News from 2023
FBI Honors Michelle Li with National Award
By DOJ Newswire | May 18, 2023
News Release: WASHINGTON, DC-FBI Director Christopher Wray presented Michelle Li with the Director’s Community Leadership Award (DCLA) for her service to the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. Ms. Li is a news anchor at KSDK - TV and the president and co-founder of The Very Asian Foundation.
Slidell Man Indicted for Federal Carjacking and Weapons Offenses
By DOJ Newswire | May 18, 2023
News Release: NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - SHAMPAIN POOLE, age 22, of Slidell, Louisiana, was charged by a federal grand jury on May 5, 2023, in a three-count indictment for carjacking and violations of the Federal Gun Control Act, announced United States Attorney Duane A. Evans.
Man Sentenced for Unlawfully Possessing a Semiautomatic Firearm
By DOJ Newswire | May 18, 2023
News Release: TUCSON, Ariz. - Esteban Gonzalez-Melendez, 26, of Mexico, was sentenced last week by United States District Judge Jennifer G. Zipps to 30 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. Gonzalez-Melendez also was ordered to pay a $100 special assessment. Gonzalez-Melendez pleaded guilty to Possession of Firearms and Ammunition knowing that he was an undocumented non-citizen illegally and unlawfully in the United States.
HSI Investigation Leads to Indictment of Chinese National Circumventing Antidumping and Countervailing Duties in Puerto Rico
By DOJ Newswire | May 18, 2023
News Release: SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - On April 26, 2023 a federal Grand Jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned an indictment charging Shuyi Mo, a citizen and resident of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), with thirty-one counts of wire fraud in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1343, one count of a wire fraud conspiracy in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349, and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371.
Readout of Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta’s Meeting with Members of European Parliament to Discuss Women’s Rights
By DOJ Newswire | May 18, 2023
News Release: Today, Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta participated in a meeting with a delegation from the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE), alongside attendees from the White House Gender Policy Council and the U.S. Department of State. The convening, which featured representatives from Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany and Spain, was hosted by the State Department.
Two DC-Area Men Plead Guilty to Drug Charges Connected to an Open-Air Drug Market in SE DC
By DOJ Newswire | May 18, 2023
News Release: All Six Charged Defendants Have Now Entered Guilty Pleas.
Los Angeles Case Part of Largest International Operation Against Darknet Trafficking of Fentanyl and Opioids
By DOJ Newswire | May 18, 2023
News Release: WASHINGTON - The Department of Justice, and its Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) team and international partners, today 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...
Mason City Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Possession of Child Pornography
By DOJ Newswire | May 18, 2023
News Release: A Mason City, Iowa man who possessed over 150,000 depictions of child pornography was sentenced on Friday, April 28, 2023, to 240 months imprisonment after a jury returned a guilty verdict against him on Nov. 17, 2022.
Fruitland Man Pleads Guilty to Sexual Abuse
By DOJ Newswire | May 18, 2023
News Release: ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, announced today that Derek Lorin Blackhorse pleaded guilty to sexual abuse. Blackhorse, 34, of Fruitland New Mexico, and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, will remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not been scheduled.
Former Green Haven Correction Officer Pleads Guilty To Assaulting Inmate In State Custody
By DOJ Newswire | May 18, 2023
News Release: Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that TAJ EVERLY pled guilty to a deprivation of constitutional rights under color of law. On May 28, 2020, EVERLY, then a correction officer at Green Haven Correctional Facility, assaulted an individual...
Convicted Felon Sentenced for Possessing Firearms
By DOJ Newswire | May 18, 2023
News Release: Patrick Charles Schutz, age 38, of Casper, Wyoming, was sentenced for being a felon in possession of firearms to 28 months in prison with three years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment. U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson imposed the sentence on April 24, 2023.
Queens Woman Charged With Fraudulently Obtaining Government Funds
By DOJ Newswire | May 18, 2023
News Release: Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, John Gay, the Inspector General of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Office of Inspector General (“PA-OIG"), Jonathan Mellone, the Special Agent in Charge of the Northeast Region of the U.S. Department of...
New Orleans Man Pleads Guilty to Multiple Federal Firearm and Drug Trafficking Charges
By DOJ Newswire | May 18, 2023
News Release: NEW ORLEANS - U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans announced that DEVONTE SMITH, age 22, of New Orleans, pled guilty to seven counts of an eight-count indictment, that charged him with multiple federal firearms and drug trafficking violations stemming from a March 30, 2022 shootout, on the corner of Orleans...
Bristol Man Involved in Gun Trafficking Scheme Sentenced to Prison
By DOJ Newswire | May 18, 2023
News Release: Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JOSHUA BENTZ, 39, of Bristol, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to 24 months of imprisonment, followed by two years of supervised release, for illegally trafficking firearms from South Carolina to Connecticut.
Cheyenne Man Sentenced for Being a Felon in Possession of an Illegal Firearm
By DOJ Newswire | May 18, 2023
News Release: Michael Langley, age 26, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, was sentenced to 51 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Chief U.S. District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl imposed the sentence, which also included three years of supervised release and a $100 special assessment, on May 2, 2023.
Oklahoma City Man Sentenced To Serve 30 Months in Federal Prison for Lying During Firearms Transactions
By DOJ Newswire | May 18, 2023
News Release: OKLAHOMA CITY - Today, a federal judge sentenced NEMORY ZAHID RAMOS CASTRO, 22, of Oklahoma City, to serve a total of 30 months in federal prison for lying during firearms transactions, announced United States Attorney Robert J. Troester.
Californian convicted of fraudulently passing over $1M in counterfeit savings bonds at South Texas banks
By DOJ Newswire | May 18, 2023
News Release: BROWNSVILLE, Texas - A 58-year-old resident of Hemet, California, has pleaded guilty to passing counterfeit U.S. savings bonds over three years, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani along with Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
Federal Court Permanently Shuts Down New York Tax Preparer
By DOJ Newswire | May 18, 2023
News Release: A federal court in the Eastern District of New York has permanently enjoined a tax return preparer and her Brooklyn-based business from preparing federal tax returns for others and from owning, operating, or working for any tax return preparation business in the future.
Chicago Heroin Dealer Sentenced to Federal Prison
By DOJ Newswire | May 18, 2023
News Release: A Chicago man who distributed heroin in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on four different occasions was sentenced today to more than 3 years in federal prison.
ATF’s National Response Team Deploys To Support Explosion Investigation
By DOJ Newswire | May 18, 2023
News Release: WASHINGTON - ATF’s National Response Team has joined the investigation into the May 4 explosion that injured at least four people at Air Liquide Advanced Materials in High Springs, Florida.