Branson West Man Indicted for Illegal Transactions
A federal grand jury in Springfield, Missouri indicted 69‑year‑old David Vernon Lott on twelve counts of money laundering. Prosecutors allege Lott ran Missouri Holding Group, LLC, promising investors a 10:1 return while siphoning funds for personal use, including a home purchase. The indictment covers transactions from July to August 2025 and twelve separate transfers each exceeding $10,000 tied to the sale of that residence. The case was investigated by IRS‑Criminal and the Missouri Secretary of State’s securities division.
Two Illegal Aliens With Prior Felony Convictions Sentenced to Prison for Illegally Reentering the United States
Two Mexican nationals, Hilario Villegas‑Espinoza and David Carachuri‑Terrazas, were sentenced by Chief District Judge Andrew Gordon in Las Vegas for illegally reentering the United States after prior deportations. Villegas‑Espinoza received 20 months in prison followed by three years of supervised...
Twice Deported Guatemalan National Living in Hartford Charged with Illegally Reentering U.S.
U.S. Attorney David Sullivan announced that Yoni Lopez Garcia, a 27‑year‑old Guatemalan national living in Hartford, has been charged with illegally reentering the United States after two prior deportations. Lopez Garcia was first removed in late 2017, returned in early...
Three Charged in Federal Drug Distribution & Money Laundering Conspiracies
Three men—Marcus Dewayne Gulley, Tristian R. Harris, and Monteles Terrell Burden—were indicted in Pensacola federal court on conspiracy charges for distributing methamphetamine, using telephone facilities to facilitate the drug trade, and laundering the proceeds. The indictment, announced by U.S. Attorney...
Saipan Woman Sentenced to 71 Months in Federal Prison for Wire Fraud Scheme Targeting Multiple Victims
Sze Man Yu Inos, known as “Yuki,” was sentenced on April 23, 2026 to 71 months in federal prison for a multi‑state wire‑fraud scheme. The court ordered three years of supervised release, $769,355.67 in restitution, a $684,848.34 personal‑money forfeiture, and a $200 special assessment. From...
New Jersey Man Sentenced To 42 Months For $9 Million Fraud
Arsen Lusher, a 49‑year‑old New Jersey resident, was sentenced to 42 months in prison for a multi‑year wire‑fraud scheme that duped more than 20 investors out of nearly $9 million. The scheme, presented as a profitable trucking business, raised about $40 million,...
Southfield Couple Pleads Guilty in $1.2M Pandemic Fraud Conspiracy
Catherine Spidell‑Ferguson pleaded guilty to a $1.2 million Paycheck Protection Program fraud scheme, joining her husband D’Angelo Ferguson who earlier admitted to submitting three bogus PPP applications. The couple used falsified income statements and payroll records to secure the loans. The...
United States Prevails in Wrongful Death Lawsuit Alleging Excessive Force by Border Patrol
U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Battaglia ruled that Border Patrol agents acted lawfully in the fatal shooting of smuggler Silvestre Estrada, rejecting claims of excessive force. The court found the agents' use of deadly force reasonable after Estrada accelerated toward...
Convicted Felon Illegal Alien Convicted for Unlawfully Being in United States
A federal jury convicted 36‑year‑old Mexican national Luis Alberto Banda Acosta of illegal reentry after two prior removals, following a three‑day trial in Bryan, Texas. Deliberations lasted less than three hours, and the court set sentencing for June 30. Banda faces...
U.S. Soldier Charged With Using Classified Information To Profit From Prediction Market Bets
The Justice Department unsealed an indictment against Army soldier Gannon Ken Van Dyke for allegedly exploiting classified intelligence about a covert operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Van Dyke placed "yes" bets on Polymarket prediction contracts tied to U.S....
Brevard County Man Sentenced to 15 Years in Federal Prison for Distributing Fentanyl and Methamphetamine
Nico Jonte Lennear, a 35‑year‑old from Rockledge, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Julie S. Sneed to 15 years in federal prison for distributing fentanyl and methamphetamine. He pleaded guilty in December 2025 after law‑enforcement agents conducted two controlled purchases that...
Chicago Man Sentenced After Sending Racial and Violent Sexual Threats to Women in Tulsa
John Gregory Garza, a 25‑year‑old from Chicago, received a 46‑month prison term for cyberstalking and interstate threats against two women in Tulsa. Prosecutors said he operated more than 18 fake Facebook accounts to send racially charged and sexually violent messages,...
Eye Practice and Physician Owner Agree to Pay $415,000 to Resolve Allegations of False Claims Act to Medicare
The Mitchell Eye Center and its former owner, Dr. Alan Mitchell, agreed to pay $415,000 to resolve False Claims Act allegations. U.S. authorities say the practice submitted Medicare and Veterans Health Administration claims for transcranial doppler (TCD) tests that were...
Florida Man Working as a Ransomware Negotiator Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Deploy Ransomware and Extort U.S. Victims
A Florida cyber‑incident response negotiator, Angelo Martino, pleaded guilty to conspiring with BlackCat/ALPHV ransomware operators to steal confidential client data and launch attacks on U.S. companies in 2023. By feeding insurers' policy limits and negotiation tactics to the attackers, he helped...
Six St. Louis Area Residents Accused of $8.3 Million Pandemic Fraud
Six St. Louis residents were indicted for an $8.3 million pandemic loan fraud, with three arrested after allegedly filing at least 40 false Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications between 2020 and 2024. The scheme used identity theft,...
Federal Jury Convicts Fugitive Sex Offender Who Vanished After Staging Crime Scene and Fleeing Oklahoma in 2012
A federal jury convicted Anthony Michael Lennon, a 44‑year‑old fugitive sex offender, of failing to register under federal law. Lennon vanished in 2012 after staging a crime scene, lived under false identities across Nevada, Illinois and New York, and was arrested...
Justice Department Secures Settlement in First-Ever Lawsuit Enforcing the Violence Against Women Act Housing Rights Subpart
The Justice Department announced a settlement in United States v. David Montanus and Lisa Montanus, the first case filed to enforce the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) housing‑rights subpart. The defendants, who evicted a survivor after she called police for...
East Bay Men Plead Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit H1-B Visa Fraud Claiming Clients Would Work for the University of...
Two Dublin residents, Sampath Rajidi and Sreedhar Mada, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit H‑1B visa fraud. Rajidi, who owned S‑Team Software and Uptrend Technologies, submitted false petitions claiming beneficiaries would work for the University of California, while Mada, UCANR’s...
Franklin Man Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud and Filing False Tax Returns
Nael Jabbar, a 47‑year‑old owner of Hot Spot Super Market in Milwaukee, pleaded guilty on April 14, 2026, to one count of wire fraud and one count of filing a false tax return. From 2021‑2024 he defrauded the SNAP program...
Previously Deported Alien Sentenced in Largest Cocaine Seizure in Green Bay History
On April 14, 2026, U.S. District Judge Byron B. Conway sentenced 51‑year‑old Ruben Salgado‑Espinoza to 169 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute cocaine and illegally re‑entering the United States after two prior deportations. The sentencing follows a Green...
Justice Department Announces Settlement to Combat Antisemitism in Massachusetts School District
The U.S. Justice Department reached a voluntary settlement with the Concord‑Carlisle School District in Massachusetts to address a series of antisemitic incidents reported between 2023 and 2025. The agreement resolves a Title IV civil‑rights investigation into harassment based on religion, race...
Browning Attorney Fined $100,000 for Making a False Statement to Federal Law Enforcement
A Browning, Montana attorney, Nathan Nicholas Johnson St. Goddard, was sentenced to four years of probation and a $100,000 fine after a jury convicted him of making a false statement to federal law enforcement during a sexual abuse investigation. The...
Tobyhanna Man Sentenced To 30 Months In Prison For His Misappropriation Of Covid Relief Funds And With Making A False...
William Freeman IV, a 46‑year‑old from Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for wire fraud and filing a false tax return. He secured more than $300,000 in pandemic stimulus loans through the EIDL and PPP by...
Slidell Doctor Sentenced For $6.6 Million In Health Care Fraud
Robert Tassin, a 67‑year‑old physician from Slidell, Louisiana, was sentenced on April 9, 2026 for conspiring to commit healthcare fraud by ordering medically unnecessary cancer genetic tests for Medicare patients he never saw. The scheme generated over $6.6 million in false claims, of...
Dallas Federal Jury Convicts Four Deuce Oakland Crips Gang Member of Multiple Drug Trafficking and Firearms Crimes
A Dallas federal jury convicted Jamarian Augustus Hewitt, a Four Deuce Oakland Crips member, of extensive drug‑trafficking and firearms offenses after a four‑day trial. Prosecutors detailed his operation of the Zillionaire Exotic Pop storefront, where he moved 200‑300 pounds of...
Grand Jury Indicts Jamestown Man and Buffalo Woman on Narcotics Conspiracy Charge
A federal grand jury indicted Brandon Murray of Jamestown and Latika Saintkitts of Buffalo on narcotics conspiracy charges spanning 2021‑2024, including fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin. Saintkitts also faces separate counts for distributing crack cocaine and fentanyl in 2024. Both were...
U.S. Attorney’s Office Filed 111 Border-Related Cases This Week
Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 111 border‑related cases this week, ranging from drug importation to attempted alien trafficking and re‑entry after deportation. The district, which includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry—the world’s busiest land crossing—remains the...
Federal Jury Finds San Antonio Tax Preparer Guilty of Filing False Tax Returns
A federal jury in San Antonio convicted Natasha Sheree Banks‑Brown, owner of Tasha’s Total Tax Service, on 11 counts of aiding and assisting the filing of false tax returns. Prosecutors said she prepared roughly 1,200 returns between 2017 and 2021...
Management Company Agrees to Pay More Than $2 Million to Resolve Improper Paycheck Protection Program Loan
Jeff Wyler Automotive Family, Inc., a management firm for auto dealerships, agreed to pay $2,106,927 to settle False Claims Act allegations that it misrepresented eligibility for a Paycheck Protection Program loan. The company certified it qualified for a first‑draw PPP loan...
Pine Ridge Woman Sentenced to Over 5 Years in Federal Prison for Brutally Assaulting Another Woman in the Pine...
U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler sentenced 37‑year‑old Jessie Sutton to 70 months in federal prison for assaulting another woman on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Sutton pleaded guilty to assault resulting in serious bodily injury and assault with a dangerous weapon,...
National Partnership of Insurance Brokers and Its Former Subsidiary Agree to Pay Over $160 Million For Affordable Care Act Enrollment...
AP of South Florida (APSF) pleaded guilty to a major Affordable Care Act (ACA) enrollment fraud, admitting it enrolled thousands of vulnerable consumers in fully subsidized plans that they did not qualify for, resulting in $141.5 million in improper subsidies. The...
California Man Pleads Guilty to Orchestrating $270M Medication Reimbursement Fraud Scheme
A California man pleaded guilty to submitting nearly $270 million in fraudulent Medi‑Cal claims over an 11‑month period, billing the state for expensive prescription drugs that were either unnecessary or never dispensed. The scheme leveraged a temporary suspension of prior‑authorization requirements,...
Executive of Indian Chemical Company Pleads Guilty to Distributing and Smuggling Fentanyl Precursor Chemicals
Bhavesh Lathiya, founder of India‑based Raxuter Chemicals, pleaded guilty in Brooklyn federal court to smuggling more than 50 pounds of fentanyl precursor chemicals into the United States and Mexico. The plea marks the first felony conviction of an Indian supplier of...
Former Employee of National Industrial Company Pleads Guilty to Crimes Related to Hacking Computer Networks and Extorting Employees
A former core infrastructure engineer at a New Jersey‑based industrial firm pleaded guilty in federal court to extorting the company and damaging its computer network. In November 2023, the 59‑year‑old Missouri resident initiated unauthorized remote‑desktop sessions, deleted admin accounts, altered passwords,...
Dominican National Pleads Guilty to Illegal Reentry, Misuse of Social Security Number, and Benefits Fraud
A Dominican national illegally residing in the United States pleaded guilty in Rhode Island federal court to a decade‑long scheme that used stolen identities to obtain roughly $75,000 in Medicaid, SNAP and unemployment benefits. Jesus Matos Perez admitted to illegal...
Guatemalan Illegal Alien Sentenced for Helping Other Illegal Aliens Obtain Counterfeit Identity Documents
U.S. Attorney Timothy VerHey announced that Edgidio Vasquez‑Mencho, a 41‑year‑old Guatemalan, received a six‑month custodial sentence for conspiring to distribute counterfeit Social Security and permanent‑resident cards. Vasquez‑Mencho acted as the courier and payment collector for a network that sold fraudulent...
Privacy Considerations Training
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy is hosting a virtual Privacy Considerations Training on July 8, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. EST. The two‑hour session focuses on how agencies can protect personal data while complying with the Freedom of...
Continuing FOIA Education Training
The U.S. Department of Justice is hosting a free, two‑hour virtual training on the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm EST. The session, updated on March 24, 2026, is aimed at federal employees, public...
Exemption 1 and Exemption 7 Training
The U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy is hosting a virtual training on FOIA Exemptions 1 and 7 on Wednesday, June 3, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. EST. The two‑hour session will walk participants through the legal nuances of protecting classified national‑security information...
Exemption 4 and Exemption 5 Training
The Department of Justice’s Office of Information Policy is hosting a virtual training on June 17, 2026 to clarify FOIA Exemptions 4 and 5. The two‑hour session runs from 10:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. EST and is open to agency staff, attorneys, and transparency professionals. Exemption 4...
Owner of Now-Closed Milwaukee Prenatal Care Coordination Company Sentenced to 60 Months’ Imprisonment for Healthcare Fraud Scheme
Lakia Jackson, 36, was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison for a Medicaid fraud scheme that siphoned $2.66 million intended for at‑risk pregnant women and young children in Wisconsin. She pleaded guilty to healthcare fraud and aggravated identity theft after...
Two Members of 18th Street Gang Convicted of Murder In-Aid-Of Racketeering and Other Gang Related Crimes
A federal jury in Brooklyn found 18th Street gang members Herberth Rodríguez and Elias Martínez Villanueva guilty on all counts of a superseding indictment, including murder in‑aid‑of racketeering, attempted murder, narcotics trafficking, and illegal re‑entry. The convictions stem from the...
Man Indicted and Arrested for Kidnapping and Carjacking of a U.S. Postal Service Letter Carrier
A federal grand jury in Puerto Rico indicted Ariel Ayala Meléndez for kidnapping, assault, robbery, and carjacking of a United States Postal Service letter carrier in November 2025. The victim was forced at knifepoint to drive the postal vehicle from...
Togo Illegal Alien Sentenced for Role in Money Laundering Conspiracy
A federal judge sentenced Gedeon “Papa Kwam” Agbeyome, a 31‑year‑old illegal alien from Togo, to six years in prison for conspiracy to commit money laundering and aggravated identity theft. He was ordered to pay $2,938,424.65 in restitution and faced a...
Reedsburg Woman Sentenced for Her Role in Fentanyl Trafficking Organization
Chrystal D. Mueller, 41, of Reedsburg, Wisconsin, received an 18‑month federal prison sentence for conspiring to distribute fentanyl after pleading guilty in September 2025. The scheme involved shipping 19 parcels of fentanyl pills from California to Wisconsin between January and...
Independence Man Sentenced for Tax Evasion
A 60‑year‑old Independence, Mo., salesman, Michael Robert Jett, was sentenced to 23 months in federal prison for a six‑year tax evasion scheme. He falsified exemption claims, preventing employer tax withholdings and failing to pay federal and state income taxes from...
Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Rigging Bids for Healthcare-Related U.S. Air Force Projects
A Texas storage‑sales company owner, Eric J. Caddy, pleaded guilty to two felony counts for conspiring to rig bids on more than $1.6 million of healthcare‑related contracts for U.S. Air Force facilities at Moody Base, Georgia. He and co‑conspirators submitted artificially...
Department of Justice Reveals Seizure of $14.9 Million From Cartel-Linked Money Laundering Operation
The U.S. Department of Justice announced a civil forfeiture action to seize more than $14.9 million tied to an international drug‑money‑laundering operation. Investigators traced the cash through trade‑based schemes that funneled proceeds into U.S. bank accounts of shell companies and even...
Former Manager of Lafayette Medical Clinic Pleads Guilty to Embezzling More Than $500k From Employer
Former Lafayette Medical Clinic manager Brooke Miller Duck pleaded guilty on March 16, 2026 to embezzling more than $500,000 from two Louisiana clinics. Between May 2020 and October 2023 she used clinic credit cards for personal expenses, including a $15,000...
Jury Convicts Kansas City-Based Music Artist of Illegal Firearm Possession
A federal jury convicted Kansas City rap artist Joseph R. Isaac, known as SleazyWorld Go, of felon in possession of a firearm after ATF investigators traced social‑media photos showing him with a weapon. Isaac, prohibited from owning guns due to a...