News from May 2023
Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Violating the Federal Controlled Substances Act
By DOJ Newswire | May 17, 2023
News Release: NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - FERMIN RODRIGUEZ-ORTEGA, age 24, a resident of Dallas, Texas, pled guilty, before U.S. District Judge Carl J. Barbier to a two-count indictment charging him with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, in violation of Title...
American living in Brazil admits to business email compromise scheme
By DOJ Newswire | May 17, 2023
News Release: HOUSTON - A 58-year-old U.S. citizen has pleaded guilty to wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Largest International Operation Against Darknet Trafficking of Fentanyl and Opioids Results in Record Arrests and Seizures
By DOJ Newswire | May 17, 2023
News Release: Today, the Department of Justice, and its Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) team and international partners, announced the results of Operation SpecTor, which included 288 arrests - the most ever for any JCODE operation and nearly double that of the prior operation. Law enforcement...
Defendant on Ten Most Wanted List Extradited from Canada to the United States to Face Drug Trafficking Charges
By DOJ Newswire | May 17, 2023
News Release: DETROIT - A dual citizen of Laos and Canada on Homeland Security Investigation’s (HSI) Ten Most Wanted list was extradited this week by the government of Canada to the United States to face drug trafficking charges in Detroit, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.
Straw Purchaser Sentenced to 42 months for Lying to Buy Firearm
By DOJ Newswire | May 17, 2023
News Release: ROANOKE, Va. - A Roanoke man, who made an illegal straw purchase of a firearm for a convicted felon, was sentenced this week to 42 months in federal prison.
Seven persons arraigned on charges in meth trafficking investigation on Crow and Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservations, three counties
By DOJ Newswire | May 17, 2023
News Release: BILLINGS - Seven persons accused in a large methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy on the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservations and in Yellowstone, Big Horn and Rosebud counties appeared for arraignment this week on various charges, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said today.
Repeat Offender Sentenced To 16 Years In Prison For Receipt And Possession of Large Child Sexual Abuse Material Collection
By DOJ Newswire | May 17, 2023
News Release: LAS VEGAS - A Las Vegas resident was sentenced yesterday by United States District Judge Cristina D. Silva to 16 years in prison followed by a lifetime term of supervised release for receipt and possession of more than 118,000 images of child sexual abuse material.
Fort Myers Man Sentenced To More Than Seven Years In Federal Prison For Distributing Methamphetamine
By DOJ Newswire | May 17, 2023
News Release: Fort Myers, Florida - U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Jeffrey Brown (35, Fort Myers) to seven and six months in federal prison for distributing methamphetamine. Brown had pleaded guilty on Feb. 15, 2023.
Missouri Felon Sentenced to 66 Months in Prison for Selling 7 Machine Guns
By DOJ Newswire | May 17, 2023
News Release: CAPE GIRARDEAU - A man from Dunklin County, Missouri, was sentenced Thursday to five and one-half years in prison for selling seven devices that convert AR-15-style rifles into fully automatic weapons.
Massachusetts Man Indicted for Acting as an Illegal Agent of the People’s Republic of China
By DOJ Newswire | May 17, 2023
News Release: A Massachusetts man was arrested on May 9 for allegedly acting as an agent of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) without providing notification to the U.S. Attorney General.
Kanawha County Man Sentenced to Prison for Federal Gun Crime
By DOJ Newswire | May 17, 2023
News Release: CHARLESTON, W.Va. - Charles Ryan Tucker, 45, of Mammoth, was sentenced today to two years and six months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Omaha Woman Sentenced to 72 Months After Jury Convicts Her of Being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm
By DOJ Newswire | May 17, 2023
News Release: United States Attorney Steven Russell announced that Kristen M. Patterson, 40, of Omaha, Nebraska, was sentenced on May 3, 2023, in federal court in Omaha for unlawfully possessing a firearm as a felon. United States District Brian C. Buescher sentenced Patterson to 72 months’ imprisonment. She was also ordered to serve two years of supervised release after her release from prison. There is no parole in the federal system.
Additional Tangipahoa Parish Residents Sentenced in Jungle Life Mafia Street Gang Prosecution
By DOJ Newswire | May 17, 2023
News Release: NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - JERALD ALEXANDER, age 38, a Tangipahoa Parish resident, was sentenced on May 4, 2023, to 87 months imprisonment, 5 years of supervised release, and a $400 mandatory special assessment fee by U.S. District Judge Jay C. Zainey, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans. ALEXANDER...
Woman admits to smuggling minors
By DOJ Newswire | May 17, 2023
News Release: McALLEN, Texas - A 22-year-old resident of Toledo, Ohio, has pleaded guilty to transporting an undocumented alien, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Statement From U.S. Attorney Jason M. Frierson
By DOJ Newswire | May 17, 2023
News Release: LAS VEGAS - The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada today issued the following statement from United States Attorney Jason M. Frierson.
Ardmore Residents Sentenced For Use And Carry Of A Firearm In Furtherance Of A Crime Of Violence
By DOJ Newswire | May 17, 2023
News Release: MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announces that Shawn Braiden Hickman, age 19, of Ardmore, Oklahoma, and Christopher Hunter Skolarski, age 20, of Ardmore, Oklahoma, have been sentenced to 60 months in prison for Use and Carry of a Firearm in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence.
Fort Myers Felon Convicted For Unlawfully Possessing Loaded Rifle
By DOJ Newswire | May 17, 2023
News Release: Fort Myers, FL - United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Javonte Keyon Whitfield (25, Fort Myers) guilty of possessing a firearm and ammunition as a previously convicted felon. Whitfield faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. His sentencing date has not yet been scheduled. Whitfield had been indicted on February 9, 2022.
Former President of Massachusetts State Police Union and Former Lobbyist Sentenced to Prison for RICO, Fraud, Obstruction and Tax Charges
By DOJ Newswire | May 17, 2023
News Release: BOSTON - The former President of the State Police Association of Massachusetts (SPAM) and the union’s former Massachusetts lobbyist were sentenced today in federal court in Boston for racketeering, fraud, obstruction of justice and tax crimes.
South Georgia Resident Pleads Guilty to Illegally Possessing Firearms
By DOJ Newswire | May 17, 2023
News Release: ALBANY, Ga. - A Bainbridge, Georgia, resident with a criminal history pleaded guilty to illegally possessing multiple firearms after he was arrested on gun charges during an on-going death investigation.
Chicago Doctor and His Wife Held Liable by Jury for Taking Kickbacks and Causing False Medicare Claims; Ordered To Pay Civil Judgment of More Than $3 Million
By DOJ Newswire | May 17, 2023
News Release: CHICAGO - A federal judge has ordered a Chicago doctor and his wife to pay more than $3 million in civil damages and penalties for unlawfully seeking and receiving kickbacks from a home health agency as payment for the doctor’s referrals of Medicare patients. A federal jury in Chicago held them liable earlier this month.