NewzIntel.com

Category: Federal Bureau of Investigation

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Member of Pagan’s Motorcycle Club Pleads Guilty for Involvement in Theft of Firearm from Rival Club Member

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A former member of the Pagan’s Motorcycle Club pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Greg Kays for his involvement in the armed theft of a firearm from a member of a rival motorcycle club.

    Michael R. Browell, also known as “Dirtbag,” 35, of Savannah, Mo., pleaded guilty today to one count of aiding and abetting in the possession of a stolen firearm.

    On April 25, 2023, a member of the Border Saints Motorcycle Gang was chased down and confronted by Pagan’s Saint Joseph Chapter President Jeremiah Z. Hahn, a/k/a “Pass Out,” and former Pagan’s St. Joseph Chapter Sergeant at Arms Michael Browell, in Saint Joseph, Mo.  The Border Saints member (“victim”) had previously been requested by Hahn and other Pagan’s members to set up a meeting with the Outlaws Motorcycle Gang over their possible presence in the Saint Joseph area. The Border Saints were a support club for the Outlaws and the victim was deemed responsible by the Pagan’s for arranging the meeting.  After the victim said that he had failed to do so, Hahn and Browell told the victim to remove his Outlaws support shirt.  The victim refused.  Browell then got an axe handle from his motorcycle and threatened the victim with it. As the victim was giving up his support shirt, Hahn took the victim’s firearm from him.  The firearm was a Smith & Wesson, model M&P Shield, .40 caliber semi-automatic handgun. Thereafter, Hahn and Browell left with the firearm and support shirt.  Hahn was later found in possession of the firearm when arrested by the Missouri State Highway Patrol on May 3, 2023.

    On May 20, 2025, Hahn pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of the firearm, one count of assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering, and one count of attempting to commit assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering.

    Under federal statutes, Browell is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in prison without parole. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

    This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bradley K. Kavanaugh and Robert Smith. It was investigated by the FBI, the Independence, Mo., Police Department, the Blue Springs, Mo., Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Kansas City, Mo., Police Department.

    Project Safe Neighborhoods

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

    Organized Crime and Drug Enforcement Task Force

    This case 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.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Title Company Owner Pleads Guilty To Wire Fraud

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that Jonathan Yasko (46, Winter Springs) has pleaded guilty to wire fraud. Yasko faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

    According to the court documents, Yasko owned or controlled various title companies that conducted real estate settlement services and issued title insurance policies on behalf of title insurance underwriters. Each of Yasko’s title companies was required to deposit the funds it received from the lenders, buyers, and homeowners into an escrow account to segregate these monies from its own funds. The title companies were also legally required to disburse the lender’s funds in the manner specified in the instructions sent by the financial institutions. Yasko’s title companies also had a fiduciary duty to the financial institutions and were required to act in the best interests of the party providing the funds, rather than using these funds for its own self-interest.

    From January 2021 through August 2023, Yasko engaged in a scheme to defraud financial institutions using interstate wires. As part of his scheme, Yasko promised to keep the financial institution’s funds segregated in escrow accounts prior to closing in according with Florida law. He also promised to disburse the financial institution’s funds that were sent via interstate wire transfers in accordance with the financial institution’s closing instructions. Yasko initiated fraudulent interstate wire transfers of the lender funds from the segregated escrow accounts to other escrow accounts that had insufficient funds to conduct separate closings and initiated fraudulent interstate wire transfers of lender funds from the segregated escrow accounts to Yasko’s title company operating accounts for illicit purposes such as paying off personal credit cards, home renovation expenses, and payments to personal credit cards. Yasko embezzled the mortgage lenders funds, which prevented the real estate settlement from taking place. As a result, the title insurance underwriter paid out settlements to the victim financial institutions. Several of the botched real estate closings involved mortgage loans purchased or owned by Freddie Mac.

    In exchange for his role in the scheme, Yasko also received ill-gotten title insurance premiums. Yasko has agreed to forfeit $201,004.57, the proceeds of the charged criminal conduct.

    This case was investigated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspection General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Chris Poor.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: United States Secures the Extraditions of Individuals Accused of Violent and Other Serious Crimes from Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Georgia, Guatemala, Germany, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Israel, Kenya, Kosovo, Malaysia, Mauritius,

    Source: US State of North Dakota

    United States Also Returned International Fugitives Wanted for Terrorism, Murder, Attempted Murder and Child Sexual Abuse to Canada, India, and Mexico

    Note: The defendants whose names are underlined hyperlink to press releases.

    WASHINGTON — Extensive coordination between the Justice Department and law enforcement authorities in Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Georgia, Guatemala, Germany, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Israel, Kenya, Kosovo, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Panama, Peru, Spain, Thailand, Türkiye, Ukraine and the United Kingdom (UK) resulted in the extraditions in April and May of dozens of individuals. The defendants returned to the United States are alleged to have committed crimes — including child sexual abuse and rape, murder, hate crimes, assault, narcoterrorism, drug trafficking, alien smuggling, cybercrime, money laundering, fraud, aggravated robbery and extortion — in a number of U.S. states and federal districts, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia.

    The fugitives extradited to the United States include:

    • Michail Chkhikvishvili, also known as Mishka, Michael, Commander Butcher, and Butcher, 21, a Georgian national and alleged leader of a white supremacist group, was extradited from Moldova to face charges in the Eastern District of New York for soliciting hate crimes and planning a mass casualty attack in New York City. As the alleged leader of the white supremacist group “Maniac Murder Cult,” an international, racially motivated violent extremist group that adheres to a neo-Nazi ideology and promotes violence against racial minorities, the Jewish community, and other groups that it deems “undesirables,” Chkhikvishvili allegedly traveled to Brooklyn in 2022 and actively solicited acts of mass violence with a person who was, unbeknownst to Chkhikvishvili, an undercover FBI employee. In November 2023, Chkhikvishvili allegedly began planning a mass casualty attack to take place on New Year’s Eve, which would involve an individual dressing up as Santa Claus and handing out candy laced with poison to racial minorities. In January 2024, as alleged, the scheme evolved and Chkhikvishvili specifically directed the undercover FBI employee to target the Jewish community, Jewish schools, and Jewish children in Brooklyn.

    • Liridon Masurica, also known as @blackdb, 33, a national of Kosovo and alleged administrator of an online criminal marketplace, was extradited from Kosovo to face charges of conspiracy to commit access device fraud and fraudulent use of 15 or more unauthorized access devices in the Middle District of Florida.

    • Adrian Alberto Cano Gomez, also known as Andrea, 45, a national of Colombia and an alleged member of the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN), a designated foreign terrorist organization, was extradited from Colombia to face charges in the Southern District of Texas of narco-terrorism and distributing kilogram quantities of cocaine from Colombia.

    • Aler Baldomero Samayoa-Recinos, also known as Chicharra, 58, a national of Guatemala and alleged leader of a prolific Guatemalan drug trafficking organization, was extradited from Guatemala to face charges in the District of Columbia of conspiracy to distribute five kilograms of cocaine for importation to the United States.

    • Daniel Flores, 49, a national of Mexico, was extradited from Mexico to face charges of first-degree murder for the 1995 killing of two brothers, both U.S. Marines, ages 22 and 19, in Cook County, Illinois.

    • Manuel Alejandro Vasquez, 47, a citizen of Mexico, was extradited from Mexico to face a charge of murder in Ventura County, California. Vasquez’s two co-defendants were convicted in 1999 and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the 1998 murder of a man in his home over an alleged unpaid debt. Vasquez fled to Mexico before charges could be filed against him.

    • Tyler Buchanan, 23, a UK national, was extradited from Spain to face charges of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft in the Central District of California. Among other crimes, Buchanan and his co-conspirators allegedly stole cryptocurrency worth millions of dollars following phishing attacks on over 45 companies based in the United States, Canada, and the UK.

    • Felix Manuel Mejia-Gonzalez, 33, a Dominican citizen, was extradited from the Dominican Republic to face charges of fentanyl trafficking in the District of New Hampshire.

    • Samuel Steven Huggler, 28, a U.S. citizen, was extradited from Spain, to face charges relating to the alleged murder and attempted murders of three of his siblings in Vanderburgh County, Indiana. Huggler is charged with aiding, inducing, or causing murder, three counts of conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of aiding, inducing, or causing attempted murder, and possession of an altered firearm. 

    • Michel Patrick Desalles, 54, a Mauritian national, was extradited from Mauritius to face a charge of murder in the second degree in the State of New York. Desalles allegedly choked his employer to death with zip ties and immediately fled the United States in 2017.

    • Juan Miguel Roman-Balderas, 45, a citizen of Mexico, was extradited from Mexico to face two charges of murder in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Roman-Balderas is alleged to have stabbed to death his 28-year-old ex-girlfriend in April 2014 in Greenbelt, Maryland.

    • Rody L. Wilcox, 50, a U.S. citizen, was extradited from Georgia to face charges of lewd conduct with a minor under 16 years of age filed in Latah County, Idaho. Wilcox allegedly sexually assaulted a six-year-old child on multiple occasions in 2023. In 2024, Wilcox fled Idaho while on bond. Through OIA’s cooperation with the FBI, U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service and Georgian authorities, Wilcox was arrested in Georgia on Aug. 16, 2024, while en route to the Russian Federation.

    • Miguel Angel Urbano-Vazquez, 48, a citizen of Mexico, was extradited from Mexico to face charges of aggravated first-degree murder and rape in Pierce County, Washington. Urbano-Vazquez is alleged to have raped four victims between March and October 2002, one of whom he is also alleged to have murdered in the course of rape.

    • Gilberto Gutierrez, 46, a citizen of El Salvador, was extradited from El Salvador to face charges of rape, child abuse, and related sex offenses in Wicomico County, Maryland. Gutierrez allegedly repeatedly sexually abused two girls under the age of 10 years old between approximately 1999 and 2004.

    • Ramon Manriquez Castillo, 68, a dual U.S. and Mexican citizen; Edgar Rodriguez Ruano, 29, a Mexican citizen; Fernando Javier Escobar Tito, 48, an Ecuadorian citizen; and Anderson Jair Gamboa Nieto, 30, a Colombian citizen, were surrendered by Guinea-Bissau to face drug trafficking charges in the Southern District of Florida. The co-defendants are alleged members of a transnational drug trafficking organization comprised of several cartels in Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela, and they allegedly conspired to distribute large quantities of cocaine through Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, the Bahamas, and Guinea-Bissau using a U.S.-registered airplane, with a U.S. citizen onboard, from about November 2023 to September 2024. They are also charged with distributing cocaine in these countries using an airplane with a U.S. citizen onboard.

    • Artem Aleksandrovych Stryzhak, 35, a Ukrainian national, was extradited from Spain to face charges of conspiracy to commit fraud, extortion, and related activity in connection with computers in the Eastern District of New York and the Middle District of Florida. According to the charges in the Eastern District of New York, Stryzhak is one of the administrators of the Nefilim ransomware gang. The Middle District of Florida charges allege that Stryzhak used the Hive ransomware to engage in a computer hacking and extortion scheme that targeted businesses in the United States and abroad. The Hive ransomware group is estimated to have attacked approximately 1,500 victims and extorted approximately $110 million in ransom payments.

    The fugitives extradited by the United States include:

    • Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 64, a Canadian citizen, native of Pakistan, and convicted terrorist, was extradited to India to stand trial on 10 criminal charges stemming from his alleged role in the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai that killed 160 people, including six Americans, and wounded hundreds more.

    • Aaron Seth Juarez, 26, a U.S. citizen, was extradited to Mexico to be prosecuted for femicide for the 2019 killing of his approximately 31-year-old stepmother, whose body he allegedly buried in the backyard of her Tijuana home. 

    The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs (OIA), along with the U.S. Marshals Service, provided significant assistance in securing the defendants’ arrests and extraditions. The U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Central District of California and the Eastern District of California litigated with OIA the successful outgoing extradition cases for Rana and Juarez, respectively. OIA and the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Office of Judicial Attaché in Bogotá, Colombia provided significant assistance in securing the arrests and extraditions from Colombia. The Criminal Division’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) also provided assistance with the extraditions from Guatemala and Kosovo. The Justice Department thanks and acknowledges the instrumental role of its law enforcement partners in Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Georgia, Guatemala, Germany, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Israel, Kenya, Kosovo, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Panama, Peru, Spain, Thailand, Türkiye, Ukraine and the United Kingdom for making these extraditions possible.

    An indictment and criminal complaint are merely allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: United States Secures the Extraditions of Individuals Accused of Violent and Other Serious Crimes from Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Georgia, Guatemala, Germany, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Israel, Kenya, Kosovo, Malaysia, Mauritius,

    Source: United States Attorneys General 1

    United States Also Returned International Fugitives Wanted for Terrorism, Murder, Attempted Murder and Child Sexual Abuse to Canada, India, and Mexico

    Note: The defendants whose names are underlined hyperlink to press releases.

    WASHINGTON — Extensive coordination between the Justice Department and law enforcement authorities in Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Georgia, Guatemala, Germany, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Israel, Kenya, Kosovo, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Panama, Peru, Spain, Thailand, Türkiye, Ukraine and the United Kingdom (UK) resulted in the extraditions in April and May of dozens of individuals. The defendants returned to the United States are alleged to have committed crimes — including child sexual abuse and rape, murder, hate crimes, assault, narcoterrorism, drug trafficking, alien smuggling, cybercrime, money laundering, fraud, aggravated robbery and extortion — in a number of U.S. states and federal districts, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia.

    The fugitives extradited to the United States include:

    • Michail Chkhikvishvili, also known as Mishka, Michael, Commander Butcher, and Butcher, 21, a Georgian national and alleged leader of a white supremacist group, was extradited from Moldova to face charges in the Eastern District of New York for soliciting hate crimes and planning a mass casualty attack in New York City. As the alleged leader of the white supremacist group “Maniac Murder Cult,” an international, racially motivated violent extremist group that adheres to a neo-Nazi ideology and promotes violence against racial minorities, the Jewish community, and other groups that it deems “undesirables,” Chkhikvishvili allegedly traveled to Brooklyn in 2022 and actively solicited acts of mass violence with a person who was, unbeknownst to Chkhikvishvili, an undercover FBI employee. In November 2023, Chkhikvishvili allegedly began planning a mass casualty attack to take place on New Year’s Eve, which would involve an individual dressing up as Santa Claus and handing out candy laced with poison to racial minorities. In January 2024, as alleged, the scheme evolved and Chkhikvishvili specifically directed the undercover FBI employee to target the Jewish community, Jewish schools, and Jewish children in Brooklyn.

    • Liridon Masurica, also known as @blackdb, 33, a national of Kosovo and alleged administrator of an online criminal marketplace, was extradited from Kosovo to face charges of conspiracy to commit access device fraud and fraudulent use of 15 or more unauthorized access devices in the Middle District of Florida.

    • Adrian Alberto Cano Gomez, also known as Andrea, 45, a national of Colombia and an alleged member of the Ejército de Liberación Nacional (ELN), a designated foreign terrorist organization, was extradited from Colombia to face charges in the Southern District of Texas of narco-terrorism and distributing kilogram quantities of cocaine from Colombia.

    • Aler Baldomero Samayoa-Recinos, also known as Chicharra, 58, a national of Guatemala and alleged leader of a prolific Guatemalan drug trafficking organization, was extradited from Guatemala to face charges in the District of Columbia of conspiracy to distribute five kilograms of cocaine for importation to the United States.

    • Daniel Flores, 49, a national of Mexico, was extradited from Mexico to face charges of first-degree murder for the 1995 killing of two brothers, both U.S. Marines, ages 22 and 19, in Cook County, Illinois.

    • Manuel Alejandro Vasquez, 47, a citizen of Mexico, was extradited from Mexico to face a charge of murder in Ventura County, California. Vasquez’s two co-defendants were convicted in 1999 and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the 1998 murder of a man in his home over an alleged unpaid debt. Vasquez fled to Mexico before charges could be filed against him.

    • Tyler Buchanan, 23, a UK national, was extradited from Spain to face charges of conspiracy to commit computer intrusion, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft in the Central District of California. Among other crimes, Buchanan and his co-conspirators allegedly stole cryptocurrency worth millions of dollars following phishing attacks on over 45 companies based in the United States, Canada, and the UK.

    • Felix Manuel Mejia-Gonzalez, 33, a Dominican citizen, was extradited from the Dominican Republic to face charges of fentanyl trafficking in the District of New Hampshire.

    • Samuel Steven Huggler, 28, a U.S. citizen, was extradited from Spain, to face charges relating to the alleged murder and attempted murders of three of his siblings in Vanderburgh County, Indiana. Huggler is charged with aiding, inducing, or causing murder, three counts of conspiracy to commit murder, two counts of aiding, inducing, or causing attempted murder, and possession of an altered firearm. 

    • Michel Patrick Desalles, 54, a Mauritian national, was extradited from Mauritius to face a charge of murder in the second degree in the State of New York. Desalles allegedly choked his employer to death with zip ties and immediately fled the United States in 2017.

    • Juan Miguel Roman-Balderas, 45, a citizen of Mexico, was extradited from Mexico to face two charges of murder in Prince George’s County, Maryland. Roman-Balderas is alleged to have stabbed to death his 28-year-old ex-girlfriend in April 2014 in Greenbelt, Maryland.

    • Rody L. Wilcox, 50, a U.S. citizen, was extradited from Georgia to face charges of lewd conduct with a minor under 16 years of age filed in Latah County, Idaho. Wilcox allegedly sexually assaulted a six-year-old child on multiple occasions in 2023. In 2024, Wilcox fled Idaho while on bond. Through OIA’s cooperation with the FBI, U.S. Department of State Diplomatic Security Service and Georgian authorities, Wilcox was arrested in Georgia on Aug. 16, 2024, while en route to the Russian Federation.

    • Miguel Angel Urbano-Vazquez, 48, a citizen of Mexico, was extradited from Mexico to face charges of aggravated first-degree murder and rape in Pierce County, Washington. Urbano-Vazquez is alleged to have raped four victims between March and October 2002, one of whom he is also alleged to have murdered in the course of rape.

    • Gilberto Gutierrez, 46, a citizen of El Salvador, was extradited from El Salvador to face charges of rape, child abuse, and related sex offenses in Wicomico County, Maryland. Gutierrez allegedly repeatedly sexually abused two girls under the age of 10 years old between approximately 1999 and 2004.

    • Ramon Manriquez Castillo, 68, a dual U.S. and Mexican citizen; Edgar Rodriguez Ruano, 29, a Mexican citizen; Fernando Javier Escobar Tito, 48, an Ecuadorian citizen; and Anderson Jair Gamboa Nieto, 30, a Colombian citizen, were surrendered by Guinea-Bissau to face drug trafficking charges in the Southern District of Florida. The co-defendants are alleged members of a transnational drug trafficking organization comprised of several cartels in Mexico, Colombia, and Venezuela, and they allegedly conspired to distribute large quantities of cocaine through Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, the Bahamas, and Guinea-Bissau using a U.S.-registered airplane, with a U.S. citizen onboard, from about November 2023 to September 2024. They are also charged with distributing cocaine in these countries using an airplane with a U.S. citizen onboard.

    • Artem Aleksandrovych Stryzhak, 35, a Ukrainian national, was extradited from Spain to face charges of conspiracy to commit fraud, extortion, and related activity in connection with computers in the Eastern District of New York and the Middle District of Florida. According to the charges in the Eastern District of New York, Stryzhak is one of the administrators of the Nefilim ransomware gang. The Middle District of Florida charges allege that Stryzhak used the Hive ransomware to engage in a computer hacking and extortion scheme that targeted businesses in the United States and abroad. The Hive ransomware group is estimated to have attacked approximately 1,500 victims and extorted approximately $110 million in ransom payments.

    The fugitives extradited by the United States include:

    • Tahawwur Hussain Rana, 64, a Canadian citizen, native of Pakistan, and convicted terrorist, was extradited to India to stand trial on 10 criminal charges stemming from his alleged role in the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai that killed 160 people, including six Americans, and wounded hundreds more.

    • Aaron Seth Juarez, 26, a U.S. citizen, was extradited to Mexico to be prosecuted for femicide for the 2019 killing of his approximately 31-year-old stepmother, whose body he allegedly buried in the backyard of her Tijuana home. 

    The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs (OIA), along with the U.S. Marshals Service, provided significant assistance in securing the defendants’ arrests and extraditions. The U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Central District of California and the Eastern District of California litigated with OIA the successful outgoing extradition cases for Rana and Juarez, respectively. OIA and the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Office of Judicial Attaché in Bogotá, Colombia provided significant assistance in securing the arrests and extraditions from Colombia. The Criminal Division’s Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) also provided assistance with the extraditions from Guatemala and Kosovo. The Justice Department thanks and acknowledges the instrumental role of its law enforcement partners in Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Georgia, Guatemala, Germany, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Israel, Kenya, Kosovo, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Panama, Peru, Spain, Thailand, Türkiye, Ukraine and the United Kingdom for making these extraditions possible.

    An indictment and criminal complaint are merely allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: British and Chinese Nationals Indicted for Alleged Plot to Silence U.S. Dissident and Smuggle U.S. Military Technology to China

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    LOS ANGELES – Federal grand juries in Los Angeles and Milwaukee each have returned indictments charging two foreign nationals, Cui Guanghai, 43, of China, and John Miller, 63, of the United Kingdom and a U.S. lawful permanent resident, with interstate stalking and conspiracy to commit interstate stalking (Los Angeles) and conspiracy, smuggling, and violations of the Arms Export Control Act (Milwaukee), the Justice Department announced today.

    “As alleged, the defendants targeted a U.S. resident for exercising his constitutional right to free speech and conspired to traffic sensitive American military technology to the Chinese regime,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “This is a blatant assault on both our national security and our democratic values. This Justice Department will not tolerate foreign repression on U.S. soil, nor will we allow hostile nations to infiltrate or exploit our defense systems. We will act decisively to expose and dismantle these threats wherever they emerge.”

    “The defendants allegedly plotted to harass and interfere with an individual who criticized the actions of the People’s Republic of China while exercising their constitutionally protected free speech rights within the United States of America,” said FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino. “The same individuals also are charged with trying to obtain and export sensitive U.S. military technology to China. I want to commend the good work of the FBI and our partners in the U.S and overseas in putting a stop to these illegal activities.”

    • Central District of California (Los Angeles)

    According to court documents, beginning in October 2023, Cui and Miller enlisted two individuals (Individual 1 and Individual 2) inside the United States to carry out a plot to prevent the Victim from protesting President Xi’s appearance at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November 2023. The victim had previously made public statements in opposition to the policies and actions of the PRC government and President Xi.

    “The indictment alleges that Chinese foreign actors targeted a victim in our nation because he criticized the Chinese government and its president,” said U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “My office will continue to use all legal methods available to hold accountable foreign nationals engaging in criminal activity on our soil.”

    “The FBI will not tolerate transnational repression targeting those in the United States who express dissenting opinions about foreign leaders,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “Both defendants face serious stalking charges in Los Angeles and my office intends to hold them accountable for bullying a victim, a critic of the PRC, and targeting him with violence.”

    Unbeknownst to Cui and Miller, Individual 1 and Individual 2 were affiliated with and acting at the direction of the FBI.

    In the weeks leading up to the APEC summit, Cui and Miller directed and coordinated an interstate scheme to surveil the victim, to install a tracking device on the victim’s car, to slash the tires on the victim’s car, and to purchase and destroy a pair of artistic statues created by the victim depicting President Xi and President Xi’s wife.

    A similar scheme took place in the spring of 2025, after the victim announced that he planned to make public an online video feed depicting two new artistic statues of President Xi and his wife. In connection with these plots, Cui and Miller paid two other individuals (Individual 3 and Individual 4), approximately $36,500 to convince the victim to desist from the online display of the statues. Unbeknownst to Cui and Miller, Individual 3 and Individual 4 were also affiliated with and acting at the direction of the FBI.

    • Eastern District of Wisconsin (Milwaukee)

    According to court documents, beginning in November 2023, Miller and Cui solicited the procurement of U.S. defense articles, including missiles, air defense radar, drones, and cryptographic devices with associated crypto ignition keys for unlawful export from the United States to the People’s Republic of China from two individuals (Individual 5 and Individual 6). 

    In connection with the scheme, Cui and Miller discussed with Individuals 5 and 6 ways to export a cryptographic device from the United States to the People’s Republic of China, including concealing the device in a blender, small electronics, or motor starter, and shipping the device first to Hong Kong. Cui and Miller paid approximately $10,000 as a deposit for the cryptographic device via a courier in the United States and a wire transfer to a U.S. bank account.

    ***

    An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    If convicted, Cui and Miller face the following maximum penalties: five years in prison for conspiracy; five years in prison for interstate stalking; 20 years in prison for violation of the Arms Export Control Act; and 10 years in prison for smuggling.

    The FBI is investigating the case. The United States is coordinating with Serbian authorities regarding the pending extraditions of Cui and Miller from Serbia.

    Assistant United States Attorneys David Ryan, Chief of the National Security Division and Amanda B. Elbogen of the Terrorism and Export Crimes Section, both of the Central District of California, Benjamin Taibleson of the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and Trial Attorneys Leslie Esbrook and Menno Goedman of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the cases, with valuable assistance provided by the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Attorney’s Office Hosts Elder Fraud Prevention Forum

    Source: US FBI

    MIAMI – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida hosted a public outreach event and interactive discussion, in partnership with the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), focused on preventing crimes against senior citizens on May 15, 2025 at Century Village in Pembroke Pines, Florida. Participants included the U.S. Attorney’s Office, FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation, Broward State Attorney’s Office, the Wilton Manors Police Department, and AARP Florida.

    The program discussed common schemes affecting senior citizens, investment fraud, lottery, and inheritance fraud, along with a local law enforcement panel with local fraud and abuse case examples.

    This program is part of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida’s Elder Justice Initiative. For more information about the Justice Department’s efforts to help American seniors please visit the Elder Justice Initiative webpage at justice.gov/elderjustice and for information regarding how the FBI can help the public, visit https://www.fbi.gov/how-we-can-help-you/scams-and-safety/common-scams-and-crimes/elder-fraud.

    To report an elder fraud scam, please call 1-800-CALL-FBI, submit a tip at  https://www.ic3.gov/Home/EF, or contact your local field office. The National Elder Fraud Hotline is also available for reports at 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311).

    You may find a copy of this press release (and any updates) on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI USA: Two Foreign Nationals Indicted for Plot to Silence U.S. Dissident and Smuggle U.S. Military Technology to China

    Source: US State Government of Utah

    Defendants Charged in Los Angeles and Milwaukee with Interstate Stalking, Arms Export Violations, and Smuggling

    Federal grand juries in Milwaukee and Los Angeles each returned indictments charging two foreign nationals, Cui Guanghai, 43, of China, and John Miller, 63, of the United Kingdom and a U.S. lawful permanent resident, with interstate stalking and conspiracy to commit interstate stalking (Los Angeles) and conspiracy, smuggling, and violations of the Arms Export Control Act (Milwaukee).

    “As alleged, the defendants targeted a U.S. resident for exercising his constitutional right to free speech and conspired to traffic sensitive American military technology to the Chinese regime,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “This is a blatant assault on both our national security and our democratic values. This Justice Department will not tolerate foreign repression on U.S. soil, nor will we allow hostile nations to infiltrate or exploit our defense systems. We will act decisively to expose and dismantle these threats wherever they emerge.”

    “The defendants allegedly plotted to harass and interfere with an individual who criticized the actions of the People’s Republic of China while exercising their constitutionally protected free speech rights within the United States of America,” said FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino. “The same individuals also are charged with trying to obtain and export sensitive U.S. military technology to China. I want to commend the good work of the FBI and our partners in the U.S and overseas in putting a stop to these illegal activities.”

    Allegations in the Central District of California

    According to court documents, beginning in October 2023, Cui and Miller enlisted two individuals (Individual 1 and Individual 2) inside the United States to carry out a plot to prevent the Victim from protesting President Xi’s appearance at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November 2023. The victim had previously made public statements in opposition to the policies and actions of the PRC government and President Xi.

    “The indictment alleges that Chinese foreign actors targeted a victim in our nation because he criticized the Chinese government and its president,” said U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “My office will continue to use all legal methods available to hold accountable foreign nationals engaging in criminal activity on our soil.”

    Unbeknownst to Cui and Miller, Individual 1 and Individual 2 were affiliated with and acting at the direction of the FBI.

    In the weeks leading up to the APEC summit, Cui and Miller directed and coordinated an interstate scheme to surveil the victim, to install a tracking device on the victim’s car, to slash the tires on the victim’s car, and to purchase and destroy a pair of artistic statues created by the victim depicting President Xi and President Xi’s wife.

    A similar scheme took place in the spring of 2025, after the victim announced that he planned to make public an online video feed depicting two new artistic statues of President Xi and his wife. In connection with these plots, Cui and Miller paid two other individuals (Individual 3 and Individual 4), approximately $36,500 to convince the victim to desist from the online display of the statues. Unbeknownst to Cui and Miller, Individual 3 and Individual 4 were also affiliated with and acting at the direction of the FBI.

    Allegations in the Eastern District of Wisconsin

    According to court documents, beginning in November 2023, Miller and Cui solicited the procurement of U.S. defense articles, including missiles, air defense radar, drones, and cryptographic devices with associated crypto ignition keys for unlawful export from the United States to the People’s Republic of China from two individuals (Individual 5 and Individual 6).  

    In connection with the scheme, Cui and Miller discussed with Individuals 5 and 6 ways to export a cryptographic device from the United States to the People’s Republic of China, including concealing the device in a blender, small electronics, or motor starter, and shipping the device first to Hong Kong. Cui and Miller paid approximately $10,000 as a deposit for the cryptographic device via a courier in the United States and a wire transfer to a U.S. bank account.

    ***

    If convicted, Cui and Miller face the following maximum penalties: five years in prison for conspiracy; five years in prison for interstate stalking; 20 years in prison for violation of the Arms Export Control Act; and 10 years in prison for smuggling.

    The FBI is investigating the case. The United States is coordinating with Serbian authorities regarding the pending extraditions of Cui and Miller from Serbia.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Ryan and Amanda B. Elbogen for the Central District of California, Benjamin Taibleson for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and Trial Attorneys Leslie Esbrook and Menno Goedman of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the cases, with valuable assistance provided by the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.

    An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Elizabeth Man Charged with Making Antisemitic Threat to Injure Local Public Official

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Edward Arthur Owens Jr., 29, a resident of Elizabeth, Pennsylvania, has been charged by federal criminal complaint with making a threat to injure a local public official, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today. Owens was arrested on the criminal complaint this morning by agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

    According to the complaint, on May 20, 2025, Owens knowingly and willfully transmitted via a social media messaging app the following threat to injure a local public official: “We’re coming for you [emoji of person raising right hand] [German flag emoji] be afraid. Go back to Israel or better yet, exterminate yourself and save us the trouble. 109 countries for a reason. We will not stop until your kind is nonexistent.” The complaint explains that the reference to “109 countries,” according to the Anti-Defamation League, is an antisemitic assertion that Jews have been expelled from 109 different countries; it is used by antisemites to call for the expulsion of Jews from other countries and otherwise to promote hatred. The recipient of the message is a local official who regularly engages with the public.

    The United States has filed a request for detention of the defendant pending trial, asserting that he is a danger to the community and should be held without bail. A hearing on the government’s motion will be held June 5, 2025, at 10 a.m.

    Assistant United States Attorney Carl J. Spindler is prosecuting this case on behalf of the United States.

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation leading to the criminal complaint against Owens.

    A criminal complaint is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Two Foreign Nationals Indicted for Plot to Silence U.S. Dissident and Smuggle U.S. Military Technology to China

    Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

    Defendants Charged in Los Angeles and Milwaukee with Interstate Stalking, Arms Export Violations, and Smuggling

    Federal grand juries in Milwaukee and Los Angeles each returned indictments charging two foreign nationals, Cui Guanghai, 43, of China, and John Miller, 63, of the United Kingdom and a U.S. lawful permanent resident, with interstate stalking and conspiracy to commit interstate stalking (Los Angeles) and conspiracy, smuggling, and violations of the Arms Export Control Act (Milwaukee).

    “As alleged, the defendants targeted a U.S. resident for exercising his constitutional right to free speech and conspired to traffic sensitive American military technology to the Chinese regime,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. “This is a blatant assault on both our national security and our democratic values. This Justice Department will not tolerate foreign repression on U.S. soil, nor will we allow hostile nations to infiltrate or exploit our defense systems. We will act decisively to expose and dismantle these threats wherever they emerge.”

    “The defendants allegedly plotted to harass and interfere with an individual who criticized the actions of the People’s Republic of China while exercising their constitutionally protected free speech rights within the United States of America,” said FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino. “The same individuals also are charged with trying to obtain and export sensitive U.S. military technology to China. I want to commend the good work of the FBI and our partners in the U.S and overseas in putting a stop to these illegal activities.”

    Allegations in the Central District of California

    According to court documents, beginning in October 2023, Cui and Miller enlisted two individuals (Individual 1 and Individual 2) inside the United States to carry out a plot to prevent the Victim from protesting President Xi’s appearance at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November 2023. The victim had previously made public statements in opposition to the policies and actions of the PRC government and President Xi.

    “The indictment alleges that Chinese foreign actors targeted a victim in our nation because he criticized the Chinese government and its president,” said U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “My office will continue to use all legal methods available to hold accountable foreign nationals engaging in criminal activity on our soil.”

    Unbeknownst to Cui and Miller, Individual 1 and Individual 2 were affiliated with and acting at the direction of the FBI.

    In the weeks leading up to the APEC summit, Cui and Miller directed and coordinated an interstate scheme to surveil the victim, to install a tracking device on the victim’s car, to slash the tires on the victim’s car, and to purchase and destroy a pair of artistic statues created by the victim depicting President Xi and President Xi’s wife.

    A similar scheme took place in the spring of 2025, after the victim announced that he planned to make public an online video feed depicting two new artistic statues of President Xi and his wife. In connection with these plots, Cui and Miller paid two other individuals (Individual 3 and Individual 4), approximately $36,500 to convince the victim to desist from the online display of the statues. Unbeknownst to Cui and Miller, Individual 3 and Individual 4 were also affiliated with and acting at the direction of the FBI.

    Allegations in the Eastern District of Wisconsin

    According to court documents, beginning in November 2023, Miller and Cui solicited the procurement of U.S. defense articles, including missiles, air defense radar, drones, and cryptographic devices with associated crypto ignition keys for unlawful export from the United States to the People’s Republic of China from two individuals (Individual 5 and Individual 6).  

    In connection with the scheme, Cui and Miller discussed with Individuals 5 and 6 ways to export a cryptographic device from the United States to the People’s Republic of China, including concealing the device in a blender, small electronics, or motor starter, and shipping the device first to Hong Kong. Cui and Miller paid approximately $10,000 as a deposit for the cryptographic device via a courier in the United States and a wire transfer to a U.S. bank account.

    ***

    If convicted, Cui and Miller face the following maximum penalties: five years in prison for conspiracy; five years in prison for interstate stalking; 20 years in prison for violation of the Arms Export Control Act; and 10 years in prison for smuggling.

    The FBI is investigating the case. The United States is coordinating with Serbian authorities regarding the pending extraditions of Cui and Miller from Serbia.

    Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Ryan and Amanda B. Elbogen for the Central District of California, Benjamin Taibleson for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and Trial Attorneys Leslie Esbrook and Menno Goedman of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the cases, with valuable assistance provided by the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs.

    An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Three Defendants Sentenced and Another Pleads Guilty for Roles in Transnational Drug Trafficking Operation

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Three individuals from Pennsylvania, Washington, and Arizona were sentenced, and another individual from Ohio pleaded guilty, in federal court on May 28, 2025, to charges of violating federal narcotics and money laundering laws in relation to a transnational drug trafficking organization (DTO), Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today. The defendants were among 35 individuals charged through a Second Superseding Indictment unsealed in January 2024 for their participation in a domestic and international narcotics and money laundering conspiracy involving substantial quantities of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine.

    The sentences imposed by United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan were:

    Defendant

    		 Age

    Residence

    Sentence
    James Pinkston 34 New Kensington, Pennsylvania 220 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release
    Alicia Parks 26 Kent, Washington 84 months in prison, to be followed by four years of supervised release
    Marco Armenta 24 Phoenix, Arizona 12 months and one day in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release

    According to information presented to the Court, on various dates from in and around August 2021 to in and around June 2023, in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Pinkston and Parks conspired to possess with intent to distribute and distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl and 500 grams or more of cocaine. Similarly, from in and around August 2022 to January 2023, Armenta conspired to possess with intent to distribute and distribute 40 grams or more of a mixture of fentanyl. The defendants were intercepted on a federal wiretap obtaining quantities of the drugs that they distributed to others. Additionally, the Court was advised that, in and around March 2023, Pinkston possessed with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture of cocaine, and, from in and around April 2022 to March 2023, conspired to commit money laundering by using a payments app to receive and initiate payments for drug transactions.

    The Second Superseding Indictment alleges that the operation imported from Mexico millions of fentanyl pills, kilograms of fentanyl powder, hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine, and dozens of kilograms of cocaine that then were distributed and sold throughout the United States. Pinkston served as the western Pennsylvania connection to the Phoenix DTO responsible for importing the drugs from Mexico.

    In addition to the sentencings, another defendant in the case—Diamond Williams-Dorsey, 32, of Cleveland, Ohio—pleaded guilty before Judge Ranjan to Count One of the Second Superseding Indictment. In connection with the guilty plea, the Court was advised that, from in and around July 2022 to August 2022, Williams-Dorsey conspired to possess with intent to distribute and distribute 400 grams or more of a mixture of fentanyl. Judge Ranjan scheduled sentencing for November 4, 2025. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not less than 10 years and up to life in prison, a fine of up to $10 million, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

    With this week’s three sentencings and guilty plea, 20 of the 35 defendants charged in the Second Superseding Indictment have now pleaded guilty in the case, with nine having been sentenced thus far.

    Assistant United States Attorneys Arnold P. Bernard Jr. and Tonya S. Goodman prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

    Acting United States Attorney Rivetti commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Laurel Highlands Resident Agency and Homeland Security Investigations for the investigation that led to the successful prosecution of the defendants. Additional agencies participating in this investigation include the Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigation, United States Postal Inspection Service, and other local law enforcement agencies.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, combat illegal immigration, 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).

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Three Defendants Plead Guilty to Participating in Cross-State Drug Trafficking Ring

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Three individuals from Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey pleaded guilty in federal court this week to charges of violating federal narcotics laws in connection with a cross-state drug trafficking ring, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today. The defendants were among 27 individuals charged through a Superseding Indictment unsealed in March 2023 for their participation in a cross-state narcotics conspiracy involving substantial quantities of fentanyl, cocaine, crack, and heroin.

    Pleading guilty this week before United States District Judge Marilyn J. Horan were:

    Plea Date Defendant Age Residence
    May 28 Robert Hurst 46 North Royalton, Ohio
    May 28 Melissa Frain 36 Indiana, Pennsylvania
    May 29 Kevin Thomas 48 Newark, New Jersey

    In connection with the guilty pleas, the Court was advised that, in and around October 2022 to March 2023, in the Western District of Pennsylvania, Hurst conspired to possess with intent to distribute and distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, 40 grams or more of a mixture of fentanyl, and a quantity of a mixture of crack. Similarly, from in and around September 2021 to January 2022, Frain conspired to possess with intent to distribute and distribute quantities of mixtures of cocaine, fentanyl, and crack. From in and around October 2022 to March 2023, Thomas conspired to possess with intent to distribute and distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture of cocaine and a quantity of a mixture of crack. The defendants were intercepted on a federal wiretap obtaining quantities of the drugs that they distributed to others.

    Hurst was one of the managers of the New Kensington-based drug trafficking group. Hurst primarily resided in Cleveland, Ohio, but maintained a premises in Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, which served as a distribution point for the organization. Hurst exercised decision-making authority on behalf of the organization and dictated who could be supplied with the group’s drugs.

    Judge Horan scheduled sentencings for September 17, 2025. The law provides for a maximum total sentence of not less than five years and up to 40 years in prison, a fine of up to $5 million, or both. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offense(s) and the prior criminal history, if any, of each defendant.

    With this week’s guilty pleas, 22 of the 27 defendants charged in the Superseding Indictment have now pleaded guilty in the case, with 14 defendants having been sentenced thus far. Included in those sentencings is Misti Durante, 40, of Indiana, Pennsylvania, who Judge Horan sentenced this week to time served for her role in the conspiracy.

    Assistant United States Attorney Arnold P. Bernard Jr. is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Laurel Highlands Resident Agency and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of the defendants. Additional agencies participating in this investigation include the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigation, United States Postal Inspection Service, and other local law enforcement agencies.

    This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: 413 New Immigration Cases This Week in the Western District of Texas

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SAN ANTONIO – Acting United States Attorney Margaret Leachman for the Western District of Texas announced today, that federal prosecutors in the district filed 413 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from May 23 through May 29.

    Among the new cases, Salvadoran national Jaqueline Del Carmen Aleman-Aguilar was charged with one count of illegal re-entry in San Antonio. According to a criminal complaint, Aleman-Aguilar was convicted for transportation of aliens in June 2015 and sentenced to six months in federal prison. She was then removed from the United States to Mexico in July 2015.

    Christian Ruben Corea-Benavides, a Nicaraguan national, was charged in El Paso with attempting to transport illegal aliens. U.S. Border Patrol agents allegedly observed Corea-Benavides pick up five illegal aliens just over four miles west of the Fort Hancock Port of Entry. A criminal complaint alleges that during a traffic stop, the investigating USBP agent observed a female passenger in the front seat of the vehicle, and four additional passengers lying on top of one another in the backseat—all appearing to be wet and muddy.

    Mexican national Sabino Renteria-Alvarado was arrested May 28 at the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry after he attempted to enter through the pedestrian entrance and allegedly presented the Customs and Border Protection officer (CBPO) with a false claim that he had been a Legal Permanent Resident, but that police in Nevada possessed his LPR card. The CBPO referred Renteria-Alvarado to Passport Control Secondary, where records revealed he had been previously removed in January 2024 through Nogales, Arizona. His criminal record includes a 15-year prison sentence for a sexual assault of a minor conviction in 2017. Renteria-Alvarado is currently charged with one count of illegal re-entry.

    Two U.S. citizens were arrested in the Del Rio area as the result of separate human smuggling attempts, as alleged in criminal complaints. Nancy Anna Gwyn, of Houston, was encountered during a May 22 traffic stop near Carrizo Springs. USBP agents allegedly uncovered three passengers in her vehicle who were identified to be citizens of foreign countries and illegally present in the U.S. On May 24, an immigration checkpoint inspection near Eagle Pass allegedly revealed that Anastasia Lee Daneill Godfrey, of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, was attempting to transport two illegal aliens to San Antonio in the trunk of a sedan.

    Honduran national Walter Alonso Martinez-Chandias is charged with illegal re-entry. He has one prior removal—in June 2013 through Alexandria, Louisiana—and a lengthy criminal record that includes convictions in Birmingham, Alabama for drug trafficking and homicide, for which he was sentenced in 2018 to five years and 20 years in prison, respectively. In 2017, he was convicted in Birmingham for unlawful transport of firearms and sentenced to 81 months in prison. A criminal complain alleges that when he was arrested on May 25, Martinez-Chandias refused to comply with Border Patrol agents’ commands and resisted attempts to be placed in custody and handcuffs by running and kicking.

    Luis Alberto Olivarez-Hernandez, of Mexico, was arrested May 27 near Eagle Pass for illegal re-entry. He has two prior removals, the last one being Feb. 25 through Laredo, five days after a felony conviction for unlawfully carrying a weapon in prohibited places. Additionally, Olivarez-Hernandez was convicted in 2010 for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

    Armando Vazquez-Ruiz, also a Mexican national, is charged with illegal re-entry after being found near Eagle Pass less than two weeks after his most recent removal. Vazquez-Ruiz had been convicted in Georgetown May 7 for assault causing bodily injury and was deported May 8 through Laredo.

    In Austin, Mexican national Basilio Luna-Luna was encountered by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Travis County Jail May 24, where he was detained for what would be his seventh DWI, if convicted. Luna-Luna was previously removed from the U.S. in November 2014 and voluntarily returned to Mexico twice—once in 1998 and once in 2009.

    Juan Alberto Zarate-Salgado, also of Mexico, was encountered at the Travis County Jail as well and is charged with illegal re-entry. Zarate-Salgado has two prior removals and multiple convictions for assault of a family/household member and assault causing bodily injury to a family member.

    These cases were referred or supported by federal law enforcement partners, including Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations (ICE ERO), U.S. Border Patrol, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), with additional assistance from state and local law enforcement partners.

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas comprises 68 counties located in the central and western areas of Texas, encompasses nearly 93,000 square miles and an estimated population of 7.6 million people. The district includes three of the five largest cities in Texas—San Antonio, Austin and El Paso—and shares 660 miles of common border with the Republic of Mexico.

    These 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).

    Indictments and criminal complaints are merely allegations and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    ###

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Gastonia Police Officer Charged With Straw Purchasing A Firearm Appears In Federal Court After Arrest

    Source: United States Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF)

    CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A federal indictment was unsealed today in federal court in Charlotte charging Xana Dayanae Dove, a former Gastonia police officer, with straw purchasing a firearm, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Dove, 28, of Charlotte, was arrested on Thursday, and was released on bond following her initial court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge David C. Keesler.

    James C. Barnacle, Jr., Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in North Carolina, and Alicia Jones, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, join U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making today’s announcement.

    According to allegations in the indictment, on May 25, 2023, Dove knowingly made a false and fictitious written statement to Shooters Express, a licensed firearms dealer in Belmont, North Carolina, in connection with the acquisition of a Springfield Hellcat Pro, 9mm pistol. The indictment alleges that Dove falsely stated on ATF’s Firearms Transaction Record Form 4473 that she was the actual transferee/buyer of the firearm when the defendant knew this statement was false and fictitious.

    Dove is charged with making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm and causing a false report during a firearm purchase. If convicted, Dove faces a combined maximum sentence of up to 15 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence imposed after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    The charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson commended the FBI and ATF for their work on the investigation, and thanked Homeland Security Investigations, the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction’s Community Supervision, and the Gastonia Police Department for their assistance with Dove’s apprehension.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Dana Washington with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte is prosecuting the case. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: MS-13 Member Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Conspiracy

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Defendant fled to El Salvador following 2010 murder, illegally reentered U.S. and planned second murder

    BOSTON – A member of La Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, pleaded guilty yesterday in federal court in Boston to conspiracy to participating in a racketeering enterprise, more commonly referred to as RICO or racketeering conspiracy.

    William Pineda Portillo, a/k/a “Humilde,” 31, of Everett, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to conduct racketeering affairs through a pattern of racketeering activity. Senior U.S. District Court Judge William G. Young scheduled sentencing for July 8, 2025. In September 2024, Pineda Portillo was charged by a second superseding indictment along with co-defendant Jose Vasquez, who pleaded guilty last week to one count of violent crime in aid of racketeering.

    MS-13 is a transnational criminal organization with tens of thousands of members located in the United States, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and elsewhere. MS-13 branches, or “cliques,” operate throughout the United States, including in Massachusetts. In furtherance of its mission, MS-13 members are required to commit acts of violence, specifically against rival gang members; kill informants; and support and defend fellow MS-13 members in attacks. MS-13 members maintain and enhance their status in the gang and the overall reputation of the gang by participating in such violent acts.

    Pineda Portillo was a member of the Trece Locos Salvatrucha, or TLS, clique of MS-13, which operated in Somerville. Pineda Portillo personally participated in racketeering activity and acts of violence on behalf of MS-13.

    Specifically, Pineda Portillo and Vasquez conspired with others to murder a 28-year-old man on Dec. 18, 2010, in Chelsea, Mass. That evening, law enforcement responded to a 911 call in the vicinity of the Fifth Street on-ramp to Route 1 in Chelsea. There, law enforcement found the victim with approximately 10 stab wounds to his chest and back, along with injuries to his head. The victim was transported to the hospital, where he succumbed to his wounds. A recent reexamination of evidence collected during the initial investigation identified members of MS-13, including Vasquez, as having committed the murder.  

    In the week leading up to the incident, Vasquez and other MS-13 members conspired to murder the victim because they believed the victim belonged to a rival gang. Evidence revealed that on the day of the murder, Pineda Portillo picked up Vasquez, other MS-13 members and the victim in Allston. Driving a green SUV registered to his father, Pineda Portillo took the MS-13 members and the victim to Chelsea where Vasquez and the other gang members led the victim to an area under the Fifth Street on-ramp to Route 1. Once in the secluded area under the highway, an MS-13 member hit the victim in the head with a rock and another MS-13 member stabbed the victim with a machete. During the attack, Vasquez stabbed the victim with a knife. Vasquez’s palm print was identified on the handle of a silver kitchen knife recovered from the murder scene. The victim’s blood also was found on the knife.

    Pineda Portillo fled to El Salvador before investigators could interview him about his role in the murder. On or about April 29, 2015, after Pineda Portillo returned to the United States, he arranged to sell a firearm loaded with eight rounds of ammunition to another MS-13 member, who was, in reality, a cooperating witness working with law enforcement, in exchange for money.

    On or about June 1, 2015, Pineda Portillo conspired to murder an MS-13 member he incorrectly believed had been arrested and was cooperating with law enforcement. Specifically, in a conversation recorded by law enforcement, Pineda Portillo said, among other things: “I want that son of a bitch killed, man. . . . You will see, homeboy! We are going to do a complete thing to that son of a bitch, dude.”

    Pineda Portillo originally was indicted in 2017. However, shortly before the indictment was returned, he was deported to El Salvador. Approximately five years later, on May 10, 2022, Pineda Portillo was arrested as he tried to return to the United States, illegally crossing the border into Texas from Mexico. According to court documents, after being arrested at the border, Pineda Portillo admitted that he was a member of MS-13. A fingerprint analysis indicated that there was a warrant for his arrest. Pineda Portillo was then returned to the District of Massachusetts where he remained in custody.

    United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Kimberly Milka, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; Geoffrey D. Noble, Colonel of the Massachusetts State Police; Chief Shumeane Benford of the Somerville Police Department; and Chief Keith Houghton of the Chelsea Police Department made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Boston Field Division; United States Customs and Border Protection; United States Citizenship and Immigration Services; and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher J. Pohl, Brian A. Fogerty and Meghan C. Cleary of the Office’s Criminal Division prosecuted the case.

    The charge of racketeering conspiracy provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $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.

    This operation 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. 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.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Ocala Man Pleads Guilty To Possessing A Machinegun

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that Sean Rayvon Hubbard, Jr. (19, Ocala) has pleaded guilty to possession of a machinegun. Hubbard faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

    According to court documents, on July 28, 2024, officers from the Ocala Police Department approached Hubbard to place him under arrest for outstanding warrants. Hubbard fled from the officers on foot but was ultimately apprehended. On August 7, 2024, officers received a call from an apartment complex about a firearm that had been discovered along the path where Hubbard had been running. The firearm, a black handgun with a tan extended ammunition magazine, had been modified with a “switch” that allowed it to fire more than one round of ammunition with a single pull of the trigger. Officers obtained a search warrant for Hubbard’s cellphone and recovered a video that Hubbard had filmed of himself handling the same modified handgun prior to his arrest on July 28, 2024. 

    This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Ocala Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.

    This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Drug Trafficker Sentenced to 110 Months for Smuggling Fentanyl from California to the DMV

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

                WASHINGTON— Lamin Sesay, 28, of Alexandria, Virginia, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 110 months in federal prison for participating in a wide-spread narcotics trafficking conspiracy that distributed hundreds of thousands of fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills purchased in Southern California to destinations throughout the United States, including the District of Columbia. 

               The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro, Special Agent in Charge Ibrar A. Mian of the Drug Enforcement Administration Washington Division, Inspector in Charge Damon E. Wood of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Washington Division, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.

                Sesay was one of 24 co-defendants arrested during 2023 in the District, Virginia, Maryland, San Diego, and Los Angeles and charged in the conspiracy.

                On Feb. 7, 2025, Sesay pleaded guilty to a superseding information charging him with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered Sesay to serve three years of supervised release.

               According to court documents, Sesay entered into the conspiracy after he was introduced to a Los Angeles-based drug trafficker, co-defendant Hector David Valdez, who was a distributor of fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills. Sesay was introduced to Valdez by an unindicted co-conspirator, Mathias Tsegaye, a D.C.-based fentanyl trafficker who died in January 2023 from the combined toxic effects of codeine, fentanyl, and oxycodone. At the time of Tsegaye’s death, a shipping box containing several thousand fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills was discovered in his residence.

                Sesay’s role was to have fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills shipped by Valdez to the District of Columbia. Sesay then conspired with one or more D.C.-area-based co-conspirators to redistribute the pills. Sesay also communicated with Valdez about Tsegaye flying to Los Angles to obtain pills for Tsegaye and Sesay to resell in D.C.

                The impetus for the investigation was the overdose death of Diamond Lynch, a young mother in Southeast D.C. In addition to investigating and prosecuting the death resulting case, law enforcement followed the evidence and uncovered a vast network of traffickers who transported fentanyl from Mexico to Los Angeles to the District of Columbia. Since then, investigators have seized more than 450,000 fentanyl pills, 1.5 kilograms of fentanyl powder, and 30 firearms.

                This investigation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks.

                The prosecutions followed a joint investigation by the DEA Washington Division and the USPIS Washington Division in partnership with MPD and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) with additional support from the DEA Los Angeles, San Diego, and Riverside Field Offices, the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and the Charles County, Maryland, Sheriff’s Office. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices in the Central and Southern Districts of California, the Eastern District of Virginia, and the District of Maryland.

                The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew W. Kinskey, Solomon S. Eppel, and Iris McCranie, of the Violent Crime and Narcotics Trafficking Section.

    DEFENDANT

    AGE

    LOCATION

    CHARGES/SENTENCE

    Hector David Valdez,

    aka “Curl”

     

    27

    		 Santa Fe Springs, California

    Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl;

    conspiracy to commit international money laundering.

    Craig Eastman

     

    21

    		 Washington, D.C. Sentenced Feb. 6, 2025, to 165 months for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute more than 40 grams of fentanyl.
    Charles Jeffrey Taylor

    21

    		 Washington, D.C. Pleaded guilty Feb. 28, 2025, to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.
    Raymond Nava, Jr.

    21

    Bell Gardens,

    California

    		 Sentenced Sept. 17, 2024, to 14 years for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.
    Ulises Aldaz

    28

    Bell Gardens,

    California

    		 Sentenced June 28, 2024, to 95 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.
    Max Alexander Carias Torres

    27

    Bell Gardens,

    California

    		 Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl; conspiracy to commit international money laundering.
    Teron Deandre McNeil, aka “Wild Boy”

    35

    		 Washington, D.C. Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl; Conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

    Marvin Anthony Bussie,

    aka “Money Marr”

    22

    		 Washington, D.C. Sentenced June 28, 2024, to 120 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.
    Marcus Orlando Brown

    29

    		 Washington, D.C. Sentenced Oct. 3, 2024, to 108 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.
    Columbian Thomas, aka “Cruddy Murda”

    27

    		 Washington, D.C. Sentenced Oct. 22, 2024, to 160 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.
    Wayne Rodell Carr-Maiden

    35

    		 Washington, D.C. Sentenced April 29, 2024, to 45 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.

    Andre Malik Edmond,

    aka “Draco”

    23

    		 Temple Hills, Maryland Sentenced July 22, 2024, to 130 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.

    Treyveon James Johnson,

    aka “Treyski”

    21

    		 Alexandria, Virginia Sentenced Sept. 5, 2024, to 108 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.

    Karon Olufemi Blalock,

    aka “Fat Bags”

    30

    		 Alexandria, Virginia Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl; conspiracy to commit wire fraud; conspiracy to commit money laundering.

    Ronte Ricardo Greene,

    aka “Cardiddy”

    29

    		 Washington, D.C. Pleaded guilty Feb. 27, 2025, to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.
    Melvin Edward Allen, Jr., aka “21”

    39

    		 Washington, D.C. Pleaded guilty Dec. 18, 2024, to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of fentanyl.

    Darius Quincy Hodges,

    aka “Brick”

    34

    		 Glen Allen, Virginia Conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.

    Lamin Sesay,

    aka “Rock Star”

    28

    		 Alexandria, Virginia Sentenced May 30, 2025, to 110 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.
    Paul Alejandro Felix

    26

    Glendale,

    California

    		 Sentenced Nov. 12, 2024, to 164 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.

    Omar Arana,

    aka “Frogs”

    27

    Cudahy,

    California

    		 Sentenced May 2, 2025, to 93 months, for conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.
    Edgar Balderas, Jr., aka “Nano”

    27

    San Diego,

    California

    		 Sentenced May 8, 2025, to 148 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.
    Raul Pacheco Ramirez

    31

    Long Beach,

    California

    		 Sentenced Nov. 26, 2024, to 95 months for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.
    Giovani Alejandro Briones

    31

    		 Victorville, California Sentenced Feb. 20, 2025, to 90 months for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.
    Alfredo Rodriguez Gonzalez

    26

    		 Rosarito, Mexico

    Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl;

    conspiracy to commit international money laundering.

    23cr73

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Lawrence County Man Sentenced to 300 years in Prison for Crimes Against Children

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – A Lawrence County man has been sentenced for committing multiple child sexual exploitation crimes, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona.

    U.S. District Court Judge Liles C. Burke sentenced David Edward Collier, II, 47, of Moulton, Alabama, to a total of 3,600 months in prison. In January, Collier pleaded guilty to 13 charges of crimes against children, including four counts of sexual exploitation of children, eight counts of transportation of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography.

    According to court documents, Collier produced, distributed, transported, and possessed child pornography. Collier corresponded with individuals online regarding his desires to expose and sexually exploit children. From January 2017 to August 2022, he used unknowing and unsuspecting children to produce child pornography. And between October 2022 and September 2023, Collier distributed the child pornography to multiple individuals using online social media platforms.

    “My office and our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners are committed to protecting children from the devastating and lifelong impacts caused by defendants like David Collier,” said U.S. Attorney Escalona. “Rest assured that if you commit crimes against children in the Northern District of Alabama, we will prosecute you and send you to federal prison.”

    “This tremendous sentencing demonstrates the steadfast commitment of the FBI and our partners to investigate cases involving violent crimes against children, to include child pornography, and we work closely with our partners at the U.S. Attorney’s Office to hold them accountable,” said David R. Fitzgibbons, Special Agent in Charge, Birmingham Division.  “Let this be a warning to sexual predators that we will stop at nothing to protect every child from horrendous perpetrators like David Collier.  We have now ensured one less predator is victimizing the most innocent and vulnerable members of our community.”

    FBI North Alabama Violent Crime Task Force and Cybercrime Squad investigated the case along with the assistance of the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office, Moulton Police Department, Alabama Bureau of Pardons & Paroles, Madison County Sheriff’s Office, Huntsville Police Department, and Limestone County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys R. Leann White and John M. Hundscheid prosecuted the case.

    The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Manager at Long Island Company Indicted for Stealing $1.6 Million from Customer Credit Accounts

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, Tony Ream was arraigned on an indictment charging him with wire fraud and money laundering in connection with his employment at a Long Island company (the Company).  Ream was a credit supervisor for the Company, which was a worldwide distributor of medical and dental supplies with its principal place of business in Melville, New York.  Over the course of four years, Ream sent wire transfers totaling approximately $1.6 million from the Company’s bank account to a bank account that he controlled.  The arraignment was held before Magistrate Judge Steven I. Locke.

    Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Christopher G. Raia, Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York Field Office (FBI), announced the arraignment.

    “As alleged, Ream is a thief who abused his authority and betrayed his employer to fund his lifestyle, including paying for the renovations of a restaurant he opened, footing the bill for his own wedding, and traveling around the world, all on the company’s dime,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “Embezzling company funds is a serious crime and my Office will vigorously prosecute this case to ensure Ream is held accountable for his brazen scheme.”

    “Tony Ream allegedly embezzled over one million dollars from his former company by diverting corporate funds to his personal account and deceiving his subordinates into perpetuating this theft,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge Raia.  “Ream allegedly abused his position and stole from his former company to fund his extravagant expenses.  The FBI remains committed to investigating any individual who orchestrates a scheme to exploit their company to finance personal wish lists.”

    As set forth in court filings and statements made in court, Ream was hired by the Company in 2019 to work in their credit department.  Starting in 2020 as a credit supervisor, Ream stole corporate funds from customer refund accounts and diverted the funds to his own accounts.  Additionally, while in his role as supervisor, Ream deceived employees whom he supervised into taking steps that assisted him in carrying out his fraudulent scheme.  Ream spent tens of thousands of dollars of the proceeds of his fraud on his wedding, hundreds of thousands on a failed restaurant venture in South Carolina, and tens of thousands on luxury international vacations.

    The charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, Ream faces up to 20 years in prison.

    The government’s case is being handled by the Criminal Section of the Office’s Long Island Division.  Assistant United States Attorney Charles P. Kelly is charge of the prosecution with the assistance of Paralegal Specialist Samantha Schroder.

    The Defendant:

    TONY REAM (also known as “Tony Ream-Hendley” and “Tony Moul Ream”)
    Age:  33
    Greenville, South Carolina

    E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 25-CR-179 (SJB)

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: St. Petersburg Man Deported From the Philippines to the United States Sentenced to Three Years for Threatening to Kill a Political Rival

    Source: US FBI

    Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge William F. Jung today sentenced William Robert Braddock, III (41, St. Petersburg) to three years in federal prison for interstate transmission of threat to injure. Braddock pled guilty on February 3, 2025.

    According to court documents and evidence discussed in open court, in 2021 Braddock and Victim-1 were candidates in the primary election to represent the 13th Congressional District of Florida in the United States House of Representatives. Braddock viewed Victim-1, the Republican party frontrunner, as his only obstacle to winning that race. For months, Braddock disparaged Victim-1 with her peers and attempted to inject himself into her life. During a June 2021 telephone call with Victim-2, a private citizen and acquaintance of Victim-1, Braddock threatened to have Victim-1 murdered if she continued to poll well in the race for the 13th District. Specifically, Braddock threatened, in part, to “call up my Russian-Ukrainian hit squad” and make Victim-1 “disappear.” Braddock further stated, “I will be the next congressman for this District. Period. End of discussion. And anybody going up against me is f—ing [expletive] ignorant for doing so. [Victim-1]’s ignorant so I don’t have a problem taking her out, but I’m not going to do that dirty work myself obviously.”

    In November 2021, Braddock flew to Thailand on a one-way ticket, and ultimately settled in the area of Santa Rosa, Laguna, Philippines. He remained in the Philippines until self-surrendering to authorities in Manila in June 2023. Braddock remained in foreign custody until being transported to the United States in September 2024.

    This investigation was led by the FBI Tampa Division and the St. Petersburg Police Department. The United States Marshals Service provided substantial assistance. The investigation also benefited from foreign law enforcement cooperation provided by the Philippine Department of Justice, the Philippine Bureau of Immigration, and the Manila Office of the Legal Attaché. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carlton C. Gammons and Trial Attorney Alexandre Dempsey of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Army Soldier Convicted of Sexually Abusing Two Children

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Defendant faces a minimum of 30 years imprisonment

     

    SAVANNAH, GA: A jury convicted a local man previously stationed at Fort Stewart, Georgia, at trial for victimizing two children.

     

    Austin Michael Burak, 32, Oak Harbor, WA, was convicted of Abusive Sexual Contact of a Child, or Attempt and Aggravated Sexual Abuse of a Child, or Attempt following jury trial in the Southern District of Georgia, said Tara M. Lyons, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia.  U.S. District Court Chief Judge R. Stan Baker presided over the four-day trial.

    “We are committed to protecting our most vulnerable citizens,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Lyons. “In collaboration with our law enforcement partners, we will strive to keep our children and our communities safe.”

    As described in courtroom testimony, in August of 2017, Burak sexually abused a minor by fondling the child’s genitals when the child was merely nine years old. On the same night in 2017, Burak anally raped another child who was only thirteen years old. The trial was held on May 12-15, 2025.

    Burak awaits sentencing upon the U.S. Probation Services completing a presentence investigation.

    “This sends a clear message: Army CID and our law enforcement partners will not tolerate these heinous acts,” said Special Agent in Charge Michele Starostka of the Department of Army Criminal Investigation Division’s Western Field Office.  “We are committed to aggressively investigating all crimes, establishing the facts, and supporting the legal process against those responsible.”

    “No child should have to experience this heinous abuse. The FBI is committed to tracking down and holding accountable people like Burak who prey on children,” said FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown. “We will ensure that criminals engaged in this depraved conduct are held accountable in a court of law.”

    The case was investigated by the Army Criminal Investigation Division at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, and Federal Bureau of Investigations and prosecuted for the United States by the Southern District of Georgia Assistant United States Attorneys Sherri A. Stephan and Michael Z. Spitulnik. 

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Indian National Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Elderly Victims in Excess of $2M

    Source: US FBI

    WILMINGTON, Del. – Acting U.S. Attorney Shannon T. Hanson announced today that Rakeshkumar Patel, age 36, of Flushing, New York, pleaded guilty to wire fraud conspiracy for his role in an elder fraud scam targeting older Americans.  The Honorable U.S. District Judge Richard G. Andrews accepted the plea. 

    According to court documents, between at least May 2023 and May 2024, the defendant, who was in the U.S. illegally, conspired with others to defraud elderly victims in Delaware and throughout the country of at least $2,154,889.  The victims were contacted over the phone by fraudsters posing as federal agents.  The fraudsters convinced each victim that their identity had been compromised and that they were the subject of a federal investigation.  To cooperate with the fake federal investigation, the victims were instructed to liquidate their life savings and convert those savings into cash or gold bars.  The victims were then directed to deliver that cash or gold to couriers posing as federal agents—like the defendant—who picked up the cash or gold from the victims’ residences or other public places.

    “The Department’s Elder Justice Initiative is committed to protecting elderly victims from being swindled out of their hard-earned life savings by bad actors like Patel,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Shannon T. Hanson.  “Together, with our law enforcement partners, my office will continue to identify, investigate, and prosecute those who scam the elderly for financial gain.  We encourage all members of the public to remain vigilant against these scams.  If you think you or a loved one may have been defrauded, make a report to law enforcement immediately.”

    “When you talk to victims, you see and hear how gut wrenching and devastating these scams are. They’re often facing deep financial anxiety and are emotionally distressed, with the aftereffects weighing heavy on all aspects of their lives,” says FBI Baltimore Special Agent in Charge Bill DelBagno. “The FBI and our partners are working steadfastly every day to educate the public to avoid these scams and to identify, disrupt, and bring to justice those committing these appalling crimes.”

    If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available through the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833 FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311).  You can also report fraud to any local law enforcement agency or on the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.

    The FBI requests victims report:

    • The name of the person or company that contacted you.
    • Methods of communication used, including websites, emails, and telephone numbers.
    • Any bank account number(s) to which you wired funds and the recipient’s name(s).
    • The name and location of the metal dealer company and the account to which you wired funds, if you were instructed to buy precious metals.

    As a result of Patel’s guilty plea to the wire fraud conspiracy, he faces more than five years in federal prison when sentenced.  Judge Andrews will determine the defendant’s sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    This case was investigated by FBI Baltimore Field Office’s Wilmington Resident Agency.   Assistant U.S. Attorneys William E. LaRosa and Alexander P. Ibrahim are prosecuting the case. 

    A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Delaware.  Related court documents and information is located on the website of the District Court for the District of Delaware or on PACER by searching for Case No. 25-CR-46.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: South Carolina Man Charged in Maryland for Multimillion-Dollar Medicare Fraud and Ponzi Schemes

    Source: US FBI

    Baltimore, Maryland – Today, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland unsealed two indictments. The indictments charged a South Carolina man with defrauding Medicare through a laboratory test scheme during the COVID-19 pandemic and with defrauding customers of his private charter jet company.

    Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the indictment with Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge William J. DelBagno, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) – Baltimore Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Maureen R. Dixon, Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); and Special Agent in Charge Greg Thompson, Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG).

    As alleged in the first indictment, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Patrick Britton-Harr, 41, of Charleston, South Carolina, and formerly of Annapolis, Maryland, offered COVID-19 screening tests to nursing home patients across the country. Britton-Harr then allegedly fraudulently billed Medicare, through his company Provista Health, for expensive respiratory pathogen panel (RPP) tests for these patients. The RPP tests were medically unnecessary, never ordered by a treating physician as required, and many were never actually performed, including tests for patients who were already deceased. Through Provista Health, Britton-Harr caused the submission of more than $15 million in fraudulent claims for RPP tests to Medicare.  Medicare eventually paid out more than $5 million.

    According to the second indictment, Britton-Harr owned and controlled AeroVanti, Inc. and its affiliated entities. Through AeroVanti, a private air club offering members a la carte access to private jets, Britton-Harr encouraged “Top Gun” members to pay $150,000 upfront to secure block flight hours. In return, Britton-Harr promised to use their money to purchase specific aircraft, in which Top Gun members would have a securitized interest.

    Britton-Harr recruited nearly 100 Top Gun members, who collectively paid approximately $15 million in upfront payments, to purchase five aircraft. Instead of buying the aircraft, Britton-Harr allegedly misappropriated members’ money for his own personal benefit, including paying for yachts and jewelry, his living expenses, and to rent a property near Tampa, Florida. Then Britton-Harr attempted to conceal his fraud by obtaining a $1.5-million loan to purchase one of the aircraft he already claimed that he purchased with Top Gun funds by withholding material information from the lender to obtain the loan.

    “It is unconscionable for someone to defraud the government and others for personal gain, especially as we faced a global health crisis,” Hayes said. “Britton-Harr showed a total disregard for those who depend on our Medicare system for health care services and for the individuals he scammed through his private-jet company. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to working with our federal law-enforcement partners to bring those to justice who break the law and take advantage of others.”

    “The defendant allegedly perpetrated two fraud schemes, first exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic to defraud Medicare out of millions of dollars and then stealing millions more from customers of his aviation company, all for his personal benefit,” Galeotti said. “These indictments demonstrate the Criminal Division’s commitment to rooting out bad actors who steal from taxpayer-supported health care programs and defraud American consumers.”

    “Patrick Britton-Harr’s repeated crimes reveal a man with no moral compass motivated by pure greed. His deceit and scheming resulted in a staggering amount of loss to American taxpayers and the public,” DelBagno said. “He tried to fleece the U.S. government out of millions by taking advantage of a national crisis. After his laboratory testing business failed, Britton-Harr again turned to deception. Time and again, he chose to lie, steal, and deceive. No more. This investigation holds Britton-Harr accountable for his crimes and sends a clear message that the FBI and our partners will not allow such despicable behavior to go unchecked.”

    “Individuals who steal from Medicare waste taxpayer dollars and create incisions in the fabric that holds our health care system together. HHS-OIG will continue the pursuit of upholding the integrity, trust, and confidence in federal health care programs, which benefits the people they serve,” Dixon said. “HHS-OIG, in collaboration with our law enforcement partners, will continuously investigate alleged attempts to defraud these programs.”   

    “The scope of the alleged fraud is staggering and underscores the extraordinary lengths to which individuals will go to deceive and exploit others under the guise of legitimate business, including private aviation services,” Thompson said. “The DOT-OIG remains steadfast in its commitment to working in coordination with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to pursue those who engage in egregious schemes designed solely for personal enrichment.”

    Britton-Harr is charged with five counts of health care fraud and one count of money laundering in the indictment related to his RPP scheme. Additionally, Britton-Harr is charged with six counts of wire fraud in the indictment connected to the AeroVanti scheme.

    If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for each wire fraud count and 10 years in prison for each health care fraud and money laundering count. A federal district court judge determines sentencing after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the FBI, HHS-OIG, and DOT-OIG for their work in investigating these cases. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ari D. Evans and Matthew P. Phelps and Trial Attorneys David Peters and Chris Wenger, Criminal Division’s Fraud Section who are prosecuting these cases.

    For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to report fraud, visit justice.gov/usao-md  and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

    # # #

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Waterbury Man Sentenced to More Than Five Years in Federal Prison for Role in Drug Trafficking Ring

    Source: US FBI

    David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that TOMMY FIGUEROA, also known as “Coco,” 31, of Waterbury, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 66 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his participation in a Waterbury drug trafficking ring.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, the FBI’s Waterbury Safe Streets Gang Task Force and other law enforcement agencies investigated two drug trafficking organizations based in the city of Waterbury.  One organization operated in the area of William Street and the other operated in the area of Maple Avenue.  The investigation, which included court-authorized wiretaps on multiple phones, video surveillance, GPS tracking of vehicles, and numerous controlled purchases of narcotics, revealed that the two organizations distributed cocaine, crack, and fentanyl through a network of sellers.  The organizations shared sources of supply and worked together to further their operations.

    Figueroa worked as a shift-boss for the Maple Street organization, ensuring that street-level distributors were selling narcotics, primarily crack cocaine, around the clock.  During the investigation, investigators made several controlled purchases of narcotics from Figueroa.  Investigators also determined that Figueroa had acquired two firearms for protection.

    Figueroa was arrested on related state charges on September 25, 2023, and the two firearms were seized.  While detained in state custody, he continued his involvement in narcotics trafficking through his then girlfriend, Neysa Vazquez-Ferrer.

    Seventeen individuals were charged with federal offenses as a result of the investigation. 

    On January 28, 2025, Figueroa pleaded guilty in federal court to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

    Vazquez-Ferrer pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking offense and, on May 22, 2025, was sentenced to 36 months of imprisonment.

    The FBI’s Waterbury Safe Streets Gang Task includes members from the FBI, the Waterbury Police Department, the Naugatuck Police Department, and the Connecticut Department of Correction.  The DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Connecticut State Police, Wolcott Police Department, and Meriden Police Department have assisted the investigation.

    This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Natasha Freismuth and Shan Patel through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

    U.S. Attorney Sullivan thanked the Waterbury State Attorney’s Office for its cooperation in the investigation and prosecution of this case.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Waterbury Woman Sentenced to Three Years in Federal Prison for Role in Drug Trafficking Ring

    Source: US FBI

    David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that NEYSA VAZQUEZ-FERRER, 35, of Waterbury, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 36 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for her participation in a Waterbury drug trafficking ring.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, the FBI’s Waterbury Safe Streets Gang Task Force and other law enforcement agencies investigated two drug trafficking organizations based in the city of Waterbury.  One organization operated in the area of William Street and the other operated in the area of Maple Avenue.  The investigation, which included court-authorized wiretaps on multiple phones, video surveillance, GPS tracking of vehicles, and numerous controlled purchases of narcotics, revealed that the two organizations distributed cocaine, crack, and fentanyl through a network of sellers.  The organizations shared sources of supply and worked together to further their operations.

    Vazquez-Ferrer managed a stash location for the Maple Street organization where she packaged bags of individual dose capsules of crack cocaine.  She also enlisted her two teenage daughters to package and deliver narcotics.

    Seventeen individuals were charged with federal offenses as a result of the investigation.  Vazquez-Ferrer and several codefendants were arrested on November 29, 2023.  In association with the arrests, investigators executed multiple search warrants and seized approximately 700 grams of crack cocaine, more than 900 vials (“caps”) of crack, approximately 200 grams of loose fentanyl, more than 1,600 dose bags of fentanyl/heroin, two stolen firearms, numerous rounds of ammunition, and more than $39,000 in cash.

    On January 31, 2025, Vazquez-Ferrer pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances.

    Vazquez-Ferrer, who is released on bond, is required to report to prison on July 11.

    The FBI’s Waterbury Safe Streets Gang Task includes members from the FBI, the Waterbury Police Department, the Naugatuck Police Department, and the Connecticut Department of Correction.  The DEA, U.S. Marshals Service, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Connecticut State Police, Wolcott Police Department, and Meriden Police Department have assisted the investigation.

    This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Natasha Freismuth and Shan Patel through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

    U.S. Attorney Sullivan thanked the Waterbury State Attorney’s Office for its cooperation in the investigation and prosecution of this case.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Waterbury Man Sentenced to Nearly Eight Years in Federal Prison for Role in Violent Carjacking

    Source: US FBI

    David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MICHAEL McCANN-ORTIZ, also known as “Bando,” 24, of Waterbury, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 95 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his participation in a violent carjacking.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, in the early morning hours of June 18, 2023, two all-terrain vehicles (“ATVs”) were stolen from a Waterbury residence.  After the theft, McCann-Ortiz and others mistakenly identified an individual (“Victim 1”) who they incorrectly believed was involved in the theft.  Later that night, Victim 1’s friend, (“Victim 2”), picked up Victim 1 from work and drove him home.  As they arrived at Victim 1’s residence, three vehicles followed them and surrounded the victims.  McCann-Ortiz and his associates, one of whom carried an assault-style rifle, exited the vehicles and approached the victims.  McCann-Ortiz and his associates demanded the return of the stolen ATVs, threatened to harm both victims, and physically assaulted them.

    Specifically, McCann-Ortiz repeatedly threatened to kill the victims, and punched and kicked one victim, causing serious bodily injury.

    McCann-Ortiz and his associates then stole Victim 2’s vehicle, which was owned by Victim 2’s relative, and other items and cash belonging to the victims.  McCann-Ortiz and his associates continued to harass the victims in the following days.

    McCann-Ortiz has been detained since his arrest on unrelated state charges on July 10, 2023.  On February 27, 2025, he pleaded guilty in federal court to carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury.

    This investigation is being conducted by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force and the Waterbury Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Nathan J. Guevremont and David T. Huang.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI: Hola Prime Launches Performance Coaching Initiative to Tackle the #1 Barrier to Trader Success: The Mind

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    NEW YORK, NY, May 30, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In proprietary trading, success is often measured in percentages and profit curves. But behind every chart is a human being, and according to Hola Prime, one of the fastest-growing prop firms globally, that human element is the most overlooked edge in trading.

    To address this critical gap, Hola Prime has launched a new Performance Coaching Initiative, bringing psychological resilience, discipline, and emotional intelligence to the forefront of trader development. The firm has onboarded two accomplished professionals – Lara Leon and Stanislava Puac Jovanovic – and aims to solve what the firm calls “the #1 barrier to consistent trader performance: the mind.”

    “We’ve funded traders all around the globe, and the pattern is clear – strategy alone doesn’t make you consistent. Psychology does,” said Somesh Kapuria, CEO of Hola Prime. “Our Performance Coaching Initiative is built to tackle that challenge head-on.”

    Prop firms often compete on speed, funding, and payouts. But Hola Prime is betting that the next evolution of trading support won’t be just financial – it will be behavioral.

    Whether it’s FOMO, overtrading, revenge trading, or the inability to recover after a loss, psychological missteps are responsible for more failed trading careers than poor technical knowledge. Despite this, few firms invest in helping traders build emotional resilience, daily structure, and self-awareness.

    Hola Prime’s new program is designed to fill that void, offering one-on-one performance coaching, guided psychological routines, and mindset-focused support for its funded traders. The goal is not short-term motivation, but long-term, measurable consistency.

    Globally Renowned Performance Coaches

    To drive the initiative, Hola Prime has onboarded:

    • Lara Leon, a performance coach with over a decade of experience in psychology and active trading. A psychotherapist by training and a trader by passion, Lara blends cognitive insight with technical market expertise – covering order flow, volume profiles, and multi-timeframe analysis. Her coaching focuses on building internal discipline, trade journaling, and walking through emotional pitfalls with clarity and structure.
    • Stanislava Puac Jovanovic, a psychologist and life coach with over 15 years of experience across education, coaching, and systemic psychotherapy. Certified in CBT, REBT, assertive communication, mindfulness, and NLP, she brings a holistic understanding of emotional regulation, stress management, and performance psychology – tools essential for thriving in high-pressure trading environments.

    Both coaches will offer traders structured frameworks to improve risk management, build sustainable habits, and enhance decision-making under stress.

    This initiative marks a shift in how prop firms support their traders – not just with capital, but with cognitive and emotional infrastructure.

    For Hola Prime, performance coaching is not an add-on – it’s a foundational investment in trader longevity. At a time when retail traders face increased market volatility, higher expectations, and rapid information flow, support is more essential than ever.

    “The future of prop trading belongs to firms that understand one truth,” said Kapuria. “The edge isn’t just in the market. It’s in the mind.”

    Social Links

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/holaprime_global/  

    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtVEJa1Ml132Be7tnk-DjeQ  

    LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hola-prime/?viewAsMember=true  

    X: https://x.com/HolaPrimeGlobal  

    Discord: https://discord.gg/TJ7TcHPXBf  

    Quora: https://www.quora.com/profile/HolaPrime/  

    Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/user/HolaPrime/  

    Medium: https://medium.com/@social_46267  

    Media Contact

    Company: Hola Prime

    Contact: Media Team

    Email: marketing@holaprime.com

    Website: https://holaprime.com/

    SOURCE: Hola Prime

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Salem Man Sentenced to Nine Years in Federal Prison for Trafficking Fentanyl

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    PORTLAND, Ore.—A Salem, Oregon man was sentenced to federal prison Friday for possessing and trafficking more than 40 pounds of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin.

    Rico Anthony Russell Rigutto, 46, was sentenced to 108 months in federal prison and five years’ supervised release.

    According to court documents, on December 14, 2021, as part of a drug trafficking investigation, investigators arranged a controlled buy of counterfeit oxycodone pills from Rigutto. Investigators observed him arrive and depart the meeting location, after which they conducted a traffic stop on Rigutto.  

    Investigators searched Rigutto’s vehicle and seized approximately 3,000 counterfeit pills containing fentanyl and a firearm with a machine gun conversion switch. Machine gun switches, sometimes referred to as “Glock switches,” are small attachments used to convert firearms from semi-automatic to fully-automatic.

    Later the same day, investigators obtained and executed a search warrant on Rigutto’s residence. During the search, investigators located and seized 20,000 counterfeit pills containing fentanyl, 28 pounds of methamphetamine, six pounds of heroin, approximately $100,000 in cash, and fifteen firearms, including an AR-15 rifle and another handgun with a conversion switch.

    On January 19, 2022, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a four-count indictment charging Rigutto with possessing fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin with the intent to distribute and possessing a machinegun in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

    On April 18, 2023, Rigutto pleaded guilty to possessing fentanyl with the intent to distribute. However, on March 5, 2024, Rigutto failed to appear for his sentencing and an arrest warrant was issued.

    On August 2, 2024, the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) located and arrested Rigutto for failing to appear. USMS also found a firearm during the arrest.

    This case was investigated by the FBI and the Salem Police Department. It was prosecuted by Scott M. Kerin, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

    Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 80 to 100 times more powerful than morphine and 30 to 50 times more powerful than heroin. A 2-milligram dose of fentanyl—a few grains of the substance—is enough to kill an average adult male. The wide availability of illicit fentanyl in Oregon has caused a dramatic increase in overdose deaths throughout the state.

    If you are in immediate danger, please call 911.

    If you or someone you know suffers from addiction, please call the Lines for Life substance abuse helpline at 1-800-923-4357 or visit www.linesforlife.org. Phone support is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also text “RecoveryNow” to 839863 between 2pm and 6pm Pacific Time daily.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Nevada Man Who Stole Over $7M in Treasury Checks, Sentenced to Six Years in Prison

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Kyle Eugene Duncan-Carle, 41, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was sentenced to 72 months’ imprisonment and five years’ supervised release after he admitted to bank fraud in 2023.

    In addition to his term of imprisonment, Duncan-Carle, was ordered to pay $3,490,634.75 in restitution.

    According to court documents and statements made at Duncan-Carle’s change of plea and sentencing hearings, from January 2023 through September 2023 in the District of Utah. Duncan-Carle stole U.S. Treasury checks made out to individuals and companies, assumed the identity of the individuals whose names were on the checks, opened credit union accounts under the assumed identities, and then deposited the checks and withdrew the funds. Duncan-Carle admitted the scheme resulted in at least eight stolen treasury checks that totaled $7,975,621.22. As a result, Duncan-Carle cost the United States government, financial institutions, and a financial institution’s insurance provider $3,490,634.75.

    Acting U.S. Attorney Felice John Viti of the District of Utah made the announcement.  

    The case was investigated jointly by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations (IRS-CI); the Internal Revenue Service Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA); and the FBI Salt Lake City Field Office.  

    Assistant United States Attorneys Stephen P. Dent and Luisa Gough of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Utah prosecuted the case. 
     

    Release No. 25-71

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Sovereign Health Group Founder and Ex-CEO Arrested on Indictment Alleging Long-Running, Massive Fraud Against Health Insurers

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SANTA ANA, California – The founder and former CEO of the now-defunct Sovereign Health Group addiction treatment provider was arrested today on an eight-count federal grand jury indictment alleging he submitted more than $149 million in fraudulent claims to health insurers – including for fraudulent urinalysis claims – and, in addition, paid more than $21 million in illegal kickbacks for patient referrals.

    Tonmoy Sharma, 61, of Tustin, was arrested this afternoon at Los Angeles International Airport and is expected to make his initial appearance and be arraigned tomorrow in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. 

    Sharma is charged with four counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy, and three counts of illegal remunerations for referrals to clinical treatment facilities.

    Also arrested today was co-defendant Paul Jin Sen Khor, 45, of Irvine, who worked as Sovereign’s cash management and accounts payable supervisor. Khor is charged with one count of conspiracy and one count of illegal remunerations for referrals to clinical treatment facilities. Khor was arraigned this afternoon in United States District Court in Santa Ana. He pleaded not guilty and a July 29 trial date was scheduled. A federal magistrate judge ordered him released on $20,000 bond.

    According to the indictment, the San Clemente-based Sovereign once was a prominent addiction treatment provider throughout Southern California and several other states. From 2014 to 2020, Sovereign billed private insurance companies for drug addicted and mentally ill patients often at high, out-of-network rates.

    At Sharma’s direction, Sovereign employees aggressively pursued patients through various forms of marketing, directing the patients to contact the company at its toll-free phone number. Once patients called in to Sovereign’s call center, employees used various tactics to enroll patients into the company’s treatment facilities, including misrepresentations. One such misrepresentation was that a patient’s treatment would be paid for by a foundation funded by donations from former Sovereign patients.

    In fact, the foundation was a sham organization and a ruse for Sovereign employees – at Sharma’s direction – to obtain patients’ names, dates of birth, and Social Security numbers for use in surreptitiously obtaining health insurance coverage on their behalf. In order to obtain these private health insurance plans, Sovereign employees, at Sharma’s direction, made false representations on insurance applications, claiming qualifying life events that had not happened in order to obtain new insurance outside the enrollment period and inflating or underreporting their income so the patients would qualify for Affordable Care Act government-subsidized private insurance instead of Medicaid, whose reimbursement rates were significantly lower than private insurers.

    Patients generally did not know that Sovereign would enroll them into these policies or authorize Sovereign to do so. Sovereign employees at times even pretended to be the patients when calling into those insurance companies. Those insurance companies would not have covered any services under plans obtained by these fraudulent means.

    Sovereign also fraudulently billed insurers more than $29 million for urinalysis tests not authorized by the purported ordering health providers. At Sharma’s direction, Sovereign submitted fraudulent claims for comprehensive urinalysis screening, including through its laboratory, Vedanta Laboratories Inc. Sovereign patients were frequently drug tested through both cup testing and comprehensive panel testing. The cup testing returned results within minutes, while the panel testing was much more comprehensive, with results taking several days to return. The comprehensive panel testing screened for dozens of different substances and, accordingly, was billed at a significantly higher rate than cup testing.

    Sharma directed Sovereign employees to frequently administer cup testing and comprehensive panel testing on patients, including comprehensive panel testing up to three times a week. Sovereign submitted thousands of claims to insurance companies, including for comprehensive panel tests that purportedly were authorized by physicians when, in reality, the physicians did not authorize the tests. Sovereign also submitted numerous claims to the insurance companies, including urinalysis tests, after physicians were no longer working at Sovereign. 

    Finally, in addition to the patients obtained through the call center above, Sharma and Khor also procured patients for Sovereign by paying illegal kickbacks to patient brokers. To conceal the nature of these transactions, Sharma and Khor caused Sovereign to enter sham contracts that referred to the brokers’ services as “marketing hours,” a term the brokers used when sending invoices to Sovereign for payment. Sovereign paid more than $21 million in illegal kickbacks for patient referrals.

    An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    If convicted, Sharma would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each wire fraud count. Both defendants would face up to five years in federal prison for the conspiracy count, and up to 10 years in federal prison for each illegal remunerations count.

    The FBI, the United States Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, and the California Department of Health Care Services are investigating this matter.

    Assistant United States Attorney Solomon Kim of the Major Frauds Section is prosecuting this case.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Career Offender Is Sentenced To More Than 15 Years In Prison For Distributing Methamphetamine

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    ASHEVILLE, N.C. –Ronald Lee Peak, 45, of Hendersonville, N.C., was sentenced today to 188 months in prison followed by four years of supervised release for distributing methamphetamine, announced Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

    Jae W. Chung, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), which oversees the Charlotte District Office, and Alicia Jones, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Charlotte Field Division, join U.S. Attorney Ferguson in making the announcement.

    According to court records and court proceedings, law enforcement learned that Peak was distributing firearms and methamphetamine in and around Asheville and Hendersonville. Investigators used a confidential informant (CI) to purchase firearms and methamphetamine from Peak at least two times between July and August 2022. The first time Peak sold the CI a 9mm pistol with an obliterated serial number in Hendersonville, and later, sold 36.82 grams of methamphetamine in Asheville. The second time Peak sold the CI 27.175 grams of methamphetamine and a .32 caliber pistol.

    Peak pleaded guilty on August 16, 2024, to distribution of methamphetamine. Court records indicate Peak has prior state convictions and as a result he qualified for an increased sentence as a career offender. Peak will be transferred to the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons after he completes his state prison sentence.

    In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney Ferguson thanked the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Buncombe Country Sheriff’s Office, the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office, and the Asheville Police Department for their investigation of the case.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher S. Hess of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville handled the prosecution.

    This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

    MIL Security OSI –