
Photo from dock surveillance camera showing Rynn on back of boat directing two individuals to carry a tote of federally protected fish to his truck.
On March 14, 2025, a court unsealed a complaint charging the chief executive officer of a Georgia-based heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) company with illegally importing 500 cylinders of potent greenhouse gases known as hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) into the United States from Peru.
William Randolph Hires is charged with violating the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act (AIM Act) by unlawfully importing 500 cylinders of HFCs (42 U.S.C. §§ 7675, 7413).
In April 2022, on behalf of his company, Hires purchased 500 cylinders of HFCs in Peru. Over the next several months, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officials explained to Hires’s employees that, under the AIM Act and its implementing regulations, Hires’s company could not lawfully import the HFCs into the United States because it did not have the required EPA-issued allowances. In a July 22, 2022, email to one of Hires’s employees, an EPA official stated “it is not possible to import bulk HFCs without consumption allowances.”
Hires’s employees conveyed this information from the EPA to Hires on several occasions. On one occasion, an employee forwarded an email to Hires that the employee had received from an EPA official which stated, “[t]he HFC you listed (R-410A) is a regulated substance. So, if you do not have allowances, you cannot import those bulk HFC refrigerants.” In another email exchange between Hires and an employee, the employee informed Hires that, based on a video conference the employee had with EPA officials, shipping without the necessary allowances would violate import laws so “[i]t is out of our hands.”
Hires nevertheless instructed his employees to illegally import the HFCs into the United States. In a July 28, 2022 email, Hires stated to his employees: “[y]eah you have to be careful what agencies you’re reaching out to because the EPA . . . can create a hassle and they can hold our stuff up in customs there[.]” In a subsequent email, Hires instructed his employees to “get [the HFCs] on the ship and get it out to sea . . . don’t care what it takes[.]” Hires later instructed his employees via email: “Do not call the EPA please do not.”
The EPA Criminal Investigation Division, Homeland Security Investigations, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation.
United States v. Leshon E. Johnson
No. 6:25-CR-00012 (Eastern District of Oklahoma)
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Ethan Eddy
ECS Trial Attorney Sarah Brown
AUSA Jordan Howantiz
ECS Law Clerk Amanda Backer
On March 20, 2025, Leshon E. Johnson was arraigned on an indictment charging him with violating the Animal Welfare Act (7 U.S.C. § 2156(b) & 18 U.S.C. § 49). Specifically, Johnson possessed 190 pit bull-type dogs for the purpose of having the dogs participate in an animal fighting venture, and for selling, transporting, and delivering a dog for use in an animal fighting venture. Federal authorities seized the 190 dogs from Johnson in October 2024 as authorized under the Animal Welfare Act. This is believed to be the largest number of dogs ever seized from a single person in a federal dog fighting case.
Johnson ran a dog fighting operation known as “Mal Kant Kennels” in both Broken Arrow and Haskell, Oklahoma. He previously ran “Krazyside Kennels,” also out of Oklahoma, which led to his guilty plea on state animal fighting charges in 2004. Johnson selectively bred “champion” and “grand champion” fighting dogs — dogs that have respectively won three or five fights — to produce offspring with fighting traits and abilities desired by him and others for use in dog fights. Johnson marketed and sold stud rights and offspring from winning fighting dogs to other dog fighters looking to incorporate the Mal Kant Kennels “bloodline” into their own dog fighting operations. His trafficking of fighting dogs to other dog fighters across the country contributed to the growth of the dog fighting industry and allowed Johnson to profit financially. Trial is scheduled to begin on May 5, 2025.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation.
Guilty Pleas
United States v. Terrell Williams
No. 4:23-CR-00692 (Eastern District of Missouri)
AUSA Jillian Anderson
On March 7, 2025, Terrell Williams pleaded guilty to an Animal Fighting Venture violation for hosting dog fights in his home and training dogs to fight (7 U.S.C. § 2156(a)-(c); 18 U.S.C. § 49(a)). Sentencing is scheduled for June 6, 2025.
Between September 2020 through May 2022, Williams hosted fights in a wooden “box” setup in the basement of his home in Riverview, Missouri. He also owned and bred bull terriers and terrier mixes that were used for fights. On June 22, 2022, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Williams’s home and seized eight bull terrier mixes and three Yorkshire terriers. The dogs bore scars consistent with fighting. Agents also removed equipment used to train and condition dogs, including weighted vests and a canine treadmill.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation.
Dog rescued from defendant’s home during execution of search warrant. Photo included with detention motion filed with the court.
On March 11, 2025, Nicholas Dryden pleaded guilty to creating and distributing videos depicting the torture of monkeys (known as animal “crush” videos) (18 U.S.C. §§ 371, 48(a)(3)). Co-defendant Giancarlo Morelli entered a similar plea in December 2024.
Dryden commissioned videos from a 17-year-old in Indonesia who was willing to commit specified acts of torture on video in exchange for payment. Dryden utilized Telegram, a cross-platform messaging app that includes encrypted group messaging and private chats, to advertise the animal crush videos and solicit funding for additional videos. Within these private groups, Dryden shared snippets of videos that he commissioned and advertised that the full content was for sale. Co-defendants Morelli and Philip Colt Moss each sent money to Dryden more than a dozen times in exchange for monkey torture videos.
Thereafter, they frequently gave feedback on the videos and Morelli sometimes suggested torturous acts he’d like to see in future videos.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation.
United States v. Jose Manuel Valenzuela
No. 3:24-CR-01037 (Southern District of California)
ECS Assistant Chief Stephen DaPonte
AUSA Laura Sambataro
On March 18, 2025, Jose Manuel Valenzuela pleaded guilty to intentionally failing to present refrigerant tanks for inspection (19 U.S.C. §§ 1433, 1436). Sentencing is scheduled for June 10, 2025.
On April 22, 2024, Valenzuela (an HVAC technician) attempted to enter the United States from Mexico without declaring four 24-pound tanks of 404A refrigerant (a hydrofluorocarbon refrigerant) in his vehicle.
Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
United States v. Robert C. Schmid
No. 3:25-mj-00011 (Eastern District of Virginia)
AUSA Carla Jordan-Detamore
On March 25, 2025, Robert C. Schmid pleaded guilty to violating the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) (7 U.S.C. §§ 136j(a)(1)(A), 1361(b)(1)(B)). Sentencing is scheduled for July 22, 2025.
Schmid owned the Atlantic Manufacturing Group, LLC (AMG), which manufactured and sold cleaning and janitorial products. AMG marketed and sold its products via various means, including a website, as well as through outside sales representatives. In September 2017, AMG entered into an agreement with “Company 1” to purchase a product called “Maquat 64-PD” for which Company 1 had obtained a registration from the EPA. AMG entered into this Agreement because it wanted to distribute and sell its liquid ProAmenities Lemon Detergent Disinfectant, made with Company 1’s Maquat 64-PD.
In October 2017, the EPA approved the label for AMG’s ProAmenities Lemon Detergent Disinfectant. The label made clear that the product was hazardous to humans and animals and was not for use on clothing or on skin.
Beginning in May 2020, and acting on behalf of AMG, Schmid began manufacturing and selling AMG “Hygienic Facility Wipes” that purportedly protected users from COVID-19. Schmid sold these wipes to janitorial services that supported government entities, gyms and health clubs, universities, and janitorial product retailers. AMG manufactured these wipes by applying the ProAmenities Lemon Detergent Disinfectant to dry wipes and packaging the wipes in plastic buckets or plastic packages. These wipes, however, were not registered with the EPA pursuant to FIFRA and did not have EPA approved labels or safety guidance. Investigators also determined that Schmid, his employees, and outside sales reps made unauthorized claims about the efficacy and safety of these wipes to potential customers.
After Company 1 issued Schmid a cease-and-desist email in August of 2020 about the unauthorized use of its product, Schmid switched to “Company 2” to use its liquid, which was not registered with the EPA, in its wipes. Schmid, however, continued to claim that his wipes were an EPA-registered product. AMG also generated product labels claiming the wipes eradicated corona viruses, in addition to other falsified information (to include the ingredient list).
Between March and November 2020, AMG sold approximately 5,000 cases of the wipes, taking in close to $415,000 in sales and making approximately $33,000 in gross profit.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
United States v. Robert J. Bullock, Sr.
No. 1:24-CR-10056 (District of Massachusetts)
AUSA Benjamin Tolkoff
On March 26, 2025, Robert J. Bullock, Sr., pleaded guilty to violating the Safe Drinking Water Act for tampering with public water systems (42 U.S.C. § 300i-1(a)). Sentencing is scheduled for June 25, 2025.
On the evening of November 29, 2022, Bullock, a former Stoughton Water Department employee, went into one of the Water Department’s pumping stations and turned off the pump that introduces chlorine into drinking water. As a result, water that had not been properly disinfected was introduced into the drinking water system.
When questioned by investigators, Bullock claimed to not have tampered with the water system. Specifically, Bullock said that he had not knowingly turned off the chlorine pump at Goddard Pumping Station 7 on the night of November 29, 2022, when in fact he had; and that he did not set the alarms for the chlorine level to zero that night, when he did.
The Federal Bureau of Investigations, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, and the Stoughton Massachusetts Police Department conducted the investigation.
Sentencings
United States v. National Water Main Cleaning Company
No. 3:25-CR-00002 (District of Connecticut)
AUSA Hal Chen
RCEC Man Chak Ng
On March 4, 2025, a court sentenced the National Water Main Cleaning Company (NWMCC) to pay a $500,000 fine, complete a three-year term of probation, and implement an environmental compliance program. The company will also employ an independent outside consultant to perform a compliance audit and identify an environmental compliance manager for its Connecticut facilities. NWMCC will also make a payment of $500,000 to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (CT DEEP) to fund aquatic ecosystem enhancement projects in the South-Central Coastal Watershed.
The company pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act (CWA) for knowingly discharging a pollutant into Cuff Brook while refurbishing a large culvert pipe in Cheshire, Connecticut, in July 2019 (33 U.S.C. §§ 1319 (c)(2)(A); 1311(a)). The unauthorized discharge of uncured geopolymer mortar killed more than 150 fish and contaminated Cuff Brook.
At the time of the incident, NWMCC was operating under a Code of Conduct as part of a 2014 settlement with the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office to resolve civil allegations involving environmental pollution.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation, with assistance from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
United States v. Fidelity Development Group LLC
No. 3:24-CR-00077(Southern District of Ohio)
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Adam Cullman
On March 4, 2024, a court sentenced Fidelity Development Group LLC (Fidelity) to pay a $100,000 fine and complete a two-year term of probation. Fidelity pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Air Act for failing to inspect for the presence of asbestos (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(1)).
In 2015 or 2016, Fidelity purchased a building and planned to renovate it into a mixed-use property. Fidelity failed to perform or acquire an asbestos survey for the building prior to renovations. Around April 2020, a certified asbestos company conducted an asbestos survey in the Fidelity Building and identified more than 12,000 linear feet of 80% chrysolite asbestos pipe wrap insulation in friable condition.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
United States v. Frock Brothers Trucking, Inc.,et al.
Nos. 1:24-CR-00235, 00250 (Middle District of Pennsylvania)
AUSA William Behe
On March 6, 2025, a court sentenced Frock Brothers Trucking, Inc., to pay an $80,000 fine and complete a two-year term of probation. Mechanic Leon Martin will complete a two-year term of probation, to include three months’ home detention, and pay a $500,000 fine.
Both defendants pleaded guilty to conspiracy and to violating the Clean Air Act (CAA) for tampering with the emission control systems for several heavy-duty diesel trucks (18 U.S.C. § 371; 42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)).
Between 2018 and October 2023, Martin provided “tuning” or “reprogramming” services by modifying the engine control modules (ECMs) on diesel trucks. The ECM is a computerized system that manages and controls the engine’s performance. During that time, Martin tampered with the emissions diagnostic systems on the vehicles for many companies to prevent the diagnostic system software from monitoring the emission control system hardware.
Frock, a long-distance trucking company based in New Oxford, Pennsylvania, transports a variety of goods, including snack foods, refrigerated items, and produce. Ed Frock owned the company until his death in August 2022.
Between November 13, 2018, and December 28, 2018, Frock contracted with co-defendant Martin to disable and/or remove emission control components from eight of their diesel trucks. Frock removed the vehicles’ ECMs from their engines and shipped them to Martin for reprogramming. Once the devices were “tuned,” Martin shipped them back to Frock, where they were reinstalled on the trucks. Martin also tampered with the onboard diagnostic equipment (OBD) to delete factory-installed emission controls from Frock’s heavy duty diesel trucks. Martin’s tunes enabled those deleted trucks to operate without emission control devices, which are required by federal law.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation.
On March 6, 2025, a court sentencedBenjamin Gathercole to complete a one-year term of probation, after he pleaded guilty to violating the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) for illegally transporting hazardous waste without a manifest (42 U.S.C. § 6928(d)(5)).
Gathercole lived in Tappahannock, Virginia, and worked at a local brake manufacturing facility. In 2019, a Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) inspector determined that the brake manufacturing facility failed to make an accurate waste determination for 32 55-gallon drums stored on site. Some of the drums displayed labels noting they contained hazardous waste, but not in accordance with RCRA requirements. The DEQ issued a notice of violation to the facility in May 2019.
In September and October 2019, Gathercole removed 31 of the 55-gallon drums from the facility and transported them to his residence. He dug a hole near his property and buried the drums in the ground. He crushed some of them in the process, causing their contents to spill onto the ground.
In December 2020, a citizen tipped off the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about the illegal burial. In November 2021, agents executed a search warrant on the defendant’s property. Gathercole admitted to burying the drums at the request of his employer and directed authorities to where he had buried them. Further testing confirmed the waste was ignitable hazardous waste. The EPA finished excavating the site in November 2022.
The EPA Criminal Investigation Division and the EPA National Enforcement Investigation Center conducted the investigation.
United States v. Keidrick D. Usifo, et al.
No. 24-CR-00040 (Eastern District of Arkansas)
AUSA Edward Walker
On March 6, 2025, a court sentenced Keidrick Usifo to pay a $5,000 fine and complete a five-year term of probation. Co-defendant Deon Johnson will pay a $1,000 fine and complete an 18-month term of probation. Usifo and Johnson previously pleaded guilty to violating the Big Cat Public Safety Act (BCPSA)(16 U.S.C. §§ 3372 (e)(1)(A), 3373 (d)).
Lawmakers enacted the BCPSA in December 2022 to protect the public by prohibiting the private ownership of big cats (such as tigers and lions) as pets and by prohibiting exhibitors from allowing public contact with big cats, including tiger cubs. This law places new restrictions on the commerce, breeding, possession, and use of certain big cat species.
In April 2023, a citizen tipped off local game authorities after seeing a tiger cub in a residential neighborhood in Conway, Arkansas. Further investigation confirmed that Usifo purchased a tiger in March 2023 from a broker in Dallas, Texas, and brought it back to his residence in Arkansas.
After receiving a second complaint about the tiger cub, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on April 21, 2023, arresting Usifo on a felony state warrant. The Conway Police Department then executed a search warrant at Usifo’s residence. The animal was not there, but they found evidence of its presence, including the fact that rooms in the house matched those in photos of the tiger that Usifo posted on Instagram.
While in the Pulaski County Detention Facility (PCDF), Usifo made several calls to Johnson, asking him to take care of the tiger while Usifo was held in detention. Johnson concealed his knowledge of the tiger when questioned by agents.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation, with assistance from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, the Conway Police Department, and the Little Rock Police Department.
Tiger cub, now named Fred, rescued by the Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge. Photo taken by case agent June 2024.
United States v. Frankluis Carela De Jesús, et al.
No. 3:24-CR-00174 (District of Puerto Rico)
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Patrick Duggan
AUSA Seth Erbe
On March 6, 2025, a court sentenced the final two Dominican nationals who attempted to smuggle tropical birds from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to the Dominican Republic. Frankluis Carela De Jesús will serve 12 months and one day of incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. Domingo Heureau Altagracia will complete eight months of incarceration and three years of supervised release. Waner Balbuena and Juan Graviel Ramírez Cedano were each previously sentenced to serve 12 months and one day of incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. All the defendants pleaded guilty to Lacey Act trafficking and to smuggling wildlife from the United States (18 U.S.C. § 554; 16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(1), (a)(4), 3373(d)(1)(B)).
On May 3, 2024, the four Dominican nationals traveled in a flagless vessel departing from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to the Dominican Republic. They intended to smuggle various species of tropical birds to the Dominican Republic for financial gain. When the vessel was approximately 30 nautical miles north of Puerto Rico, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) approached the vessel and witnessed the crew tossing objects overboard. Following the boarding of the vessel, USCG authorities recovered several of the jettisoned objects, which were wooden cages containing tropical birds. Approximately 113 birds drowned as a result.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement, the U.S. Coast Guard, and Customs and Border Protection conducted the investigation.
On March 10, 2025, a court sentenced Travis Larson to pay a $40,000 fine and complete a five-year term of probation. Larson will also pay $2,400 in restitution, to be divided between the State of Alaska and the Port Graham Authority. Larson will forfeit $150,000 and is prohibited from hunting anywhere in the world or providing any big game commercial services while under supervision. Larsen pleaded guilty to violating the Lacey Act for illegally transporting four black bears and making false records (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(a)(2)(A), 3373(d)(1)(B); (d)(3)(A)).
Larson worked as a licensed big game transporter since 2010, and provided transport services through his company, Alaska Premier Sportfishing LLC (APS). Larson and APS offered paying clients transportation for multi-day hunting and fishing trips aboard a 65-foot liveaboard vessel, Venturess.
In May 2018, Larson transported eight hunters on a black bear hunt in the Nuka Bay area of the Kenai Peninsula. Each hunter paid $3,500 to participate in the hunt. The group included four Norwegian nationals. Larson knew all four people were not U.S. residents, nor were they accompanied by a licensed hunting guide or assistant guide, as required under state law.
On May 9, 2018, one foreign hunter was transported to a beach adjacent to Surprise Bay to hunt a black bear. The hunter shot and killed a black bear on land belonging to the State of Alaska. On May 10, 2018, Larson transported three foreign hunters to a beach adjacent to Beauty Bay to hunt black bears. Two of the hunters each shot and killed a black bear on land belonging to the Port Graham Corporation, an Alaska Native Corporation, and the other hunter shot and killed a black bear on land belonging to the State of Alaska. On both days, Larson transported the hunters and the illegally harvested black bears back to his vesselvia the smaller motorboat.
On May 11, 2018, Larson transported the four foreign hunters and the four illegally harvested black bears to Homer, Alaska, where he knew the black bears would be transported in interstate and foreign commerce following the hunt. The government dismissed the charges against Larson’s business.
The National Park Service Investigative Services Branch and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.
On March 10, 2025, a court sentenced Dugan Paul Daniels to six months’ incarceration, followed by three years’ supervised release, for falsifying fishing records in violation of the Lacey Act and illegally taking a sperm whale in violation of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) (16 U.S.C. §§ 3372(d)(2), 3373(d)(3)(A), 1583(a)(1)(C), 1540(b)(1)). Daniels will also pay a $25,000 fine and perform 80 hours of community service, and is banned from commercial fishing for one year.
Daniels is a commercial fisherman with 20 years of experience. Between October and November 2020, he submitted falsified fishing records to make it appear that he lawfully caught sablefish, aka “black cod,” in federal waters on two separate occasions. In fact, Daniels illegally harvested the fish in State of Alaska waters, specifically, in Chatham Strait and Clarence Strait. The total market value of the illegally harvested fish was $127,528.
In March 2020, Daniels and three crew members were fishing for sablefish southwest of Yakobi Island in the Gulf of Alaska when they came upon a sperm whale. During the encounter, Daniels directed a crewman to shoot the whale multiple times and also tried to ram the whale with his fishing vessel. Daniels documented the encounter in writing and through text messages sent from a GPS communication device. Some of the messages stated he wished he “had a cannon to blow” the whale out of the water and that he hoped “to be reeling in a dead sperm whale.” It is a violation of the ESA to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct involving an endangered species.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.
No. 2:23-CR-00177 (Eastern District of Pennsylvania)
AUSA Christopher Parisi
On March 11, 2025, a court sentenced Bien King and Khalil King to each complete three-year terms of probation, to include six months’ home confinement. Bien King was also sentenced to pay a $1,000 fine. The defendants pleaded guilty to violating the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act for selling a misbranded pesticide and for violating the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act for selling misbranded animal drugs (7 U.S.C. §§ 136j(a)(1)(E); 21 U.S.C. § 331(a)).
Bien King started “Little City Dogs” (LCD) a New York corporation with office space in New York City. Bien King also created a website that sold various products intended to treat diseases or pests in animals. Bien King’s son, Khalil, worked in the New York office. Khalil King was responsible for mixing ingredients and packaging various products for shipment. The defendants obtained the ingredients for these products from various suppliers in China. They knew that these suppliers routinely mislabeled shipments of these products to avoid detection by customs officials.
When LCD received orders from online sales, Khalil King and others shipped the products from the New York office to customers throughout the United States. An undercover agent placed several orders for various products through the LCD website. These purchases included a January 17, 2020, order for fipronil drops and ivermectin. Fipronil is designed to treat external parasites such as fleas and ticks. Ivermectin is designed to control heartworms in dogs and cats.
The defendants shipped the fipronil drops and ivermectin from New York to an address in Springfield, Pennsylvania. The labeling and packaging material accompanying the fipronil drops did not include information required by law. The labeling and packaging material accompanying the ivermectin likewise did not include required information. Furthermore, LCD’s facility in New York City was not registered with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Office of Criminal Investigations conducted the investigation.
United States v. Jose V. Fernandez
No. 1:24-CR-00071 (District of Rhode Island)
AUSA John McAdams
On March 11, 2025, a court sentenced Jose V. Fernandez to complete a two-year term of probation. Fernandez pleaded guilty to making false statements for distributing false asbestos abatement training certifications (18 U.S.C. § 1001 (a)(3)).
Fernandez owned the Rhode Island Safety Environment Training Center. The Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDH) accredited the facility to provide asbestos abatement training. On multiple occasions between 2021 and 2023, Fernandez submitted false documentation to the RIDH attesting that nearly two dozen individuals paid for, attended, and successfully completed an Environmental Protection Agency-approved abatement training program when, in fact, no one attended any classes.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and the Rhode Island Department of Health conducted the investigation.
On March 11, 2025, a court sentenced Pedro Luis Bones-Torres to 12 months’ incarceration, followed by one year of supervised release. Bones-Torres pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act and the Rivers and Harbors Act for illegally constructing and depositing material into the wetlands and waters of the United States in the Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (the “Jobos Estuarine Reserve”) and Las Mareas community of Salinas, Puerto Rico (33 U.S.C. §§ 1311(a), 403).
Starting in January 2020, Bones-Torres engaged in construction and land clearing activities on a property to the South of Camino de Galileo in the Las Mareas area of Salinas, Puerto Rico (the “Property”). Much of the Property supported mangrove trees with an open area that was occasionally partially submerged by the sea tides. This wetland area was within the Jobos Estuarine Reserve.
Between January 2020 and October 2022, Bones-Torres removed mangroves from the Property, depositing fill material onto the wetland area using excavation and earth moving equipment. After he filled the wetlands, he built a concrete pad, a concrete gazebo with an outdoor kitchen, a wooden gazebo, and a dock extending into Mar Negro. Bones-Torres did not seek or receive approval to fill the wetlands and was at no point permitted to fill wetlands on or near the Property.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division, the Department of Commerce Office of Inspector General, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office of Law Enforcement, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation.
United States v. Royce Gillham
No. 2:24-CR-14046 (Southern District of Florida)
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Adam Cullman
AUSA Daniel Funk
On March 13, 2025, a court sentenced Royce Gillham to 37 months’ incarceration, followed by three years of supervised release. Gillham, the former General Manager of a biofuel producer based in Fort Pierce, Florida, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and conspiring to make false claims (18 U.S.C.§ 371).
This biofuel company produced and sold renewable fuel and fuel credits and claimed to turn various feedstocks into biodiesel. When reporting the number of gallons produced to the Internal Revenue Service and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Gillham and his employer vastly overstated their production volume in an effort to generate more credits. When auditors sought more information from the company, Gillham and his co-conspirators gave them false information about their fuel production and customers.
The scheme generated more than $7 million in fraudulent EPA renewable fuels credits and sought over $6 million in fraudulent tax credits connected to the purported production of biodiesel.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations conducted the investigation.
No. 2:24-CR-00161 (Central District of California)
ECS Senior Trial Attorney Ryan Connors
ECS Trial Attorney Lauren Steele
AUSA Dennis Mitchell
ECS Law Clerk Maria Wallace
ECS Law Clerk Tonia Sibblies
On March 14, 2025, a court sentenced Sai Keung Tin, also known as Ricky Tin, to 30 months’ incarceration, followed by one year of supervised release. Tin will also pay a $5,000 fine for his role in smuggling protected turtles from the United States to Hong Kong. Tin pleaded guilty to four counts of exporting merchandise contrary to law (18 U.S.C. § 554).
Between February 2018 and June 2023, Tin, a Chinese citizen, assisted turtle smugglers in the United States. During that time, Tin aided and abetted the trafficking of approximately 2,100 turtles to Hong Kong. The turtles were intended to be sold as part of the illegal Asian pet trade. Based on a conservative, contemporary market valuation of $2,000 per turtle, the smuggled reptiles were valued at $4.2 million.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) agents arrested Tin in February 2024 as he arrived at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York.
USFWS agents obtained a search warrant to seize Tin’s cell phones, and found evidence that Tin came to the United States to smuggle turtles. He planned to travel to New Jersey, Texas, and Washington — familiarizing himself with tourist locations to present a false story if apprehended. His ultimate plan was to pay for turtles in cash, ship them around the country, and eventually illegally export them to Hong Kong.
Tin was associated with international turtle smuggler Kang Juntao, of Hangzhou City, China, who was extradited from Malaysia in 2019 and later sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to money laundering. Kang caused the shipment of approximately 1,500 turtles (with a market value exceeding $2.25 million) from the United States to Hong Kong, which included shipments to Tin.
The eastern box turtle is a subspecies of the common box turtle and native to the United States. Turtles with colorful markings are highly prized pets, particularly in China and Hong Kong, and are protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Office of Law Enforcement conducted the investigation, with assistance from Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations.
On March 19, 2025, Hino Motors, Ltd. (HML) was sentenced to pay a criminal fine of $521.76 million, serve a five-year term of probation, during which it will be prohibited from importing any diesel engines it has manufactured into the United States, and implement a comprehensive compliance and ethics program and reporting structure. Additionally, the court entered a $1.087 billion forfeiture money judgment against the company.
Prosecutors charged HML in a single conspiracy count with five objects: to defraud the Environmental Protection Agency, to defraud the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, to violate the Clean Air Act, to commit wire fraud, and to smuggle goods into the United States, all in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371.
Between 2010 and 2019, HML submitted and caused to be submitted false applications for engine certification approvals. Company engineers regularly altered emission test data, conducted tests improperly, and fabricated data without conducting any underlying tests. HML submitted fraudulent carbon dioxide emissions test data, which resulted in the calculation of false fuel consumption values for its engines. Company engineers also failed to disclose software functions that could adversely affect engines’ emission control systems. As a result of the fraud, HML imported and sold more than 105,000 non-conforming engines between 2010 and 2022.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation.
Nos. 1:24-CR-00124, 1:21-CR-00016 (Northern District of New York)
AUSA Benjamin Clark
On March 20, 2025, a court sentenced Kyle Offringa to pay a $100,000 fine for conspiring to violate the Clean Air Act (CAA). His company, Highway and Heavy Parts, LLC (HHP), was sentenced on December 3, 2024, to pay a $25,000 fine. As part of the sentencing, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will monitor the company for ongoing compliance for a two-year period. HHP and Offringa pleaded guilty to conspiring to tamper with a required monitoring device in violation of the CAA (18 U.S.C. § 371).
Between June 2017 and March 2019, HHP and Offringa conspired with a diesel truck operator, and others, including co-conspirators Daim Logistics, Inc., and Patrick Oare, to remove, delete, and tamper with monitoring devices that were required under the CAA to be installed on heavy-duty diesel trucks. Truck operators delete the emissions control hardware on heavy-duty diesel trucks to allow them to run at higher horsepower, with greater fuel efficiency, and with reduced maintenance costs. HHP charged its customers a fee for Offringa to reprogram the vehicles’ on-board detection equipment so regulators would not discover the tampering. Customers paid HHP between $1,000 and $1,500 for each truck Offringa altered.
Oare and Daim Logistics were sentenced in November 2024 for tampering with a monitoring device or method in violation of the CAA (42 U.S.C. § 7413(c)(2)(C)). Oare was sentenced to time served and to pay a $15,000 fine; the company will pay a $13,000 fine. In addition, prior to sentencing, the EPA and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation monitored Daim for approximately 18 months to ensure the company complied with all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations regarding the emission control devices installed on diesel vehicles owned or operated by the company.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigation Division conducted the investigation, with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police.
Source: United States Senator for Connecticut – Chris Murphy
WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) joined 14 of their Senate Democratic colleagues in a letter to U.S. Attorney General (AG) Pam Bondi inquiring into what policies and procedures she will commit to implementing in her capacity as AG to ensure that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) will continue to meaningfully function in its intended capacity under Kash Patel’s stewardship.
In February, President Trump announced that Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel would also serve as Acting Director of ATF, the primary federal law enforcement agency responsible for addressing gun-related crime and violence in America. However, the Senators’ letter to AG Bondi argues that Mr. Patel threatens to undo the significant gains made in recent years to ensure Americans’ safety as he lacks the relevant experience to lead ATF and has ties to the gun industry.
“As the primary federal law enforcement agency dedicated to curbing illegal firearm use and enforcing federal firearms laws and regulations, it is critical that ATF be led by an experienced Director who has been confirmed by the Senate for this role and is dedicated to upholding the agency’s mission. For the reasons outlined below, Mr. Patel is not that person,” the senators wrote. “We therefore write to inquire into what policies and procedures you will implement to ensure that ATF will continue to meaningfully function in its intended capacity.”
Gun violence in the United States is a public health crisis. In 2024, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory listing firearm violence—including homicide, suicide, nonfatal injuries, and unintentional injuries and deaths—as a “significant public health challenge[] that require[s] the nation’s immediate awareness and action.” Though under the Trump Administration, the Surgeon General has since removed the advisory, the report analyzed data from 2002 to 2022, finding that since 2020 the leading cause of death for children and adolescents in America has been gun violence, with rates higher than car crashes, poisoning, and cancer. In 2022 alone, 48,204 people died in the United States of gun-related injuries.
That said, following passage of the historic Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and coordinated, nationwide efforts to curb gun violence during the Biden Administration, the United States is starting to see positive results. In 2023, provisional data indicates gun-related deaths totaled 46,728—representing a decline from 2022 by three percent or 1,476 fewer deaths. Violent crime has also declined significantly, due in part to ATF’s data collection, investigation, and enforcement efforts.
“While the decrease in violent crime and gun-related deaths is encouraging, 2023 still had ‘the third-highest number of gun-related deaths ever recorded in the United States,’ evidencing that significant challenges to America’s gun violence crisis remain,” the senators wrote. “The Department of Justice must do everything within its power to sustain this downward trend, including ensuring ATF is empowered to carry out its mandate and keep firearms from falling into the hands of those who should not have them. Now is not the time to pull back on ATF leadership and practices that helped bring about this progress.”
The senators’ letter went on to explain why Mr. Patel is not the right person to lead ATF.
“As an Acting Director, Patel’s appointment has not been subject to Senate confirmation, a crucial process for vetting those nominated by the President for significant leadership roles in the Executive, including ATF Director. Disturbingly, Mr. Patel would not affirm that firearm background checks—a well-established procedure for keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals—are constitutional during his confirmation hearing for FBI Director. Notably, Mr. Patel’s appointment has been applauded by extreme gun advocacy groups seeking to rollback commonsense gun regulations,” they continued. “Mr. Patel’s appointment threatens to undo the lifesaving progress ATF has made to reduce gun violence in America.”
The senators concluded: “Attorney General Bondi, you have served as a prosecutor for much of your career. During your Senate confirmation hearing, you testified about the importance of keeping Americans safe, prosecuting criminals and gunrunners, reducing recidivism, and enforcing existing gun laws. During one exchange, you assured the Committee: ‘I will do everything in my power to prevent illegal gunrunners in our country.’ In discussing your time as Florida Attorney General and mass shooting responses, you reiterated: ‘I am an advocate for the Second Amendment, but I will enforce the laws of the land.’”
To better understand how AG Bondi intends to accomplish these goals, the senators asked that she promptly respond to a series of questions.
U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) also signed the letter.
Full text of letter is available HERE and below:
Dear Attorney General Bondi:
We write with great concern regarding President Trump’s appointment of Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel as Acting Director of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF). As the primary federal law enforcement agency dedicated to curbing illegal firearm use and enforcing federal firearms laws and regulations, it is critical that ATF be led by an experienced Director who has been confirmed by the Senate for this role and is dedicated to upholding the agency’s mission. For the reasons outlined below, Mr. Patel is not that person. We therefore write to inquire into what policies and procedures you will implement to ensure that ATF will continue to meaningfully function in its intended capacity.
Gun violence in the United States is a public health crisis. In 2024, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an advisory listing firearm violence—including homicide, suicide, nonfatal injuries, and unintentional injuries and deaths—as a “significant public health challenge[] that require[s] the nation’s immediate awareness and action.” Analyzing data from 2002 to 2022, the Surgeon General reported that since 2020 the leading cause of death for children and adolescents in America has been gun violence, with rates higher than car crashes, poisoning, and cancer. In 2022 alone, 48,204 people died in the United States of gun-related injuries.
That said, following passage of the historic Bipartisan Safer Communities Act and coordinated, nationwide efforts to curb gun violence during the Biden Administration, we were starting to see positive results. In 2023, provisional data indicates gun-related deaths totaled 46,728—representing a decline from 2022 by three percent or 1,476 fewer deaths. Violent crime has also declined significantly, due in part to ATF’s data collection, investigation, and enforcement efforts.
For example, ATF’s crime gun intelligence tools eTrace, which “is used to trace the purchase and/or use history of firearms used in violent crimes,” and the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, which “is the only interstate automated ballistic imaging network in operation in the United States,” together “have transformed crime-solving by generating over 1.1 million investigative leads from ballistic evidence and linking suspects to major crimes within hours.” ATF has also worked to increase DNA matches from cartridge casings and has expanded Crime Gun Intelligence Centers, which use “data-driven strategies” to foster “cross-agency collaboration.”
ATF has also focused on eliminating firearms trafficking networks that unlawfully smuggle guns from the United States to Mexico, arming dangerous cartels which, in turn, send illicit drugs such as fentanyl into the United States. And ATF created an Emerging Threats Center, which among other things, has focused on the proliferation of privately-made firearms, or ghost guns, and machine-gun conversion devices, or Glock switches. These represent only some examples of ATF’s nationwide initiatives to reduce gun violence and keep Americans safe.
While the decrease in violent crime and gun-related deaths is encouraging, 2023 still had “the third-highest number of gun-related deaths ever recorded in the United States,” evidencing that significant challenges to America’s gun violence crisis remain. The Department of Justice must do everything within its power to sustain this downward trend, including ensuring ATF is empowered to carry out its mandate and keep firearms from falling into the hands of those who should not have them. Now is not the time to pull back on ATF leadership and practices that helped bring about this progress.
Mr. Patel is, quite simply, not the right person to lead the ATF. As an Acting Director, Patel’s appointment has not been subject to Senate confirmation, a crucial process for vetting those nominated by the President for significant leadership roles in the Executive, including ATF Director. Disturbingly, Mr. Patel would not affirm that firearm background checks—a well-established procedure for keeping guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals—are constitutional during his confirmation hearing for FBI Director. Notably, Mr. Patel’s appointment has been applauded by extreme gun advocacy groups seeking to rollback commonsense gun regulations. Last year, Mr. Patel spoke at the inaugural summit for group Gun Owners of America, a “no-compromise gun lobby” that has announced it “look[s] forward to dismantling gun control with Kash.” Mr. Patel’s appointment threatens to undo the lifesaving progress ATF has made to reduce gun violence in America.
Attorney General Bondi, you have served as a prosecutor for much of your career. During your Senate confirmation hearing, you testified about the importance of keeping Americans safe, prosecuting criminals and gunrunners, reducing recidivism, and enforcing existing gun laws. During one exchange, you assured the Committee: “I will do everything in my power to prevent illegal gunrunners in our country.” In discussing your time as Florida Attorney General and mass shooting responses, you reiterated: “I am an advocate for the Second Amendment, but I will enforce the laws of the land.” To better understand how you intend to accomplish these goals, please promptly respond to the following questions:
Recently, we have seen notable success in curtailing gun violence. While the United States experienced a spike in gun-related crimes and deaths during the pandemic, through bipartisan congressional action and the previous Administration’s efforts, that trend has begun to reverse. Given ATF’s central role in curbing violent crime, it is of paramount importance that the agency be staffed by experienced leaders, agents, and others who support ATF’s core mission, without the appearance of or actual conflict, in order to continue this downward trend. By contrast, firearm-industry personnel advocate for gun companies’ bottom lines by pushing for the repeal of commonsense gun regulations in order to sell more weapons and weapons accessories. Hiring such individuals for critical public-safety positions at ATF would endanger the agency’s core mission and Americans’ safety while prioritizing increases in private company profits.
Will you place constraints on the hiring of firearm-industry personnel for ATF positions? If not, why?
ATF must comply with all existing legal obligations. This includes exercising statutorily-required regulatory authority over the firearms industry, fully implementing the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, and complying with the Administrative Procedures Act if changing existing ATF regulations. However, Acting Director Patel lacks experience with ATF’s core responsibilities, including ATF’s regulatory oversight of the gun industry. Moreover, Acting Director Patel was only temporarily appointed under the Vacancies Reform Act and has not been subject to the Senate’s advice and consent process for this role. It is therefore particularly important that you exercise your authority as Attorney General to give final approval of all actions ATF takes under Acting Director Patel’s stewardship, including all policy changes.
Will you commit to personally reviewing for approval all new or revised ATF policies and actions? If not, why?
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime Alerts (c)
PHILADELPHIA—The FBI Philadelphia Field Office is now accepting applications for our Teen Academies for summer 2025. Our Teen Academy programs give high school students an opportunity to get a look into today’s FBI.
Open to rising 9th through 12th grade high school students, this program gives an inside look at some aspects of the FBI from national security to cyber and violent crimes. Students also get visibility of our division’s critical response groups to include weapons of mass destruction, crisis negotiations, SWAT, and our Evidence Response Team.
This year, the FBI Philadelphia Field Office will be hosting three academies: Abington and York, Pennsylvania, and Gloucester, New Jersey.
“FBI Philadelphia is proud to once again offer local teens a rare opportunity to engage directly with our dedicated personnel and gain a behind-the-scenes look at the Bureau,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, special agent in charge of FBI Philadelphia. “If you’re a student who feels inspired by our mission—to protect the American people and uphold the Constitution—we encourage you to apply to our Teen Academy and explore what it means to serve with purpose.”
Applicants must submit materials by Thursday, May 19, 2025.
The Teen Academy Applications and additional information can be found here: Community Outreach — FBI
Source: Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) State Crime News
ALBUQUERQUE – A Thoreau man was sentenced to five years of supervised probation for the accidental shooting of his friend during a drunken altercation in 2022.
According to court documents, on August 20, 2022, Gerrick Mariano, 27, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, and John Doe were drinking and shooting Mariano’s recently purchased AR-15 at Doe’s home, located on the Navajo Nation. Mariano pointed his new rifle at one of Doe’s pets, which upset Doe, who demanded Mariano leave his home. This angered Mariano, who then pointed his rifle at Doe’s chest, intending to frighten Doe. Doe quickly pushed the barrel away, which resulted in Mariano inadvertently pulling the trigger once. The bullet struck John Doe in his upper-right shoulder.
Post-crime photo of the weapon on Doe’s bed.
Doe required an airlift to a hospital. Mariano initially said the shooting was accidental and alleged Doe had been attempting suicide. Interviewed later, Mariano admitted responsibility and apologized to Doe. Doe continues to experience pain and restricted movement because of the gunshot injury.
Mariano will be subject to five years of supervised probation. During this period, he cannot consume alcohol or drugs, he must maintain gainful employment or enroll in school, and he must not break any additional laws—federal, state, or tribal. Should he do so, Mariano will face the revocation of probation, which could result in a prison sentence. As a convicted felon, Mariano cannot possess any sort of gun.
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 Nation Department of Investigation, New Mexico State Police, and New Mexico Park Rangers. Assistant United States Attorney Zachary Jones is prosecuting the case.
Defendant Allegedly Engaged in Disturbing, Violent Online Conversations With Victim He Knew Was a Minor
PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Aniruth Kuppusamy, 25, of Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania, was charged by indictment with one count each of manufacturing child pornography, receiving child pornography, possessing child pornography, and the use of an interstate commerce facility to entice a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct.
As detailed in court filings, the defendant, who has been in custody since his arrest last month pursuant to a federal complaint and warrant, allegedly engaged in disturbing and violent conversations with Minor #1, who he knew was under the age of 18, and elicited sexually explicit videos of her.
In addition, the indictment alleges that the defendant knowingly received those visual depictions of Minor #1 engaged in sexually explicit conduct, and that he possessed images constituting child pornography on an iPhone 15 that had been shipped and transported using any means and facility of interstate and foreign commerce.
The indictment further alleges that Kuppusamy used a facility and means of interstate and foreign commerce, namely the internet and cellular telephone service, to persuade, induce, entice, and coerce Minor #1 to engage in sexual activity for which any person could be charged with a criminal offense, that is, the manufacture and receipt of child pornography.
If convicted, the defendant faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and a maximum possible sentence of life in prison.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to 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 projectsafechildhood.gov.
The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Danielle Bateman.
An indictment, information, or criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
Source: United States Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley
WASHINGTON – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Office of Inspector General (OIG) confirmed Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley’s (R-Iowa) numerous concerns about abuse in the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) unaccompanied alien children (UAC) program. Under the Biden-Harris administration, more than 500,000 children crossed the Southern border and entered the UAC program, while cartel trafficking activity surged.
Grassley repeatedly warned that the Biden-Harris UAC program’s inadequate safeguards, lax vetting procedures and limited inter-agency communication allowed children to be lost or released to dangerous adult sponsors. DHS OIG’s report validated all of Grassley’s findings. Notably, the report exposed how DHS was prevented from receiving key HHS information to follow up on potential criminal sponsors. Grassley broke through this inter-agency firewall last year by submitting a law enforcement referral to DHS containing HHS information provided to Grassley by legally protected whistleblowers. DHS’s Homeland Security Investigations followed up on 102 investigative targets Grassley identified.
“My oversight revealed the Biden-Harris administration prioritized speed and optics over the safety and security of hundreds-of-thousands of migrant children. DHS OIG’s report echoes my longstanding concerns and further fuels the fire of my investigative and legislative work. I’ll continue fighting to ensure abuse like this never happens again,” Grassley said.
The DHS OIG report found that:
HHS and DHS lost track of hundreds of thousands of migrant children.
HHS failed to provide DHS complete sponsor addresses for over 31,000 unaccompanied migrant children. Without sponsor addresses, law enforcement is unable to keep track of migrant children.
DHS law enforcement officers additionally estimated that addresses collected by HHS were incorrect 80 percent of the time.
DHS officers failed to enroll over 233,000 migrant children who crossed the border since January 2021 in immigration proceedings, increasing their risk of trafficking and exploitation.
Of those enrolled, more than 43,000 children failed to appear.
HHS failed to provide updated sponsor information to DHS when sponsors changed addresses, further hindering DHS’s ability to find children.
HHS placed migrant children with potentially dangerous sponsors.
In Fiscal Years 2023 and 2024, HHS released more than 24,100 migrant children to unrelated sponsors or distant relatives. Law enforcement officers note these children are at the highest risk for trafficking.
HHS frequently placed migrant children in rundown apartment complexes and dilapidated motels with barred windows, appliances stacked on patios and apartments with no doors or kitchens.
Local police noted many of these properties were located in areas with high violent crime rates, daily shootings and gang activity.
Multiple DHS offices confirmed HHS released children to incomplete or commercial addresses, and ICE officials at one field office noted the Biden HHS released 34 children to two addresses that didn’t exist.
The Biden-Harris administration limited HHS employees’ communication with law enforcement.
HHS failed to provide DHS law enforcement officers with accurate or timely information regarding the status and safety of migrant children.
A 2021 Biden-Harris inter-agency agreement restricted HHS from sharing sponsors’ biometric information with law enforcement officers.
DHS law enforcement noted this restrictive agreement prevents law enforcement from having input regarding children’s sponsors.
DHS law enforcement officers stated they were open to sharing information with HHS, but HHS did not share information with them. One officer noted, “Getting information from HHS is like pulling teeth.”
According to these officers, the Biden-Harris HHS feared that sharing sponsor information could lead to law enforcement actions against sponsors, especially those with criminal history or lacking legal immigration status.
The vast majority of migrant children discussed in the report date to the Biden-Harris administration, according to a related DHS OIG report released in August.
Read the full DHS OIG report HERE.
Grassley discussed the report in a speech on the Senate floor.
Background:Grassley has led efforts to protect unaccompanied migrant children from exploitation and abuse for more than a decade. See an overview of his work below:
03.11.2025 | Grassley Reignites Oversight of HHS’s Unaccompanied Migrant Children Program
01.14.2025 | Grassley, Blackburn Introduce Legislation to Halt Child Trafficking at the Border
10.18.2024 | Biden-Harris HHS Can’t Account to Congress for Status of Thousands of Unaccompanied Minors
10.16.2024 | ICYMI: Grassley Recognized for Work to Combat Sex-Trafficking Crisis: ‘The Only Person in a Position of Power Who Cares’
09.23.2024 | Grassley Leads Bicameral Colleagues in Calling Out Abuses in the Biden-Harris Unaccompanied Migrant Children Program
09.18.2024 | Democrats Block Grassley Effort to Protect Unaccompanied Migrant Children from Sexual Harm
09.17.2024 | Grassley: Not One More Child Should Have to Suffer Abuse Because of Biden-Harris Policies
09.04.2024 | Grassley Puts HHS Vetting, Information-Sharing under Microscope amid Biden-Harris Admin’s Neglect to Protect Migrant Children
07.11.2024 | RECORDS: HHS Sent Unaccompanied Minors to Sponsors with MS-13 Ties, Potential Trafficking Rings
07.09.2024 | Grassley Highlights Exploitation and Abuse of Migrant Children During Senate Roundtable
07.09.2024 | Grassley Delivers Opening Remarks At Roundtable On Abuse Of Unaccompanied Migrant Children
07.08.2024 | ICYMI: WSJ Reveals Alarming ‘Dilemma’ At The Heart Of Biden’s Unaccompanied Minors Program
06.12.2024 | Grassley Discusses Effort To End Biden Admin’s Abuse Of Unaccompanied Minors Program
06.05.2024 | Grassley Moves To Overturn Biden Admin Rule Enabling Abuse Of Unaccompanied Migrant Children
04.30.2024 | Grassley Scrutinizes HHS’s Improper Care Of Unaccompanied Migrant Children
03.14.2024 | Grassley Goes Head-To-Head With HHS Secretary On Immigration And Rural Health Care
01.24.2024 | Grassley Alerts DHS, FBI To Evidence Of Human Trafficking; Calls For Immediate Action To Locate & Rescue Migrant Children
12.04.2023 | Grassley And Senate Republicans Demand Changes To Biden Admin Rule Endangering Safety And Wellbeing Of Unaccompanied Alien Children
10.28.2021 | Grassley, Wyden Release Investigation On Misconduct And Abuse At Federally-Funded Facilities Caring For Unaccompanied Migrant Children
05.09.2019 | Grassley, Wyden Demand Answers On Misconduct And Abuse At Federally-Funded Facilities Caring For Unaccompanied Migrant Children
03.14.2016 | Feds Skip Child Abuse Checks For Some Sponsors Of Child Immigrants As Surge Continues
02.23.2016 | The Unaccompanied Children Crisis: Does the Administration Have a Plan to Stop the Border Surge and Adequately Monitor the Children
02.22.2016 | Feds Fall Short In Care, Tracking Of Unaccompanied Children
02.19.2016 | Grassley, Cornyn Continue To Press Administration On Vetting Of Sponsors For Unaccompanied Minors
11.24.2015 | Obama Administration Allegedly Releasing Unaccompanied Minors Into Criminals’ Custody
10.10.2014 | Grassley, Hatch, Coburn Press For GAO Study On The Office Of Refugee Resettlement Efforts With Unaccompanied Minors
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – A local man and woman pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court here today to drug and money laundering crimes related to assisting two Chillicothe brothers traffic drugs from Mexico and Arizona.
Todd Michael Fulkerson, 42, of Columbus, admitted to conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine.
In February 2024, Fulkerson traveled to Arizona at the request of Caleb Barillaro, 30, who was acquiring kilogram quantities of the drugs to resell through street-level drug dealers in Chillicothe and the surrounding areas. The men drove separate vehicles to Arizona, and Fulkerson accompanied Caleb on the trip to provide security. Fulkerson was recruited for this role based on his military experience.
In Arizona, Caleb purchased two kilograms of fentanyl and five kilograms of cocaine for $94,000 in cash. Caleb put the drugs in a cooler and placed ice on top of the drugs to conceal them before putting the cooler in Fulkerson’s car.
Law enforcement surveilled the two vehicles traveling in tandem back towards Ohio from Arizona.
The two stopped at a gas station near the Indiana and Ohio border. Caleb discovered that the melting ice in the cooler had ruined some of the kilograms of drugs. He became upset and took the cooler to his car. Caleb feared he was being surveilled by law enforcement as he traveled from the gas station, and he discarded the drugs along the side of the road.
Fulkerson faces up to 20 years in prison for his role in transporting the drugs.
Lazae Lett, 24, of Chillicothe, admitted to laundering drug proceeds to Sinaloa, Mexico, to help Dillon Barillaro, 31, obtain more drugs through a source of supply there. She sent several approximately $2,000 money orders via Western Union money orders from Walmart and two Kroger locations in Chillicothe.
Dillon Barillaro provided the illicit money to Lett and instructed her on recipient names and payment amounts. Dillon Barillaro drove Lett to the Walmart and Kroger locations to conduct financial transactions in immediate succession.
Lett faces up to 20 years in prison.
The Barillaro brothers have each pleaded guilty to federal narcotics crimes punishable by at least 10 years and up to life in prison and await sentencing.
Congress sets minimum and maximum statutory sentences. Sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the Court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors at future hearings.
Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Andrew Lawton, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Detroit Field Office; Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and Chillicothe Police Chief Ron Meyers announced the guilty pleas offered today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Norah McCann King. Assistant United States Attorneys Nicole Pakiz and Damoun Delaviz are representing the United States in the related cases.
These investigations were originally designated as part of Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs). The cases are part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Charles Edward Scott, 31, of Damascus, Maryland, was sentenced to 156 months in prison for his leadership of a drug conspiracy that sold the drug “boot” in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Scott, also known as “Whop Whop,” led a group of people selling Eutylone, also known as “boot,” in Berkeley and Jefferson Counties. Scott was storing large quantities of the drug and firearms in an apartment in Maryland, and with other known defendants, traveled to West Virginia to distribute. Scott has prior drug, firearms, and theft convictions.
Scott will serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Eastern Panhandle Drug Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative; the Martinsburg Police Department; the Montgomery County, Maryland Police Department; the Virginia State Police, Montgomery County; and Maryland State Attorney’s Office investigated.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lara Omps-Botteicher prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.
Defendant used another person’s identity to rent apartments for drug trafficking
BOSTON – A Taunton has pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to participating in drug distribution and a drug conspiracy involving wholesale quantities of cocaine, fentanyl, fentanyl analogue and methamphetamine. He also pleaded guilty to using an unknowing individual’s identity and an unauthorized access device to fraudulently rent locations he used for the purposes of drug trafficking.
Terrence Pyrtle, a/k/a “Big T,” a/k/a “T,” a/k/a “big_t558,” 42, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of cocaine, 400 grams and more of fentanyl, 100 grams and more of fentanyl analogue and methamphetamine; one count of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of cocaine, 400 grams and more of fentanyl, 100 grams and more of fentanyl analogue and methamphetamine; one count of possession with intent to distribute 400 grams and more of fentanyl and 100 grams and more of fentanyl analogue; one count of conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft; one count of access device fraud; and one count of aggravated identity theft. U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris scheduled sentencing for July 17, 2025. Pyrtle was charged in April 2023, along with co-conspirator Ashley Roostaie.
Pyrtle and Roostaie utilized the personal identification information (including name, date of birth and Social Security number) of an unknowing individual to fraudulently enter into lease agreements for two apartments in Braintree and Somerville, which Pyrtle then used to participate in a drug conspiracy involving distribution quantities of cocaine, fentanyl, fentanyl analogue and methamphetamine. The drug conspiracy in which Pyrtle participated also extended to other locations across the state.
Pyrtle and Roostaie also created an email account and obtained a counterfeit driver’s license using the individual’s identification information. Pyrtle and Roostaie also used the individual’s identification information to obtain a Green Dot debit card account, which they used to make payments associated with the apartments. By placing the apartment leases under another individual’s personal identification information, Roostaie and Pyrtle were able to conceal their connection to and use of the apartments which were used by Pyrtle in furtherance of his drug distribution and drug conspiracy.
In February 2025, Roostaie pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced in May 2025.
The charge of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of cocaine, 400 grams and more of fentanyl, 100 grams and more of fentanyl analogue, and methamphetamine provides for a sentence of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. The charges of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams and more of cocaine, 400 grams and more of fentanyl, 100 grams and more of fentanyl analogue, and methamphetamine each provide for a sentence of at least 10 years and up to life in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $10 million. The charge of conspiracy to commit access device fraud and aggravated identity theft provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of access device fraud provides for a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, up to three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of aggravated identity theft provides for a mandatory two-year prison term consecutive to any term of imprisonment received on a predicate, substantive count, up to a one-year term of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Boston, Brockton, East Bridgewater and Bridgewater Police Departments and Plymouth County, Suffolk County and Bristol County Sheriff’s Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kaitlin R. O’Donnell David Cutshall of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.
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.