Latest News


Criminal Prosecution

Bronx Man Charged With Sex Trafficking Of A Minor And Distribution Of Fentanyl

News Release: Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today the arrest of VIRGIL WARDLOW for paying for sex with a minor with fentanyl-laced pills. WARDLOW was arrested yesterday evening in the Bronx, New York, and will be presented today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Valerie Figueredo.


Criminal Prosecution

Suspended Kentucky Attorney and Wife Plead Guilty to Wire Fraud and Willful Failure to Pay Tax

News Release: Louisville, KY - A suspended Kentucky attorney and his wife pled guilty in federal court yesterday to wire fraud and willful failure to pay tax.


Criminal Prosecution

Jackson Woman Pleads Guilty to Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon

News Release: Jackson, Miss. - A Jackson woman pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm, announced U.S. Attorney Darren J. LaMarca and Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony Spotswood of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, & Explosives.


Criminal Prosecution

Four Additional Defendants in North Carolina Plead Guilty to National COVID-19 Fraud Scheme

News Release: RALEIGH, N.C. - Denise Coit Alston, 69; Monica Faye Barnes, 51; Terron Cortez Parker, 37; and Kami D. Woodard, 37; each pleaded guilty earlier this week to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for fraudulently obtaining Paycheck Protection Act (“PPP") COVID-19 loans. The defendants requested relief for various companies they owned including companies listed as being engaged in catering, trucking and real estate. They all face up to 20 years in prison.


Criminal Prosecution

Pennsylvania Man Sentenced on Felony Charge for Actions During Jan. 6 Capitol Breach

News Release: WASHINGTON - A Pennsylvania man was sentenced today for felony and misdemeanor charges 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

Delaware Man Admits Distributing Heroin in New Jersey

News Release: CAMDEN, N.J. - A Delaware man today admitted he distributed and possessed with intent to distribute heroin, U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger announced.


Criminal Prosecution

Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Transportation and Possession of Child Pornography

News Release: SYRACUSE, NEW YORK - Philip Koester, age 37, of Austin, Texas, formerly of Endicott, New York, pled guilty yesterday to transportation and possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman and Janeen DiGuiseppi, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).


Criminal Prosecution

California pair indicted for retail theft scheme; more than $800,000 in equipment stolen from home improvement chain

News Release: Seattle - A man and woman from Southern California were arrested this week on an indictment charging them with conspiracy and ten counts of wire fraud related to an organized retail theft scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Jalen Amir Thomas, 27, of Santa Monica, California, and Armia Ta’Jae...


Criminal Prosecution

Two Men Indicted for Environmental Crimes Committed in the Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and Las Mareas Community of Salinas, Puerto Rico

News Release: SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - On May 10, 2023, a Federal Grand Jury in the District of Puerto Rico returned two separate indictments charging Luis Enrique Rodríguez Sánchez and Pedro Luis Bones Torres with violations of the Clean Water Act and the Rivers and Harbors Act, announced W. Stephen Muldrow, U.S.


Criminal Prosecution

California Man Convicted of Health Care Kickback Conspiracy

News Release: TEXARKANA, Texas - A Temecula, California, man has been found guilty of federal violations related to a health care kickback scheme in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs today.


Criminal Prosecution

Man Sentenced for Production of Child Pornography and Extortion

News Release: A Canadian man was sentenced today to 32 years in prison for producing images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children and for interstate extortion based on an online “sextortion" scheme.


Criminal Prosecution

Lawyer Sentenced To Nine Years In Prison For $8 Million Escrow Fraud

News Release: Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that BRIAN O’NEILL, a Maryland attorney and escrow agent, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Valerie Caproni to nine years in prison for defrauding his clients of funds he was holding for them in escrow. O’NEILL pled guilty to two counts of wire fraud in November 2022.


Criminal Prosecution

Navajo Man Charged with Involuntary Manslaughter

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 that Sheldon Carlton Daye was charged with involuntary manslaughter. Daye, 29, of Vanderwagen, and an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, will remain on conditions of release pending trial, which has not been scheduled.


Criminal Prosecution

Convicted Felon Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Armed Meth Distribution

News Release: ALBANY, Ga. - A South Georgia resident with a lengthy criminal history who led law enforcement on a high-speed motorcycle chase while in possession of a large quantity of methamphetamine and an illegally possessed firearm was sentenced to prison for his crime.


Criminal Prosecution

Topeka Man Indicted for Child Sexual Exploitation

News Release: KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Topeka, Kansas, man was indicted by a federal grand jury today after traveling to Missouri to meet a 14-year-old girl, who was actually an undercover FBI employee, for illicit sex.


Criminal Prosecution

Norfolk Man Charged with Distributing Fentanyl and “Tranq” Mixture, Known as the Zombie Drug

News Release: NORFOLK, Va. - A federal grand jury indicted a Norfolk man today on charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute Fentanyl mixed with Xylazine, opening two drug-involved premises, possession with intent to distribute Fentanyl mixed with Xylazine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine, and being a convicted felon in possession of firearms.


Criminal Prosecution

Colorado Springs Man Indicted for Covid Relief Program Fraud

News Release: DENVER - The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces the indictment of Charles James Lacona, Jr., age 65, of Colorado Springs for his alleged role in a scheme to defraud Covid Relief Programs.


Criminal Prosecution

Accounting Manager for Everett, Washington, company pleads guilty to embezzling more than $2.5 million from employer

News Release: Seattle - A 39-year-old Kent, Washington, woman pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to wire fraud and tax fraud charges for her 10-year embezzlement scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Christin Guillory, an Accounting Manager at an Everett-based manufacturing company, stole...


Criminal Prosecution

Daphne Man Sentenced to 17½ Years for Child Pornography Offenses

News Release: Stephen Richey, 69, of Daphne, was sentenced to 210 months (17½ years) in prison for production of child pornography. Richey pled guilty to the offense on Jan. 12, 2023. The sentence was imposed by United States District Judge Terry F. Moorer.


Criminal Prosecution

Maryland Fraudster Pleads Guilty to Receiving and Selling Fraudulently Obtained Cell Phones Worth More Than $500,000

News Release: Baltimore, Maryland - Danisha Thomas, age 39, of Bladensburg, Maryland, pleaded guilty yesterday to federal charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, related to a scheme to receive and sell cell phones that were fraudulently obtained using the identifying information of at least 24 victims.