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Criminal Prosecution

Massachusetts Man Indicted for Acting as an Illegal Agent of the People's Republic of China

News Release: BOSTON - 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.


Criminal Prosecution

Recidivist Felon Sentenced for Illegal Reentry into the United States

News Release: TUCSON, Ariz. - Hermelindo Velazquez-Rivera, 45, of Sonora, Mexico, was sentenced on April 18, 2023, by United States District Judge Raner C. Collins to a total of 90 months in prison. Velasquez-Rivera pleaded guilty to Reentry of a Removed Alien and admitted to violating conditions of supervised release.


Criminal Prosecution

Dallas Woman Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Non-U.S. Citizens Resulting in Migrant’s Death

News Release: EL PASO, Texas - A Dallas woman pleaded guilty in a federal court in El Paso Wednesday to charges in connection to her role as a stash house operator and coordinator of a human smuggling organization operating in far west Texas.


Criminal Prosecution

Florida Man Found Guilty of Felony and Misdemeanor Charges Related to Capitol Breach

News Release: WASHINGTON - A Florida man and self-identified Proud Boy was found guilty in the District of Columbia of all charged felony and misdemeanor counts for his actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol breach. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the presidential election.


Criminal Prosecution

Member of FBI Imposter Ring that Intimidated, Defrauded Victims Sentenced to Federal Prison

News Release: MIAMI - Reinaldo Miralles Gonzalez, 52, of Doral, Florida, has been sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $123,000 in restitution after pleading guilty late last year to conspiracy to commit mail fraud.


Criminal Prosecution

Lead Defendant in Multimillion-Dollar Boiler Room Scam that Targeted Timeshare Owners Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud

News Release: SANTA ANA, California - A former Long Beach resident pleaded guilty today to a federal criminal charge for leading a telemarketing scheme in which boiler room tactics were used to scam dozens of timeshare owners out of more than $3.5 million by giving them false promises of financial relief.


Criminal Prosecution

Justice Department Files Statement of Interest in Religious Land Use Case Involving Faith-Based Group that Feeds Homeless in Orange County

News Release: SANTA ANA, California - The Justice Department has filed a statement of interest in a federal lawsuit explaining that the act of distributing food and drinks to people who are homeless by Micah’s Way, a faith-based organization in Santa Ana that helps people in need, could be religious exercise under the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA).


Criminal Prosecution

Laguna Hills Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison for Selling Fentanyl that Resulted in Two Fatal Overdoses in Six Weeks

News Release: LOS ANGELES - An Orange County man was sentenced today to 240 months in federal prison for distributing fentanyl that resulted in the overdose deaths of two victims - one in Utah, the other in Aliso Viejo - within six weeks of each other in early 2021.


Criminal Prosecution

Armed Career Criminal Sentenced To 30 Years In Federal Prison On Drug Trafficking And Firearm Offenses

News Release: GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - Carlos Kentral Kerney, 43, of Gainesville, Florida, was sentenced to a total of 30 years in federal prison following his conviction for possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, carrying a firearm during and in relation to drug trafficking, and possession of a firearm by a felon. Jason R. Coody, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida announced the sentence.


Criminal Prosecution

U.K. Citizen Extradited and Pleads Guilty to Cyber Crime Offenses

News Release: A U.K. citizen pleaded guilty today in New York to his role in cyberstalking and multiple schemes that involve computer hacking, including the July 2020 hack of Twitter.


Criminal Prosecution

Georgia Woman Pleads Guilty To Aggravated Identity Theft And Bank Fraud Charges

News Release: Jacksonville, Florida - United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Kiana Fiona Alphonse (29, Covington, Georgia) has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, seven counts of bank fraud, five counts of false representation of a Social Security number, and five counts...


Criminal Prosecution

Virginia Woman Sentenced to Prison for Fraudulently Ordering Cell Phones on Behalf of Her Non-Profit Employer and Reselling Them for Cash

News Release: WASHINGTON - Celeste Santifer, 56, of Alexandria, Virginia, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to 41 months in prison for committing wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal and Cyber Division.


Criminal Prosecution

Albuquerque Man Charged with Firearms Offenses

News Release: ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, and Brendan Iber, Special Agent in Charge of the Phoenix Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), announced that Marquez Martinez was charged with dealing in firearms...


Criminal Prosecution

ST. CROIX JURY CONVICTS 65 YEAR OLD MAN OF SEX TRAFFICKING AND TRANSPORTING A MINOR FOR PROSTITUTION

News Release: St. Croix, VI - United States Attorney Delia L. Smith announced today that a St. Croix jury convicted James Phillip, 65, of St. Croix, of sex trafficking and transporting a minor for prostitution. The jury returned the guilty verdict after hearing a week of testimony. District Court Judge Wilma Lewis ordered Phillip to surrender to the custody of the U.S. Marshal Service on May 15, 2023, to begin serving his sentence.


Criminal Prosecution

Krebs Resident Sentenced For Possession With Intent To Distribute Methamphetamine

News Release: MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Jeffery Owen Freeman, age 54, of Krebs, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 235 months for one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine.


Criminal Prosecution

Maryland Man Sentenced for Defrauding the D.C. Medicaid Program

News Release: WASHINGTON - Melchiades Amin, 45, of Glenn Dale, Maryland, was sentenced today, May 11, 2023, to serve 36 months of incarceration, suspended, and five years of probation. Additionally, the Honorable Andrea Hertzfeld ordered Amin to pay $178,150.24 in restitution to the D.C. Medicaid program. The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves and Daniel W. Lucas, Inspector General for the District of Columbia.


Criminal Prosecution

Contract Killer Sentenced to Five Consecutive Life Sentences in Prison for Committing Six Murders and One Attempted Murder

News Release: CONTRACT KILLER SENTENCED TO FIVE CONSECUTIVE LIFE SENTENCES IN PRISON FOR COMMITTING SIX MURDERS AND ONE ATTEMPTED MURDER.


Criminal Prosecution

Two Men Arrested for Allegedly Robbing Armored Truck in Chicago Suburb

News Release: CHICAGO - Two men have been arrested on federal charges for allegedly robbing an armored truck at gunpoint in a Chicago suburb earlier this week.



Criminal Prosecution

Panama City Couple On State Probation For Passing Counterfeit Federal Reserve Notes Indicted For Manufacturing And Passing Counterfeit Federal Reserve Notes

News Release: Jacksonville, Florida - United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Neal Evan Pollman (42, Panama City) with one count of manufacturing counterfeit Federal Reserve notes and nine counts of passing counterfeit Federal Reserve notes, and Lyndsey Rhea Markland...