News from April 2023
Former Wells Fargo Executive Agrees to Plead Guilty to Obstructing Bank Examination Involving the Opening of Millions of Accounts Without Customer Authorization
By DOJ Newswire Report | Apr 5, 2023
The former head of Wells Fargo Bank’s retail banking division has agreed to plead guilty to obstructing a government examination into the bank’s widespread sales practices misconduct, which included opening millions of unauthorized accounts and other products, federal authorities announced today.
Romanian Citizens Arrested and Charged with Laundering $1.4 Million in Proceeds from Jewelry Thefts and Covid Fraud
By DOJ Newswire Report | Apr 5, 2023
Eduard Ghiocel and Floarea Ghiocel, married Romanian nationals and suspected leaders of a Romania-based transnational organized crime group, are charged in federal court with laundering $1.4 million in proceeds from dozens of small thefts, robberies and swindles targeting mostly elderly victims in San Diego County.
Grand Jury Returns Indictments
By DOJ Newswire Report | Apr 5, 2023
A federal grand jury in the Western District of Wisconsin, sitting in Madison, returned the following indictments today.
Wayne County Man Sentenced To 30 Years In Prison For Online Enticement Of A Minor
By DOJ Newswire Report | Apr 5, 2023
The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that United States District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani sentenced Michael Jacob Walczyk, age 43, of Beach Lake, Pennsylvania, to 360 months in prison for enticement of a minor.
Fort Wayne Pimp Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Sex Trafficking of a Minor at Indianapolis-Area Hotels
By DOJ Newswire Report | Apr 5, 2023
Damion Alexander, 28, of Fort Wayne, Indiana, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to sex trafficking of a minor.
Ashland man sentenced to 37 months in prison for sexually abusing minor girl on Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation
By DOJ Newswire Report | Apr 5, 2023
An Ashland man was sentenced today to 37 months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, for sexually abusing a minor girl on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
FBI Seeking Information and Additional Victims of Suspected Sexual Exploitation
By DOJ Newswire Report | Apr 5, 2023
On Monday, March 6, 2023, Rex Dale Phelps was charged with abusive sexual contact in an aircraft.
Pittsburgh Man Sentenced to More Than 5 Years in Prison for Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material
By DOJ Newswire Report | Apr 5, 2023
A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has been sentenced in federal court to 63 months’ imprisonment followed by 10 years’ supervised release on his conviction of possession of material depicting the sexual exploitation of a minor, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
Justice Department Investigation Leads to Takedown of Darknet Cryptocurrency Mixer that Processed Over $3 Billion of Unlawful Transactions
By DOJ Newswire Report | Apr 5, 2023
Vietnamese Operator of ChipMixer Charged with Laundering Money for Ransomware Perpetrators, Darknet Markets, Fraudsters, and State-Sponsored Hackers
Uniontown Man Sentenced to 17.5 Years in Prison and Lifetime Supervision for Making Live Videos of Himself Molesting a Child
By DOJ Newswire Report | Apr 5, 2023
A former resident of Uniontown, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 210 months’ imprisonment and lifetime supervised release on his conviction of production of visual depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.
Providence Man Sentenced for Fraud, Theft of Government Funds, and Identity Theft Committed While on Federal Supervised Release for Sex Trafficking
By DOJ Newswire Report | Apr 5, 2023
Mackenzy Scott, 26, began filing fraudulent applications for pandemic-related benefits on March 28, 2020, one day after the CARES Act, passed by Congress to provide economic assistance programs in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, became law. Scott’s fraudulent activity was discovered in February 2021 by a United States Probation Officer, during an investigation into alleged violations of the terms of Scott’s federal supervised release related to his earlier conviction for sex trafficking.
Billings man admits to producing, possessing child pornography
By DOJ Newswire Report | Apr 5, 2023
A Billings man suspected of coercing a minor girl in New York to make and send him sexually explicit images of herself admitted to child pornography crimes today, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
Texas Man Sentenced for $2 Million Medicare Fraud
By DOJ Newswire Report | Apr 5, 2023
A Texas man was sentenced today to 66 months in prison for conspiring to defraud Medicare of more than $2 million by submitting thousands of fraudulent claims for durable medical equipment.
Southeast Missouri Man Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison for Bank Robbery
By DOJ Newswire Report | Apr 5, 2023
United States District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr., sentenced Keith Lamar Dunlap to 15 years in federal prison today for robbing the Citizens Bank of Sikeston on October 30, 2020.
Co-Conspirator of Tucson Amtrak Shooter Pleads Guilty
By DOJ Newswire Report | Apr 5, 2023
Devonte Okeith Mathis, 24, of Mesquite, Texas, pleaded guilty yesterday to Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Marijuana, and Using and Carrying a Firearm During and In Relation to a Drug Trafficking Crime and Possession of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Drug Trafficking Crime
St. Louis Man Admits Making Rape Threats to Five Women
By DOJ Newswire Report | Apr 5, 2023
A man from St. Louis pleaded guilty Thursday to five federal felonies and admitted harassing and threatening to rape five women.
Three Men Indicted in Connection with Violent Armed Bank Robbery on Martha's Vineyard
By DOJ Newswire Report | Apr 5, 2023
Three men have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Boston in connection with the Nov. 17, 2022 armed bank robbery of the Rockland Trust Bank in Tisbury, Mass.
Man who supplied stolen firearms used in Billings casino robbery sentenced to 37 months in prison
By DOJ Newswire Report | Apr 5, 2023
A man who admitted to illegally possessing firearms after he supplied two stolen guns to two women, who robbed a Billings liquor store and later ditched them at an elementary school playground, was sentenced today to 37 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.
Securities Fraud Fugitive Arrested and Returned to the United States
By DOJ Newswire Report | Apr 5, 2023
A former North Carolina resident appeared in court after he was arrested and returned to the United States from Phuket, Thailand, for his role in a large-scale market manipulation scheme related to two publicly traded companies, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced today.
Mesa Man Sentenced to Nearly 15 Years for Assault on FBI Agent with a Firearm
By DOJ Newswire Report | Apr 5, 2023
Gabriel Manzo, 40, of Mesa, Arizona, was sentenced Monday by United States District Judge Steven P. Logan to 177 months in federal prison. Manzo pleaded guilty to Assault on a Federal Officer and Discharge of a Firearm During a Crime of Violence.