News from March 2023
Las Vegas Resident Sentenced To Prison For COVID Relief Fraud
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 17, 2023
News Release: LAS VEGAS - A Las Vegas man was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro to 30 months in prison followed by one year of supervised release for submitting fraudulent Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Relief Loan (EIDL) loan applications seeking more than $1 million under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
Former Tax Return Preparer Pleads Guilty to Making False Statement on a Tax Return
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 17, 2023
News Release: Hattiesburg, Miss. - A former Laurel, Mississippi, tax return preparer pled guilty to knowingly making a false statement on an income tax return, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Special Agent in Charge James Dorsey of IRS Criminal Investigation, Atlanta Field Office.
Co-Conspirator of Tucson Amtrak Shooter Pleads Guilty
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 17, 2023
News Release: TUCSON, Ariz. - 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. Sentencing is scheduled for May 24, 2023, before United States District Judge Rosemary Márquez.
Staten Island Man Sentenced To 18 Months In Prison For Conspiracy To Commit Antisemitic Hate Crimes
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 17, 2023
News Release: Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that SAADAH MASOUD was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for his participation in a conspiracy to commit hate crimes in connection with MASOUD’s repeated physical attacks of Jewish victims in New York City between 2021 and 2022. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Denise L. Cote.
Fresno Man Sentenced to Over 6 Years in Prison for Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 17, 2023
News Release: FRESNO, Calif. - Trayvon Smith, 32, of Fresno, was sentenced Monday to six years and three months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
Manager of Transnational Fraud Scheme Sentenced to 41 Months in Prison
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 17, 2023
News Release: Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Kamal Zafar was sentenced by United States District Judge Joan M. Azrack to 41 months in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a fraudulent scheme directed at thousands of individuals in the United States. As part of the sentence, Zafar was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $3.2 million and forfeiture of $232,362. Zafar pleaded guilty to the charge in June 2022.
Two Individuals Charged in Federal Criminal Complaint for Violent Carjacking
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 17, 2023
News Release: MINNEAPOLIS - Two individuals have been charged in a federal criminal complaint for carjacking involving a robbery and holding a victim at gunpoint, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.
Charleston Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Gun Crime
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 17, 2023
News Release: CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Scott Phalen, 63, of Charleston, pleaded guilty today to being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Miami Art Dealer Sentenced to 51 Months in Prison for Smuggling Ivory
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 17, 2023
News Release: MIAMI - A federal judge in Miami has sentenced Eduardo Ulises Martinez (“Martinez"), a local art dealer, to 51 months in prison for illegally smuggling sculptures containing ivory, and for obstructing justice.
Oklahoma City Man Convicted of Producing Child Pornography
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 17, 2023
News Release: OKLAHOMA CITY - NATHAN BENFALL, 34, of Oklahoma City, pleaded guilty today to producing child pornography, announced United States Attorney Robert J. Troester.
Methamphetamine Traffickers Sentenced to Federal Prison
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 17, 2023
News Release: Saipan, MP - SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that the United States District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands imposed the following sentences against defendants for Conspiracy to Possess Methamphetamine with the intent to Distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 841(a)(1), and Conspiracy to Maintain a Drug-Involved Premises, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 856.
Local woman indicted in romance scam
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 17, 2023
News Release: HOUSTON - A 38-year-old resident of Richmond has been charged for operating as a “money mule" as part of her involvement in a nationwide romance fraud scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Omaha Man Sentenced to 48 Months for Possession of Methamphetamine
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 17, 2023
News Release: United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Miguel Lobano-Diaz, 35, a Mexican citizen living in Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced today in federal court in Omaha for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Chief United States District Judge Robert F. Rossiter, Jr. sentenced Lobano-Diaz...
Doctor Sentenced To 12.5 Years In Prison For Illegally Distributing Oxycodone From Midtown Manhattan Practice
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 17, 2023
News Release: Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that HOWARD ADELGLASS was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jed S. Rakoff to 150 months in prison for his participation in a conspiracy to illegally prescribe oxycodone. ADELGLASS was convicted in November 2022 following a two-week trial before Judge Rakoff.
St. Louis County Man Sentenced to 5+ Years for $777,000 Pandemic Fraud
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 17, 2023
News Release: ST. LOUIS -U.S. District Judge John A. Ross on Friday sentenced a man from St. Louis County, Missouri who submitted nearly $980,000 in fraudulent applications to a pandemic relief loan program to five years and 5 months in prison.
Western North Carolina Dog Fighters Sentenced to Federal Prison
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 17, 2023
News Release: Two North Carolina men were sentenced today for violations of the Animal Welfare Act for engaging in dog fighting and related criminal conduct.
Columbia Man Indicted for Meth, Fentanyl, Illegal Firearm
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 17, 2023
News Release: KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Columbia, Mo., man was indicted by a federal grand jury today after he was arrested in St. Joseph, Mo., with methamphetamine and a firearm, then again in Kansas City, Mo., with approximately 2,300 fentanyl pills.
Former Mexican governor and presidential candidate sentenced for money laundering
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 17, 2023
News Release: HOUSTON - The former governor of Tamaulipas, Mexico, has been sentenced to nine years in prison for accepting over $3.5 million in illegal bribe money and using it to fraudulently purchase property in the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Wilkesboro Woman Sentenced to Prison for Conspiracy Drug Trafficking after Multi-State Operation
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 17, 2023
News Release: GREENSBORO - A North Carolina woman was sentenced today to 15 years in prison, after pleading guilty to a one-count indictment which charged her and six codefendants with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute quantities of methamphetamine. The case was part of a multi-state organized crime investigation, announced United States Attorney Sandra J. Hairston of the Middle District of North Carolina.
LONG-TIME SURENO GANG MEMBER PLEADS TO ASSAULTING A FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER WITH A DEADLY WEAPON
By DOJ Newswire | Mar 17, 2023
News Release: Spokane, Washington - Vanessa R. Waldref, the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, announced that Randy Coy James Holmes, age 25, of Spokane, Washington, pled guilty today in federal court in Spokane, Washington to Assault with a Deadly Weapon on a Federal Law Enforcement Officer...