NewzIntel.com

Category: Security Intelligence

  • MIL-OSI Security: Mexican National Sentenced to More Than 4 Years in Federal Prison for Smuggling and Labor Trafficking Scheme

    Source: United States Department of Justice (Human Trafficking)

    Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MARIA DEL CARMEN SANCHEZ POTRERO, also known as Maria Carmela Sanchez, 71, a citizen of Mexico last residing in Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 51 months of imprisonment for her involvement in a scheme to smuggle aliens into the U.S., harbor them at Hartford area residences, force them to work, and threaten to harm them in various ways if they failed to pay exorbitant fees, interest, and other living expenses.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, beginning in September 2022, the FBI and Hartford Police interviewed several Mexican nationals who disclosed that they were smuggled from Mexico into the U.S. and transported to Hartford.  The investigation revealed that victims typically arranged with Sanchez and others in Connecticut and Mexico to cross the border into the U.S. in exchange for a fee of between $15,000 and $20,000 that each would need to pay once they were in the U.S.  In most cases, the victims were required to turn over a property deed as collateral before leaving Mexico.  They were then smuggled across the border and transported to Hartford area residences, including Sanchez’s residence on Madison Street in Hartford, often at a substantial risk of bodily injury or death.

    After the victims arrived in Connecticut, they were told that they would have to pay approximately $30,000, with interest, and that they would have to pay Sanchez and her co-coconspirators for rent, food, gas and utilities.  Sanchez and her co-conspirators created false documents for the victims, including Permanent Residence cards and Social Security cards, and helped the victims find employment in the Hartford area.  In addition to their own jobs, some victims were required to perform housework and yardwork without compensation and without having their debt reduced.

    Victims were rarely provided with an accounting of their debt.  If victims failed to make regular payments, or in amounts that Sanchez and her co-conspirators expected, they were sometimes threatened, including with threats to harm family members in Mexico, to take property in Mexico that had been secured as collateral, to reveal victims’ immigration status to U.S. authorities, and to raise their interest payments.

    To date, investigators have identified 19 victims of this scheme. Multiple victims were minors, and at least two were smuggled into the U.S. unaccompanied by a relative or legal guardian.

    Sanchez has been detained since her arrest on March 1, 2023.  On October 24, 2024, she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to encourage and induce, bring in, transport, and harbor aliens.

    Judge Dooley ordered Sanchez to pay restitution of $574,608.

    Sanchez faces immigration when she completes her prison term.

    This investigation has been conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Hartford Police Department, U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Angel Krull and Shan Patel.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Philadelphia Man Convicted at Trial of Sex Trafficking of a Minor and Child Pornography Offenses

    Source: United States Department of Justice (Human Trafficking)

    PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Walter Tharrington, aka “Black” and “Roaadblock,” 32, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was convicted this week at trial of sex trafficking and child pornography offenses.

    Tharrington was charged by indictment in August of 2024, and convicted on Wednesday, April 9, of sex trafficking of a minor, advertising child pornography, and possession of child pornography.

    As detailed in court filings and proven at trial, in or about the summer of 2023, the defendant asked Minor 1, then 14 years old, to help him make money. In order to do so, Tharrington directed Minor 1 to engage in commercial sex, with the defendant facilitating the commercial sex by soliciting customers through online advertisements.

    Tharrington used his cellular phone to post explicit content of Minor 1 to accompany the online advertisements. The defendant set the prices for the encounters and instructed Minor 1 on what sexual acts to perform in exchange for money.

    At the defendant’s direction, Minor 1 engaged in sexual encounters with buyers. The evidence established that Tharrington kept and controlled the profits from the encounters, while providing shelter for Minor 1, who lived at Tharrington’s house during the summer of 2023.

    Tharrington physically assaulted Minor 1 on multiple occasions. Minor 1’s injuries were observed by another minor female, who corroborated Minor 1’s account and confirmed that the defendant had solicited her to work for him, as well.

    The defendant will be sentenced at a later date and faces a maximum possible sentence of life in prison.

    “Walter Tharrington made money by sexually exploiting a child, advertising her for sex with strangers,” said U.S. Attorney Metcalf. “Putting anyone through that, let alone a vulnerable minor, is unconscionable. Know that my office and the FBI are working every day to put traffickers like this defendant behind bars and ensure some justice for their victims.”

    “Sex trafficking — especially when it involves a child — is among the most heinous crimes the FBI investigates,” said Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office. “This conviction is a powerful testament to the tireless efforts of the FBI and our dedicated law enforcement partners to protect the most vulnerable among us. It reaffirms our unwavering commitment to pursuing justice for victims and holding predators accountable.”

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

    This case was investigated by the FBI Philadelphia Violent Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking Task Force and the Delaware County District Attorney’s Office Criminal Investigation Division. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Justin Ashenfelter and Amanda McCool.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Key West Man Pleads Guilty in D.C. to Smuggling Firearms from Florida to Haiti

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

               WASHINGTON – Jean Wiltene Eugene, 57, of Key West, Florida, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court to one count of smuggling for his role in a gun running operation that illegally exported firearms to Haiti.

               The plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., Sue J. Bai, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division, and FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Justin Fleck of the Miami Field Office. Sentencing is scheduled for July 22.

               According to court documents, Eugene is a U.S. citizen who was born in Haiti and resides in Key West, Florida. On or about September 23, 2021, Eugene knowingly exported more than two firearms from the United States to Haiti without having first obtained the required license from the Bureau of Industry and Security, located in the District of Columbia. Any person who exports a firearm without proper authorization may be fined up to $1 million and imprisoned for up to 20 years.

               According to court records, Eugene arranged to ship vehicles to Haiti through a Florida-based export company. Eugene signed the company’s terms and conditions of shipments, which required the shipper to affirm that the vehicles did not contain any firearms or ammunition. In a subsequent interview with law enforcement, Eugene admitted that, in 2020 and 2021, he shipped two vehicles to Haiti with firearms hidden inside. Eugene stated that he placed food and other items around the bins holding the firearms so border authorities would not find the weapons.

               In a later interview with federal agents Eugene stated that nine firearms he purchased in Key West under his name were currently located at his gas station in Haiti and that none of those firearms remained in the United States. He admitted that he knew it was illegal to ship weapons to Haiti when confronted by the federal agents.

               Pursuant to an active arrest warrant, Eugene was arrested at a traffic stop on May 4, 2024, in Key West.

               This case is being investigated by the FBI Miami Field Office with assistance from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Department of Commerce’s Office of Export Enforcement. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Paschall and Trial Attorney Beau Barnes of the National Security Division.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Two Members of a Transnational Money Laundering Organization Sentenced for Laundering Millions of Dollars in Drug Proceeds

    Source: United States Attorneys General

    A Georgia man was sentenced today to 78 months in prison for his involvement in a conspiracy to launder millions of dollars in drug proceeds on behalf of foreign drug trafficking organizations, including the Sinaloa cartel and Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion (the Jalisco cartel). On Dec. 4, 2024, his co-conspirator was sentenced to 90 months in prison for his role in the money laundering scheme.

    According to court documents, Li Pei Tan, 47, of Buford, Georgia, and Chaojie Chen, 41, a Chinese national who resided in Chicago, worked for an organization that laundered millions of dollars in proceeds related to the importation and distribution of illegal drugs into the United States, primarily through Mexico. Tan, Chen, and their co-conspirators traveled throughout the United States to collect proceeds of fentanyl and cocaine trafficking, among other drugs. The defendants communicated and coordinated with co-conspirators in China and other foreign countries to arrange the laundering of these proceeds through financial transactions that were designed to conceal the illicit source of the drug money, including through a sophisticated trade-based money laundering scheme involving purchasing bulk electronics in the United States and shipping them to co-conspirators in China.

    On multiple occasions prior to Chen’s May 2024 arrest, law enforcement seized hundreds of thousands of dollars in bulk cash drug proceeds from Chen at locations across the United States. Tan was intercepted by law enforcement in South Carolina while attempting to transport over $197,000 in drug proceeds.

    According to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA’s) National Drug Threat Assessment, the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels are at the heart of the fentanyl crisis in the United States.

    Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Erik S. Siebert for the Eastern District of Virginia; and Special Agent in Charge Louis A. D’Ambrosio of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Special Operations Division made the announcement.

    The DEA’s Special Operations Division, Bilateral Investigations Unit investigated the case, with assistance from the DEA’s Office of Special Intelligence, Document and Media Exploitation Unit and the DEA’s offices in Chicago, Atlanta, Charlotte, North Carolina, and Charleston, South Carolina.

    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, 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).

    Trial Attorney Mary K. Daly of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Edgardo J. Rodriguez of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia prosecuted the case.

    This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation.  OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States, using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach.  Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Justice Department Surpasses $12 Billion in Compensation to Crime Victims Since 2000

    Source: United States Attorneys General 1

    To commemorate the 2025 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, the Department of Justice reaffirms its steadfast commitment to compensate crime victims with federally forfeited assets. The Justice Department’s Asset Forfeiture Program has surpassed $12 billion in compensation to crime victims.

    In fiscal year 2024 and the beginning of fiscal year 2025 alone, more than $735.3 million has been returned to victims of human trafficking; romance, investment, and healthcare fraud; business email compromise and government imposter schemes; drug diversion; and cryptocurrency-related thefts and frauds.

    “This extraordinary milestone demonstrates the effectiveness of the Asset Forfeiture Program in taking the profit out of crime and compensating victims,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “While the Criminal Division is deeply proud of these efforts, we recognize that crime victims often lose much more than money. We hope that victims, from exploited children to older Americans targeted by sophisticated criminal schemes, can move forward in their recovery through this compensation. This milestone was made possible by the Justice Department’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, which manages the Asset Forfeiture Program, U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country, and the many federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies that have dedicated their time and resources to these investigations.”  

    Recent cases in which victims were compensated for their losses with forfeited assets in 2024 or 2025 include:

    $4.3 Billion to Victims of Bernie Madoff

    United States v. Bernard L. Madoff (Southern District of New York)

    In December 2024, the Justice Department announced that the Madoff Victim Fund (MVF) would make its 10th and final distribution of over $131.4 million to victims of the Bernard L. Madoff fraud scheme. These funds were forfeited by the U.S. government in connection with the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (BLMIS) fraud scheme. Through its 10 distributions, MVF paid over $4.3 billion from forfeited funds to 40,930 victims in 127 countries for losses they suffered from the collapse of BLMIS, bringing recovery for victims to nearly 94% of their fraud loss. According to court documents and information presented in related proceedings, for decades, Madoff used his position as chairman of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, the investment advisory business he founded in 1960, to steal billions from his clients. On March 12, 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 federal felonies, admitting that he had turned his wealth management business into the world’s largest Ponzi scheme, benefitting himself, his family, and select members of his inner circle.

    $420 Million to Victims of Fraud Schemes Facilitated by Western Union

    United States v. The Western Union Company (Middle District of Pennsylvania)

    In 2017, Western Union entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the United States. Pursuant to the DPA, Western Union acknowledged responsibility for its criminal conduct, which included violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and aiding and abetting wire fraud.  Western Union agreed to forfeit $586 million, which has been made available to compensate victims of the international consumer fraud scheme through the remission process. Western Union simultaneously resolved a parallel civil investigation with the Federal Trade Commission. To date, the Criminal Division has disbursed more than $420 million to approximately 175,000 victims.

    $8 Million Returned to Victims of Email Business Compromise Scams

    United States v. Olalekan Jacob Ponle (Northern District of Illinois)

    Olalekan Jacob Ponle worked with co-schemers to engage in numerous business email compromise schemes. The co-schemers used phishing links to gain unauthorized access to email accounts and then created false instructions directing employees of the victim companies to wire money to bank accounts opened by money mules at Ponle’s direction. After unwitting employees wired money, in some cases millions of dollars, to the bank accounts, Ponle instructed the money mules to convert the proceeds to Bitcoin and send them to him. As a result of Ponle’s scheme, victim companies suffered more than $8.03 million in actual losses. The government seized the Bitcoin, obtained a final order of forfeiture, liquidated the cryptocurrency, and used the proceeds to compensate the victims of Ponle’s fraud.

    $5.6 Million to the Small Business Administration

    United States v. Aydin Kalantarov, et al. (Northern District of Ohio)

    According to court documents, from May 2020 through October 2020, Aydin Kalantarov, along with his two brothers, Zaur Kalantarli and Ali Kalantarli, conspired to defraud the U.S. Small Business Association (SBA) of nearly $7 million in Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL). As part of the scheme the brothers created 70 fictious Ohio corporations with agriculture sounding names. Once the fictitious corporations were created, the brothers submitted fraudulent EIDL loan applications to the SBA claiming that their business was adversely affected by the pandemic. The SBA funded 47 of the applications for a total of approximately $7 million. $5.6 million in forfeited funds was transferred to the clerk of the court for payment to the SBA.

    $2.28 Million Returned to Victims of Two Business Email Compromise Schemes

    United States v. Contents of TD Bank Account, Account Ending 7684, Held in the Name of O’Shane K. Malcolm, et al. (District of Connecticut)

    United States v. Contents of Truist Bank Account Ending 5792, Held in The Name of Quest Freight LLC (District of Connecticut)

    In the first scam, criminal actors compromised an email account associated with a member of the management team of a city’s Board of Education.  In June 2023, these actors created a fake email account that mimicked the email of a bus company that held a contract with the Board of Education for bussing. Using the fake bus company email address, the criminal actors then were able to change the bus company’s payment information from the real bus company to an account held by the criminal actors, and the city sent approximately $5.9 million dollars to the account.  The government successfully seized and forfeited approximately $1,187,691 of the stolen money, which was returned to the city through remission.

    The second forfeiture action involved a healthcare company that was a victim of a business email compromise (BEC) attack.  In April 2023, the company’s yearly medical malpractice insurance payment was set to be paid.  Shortly before the due date, the company received a fraudulent email, purportedly from its malpractice insurance company, with new wire instructions.  The company sent approximately $1,652,254 via a wire transfer using the newly provided instructions. The government successfully seized and forfeited approximately $1,100,694 remaining in the account, which was returned to the healthcare company through remissions.

    $328,500 to an Elderly Victim of a Computer Support Scam

    United States v. Discovery Bank Account Ending in 2237 (District of Connecticut)

    According to court documents, in February 2024, an elderly woman who was tricked by a computer support scheme that mimicked Microsoft customer support transferred approximately $550,000 to the scammers in two wire transfers. Within two days of the transfers, the victim and a family member reported the incident to a local police department, who then partnered with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) to investigate the crime. Fortunately, one of the wire transfers, in the amount of $221,000, was reversed by the bank and returned to the victim. HSI traced the remaining money, totaling approximately $328,573, and seized it. The U.S. Attorney’s Office then filed a civil asset forfeiture action to forfeit the money to the government, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office and HSI then worked with the Department of Justice’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section to return the money to the victim.

    $6.4 Million to the Internal Revenue Service

    United States v. Michael Little (Middle District of Florida)

    From 2019 to 2021, Michael Little filed a series of false tax returns claiming massive, bogus fuel tax credits. He filed the false returns in his own name and in the names of co-conspirators and identity theft victims. As a result of this scheme, Little and his co-conspirators obtained at least $12.3 million in fraudulent tax refunds and attempted to obtain at least $27 million more. Little and his co-conspirators also conspired to launder their ill-gotten gains and used significant portions of the fraudulent tax refunds to purchase real estate and other assets.  Over $6.4 million in forfeited funds were transferred to the clerk of court for payment to the IRS.

    $52,000 to a Survivor of Human Trafficking

    United States v. Thuy Tien Luong (Western District of North Carolina)

    Thuy Tien Luong was convicted of forced labor and ordered to serve 15 years in prison for compelling the labor of one of her nail technicians at a salon she owned and operated. From October 2016 to June 2018, Luong forced the survivor’s labor by, among other things, physically assaulting the survivor, threatening to ruin the survivor’s reputation with her family, and falsely claiming that the survivor owed Luong a fictitious debt. In addition to resulting in the return of funds seized from Luong to the Clerk of Court to pay the survivor, the case also resulted in the return to the survivor of a seized bracelet that Luong had held as “payment” towards the survivor’s fictitious debt.

    $6.3 Million Returned to Estate Victims of an Embezzlement Scheme

    United States v. Richard J. Sherwood, et al. (Northern District of New York)

    Starting in 2006, Richard J. Sherwood and Thomas K. Lagan provided estate planning and related legal services to Capital Region philanthropists Warren and Pauline Bruggeman, and to Pauline’s sister, Anne Urban, all of Niskayuna, New York.  They were advising the Bruggemans when, in 2006, the Bruggemans signed wills directing that all their assets go to churches, civic organizations, a local hospital, and a local university scholarship fund, aside from bequests to Urban and Julia Rentz, Pauline’s sisters.

    Warren Bruggeman died in April 2009, and Pauline died in August 2011. In each pleading guilty, Sherwood and Lagan admitted that they conspired to steal, and did steal, millions of dollars from Pauline Bruggeman’s estate as well as from the estate of Urban, who died in 2013. The co-conspirators admitted that they stole $11,831,563 and Sherwood also admitted that he transferred to himself the Bruggeman family camp located on Galway Lake, in Saratoga County.

    For additional information about the Department of Justice’s victim compensation program, please visit: Criminal Division | Victims.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Security News: Justice Department Surpasses $12 Billion in Compensation to Crime Victims Since 2000

    Source: United States Department of Justice 2

    To commemorate the 2025 National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, the Department of Justice reaffirms its steadfast commitment to compensate crime victims with federally forfeited assets. The Justice Department’s Asset Forfeiture Program has surpassed $12 billion in compensation to crime victims.

    In fiscal year 2024 and the beginning of fiscal year 2025 alone, more than $735.3 million has been returned to victims of human trafficking; romance, investment, and healthcare fraud; business email compromise and government imposter schemes; drug diversion; and cryptocurrency-related thefts and frauds.

    “This extraordinary milestone demonstrates the effectiveness of the Asset Forfeiture Program in taking the profit out of crime and compensating victims,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “While the Criminal Division is deeply proud of these efforts, we recognize that crime victims often lose much more than money. We hope that victims, from exploited children to older Americans targeted by sophisticated criminal schemes, can move forward in their recovery through this compensation. This milestone was made possible by the Justice Department’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, which manages the Asset Forfeiture Program, U.S. Attorneys’ Offices across the country, and the many federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies that have dedicated their time and resources to these investigations.”  

    Recent cases in which victims were compensated for their losses with forfeited assets in 2024 or 2025 include:

    $4.3 Billion to Victims of Bernie Madoff

    United States v. Bernard L. Madoff (Southern District of New York)

    In December 2024, the Justice Department announced that the Madoff Victim Fund (MVF) would make its 10th and final distribution of over $131.4 million to victims of the Bernard L. Madoff fraud scheme. These funds were forfeited by the U.S. government in connection with the Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC (BLMIS) fraud scheme. Through its 10 distributions, MVF paid over $4.3 billion from forfeited funds to 40,930 victims in 127 countries for losses they suffered from the collapse of BLMIS, bringing recovery for victims to nearly 94% of their fraud loss. According to court documents and information presented in related proceedings, for decades, Madoff used his position as chairman of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, the investment advisory business he founded in 1960, to steal billions from his clients. On March 12, 2009, Madoff pleaded guilty to 11 federal felonies, admitting that he had turned his wealth management business into the world’s largest Ponzi scheme, benefitting himself, his family, and select members of his inner circle.

    $420 Million to Victims of Fraud Schemes Facilitated by Western Union

    United States v. The Western Union Company (Middle District of Pennsylvania)

    In 2017, Western Union entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the United States. Pursuant to the DPA, Western Union acknowledged responsibility for its criminal conduct, which included violations of the Bank Secrecy Act and aiding and abetting wire fraud.  Western Union agreed to forfeit $586 million, which has been made available to compensate victims of the international consumer fraud scheme through the remission process. Western Union simultaneously resolved a parallel civil investigation with the Federal Trade Commission. To date, the Criminal Division has disbursed more than $420 million to approximately 175,000 victims.

    $8 Million Returned to Victims of Email Business Compromise Scams

    United States v. Olalekan Jacob Ponle (Northern District of Illinois)

    Olalekan Jacob Ponle worked with co-schemers to engage in numerous business email compromise schemes. The co-schemers used phishing links to gain unauthorized access to email accounts and then created false instructions directing employees of the victim companies to wire money to bank accounts opened by money mules at Ponle’s direction. After unwitting employees wired money, in some cases millions of dollars, to the bank accounts, Ponle instructed the money mules to convert the proceeds to Bitcoin and send them to him. As a result of Ponle’s scheme, victim companies suffered more than $8.03 million in actual losses. The government seized the Bitcoin, obtained a final order of forfeiture, liquidated the cryptocurrency, and used the proceeds to compensate the victims of Ponle’s fraud.

    $5.6 Million to the Small Business Administration

    United States v. Aydin Kalantarov, et al. (Northern District of Ohio)

    According to court documents, from May 2020 through October 2020, Aydin Kalantarov, along with his two brothers, Zaur Kalantarli and Ali Kalantarli, conspired to defraud the U.S. Small Business Association (SBA) of nearly $7 million in Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL). As part of the scheme the brothers created 70 fictious Ohio corporations with agriculture sounding names. Once the fictitious corporations were created, the brothers submitted fraudulent EIDL loan applications to the SBA claiming that their business was adversely affected by the pandemic. The SBA funded 47 of the applications for a total of approximately $7 million. $5.6 million in forfeited funds was transferred to the clerk of the court for payment to the SBA.

    $2.28 Million Returned to Victims of Two Business Email Compromise Schemes

    United States v. Contents of TD Bank Account, Account Ending 7684, Held in the Name of O’Shane K. Malcolm, et al. (District of Connecticut)

    United States v. Contents of Truist Bank Account Ending 5792, Held in The Name of Quest Freight LLC (District of Connecticut)

    In the first scam, criminal actors compromised an email account associated with a member of the management team of a city’s Board of Education.  In June 2023, these actors created a fake email account that mimicked the email of a bus company that held a contract with the Board of Education for bussing. Using the fake bus company email address, the criminal actors then were able to change the bus company’s payment information from the real bus company to an account held by the criminal actors, and the city sent approximately $5.9 million dollars to the account.  The government successfully seized and forfeited approximately $1,187,691 of the stolen money, which was returned to the city through remission.

    The second forfeiture action involved a healthcare company that was a victim of a business email compromise (BEC) attack.  In April 2023, the company’s yearly medical malpractice insurance payment was set to be paid.  Shortly before the due date, the company received a fraudulent email, purportedly from its malpractice insurance company, with new wire instructions.  The company sent approximately $1,652,254 via a wire transfer using the newly provided instructions. The government successfully seized and forfeited approximately $1,100,694 remaining in the account, which was returned to the healthcare company through remissions.

    $328,500 to an Elderly Victim of a Computer Support Scam

    United States v. Discovery Bank Account Ending in 2237 (District of Connecticut)

    According to court documents, in February 2024, an elderly woman who was tricked by a computer support scheme that mimicked Microsoft customer support transferred approximately $550,000 to the scammers in two wire transfers. Within two days of the transfers, the victim and a family member reported the incident to a local police department, who then partnered with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) to investigate the crime. Fortunately, one of the wire transfers, in the amount of $221,000, was reversed by the bank and returned to the victim. HSI traced the remaining money, totaling approximately $328,573, and seized it. The U.S. Attorney’s Office then filed a civil asset forfeiture action to forfeit the money to the government, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office and HSI then worked with the Department of Justice’s Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section to return the money to the victim.

    $6.4 Million to the Internal Revenue Service

    United States v. Michael Little (Middle District of Florida)

    From 2019 to 2021, Michael Little filed a series of false tax returns claiming massive, bogus fuel tax credits. He filed the false returns in his own name and in the names of co-conspirators and identity theft victims. As a result of this scheme, Little and his co-conspirators obtained at least $12.3 million in fraudulent tax refunds and attempted to obtain at least $27 million more. Little and his co-conspirators also conspired to launder their ill-gotten gains and used significant portions of the fraudulent tax refunds to purchase real estate and other assets.  Over $6.4 million in forfeited funds were transferred to the clerk of court for payment to the IRS.

    $52,000 to a Survivor of Human Trafficking

    United States v. Thuy Tien Luong (Western District of North Carolina)

    Thuy Tien Luong was convicted of forced labor and ordered to serve 15 years in prison for compelling the labor of one of her nail technicians at a salon she owned and operated. From October 2016 to June 2018, Luong forced the survivor’s labor by, among other things, physically assaulting the survivor, threatening to ruin the survivor’s reputation with her family, and falsely claiming that the survivor owed Luong a fictitious debt. In addition to resulting in the return of funds seized from Luong to the Clerk of Court to pay the survivor, the case also resulted in the return to the survivor of a seized bracelet that Luong had held as “payment” towards the survivor’s fictitious debt.

    $6.3 Million Returned to Estate Victims of an Embezzlement Scheme

    United States v. Richard J. Sherwood, et al. (Northern District of New York)

    Starting in 2006, Richard J. Sherwood and Thomas K. Lagan provided estate planning and related legal services to Capital Region philanthropists Warren and Pauline Bruggeman, and to Pauline’s sister, Anne Urban, all of Niskayuna, New York.  They were advising the Bruggemans when, in 2006, the Bruggemans signed wills directing that all their assets go to churches, civic organizations, a local hospital, and a local university scholarship fund, aside from bequests to Urban and Julia Rentz, Pauline’s sisters.

    Warren Bruggeman died in April 2009, and Pauline died in August 2011. In each pleading guilty, Sherwood and Lagan admitted that they conspired to steal, and did steal, millions of dollars from Pauline Bruggeman’s estate as well as from the estate of Urban, who died in 2013. The co-conspirators admitted that they stole $11,831,563 and Sherwood also admitted that he transferred to himself the Bruggeman family camp located on Galway Lake, in Saratoga County.

    For additional information about the Department of Justice’s victim compensation program, please visit: Criminal Division | Victims.

    MIL Security OSI –

  • MIL-OSI Security: Missouri Gang Member Indicted for Murder in Aid of Racketeering and Other Crimes Including Three Murders

    Source: United States Attorneys General 2

    A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Missouri returned an indictment on Wednesday charging Travis Santel Jones, 21, of St. Louis, Missouri, with one count of murder in aid of racketeering, RICO conspiracy, using a firearm during a crime of violence, and causing death with a firearm, all related to Jones’s alleged part in the Cochran Crips, a violent street gang based in St. Louis. Two victims were gunned down in the street and one victim was killed at his own home.

    “There is no place in our communities for groups that terrorize their neighbors,” said Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This indictment alleges violent criminal acts and the tragic loss of three lives, all at the hands of a dangerous gang member. The Department of Justice’s Criminal Division will continue to pursue justice for these victims and for the people of St. Louis.”

    “The alleged activity here is exactly the type of case that the Violent Crime Initiative was designed to tackle — complex criminal conspiracies involving drugs and years of violence,” said U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming for the Eastern District of Missouri. “There are severe federal consequences for anyone who is tempted to kill and maim to peddle poison.”

    “For years, FBI St. Louis has been investigating violent crimes and drug trafficking by Cochran Crips gang members. In 2020, our office surged resources to assist the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department after two innocent Saint Louis University students were gunned down simply because their vehicle was misidentified by the gang,” said Special Agent in Charge Ashley Johnson of the FBI St. Louis Field Office. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners will not stop until we bring all those involved in the murders to justice.”

    “Violence has no place in our community, and this indictment sends a clear message: we will always be a voice for victims, and we will not stop pursuing justice until there is accountability,” said St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert J. Tracy. “I am proud of the dedication by our investigators on this case, and we will continue to work with our federal law enforcement partners to keep our neighborhoods safe and take dangerous criminals off our streets.”

    According to court documents, Jones conspired with other Cochran Crips members to commit multiple acts of murder and multiple drug trafficking offenses. Specifically, it is alleged in July 2020, Jones and other members were driving the streets of St. Louis, armed with multiple firearms, looking for “get backs” (retaliation) against a rival gang. While searching for rival gang members, Jones and others allegedly killed two innocent people whom they mistakenly believed to be rivals. After allegedly shooting and killing the victims, Jones and other Cochran Crips allegedly sped away, fleeing the scene and endangering other motorists on the road. Just a day after the murders, it is alleged that Cochran Crips gang members glorified the murders in a rap song.

    In 2022, Jones allegedly murdered another Cochran Crips member when the gang believed that the victim had disrespected a fellow gang member. The gang members are alleged to have obtained a car, armed themselves with multiple firearms, drove to the victim’s home, and murdered him.

    If convicted of murder in aid of racketeering, Jones faces a mandatory minimum penalty of life in prison or the death penalty. All other charges carry a maximum penalty of life in prison.  

    The FBI and the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department are investigating the case.

    Trial Attorneys Jared A. Hernandez and Matthew Mattis of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Nino Przulj for the Eastern District of Missouri are prosecuting the case.

    This case is part of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime Initiative in St. Louis conducted in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of Missouri and local, state, and federal law enforcement. The joint effort addresses violent crime by employing, where appropriate, federal laws to prosecute gang members and their associates in St. Louis.

    This case is also 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 www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

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

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  • MIL-OSI Security: National Defense University Foreign Fellows Visit U.S. Indo-Pacific Command

    Source: United States INDO PACIFIC COMMAND

    U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Joel Carey, chief of staff for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, engages with National Defense University Foreign Fellows during their capstone event at USINDOPACOM headquarters on Camp H.M. Smith, Honolulu, April 10, 2025.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Spencer Woman Pleads Guilty to Bank Fraud

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    BOSTON – A Spencer woman pleaded guilty today in federal court in Worcester to fraudulently obtaining Social Security benefits.

    Gina Llerena-Donohue, 62, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud. U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman scheduled sentencing for July 23, 2025.

    From February 2006 through May 2021, Llerena-Donohue, fraudulently obtained approximately $41,954.20 in Social Security benefits. Llerena-Donohue held a power of attorney (POA) for a Social Security beneficiary that died in January 2006. She did not report the beneficiary’s death to either the Social Security Administration or the bank where the benefits were deposited. Instead, Llerena-Donohue accessed the improperly paid benefits through several counter cash withdrawals. Further, she submitted four false affidavits to the bank in 2018 and 2019 stating that the POA was still in effect because it had not been terminated by the death of the beneficiary.

    The charge of bank fraud provides for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss, whichever is greater. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

    United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Amy Connelly, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Social Security Administration, Office of the Inspector General, Office of Investigations, Boston Field Division made the announcement. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James J. Nagelberg of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Lancaster Man Who Fled Mid-Trial Found Guilty in Absentia of Producing, Enticing, and Receiving Child Sexual Abuse Material

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    LOS ANGELES – An Antelope Valley man has been found guilty in absentia of producing and receiving sexually explicit images of a teenage girl whom he had enticed to engage in criminal sexual activity, the Justice Department announced today.

    Gregory Cole Jr., 30, of Lancaster, was found guilty late Thursday of one count of production of child pornography, one count of enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity, and one count of receipt of child pornography.

    Cole, who removed the location-monitoring unit from his ankle mid-trial and stopped appearing in court, is believed to be a fugitive. United States District Judge Percy Anderson issued a bench warrant and revoked Cole’s bond.

    According to evidence presented at a three-day trial, in March and April of 2024, Cole enticed the victim – a 16-year-old girl – to send him sexually explicit images of herself via direct messages on Instagram. 

    Law enforcement searched Cole’s Instagram account and discovered he enticed the victim to create and send him CSAM. Cole demanded CSAM from the victim and sent her pornography of adult women in poses he wanted the victim to photograph herself in for him, which the victim did.

    Cole deleted his Instagram account after the victim’s mother discovered his messages with her daughter.

    Cole faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in federal prison and a statutory maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

    The FBI investigated this matter.

    Assistant United States Attorneys J’me K. Forrest and Derek R. Flores of the Violent and Organized Crime Section are prosecuting this case.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Mexican National And Florida Man Indicted For Drug Trafficking And Possessing Firearm In Furtherance Of Trafficking Methamphetamine

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces the return of an indictment charging Carlos Antonio Leon (29, Plant City) and Luis Fernando Aguirre Marin (29, Mexico) with drug trafficking conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. If convicted on all counts, Leon and Aguirre Marin each face a minimum of 15 years, up to life, in federal prison. The indictment also notifies Leon and Aguirre Marin that the United States intends to forfeit the firearm and ammunition alleged to be involved in, or used to facilitate, the offense.

    According to the indictment, beginning not later than March 2025, Leon and Aguirre Marin conspired to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine. The indictment specifically alleges that, on March 21, 2025, they possessed with intent to distribute more than 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine. Further, it is alleged that they possessed a firearm in furtherance of those offenses.

    An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

    This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the Florida Highway Patrol, and the Plant City Police Department. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Adam W. McCall.

    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).

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Jury Finds Pine Ridge Man Guilty of Assault With a Dangerous Weapon

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    RAPID CITY – United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that a jury has convicted Frank Long Black Cat, age 31, of Pine Ridge, South Dakota, of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon following a two-day jury trial in federal district court in Rapid City, South Dakota. The verdict was returned on April 9, 2025.

    The conviction carries a maximum penalty of ten years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, three years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund. Restitution may also be ordered.

    Long Black Cat was indicted by a federal grand jury in January 2025.

    Evidence at trial established that Long Black Cat used a knife to repeatedly stab another person in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

    This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian Country be prosecuted in Federal court as opposed to State court.

    This case was investigated by the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Benjamin Schroeder and Megan Poppen prosecuted the case.

    A presentence investigation was ordered and a sentencing date has been set for July 14, 2025.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Owner Of Florida Health Care Companies Sentenced for Employment Tax Crimes

    Source: United States Attorneys General

    A Florida man was sentenced today to 18 months in prison, two years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $4,381,265.76 in restitution to the United States for willfully failing to pay over employment taxes and willfully failing to file individual income tax returns.

    According to court documents and statements made in court, Paul Walczak controlled a network of interconnected health care companies operating under various names, including Palm Health Partners. Through another of his entities, Palm Health Partners Employment Services (PHPES), Walczak employed over 600 people and paid over $24 million annually in payroll. As such, Walczak was required to withhold Social Security, Medicare, and federal income taxes from his employees’ paychecks and to pay those monies over to the IRS each quarter, and to pay the companies’ portion of Social Security and Medicare taxes.

    For more than a decade, Walczak was not compliant with his tax obligations and instead used the withheld taxes to enrich himself. In 2011, Walczak did not pay two quarters of withheld taxes to the IRS. In 2012, the IRS began collection efforts, including by sending him notices about his unpaid taxes, and by meeting with Walczak to help bring him into compliance. When that effort was unsuccessful, the IRS assessed the outstanding taxes against him personally. After that was imposed, Walczak paid the assessments in October 2014. Walczak’s compliance did not last long, however. By the end of the following year, Walczak was again withholding taxes from his employees’ paychecks and keeping the money.

    From 2016 through 2019, Walczak withheld $7,432,223.80 of taxes from his employees’ paychecks, but did not pay those taxes over to the IRS. While Walczak was withholding taxes from the pay of his employees under the pretext of paying these funds to the IRS, he used over $1 million from his businesses’ bank accounts to purchase a yacht, transferred hundreds of thousands of dollars to his personal bank accounts, and used the business accounts for personal purchases at retailers such as Bergdorf Goodman, Cartier, and Saks. During this same time, he also did not pay $3,480,111 of his business’s portion of his employees’ Social Security and Medicare taxes.

    By 2019, the IRS had assessed millions of dollars in civil penalties against Walczak. Beginning with the 2018 tax year, Walczak also stopped filing personal income tax returns despite that he was still receiving income including a $360,000 salary from PHPES and $450,000 in transfers from his business bank accounts.

    Moreover, in 2019, Walczak created a new business, NextEra. Walczak used a family member as the 99% nominal owner of NextEra, but Walczak had ultimate control of the finances and operations of NextEra. Through NextEra, Walczak transferred in 2020 just under $200,000 to a bank account titled in a family member’s name, over $250,000 to a bank account in his wife’s name, and over $800,000 in payments directly to third parties for Walczak’s personal expenses, including clothing stores, department stores, and fishing retailers.

    In total, Walczak caused a tax loss to the IRS of $10,912,334.80

    Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney Karen E. Kelly of the Justice Department’s Tax Division and Special Agent in Charge Emmanuel Gomez of IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Miami Field Office made the announcement.

    IRS-CI investigated the case.

    Trial Attorneys Brian Flanagan, Andrew Ascencio, and Ashley Stein of the Justice Department’s Tax Division prosecuted the case.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Former Bureau of Prisons Officer Sentenced for Violating Inmate’s Civil Rights

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    RALEIGH, N.C. – A former lieutenant at the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) was sentenced today to two years of probation for conspiring to violate the civil rights of inmates at Butner Correctional Institute.  On December 23, 2024, Daniel Mitchell, 42, pled guilty to the charge.

    According to court documents and other information presented in court, Mitchell was a lieutenant supervising the special housing unit (SHU) at the Federal Correctional Institute Butner Medium II.  Victim K.G. was an inmate housed in the SHU under Mitchell’s supervision.  On the morning of December 8, 2021, a female officer reported to Mitchell that inmate K.G. exposed himself to her and engaged in a sexual act within her view. The BOP disciplinary policy for such behavior is a formal write-up of the misconduct.  Instead, Mitchell directed another officer to take inmate K.G. to a holding cell and teach him a lesson by “tuning him up.” There, the inmate was physically assaulted by the officer.  In later interviews, Mitchell and the officer both admitted to meeting in Mitchell’s office where they agreed that the officer would assault K.G. as punishment. 

    Daniel P. Bubar, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle. The DOJ Office of the Inspector General investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Jake D. Pugh and Civil Rights Division Trial Attorney Eric Peffley prosecuted the case.

    Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:24-cr-0332-BO.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: PDS Gang Member Sentenced for Drug Distribution

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

                WASHINGTON – Dartanyan Ricardo Hawkins, 30, of Washington D.C., was sentenced today to 60 months in federal prison in connection with his role in a drug trafficking conspiracy that distributed large quantities of marijuana in the District of Columbia.

                The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., FBI Special Agent Sean Ryan of the Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division, Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Washington Field Division, and Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD).

                Hawkins, aka “Shitty,” was a member of the Push Dat Shit (PDS) and Jugg Gang (JG) street crews. He pleaded guilty November 1, 2024, before U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson to possession with intent to distribute more than 100 kilograms (220 pounds) of marijuana. As part of his plea, Hawkins admitted to possessing a firearm as part of the offense and further admitted to using Instagram to sell marijuana.

                In addition to the 60-month prison term, Judge Berman Jackson ordered Hawkins to serve four years of supervised release.

                According to court documents, PDS maintained gang territory in the 3300 – 3500 blocks of Wheeler Road, Southeast and operated an open-air drug market outside a market. In August 2018, PDS allied with a neighboring street gang known as Jugg Gang, or “JG,” that included Hawkins. The combined gang also conspired to carry firearms – including machine guns – to protect themselves, their drugs, their cash, and their territory from rival crews with whom they had “beefs.”

                This sentence is part of an ongoing joint investigation which has resulted in 27 convictions and the seizure of two vehicles, 35 firearms, four machine guns, more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, approximately 60 pounds of marijuana, 41 grams of cocaine base, dozens of oxycodone pills, and approximately $500,000 in cash.

                The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the ATF’s Washington Field Division, and the Metropolitan Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney James B. Nelson.

    23cr379

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Medina man charged with possession of child pornography

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Kyle Stack, 39, of Medina, NY, was arrested and charged by criminal complaint with possession of child sexual abuse material involving prepubescent minors, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

    Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles M. Kruly, who is handling the case, stated that according to the complaint, in December 2019, Adobe Systems Inc. reported that four images containing child sexual abuse material were uploaded to Adobe’s servers from screen/username “Kyle Stack.” Subsequent investigation traced the uploads to the defendant. In July 2020, the New York State Police executed a search warrant at Stack’s Bates Road residence, seizing six electronic devices, two of which were later found to contain child sexual abuse material. A forensic review of Stack’s cell phone recovered a total of 4,822 images and 32 videos of child sexual abuse material, as well as 2,319 images and four videos of child erotica, and 25 animated child sexual abuse material. A review of his laptop recovered 3,476 images, eight animated images, 16 images of child bestiality and bondage, 5,930 videos, three animated videos, and 43 child bestiality and bondage videos.

    Stack made an initial appearance this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah J. McCarthy and was detained.

    The complaint is the result of an investigation by the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Amie Feroleto, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia.

    The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.   

     

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Ocean County Man Admits To Fraudulently Obtaining Over $250,000 In Social Security Disability Benefits

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    TRENTON, N.J. – An Ocean County, New Jersey man admitted he defrauded the Social Security Administration for nearly eight years in order to improperly obtain over $250,000.00 in Social Security Disability Insurance Benefits, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.

    Krzysztof Niedzielski, 49, of Toms River, New Jersey, pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi in Trenton federal court to an Information charging him with theft of public money and making false statements to the Social Security Administration.

    According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

    From at least as early as 2012 through at least as recently as 2020, Niedzielski obtained approximately $270,933.10 in Social Security disability benefits for himself, his wife, and his dependent children on the basis that he was disabled and could not work. During this period, Niedzielski managed and performed physical labor for a home improvement contracting company where he obtained a substantial income. However, during this time, Niedzielski failed to notify the Social Security Administration of his employment and income. Niedzielski knowingly and intentionally concealed this work from the Social Security Administration to prevent any reduction in disability benefits.

    The charge of theft of public money carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and the charge of making false statement to the Social Security Administration carries a maximum sentence of 5 years in prison. Each charge also carries a fine of up to $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for August 5, 2025.

    U.S. Attorney Habba credited special agents of the Social Security Administration – Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Amy Connelly, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.

    The government is represented by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Keith Abrams of the Narcotics/OCDETF Unit in Newark.

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    Defense counsel: Nicholas Moschella, Esq.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: New York man sentenced to prison for money laundering crimes related to nearly half million dollars stolen from local business through computer malware

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    COLUMBUS, Ohio – A New York man was sentenced in federal court here today to 46 months in prison for crimes related to laundering hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Columbus strength training equipment manufacturer. 

    Alex Bogomolny, 53, of Brooklyn, pleaded guilty in November 2024 to conspiring to commit and committing money laundering. 

    According to court documents, in 2021, a malicious banking Trojan had infected a computer of an employee of Rogue Fitness, which is headquartered in Columbus. The specific Trojan is known by the FBI to steal banking credentials and usually targets corporate victims. As a result of the Trojan, the company lost nearly half a million dollars.

    The stolen money was transferred to 22 different card numbers, including to Bogomolny’s Bank of America card.

    Further investigation of Bogomolny’s bank account revealed that between December 2019 and July 2021, he laundered more than $247,000 in additional criminal proceeds through his account.

    While executing a search warrant at the defendant’s Brooklyn residence, agents found documents that included more than 341,000 unique identifiers like names, addresses, dates of birth and Social Security numbers. The search also discovered images of driver’s licenses, U.S. passports and full lists of full credit card numbers.

    Bogomolny also used the online gambling site FanDuel to conspire to launder money. He and others would steal a victim’s identity and use it to create a FanDuel account. Then criminal proceeds were deposited into the account and later withdrawn. In total, Bogomolny and others used this scheme to deposit nearly $572,000 and withdraw more than $485,000 of the criminal proceeds.

    Finally, Bogomolny’s plea documents detail that, in 2023, the defendant met with undercover FBI agents and agreed to launder $20,000 for a six percent fee. The funds were represented as proceeds of illegal drug activities.

    Between November 2023 and March 2024, Bogomolny sent $18,800 of the original $20,000 back to the undercover FBI agents through multiple ACH transactions.

    Bogomolny later agreed to accept another $50,000 from the undercover agents. He met up with the agents in April 2024 and accepted the money, after which he was arrested.

    Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, and Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division, announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley. Assistant United States Attorney Peter K. Glenn-Applegate is representing the United States in this case.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: U.S. Attorney’s Office Adds 295 New Immigration Cases in One Week

    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 295 immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from April 4 through April 10.

    Among the new cases, Mexican national Jorge Alberto Garcia-Drue was encountered at the Frio County Jail in Pearsall after he was arrested for allegedly refusing to provide accurate identification. Immigration and Customs Enforcement/Enforcement Removal Operations agents determined that Garcia-Drue was an alien illegally present within the United States and that he had been previously removed from the country. A review of his criminal history revealed that he had also been convicted on Dec. 10, 2014 of harboring illegal aliens and aiding and abetting. For that conviction, Garcia-Drue was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison.

    In El Paso, agents responded to an address on April 3. A criminal complaint alleges that one of the agents recognized an alarming amount of smoke inside the residence. Responding to the smoke, agents entered the home and noticed that two cell phones were burning inside a toilet. At the same time, an agent noticed a broken skylight in the bathroom was broken and believed someone had escaped through the roof. Two individuals were then located and apprehended on the roof of the house. The individuals were identified as Victor Adolfo Gonzalez-Serrano and Alberto Antonio Barrera-Soria. Back inside the residence, the criminal complaint indicates that agents located air mattresses, bags full of trash, and wet clothing and shoes. 17 additional people were located inside the residence. The home had been used as a stash house, allegedly managed by Gonzalez-Serrano and Barrera-Soria, who both stated they were being paid to harbor and care for the illegal aliens. Barrera-Soria has been deported two times—most recently on July 23, 2024. He, along with Gonzalez-Serrano and a third defendant, Diego Axel Barrera-Granados, who alleged that he had been smuggled into the U.S. to transport illegal aliens, are Mexican nationals in the United States illegally and have been charged with bringing in and harboring aliens.

    On April 7, Border Patrol agents apprehended an individual east of the Paso Del Norte Port of Entry. A criminal complaint alleges that, during processing, the individual was receiving multiple phone calls and texts, causing suspicion that an alien smuggling scheme was ongoing. The apprehended individual allegedly consented for agents to use his cell phone and, when a USBP agent answered an incoming call, the agent posed as an illegal alien to coordinate a pickup. This led agents to Luis David Castro, who arrived at an agreed upon location and believed he was going to pick up an illegal alien for smuggling. He’s charged with one count of bringing in and harboring aliens. Castro is a felon convicted in 2016 for aggravated robbery with 2023 conviction for burglary of a building. 

    Guatemalan national Julio Pop-Tiul was arrested in El Paso on April 7 for illegal re-entry, having been previously removed from the U.S. on May 13, 2024. A criminal complaint alleges that Pop-Tiul is a twice-convicted felon and admitted affiliation with the 18th Street Gang. He was convicted in Los Angeles, California in 2019 for assault with a deadly weapon and in 2021 for taking a vehicle without consent.

    In Del Rio, Mexican national Jose Alfredo Almendarez-Alvarez was arrested by USBP agents for being an alien illegally present in the U.S. Almendarez-Alvarez was deported in October 2024 through Laredo. A convicted felon, he was sentenced in Huntsville in 2023 to two years’ confinement for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

    Other arrests this past week in the Del Rio sector include Mexican nationals Jose Eufracio-Plata, Isaias Gomez-Cruz, and Antonio Manuel Vazquez-Rodriguez. Eufracio-Plata was just deported March 7 for the third time and has four felony convictions, including two for illegal re-entry and two related to marijuana possession. Gomez-Cruz was apprehended April 3 near Carrizo Springs. Gomez-Cruz was most recently deported for the fifth time on March 3 following a conviction for illegal re-entry on Feb. 26. His criminal record includes two DWI convictions and a conviction for reckless driving. Vazquez-Rodriguez was deported March 14 through Laredo and was convicted in September 2024 for evading arrest. He was also convicted for the same offense in March 2023. Lastly, Mexican national Eduardo Gaspar-Santos was arrested April 2 after being previously deported Dec. 6, 2024. Gaspar-Santos was convicted in November 2024 in Lewisville for assault causing bodily injury.

    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.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Guatemalan National Sentenced to Eight Years for Illegal Reentry

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    ALBUQUERQUE – A Guatemalan national with a history of serious crimes and multiple deportations, has been sentenced to 100 months in prison following his latest encounter with U.S. authorities.

    There is no parole in the federal system.

    According to court records, Darwin Yuvini Escobar-Lopez a.k.a Carlos Antonio Aguilar-Garcia, a 40-year-old Guatemalan national, was encountered in New Mexico by U.S. Border Patrol agents on July 23, 2024. Escobar-Lopez criminal history includes a conviction in California in 2005 for “Lewd or Lascivious Acts with a Child Under 14,” classified as an aggravated felony, for which he served a three-year prison sentence. Following his conviction, Escobar-Lopez had been deported from the United States four times, with the most recent removal occurring in April 2024.

    On December 9, 2024, Escobar-Lopez pleaded guilty to reentry of a removed alien. Upon his release from prison, Escobar-Lopez will be subject to deportation proceedings.

    Acting U.S. Attorney Holland S. Kastrin and Chief Patrol Agent Walter N. Slosar of the U.S. Border Patrol El Paso Sector, made the announcement today.

    The U.S. Border Patrol investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alyson Hehr prosecuted this case as 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. [use if applicable] Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). 

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Pine Bluff Woman Sentenced to Federal Prison for Perjury

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    LITTLE ROCK—Dezstiny Collins will spend the next 18 months in federal prison for lying to a grand jury. Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced the sentence, which was handed down on April 10, 2025, by United States District Judge Brian S. Miller.

    A federal grand jury indicted Collins, 29, of Pine Bluff, in an indictment on August 3, 2022. She was charged in a one count indictment of false declarations before a grand jury. On December 5, 2024, Collins pleaded guilty to the perjury charge in the indictment.

    Collins was subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury on March 2, 2022, as part of an ongoing federal investigation into ammunition possessed by convicted felons during a shooting and homicide in Pine Bluff. During her testimony before the grand jury, Collins repeatedly denied being with the suspects from the February 26, 2019, shooting despite being confronted with surveillance video footage from local businesses that placed her with the suspects immediately prior to the shooting. At the change of plea hearing, Collins acknowledged that the testimony she provided before the grand jury was not truthful.

    In addition to the 18-month sentence, Judge Miller sentenced Collins to three years’ supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

    The investigation was conducted by the Drug Enforcement Administration, with assistance from the FBI and Pine Bluff Police Department. The case was prosecuted in the Eastern District of Arkansas by Assistant United States Attorney Amanda Fields.

    # # #

    Additional information about the office of the

    United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at

    https://www.justice.gov/edar

    X (formerly known as Twitter):

    @USAO_EDAR 

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Individuals arraigned on immigration charges

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    GREAT FALLS – Two individuals accused of harboring and re-entry appeared this week for arraignment, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

    • Kristin Louise Mitchell, aka Kristin Louise Short, 41, of Shelby pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging her with attempted harboring of illegal aliens. If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, Mitchell faces five years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.
    • Carlos Alexis Ponce-Lopez, 33, of Honduras, pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging him with re-entry of removed alien. If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, Ponce-Lopez faces two years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.

    U.S. Magistrate Judge John Johnston presided. Mitchell was released on conditions, and Ponce-Lopez was detained pending further proceedings.

    Count 1 of the indictment alleges that on March 4, 2025, near Shelby, Mitchell attempted to conceal, harbor and shield from detection three illegal aliens and took a substantial step toward the commission of that offense. Ponce-Lopez is charged in count 2 of the indictment with illegal reentry of a removed alien near Billings on February 21, 2025. The indictment alleges Ponce-Lopez is a citizen of Honduras, was removed from the United States in August 2014, and reentered the country without the permission of the Attorney General or the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

    The U.S. Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the case. The U.S. Border Patrol, Montana Highway Patrol, and Toole County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.

    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).

    The charging documents are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

    PACER case reference. 25-34.

    The progress of cases may be monitored through the U.S. District Court Calendar and the PACER system. To establish a PACER account, which provides electronic access to review documents filed in a case, please visit http://www.pacer.gov/register.html. To access the District Court’s calendar, please visit https://ecf.mtd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PublicCalendar.pl.

    XXX

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Two Men Sentenced for Misbranding and Conspiring to Price Gouge N95 Masks in Early Months of COVID-19 Pandemic

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    BOSTON – Two brothers, who co-owned a now-defunct Florida-based company, have been sentenced in federal court in Boston for charges associated with shipping facemasks that were misbranded as N95 respirators, and price gouging hospitals, during the earliest phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

    Daniel Motha, 40, of Miami, Fla. and Jeffrey Motha, 36, of Norfolk, Mass. were each sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Myong J. Joun to one year of probation and ordered to pay a $9,500 fine. In October 2025, the defendants pleaded guilty to one count of introduction of misbranded devices into interstate commerce and one count of conspiracy to commit price gouging in violation of the Defense Production Act. Daniel Motha and Jeffrey Motha were charged in October 2024, along with JDM Supply LLC (JDM). In August 2023, a third individual, Jason Colantuoni of Norfolk, Mass, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit price gouging in connection with this investigation. Colantuoni is scheduled to be sentenced on June 23, 2025.

    The defendants co-owned JDM, with Daniel Motha serving as the company’s chief executive officer and Jeffrey Motha serving as head of sales. In the spring of 2020, during the earliest phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, JDM conspired with another company, Advoque Safeguard LLC – a PPE manufacturer –  to distribute facemasks that were misbranded as National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-approved, N95 respirators. JDM misled one hospital into believing that the masks were NIOSH-approved N95s, when in fact they were not. As a result, the hospital accepted and paid for approximately 850,000 purported N95 masks that were manufactured by Advoque and sold by JDM, at a total price of approximately $2.6 million. To accompany the masks, JDM sent the hospital NIOSH-passing test results and approval documents for a different mask. Ultimately, the hospital did not use the masks, which were eventually returned to Advoque.

    In August 2020, a NIOSH lab tested a sample of the masks that had been shipped to the hospital. The masks tested between 83.94% and 93.24% filtration efficiency, thus falling below the 95% minimum level of filtration efficiency required for N95 respirators.  

    Daniel Motha and Jeff Motha conspired to use JDM to exploit and profit off of the critical need of hospitals and healthcare workers for scarce N95 masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. They accumulated N95 masks from various sources and then sold the N95 masks through JDM to hospitals in Massachusetts, and elsewhere, at prices that exceeded the prevailing market price.

    United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Boston Division; Fernando McMillan, Special Agent in Charge of the Food and Drug Administration, Office of Criminal Investigations; Christopher Algieri, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, Northeast Field Office; Jodi Cohen, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Michael J. Krol, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Howard Locker of the Health Care Fraud Unit prosecuted the case.

    On May 17, 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus and https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus/combatingfraud. 
        
    Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline via the NCDF Web Complaint Form.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Millbrook — RCMP continues to seek tips on 2024 disappearance of Zachery Kellock

    Source: Royal Canadian Mounted Police

    The Northeast Nova RCMP Major Crime Unit (NEN MCU) continues to seek information from the public regarding the suspicious disappearance of Zachery Kellock.

    On January 14, 2024, at approximately 4 p.m., Kellock left his home in Truro in a vehicle with two other people. When he had not returned two days later, his family reported him missing to the Truro Police Service. And when officers learned that Kellock was last seen on Millbrook First Nation, the RCMP took over the investigation.

    “Zach’s disappearance was considered suspicious from day one,” says Cpl. Jennifer Tichonchuk, NEN MCU. “And we’ve been investigating his disappearance as a homicide.”

    Since Kellock’s disappearance, investigators have continued to follow up on leads, with assistance from Colchester County District RCMP, RCMP Forensic Identification Services, and the Truro Police Service.

    At the time of his disappearance, 23-year-old Kellock was described as 5-foot-10, 159 pounds, with blond hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a dark grey leather jacket.

    “We know there are people out there who have information about Zach’s suspicious disappearance – information that will help us find answers for Zach’s loved ones,” says Cpl. Tichonchuk. “We’re asking them to come forward and share what they know; even the smallest detail could help our investigation.”

    Anyone with information about Zachery Kellock’s disappearance is asked to contact the Northeast Nova RCMP Major Crime Unit at 902-896-5060. To remain anonymous, call Nova Scotia Crime Stoppers toll-free at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), submit a secure web tip at www.crimestoppers.ns.ca or use the P3 Tips app.

    File #: 2024-67453

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Jury Returns Guilty Verdict in Federal Firearms Case

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    MONROE, La. –  A federal jury that was seated in Monroe this week returned a guilty verdict last night against Maurice Mitchell, 42, of Monroe, for illegally possessing a firearm, announced Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook. Chief United States District Judge Terry A. Doughty presided over the trial. 

    According to evidence presented at trial, deputies with the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to a mini storage facility in West Monroe on January 8, 2023, to follow up on a complaint received about a possible burglary in progress at that location. Deputies arrived on the scene in less than a minute after receiving the call and upon their arrival, immediately located two individuals near the storage units. Mitchell was one of the individuals they encountered and when he saw deputies, he immediately fled the scene riding a bicycle. Deputies ordered Mitchell to stop and as he was riding away, drove his bicycle into a culvert area and fell over, but Mitchell got up and began running. After a short pursuit, deputies were able to take Mitchell into custody. 

    Deputies conducted a search of Mitchell and found a small bag that had fallen from his bicycle basket. Inside the bag was a loaded .38 caliber revolver with five rounds of ammunition in the cylinder. Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) testified at trial that the firearm seized from Mitchell was test fired and found to be a working firearm which had traveled in interstate commerce. Mitchell was charged in an indictment on August 7, 2024, with one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. 

    Mitchell has a lengthy criminal history including prior felony convictions for attempting to disarm a peace officer (2017), possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of oxycodone, cocaine and marijuana and resisting an office by flight on foot (2015), and possession of cocaine (2008). 

    After deliberating for nearly five hours, the jury returned the guilty verdict against Mitchell for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.  He now faces a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, 3 years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000, or both.  Sentencing has been set for July 31, 2025.

    The case was investigated by the ATF and the Ouachita Parish Sheriff’s Office and was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Catherine Semmes and Assistant United States Attorney Jessica D. Cassidy.

    # # #

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  • MIL-OSI Security: United States Department of Justice Equitable Sharing Funds

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – United States Attorney W. Stephen Muldrow, Puerto Rico Governor Jenniffer González-Colón, and Puerto Rico Police Bureau Commissioner Jospeh González today announced updated/new information regarding the United States Department of Justice Equitable Sharing Funds for agencies in Puerto Rico.

    Asset forfeiture is the taking of property by the government without compensation because of the property’s connection to criminal activity. It is a legal tool that enables the federal government to recover property that can be used to compensate victims of the crime underlying the forfeiture, among other important law enforcement interests.

    There are two distinct asset forfeiture programs: (a) the Department of Justice’s Asset Forfeiture Program over which the Attorney General exercises statutory authority; and (b) the Department of the Treasury’s Treasury Asset Forfeiture Program managed by the Secretary of the Treasury).

    The Justice Asset Forfeiture Program has four primary goals:

    1. To punish and deter criminal activity by depriving criminals of property used in or acquired through illegal activities.

    2. To promote and enhance cooperation among federal, state, local, tribal, and foreign law enforcement agencies.

    3. To recover assets that may be used to compensate victims when authorized under federal law.

    4. To ensure the Program is administered professionally, lawfully, and in a manner consistent with sound public policy.

    The Justice Asset Forfeiture Fund receives the proceeds of forfeiture made pursuant to laws enforced or administered by members of Justice’s Asset Forfeiture Program. Thirteen agencies, including Justice agencies and components as well as non-Justice agencies, comprise the Asset Forfeiture Program’s membership.  That membership includes Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

    The Treasury Asset Forfeiture Program also has four priorities:

    1. To administer and manage the Treasury Forfeiture Fund (TFF) program in a fiscally responsible manner that seeks to minimize administrative costs and maximize the benefits for law enforcement and the compensation of eligible victims; 

    2. To ensure program policies protect due process rights of individuals;

    3. To focus resources on strategic cases and investigations that result in actions against high profile criminals and criminal enterprises to affect the greatest financial damage to criminal organizations; and

    4. To foster a strong working relationship between federal and state or local law enforcement agencies

    The Treasury Forfeiture Fund receives the proceeds of forfeitures made pursuant to laws enforced or administered by Treasury and Department of Homeland Security law enforcement agencies. Members include U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), U.S. Secret Service (USSS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and U.S. Coast Guard (USCG)

    Through equitable sharing, any state, local, or tribal law enforcement agency that directly participates in a law enforcement effort that results in a federal forfeiture may request an equitable share of the net proceeds of the forfeiture.  The Equitable Sharing Program is an important aspect of the Justice and Treasury Asset Forfeiture Programs. Federal law authorizes the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury to share federally forfeited assets with participating law enforcement agencies.  The exercise of this authority is discretionary and limited by statute. The Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury are not required to share assets in any case. Participation in an investigation with a member of the Justice Asset Forfeiture Program may result in equitable sharing paid from Justice’s Asset Forfeiture Funds (AFF), while participation in an investigation with a Treasury Asset Forfeiture Program member agency may result in equitable sharing paid from Treasury’s Forfeiture Funds (TFF).

    In Puerto Rico, the following agencies are participating in the Equitable Sharing Program: Puerto Rico Police Bureau; Puerto Rico Special Investigations Bureau; Puerto Rico Ports Authority General Security Department; Puerto Rico National Guard Counterdrug Unit; Ponce Municipal Police Department; and the San Juan Police Department. Since the year 2020, these agencies have received Equitable Sharing Funds and are currently pending to receive Equitable Sharing Funds:

    • Puerto Rico Police Bureau $2,604,847.72 (received) and $27,360,386.06 (pending)
    • Puerto Rico Special Investigations Bureau $871,128.38 (received) and $110,791.90 (pending)
    • Puerto Rico Ports Authority General Security Department $587,357.42 (received) and $112,889.15 (pending)
    • Puerto Rico National Guard Counterdrug Unit $481,221.69 (received) and $5655 (pending)
    • Ponce Municipal Police Department $160,047.89 (received) and $9,709.20 (pending)
    • San Juan Police Department $1,439,682.39 (received) and $167,375.29 (pending)

    Equitable Shared Funds must be used to increase or supplement the resources of the receiving state, local, or tribal law enforcement agency. Shared funds shall not be used to replace or supplant the agency’s appropriated resources. The recipient agency must benefit directly from the sharing.

    “Forfeiting the proceeds and instrumentalities of crime puts the money to work for good – helping the victims of crime, funding community programs and providing resources to be used to promote public safety,” said W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney for the District of Puerto Rico. “Equitable sharing redirects illegal proceeds toward the local law enforcement agencies who work with their federal counterparts to dismantle large scale criminal enterprises.  Such sharing can enable state and local agencies to commit the necessary resources to conduct a complex, long-term investigation that in the end enhances public safety.”

    More agencies can participate in the Equitable Sharing Program. To become a Program participant, agencies must submit an Equitable Sharing Agreement and Certification (ESAC) and affidavit to the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section (MLARS). Agencies must also be registered in the federal government’s System for Award Management (SAM.gov). Eligible agencies must comply with all rules and obligations, including bookkeeping procedures, internal controls, reporting and audit requirements.

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Bergen County Man Sentenced To 86 Months In Prison For Distribution And Possession Of Child Pornography

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    NEWARK, N.J. – A Bergen County, New Jersey, man was sentenced to 86 months in prison for distributing and possessing images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.

    Michael Kimmerle, 35, of New Milford, New Jersey previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi in Newark federal court to an information charging him with one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

    According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

    From August 24, 2021, through August 7, 2022, Kimmerle distributed material containing video files of child sexual abuse, via a publicly available online peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing program. Law enforcement used undercover online sessions to access the P2P program. During these sessions a user shared multiple video files of child sexual abuse from an Internet Protocol address traced to Kimmerle’s residence.  During a September 14, 2022 search of Kimmerle’s residence, law enforcement found over 600 thumbnail images containing child pornography on Kimmerle’s laptop, including images derived from video files Kimmerle previously distributed through the P2P file-sharing program.

    In addition to the prison term, Judge Cecchi sentenced Kimmerle to 5 years of supervised release and ordered him to pay $59,500 in restitution to the victims.

    U.S. Attorney Habba credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, Newark, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Spiros Karabinas, with the investigation leading to sentencing.

    The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Chelsea D. Coleman of the Opioid Abuse Prevention and Enforcement Unit in Newark.

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

                                                               ###

    Defense counsel: John J. Bruno, Jr., Esq., Rutherford, New Jersey

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Federal Prosecutors Charge This Week 21 Defendants with Being Illegal Aliens Found in the United States Following Removal

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    LOS ANGELES – Federal prosecutors working alongside with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal law enforcement partners have filed charges against 21 defendants in the last week who allegedly were found in the U.S. following removal, the Justice Department announced today.   

    Many of the defendants charged were previously convicted of felony offenses prior to their removal from the United States, including alien smuggling, burglary, grand theft, and assault with a deadly weapon.

    The crime of being found in the United States following removal carries a base sentence of up to two years in federal prison. Defendants who were removed after being convicted of a felony face a maximum 10-year sentence and defendants removed after being convicted of an aggravated felony face a maximum of 20 years in federal prison.

    Some of the recently filed cases are summarized below:

    • David Casas-Herrera, 45, of Mexico, was charged via a federal criminal complaint with being an illegal alien found in the United States after removal. Casas-Herrera was removed from the U.S. in 1997, 2001, twice in 2003, twice in 2004, 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2022. His criminal history includes convictions in U.S. District Court in the Southern District of California in 2006 and 2022 of alien smuggling, for which he was sentenced to 15 months and 21 months in federal prison, respectively. He also has two prior convictions for being an illegal alien found in the U.S. following removal: in Arizona federal court in 2003 and in San Diego federal court 2010 for which he was sentenced to terms of 60 days in prison each time. Assistant United States Attorney Gregory Scally of the Orange County Office is prosecuting this case.
    • Marta Stoican, 40, of Romania, was charged via a federal criminal complaint with being an illegal alien found in the United States after removal. Stoican, who was removed from the U.S. in 2022, was charged after being arrested by the Baldwin Park Police Department on suspicion of burglary on April 5. Stoican has a criminal history that includes convictions in 2017 for grand theft, possession of shoplifting gear, and theft. Special Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth Bisland of the Domestic Security and Immigration Crimes Section is prosecuting this case.
    • Juan Solorzano Reyes, 40, of Mexico, who was charged via a federal criminal complaint with being an illegal alien found in the United States after removal.  Reyes, who was removed from the U.S. in 2003, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2013, and 2020, was charged after being convicted in Orange County Superior Court in 2011 of possession for sale of methamphetamine, for which he was sentenced to four years in California state prison, and in 2022 of assault with a deadly weapon, criminal threats, and vandalism, for which he was sentenced to 180 days in California state prison. Assistant United States Attorney Gregory Staples of the Orange County Office is prosecuting this case.

    Criminal complaints contain allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

    U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security Investigations are investigating these matters.

    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 (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).      

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Sussex County Man Sentenced To 80 Months For Distribution Of Child Pornography

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    NEWARK, N.J. – A Sussex County, New Jersey, man was sentenced to 80 months for distributing videos and images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Alina Habba announced.

    Gaetano Lapegna, 67, of Franklin, New Jersey previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Claire C. Cecchi to an information charging one count of distribution of child pornography.  Judge Cecchi imposed the sentence today in Newark federal court.

    According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

    From December 2022 to March 2023, Lapegna distributed videos and images of child sexual abuse via a publicly available online peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing program.  During the course of the investigation, an undercover law enforcement officer conducted online sessions using the P2P program, during which a user shared hundreds of videos and images of child sexual abuse from an IP address traced to Lapegna’s address.

    Subsequent to a lawful search of his residence on March 30, 2023, law enforcement officers recovered over 100 items depicting child pornography on Lapegna’s thumb drive. Law enforcement also found that Lapegna’s computer was running the same version of the P2P program from which law enforcement downloaded child pornography from Lapegna.

    In addition to the prison term, Judge Cecchi sentenced Lapegna to five years of supervised release and ordered restitution of $50,000.

    U.S. Attorney Habba credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations Newark, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Ricky J. Patel, with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing.  She also thanked the United States Postal Inspection Service, Sussex County Prosecutor’s Office, and Franklin Borough Police Department for their assistance.

    The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Farhana C. Melo of the Economic Crimes Unit in Newark.

    Defense counsel:  Claressa Lowe Esq., Assistant Federal Public Defender, Newark

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  • MIL-OSI Security: Mechanicville Man Sentenced to 97 Months in Prison Following Trial Convictions for Drug and Firearm Offenses

    Source: Office of United States Attorneys

    ALBANY, NEW YORK – Charles Brennan, age 45, of Mechanicville, New York was sentenced yesterday to 97 months in prison for conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, distributing methamphetamine, possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, and possessing a firearm with an obliterated serial number. Brennan was convicted in September 2024 following a four-day jury trial. 

    The announcement was made by United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III; Bryan Miller, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF); and Saratoga County Sheriff Michael H. Zurlo.

    The evidence at trial established that between July and September 2022, Brennan was a member of a drug conspiracy that involved the distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. The jury concluded that during that time, Brennan distributed methamphetamine on two occasions from his residence in Mechanicville. During the execution of a search warrant at Brennan’s residence, Brennan was found in possession of 9 grams of pure methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia, ammunition, and eight firearms, including a pistol with an altered serial number. The jury also concluded that Brennan possessed the methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it. Jurors voted to acquit Brennan on two counts of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

    United States District Judge Anne M. Nardacci also imposed a four-year term of supervised release to begin after Brennan is released from prison.

    This case was investigated by members of the ATF and Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorneys Ashlyn Miranda, Joseph S. Hartunian and Allen J. Vickey prosecuted this case.

    Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.  Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders works together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.  As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psn.

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