Updates, News & Articles

Chinese National Pleads Guilty in $65 Million Multinational Fraud and Money Laundering Ring Targeting Seniors

SAN DIEGO – Ziyue Zhao, aka “Chris Zhao,” pleaded guilty in federal court today and admitted he participated in a $65 million fraud and money laundering scheme targeting elderly victims across the United States, including in San Diego. Zhao, a Chinese national, is the first defendant to plead guilty following a nationwide takedown in August…
Read more: Chinese National Pleads Guilty in $65 Million Multinational Fraud and Money Laundering Ring Targeting Seniors
13-Count Indictment Charges D.C. Man in March 2026 Violent Armed Carjackings

A 13-count Indictment was unsealed March 31 in U.S. District Court charging Dequan Simpson, 18, of the District of Columbia, in two alleged armed carjackings and a shooting that occurred last month in Northeast Washington. Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Read more: 13-Count Indictment Charges D.C. Man in March 2026 Violent Armed Carjackings
Justice Department Seeks to Shut Down Florida-Based Return Preparer

The United States filed a complaint today in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida seeking to enjoin a Florida-based return preparer, Glicerio D. Mirambel, from preparing federal income tax returns for others. Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Read more: Justice Department Seeks to Shut Down Florida-Based Return Preparer
Former Computer Systems Administrator at Federal Public Defender’s Office Charged with Stealing Government Property

A federal grand jury in New Haven has returned an indictment charging PETERSON BERNADEL, 39, of Meriden, with offenses related to the theft of government property. Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Read more: Former Computer Systems Administrator at Federal Public Defender’s Office Charged with Stealing Government Property
Brighton Man Charged with Receipt of Child Pornography

BOSTON – A Brighton man has been arrested and charged with receiving child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Read more: Brighton Man Charged with Receipt of Child Pornography
St. Petersburg Man Charged in Child’s Fentanyl Overdose and Multiple Drug Offenses

Tampa, Florida – Rayshawn Smith (31, St. Petersburg) has been charged by criminal complaint with distribution of a controlled substance resulting in great bodily injury, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, drug distribution, and possession of a firearm and ammunition as a convicted felon. If convicted on all counts, Smith faces a maximum penalty…
Read more: St. Petersburg Man Charged in Child’s Fentanyl Overdose and Multiple Drug Offenses
Massachusetts Man Sentenced to Prison for Wildlife Trafficking

BOSTON – A Reading, Mass. man was sentenced today in federal court in Boston for trafficking in wildlife parts from endangered and protected species. Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Read more: Massachusetts Man Sentenced to Prison for Wildlife Trafficking
Guatemalan National Charged With Illegal Reentry

HARRISBURG-The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Miguel Mejia Tum, age 27, a citizen of Guatemala, illegally residing in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, was indicted on April 1, 2026, by a federal grand jury on the charge of illegally reentering the United States after having previously been removed subsequent to an…
Read more: Guatemalan National Charged With Illegal Reentry
Colorado Man Sentenced After Pleading Guilty To Terrorist Financing Charge

DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Humzah Mashkoor, 20, of Westminster, Colorado, was sentenced to 36 months in federal prison and a lifetime of supervised release after pleading guilty to concealing the nature, source, or ownership of funds with the knowledge or intent that such funds would…
Read more: Colorado Man Sentenced After Pleading Guilty To Terrorist Financing Charge
Three Philadelphia Men Charged by Superseding Indictment With Conspiring to Distribute Large Amounts of Methamphetamine

PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Jimmy King, 50, Jermaine King, 51, and Mahmud Sheppard, 28, all of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, were charged by superseding indictment with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine, and firearms offenses.The superseding indictment alleges that, between January 2024 and July 2025, the three men operated a drug…
Read more: Three Philadelphia Men Charged by Superseding Indictment With Conspiring to Distribute Large Amounts of Methamphetamine
Former Member of the Air Force Pleads Guilty to Multi-Year Bid Rigging Schemes and Conspiracy to Defraud U.S. Air Force

A former active-duty Master Sergeant of the U.S. Air Force pleaded guilty yesterday to fraudulently inflating the cost of information technology (IT) contracts for the U.S. Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) by at least $37 million — and using the excess funds to enrich himself, enrich co-conspirators, and channel bribes to a federal public official in…
Read more: Former Member of the Air Force Pleads Guilty to Multi-Year Bid Rigging Schemes and Conspiracy to Defraud U.S. Air Force
Fort Totten, ND, Man Pleads Guilty to Assaults and Voluntary Manslaughter

Fargo – United States Attorney Nicholas W. Chase announced today that, Kolby Jae McKay, also known as Kolby Woods, age 33, from Fort Totten, North Dakota, appeared in United States District Court for the District of North Dakota. and pled guilty before Chief Judge Peter D. Welte to charges of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, Assault of…
Read more: Fort Totten, ND, Man Pleads Guilty to Assaults and Voluntary Manslaughter
Previously Deported Alien Residing in Sacramento Pleads Guilty to Illegally Possessing Firearms and to Illegal Reentry

Luis Eduardo Torres-Hernandez, 40, a Mexican national residing in Sacramento, pleaded guilty today to one count of being an unlawful alien in possession of firearms and one count of illegally re-entering the United States after being previously removed. Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Read more: Previously Deported Alien Residing in Sacramento Pleads Guilty to Illegally Possessing Firearms and to Illegal Reentry
Chinese National in YouTube Video Pleads Guilty in $27 Million Multinational Fraud Scheme Targeting 2,000 Seniors

SAN DIEGO – Jiandong Chen, aka “Little Tiger,” pleaded guilty in federal court today and admitted he participated in a $27 million fraud and money laundering scheme targeting approximately 2,000 elderly victims across the United States. Chen, a Chinese national, is the second defendant charged in a five-defendant indictment unsealed in 2024. According to public…
Read more: Chinese National in YouTube Video Pleads Guilty in $27 Million Multinational Fraud Scheme Targeting 2,000 Seniors
Southington Man Sentenced to Prison for Gun and Drug Offenses Stemming from 2020 Shooting in Hartford

ERIC D. COX, 43, of Southington, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven to 29 months of imprisonment and two years of supervised release for firearm and narcotics offenses stemming from a shooting in Hartford in 2020. Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Read more: Southington Man Sentenced to Prison for Gun and Drug Offenses Stemming from 2020 Shooting in Hartford
Former BIA Officer Pleads Guilty to Sexual Abuse of a Minor and Lying to Investigators

Murrell Deela, a former Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) officer, pleaded guilty today to sexual abuse involving a minor and to lying to federal investigators. Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Read more: Former BIA Officer Pleads Guilty to Sexual Abuse of a Minor and Lying to Investigators
North Haven Man Charged with Robbing Berlin Bank While on Supervised Release

A federal grand jury in New Haven returned an indictment yesterday charging THOMAS MARRA, 55, of North Haven, with bank robbery. Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Read more: North Haven Man Charged with Robbing Berlin Bank While on Supervised Release
Panama City Felon Sentenced for Unlawfully Possessing Firearms

Tallahassee, Florida – Orinthian Frazier, 46, of Panama City, Florida, was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment for unlawfully possessing firearms as a convicted felon. Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Read more: Panama City Felon Sentenced for Unlawfully Possessing Firearms
Previously convicted felons, including an armed career criminal, sentenced to prison on gun charges

One man caught carrying a gun in Savannah’s mall and another who fired shots in a neighborhood face years in prison on firearms charges after sentencings in federal court. Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Read more: Previously convicted felons, including an armed career criminal, sentenced to prison on gun charges
Former Texas High School Coach to Spend 30 Years in Federal Prison for Attempted Enticement of a Minor

Kenneth Wayne Mulkey was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for attempted coercion and enticement of a minor Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Read more: Former Texas High School Coach to Spend 30 Years in Federal Prison for Attempted Enticement of a Minor
U.S. Attorney’s Office Charges Three Men With Attempting To Rob Undercover Federal Agent in Chicago

The defendants attempted to rob an ATF agent on the South Side of Chicago. Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Read more: U.S. Attorney’s Office Charges Three Men With Attempting To Rob Undercover Federal Agent in Chicago
Jury Finds Apollo Beach Man Guilty of Distribution of Fentanyl Resulting in Death

Tampa, Florida – A federal jury has found Ludwin Borgen (49, Apollo Beach) guilty of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death. Borgen faces a minimum penalty of 20 years, up to life, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 16, 2026. United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement. Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Read more: Jury Finds Apollo Beach Man Guilty of Distribution of Fentanyl Resulting in Death
Two Men Charged with Beating and Strangling a Man to Death in February

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro announced yesterday that Rico Barnes, 36, and Alphonso Walker, 39, both from the District, have been charged with murder in connection with the Feb. 11, 2026, beating and strangulation death of 40-year-old Syed Hussein. Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Read more: Two Men Charged with Beating and Strangling a Man to Death in February
Olathe Man Sentenced to 97 Months for Stealing 41 Firearms and Transporting Child Pornography into the United States

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Olathe, Ks., man was sentenced yesterday for stealing 41 firearms from a gun store in Raytown, Mo., and for transporting child pornography on his cell phone into the United States from Mexico. Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Read more: Olathe Man Sentenced to 97 Months for Stealing 41 Firearms and Transporting Child Pornography into the United States
Akron Meth Dealer Sentenced to 27 Years in Federal Prison

A 42-year-old man has been sentenced to prison for his role in a large-scale conspiracy to sell illegal narcotics throughout Summit County and the surrounding areas. Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Read more: Akron Meth Dealer Sentenced to 27 Years in Federal Prison
Defendant Who Conspired to Traffick Methamphetamine in Northeast Arkansas Sentenced to 11 Years in Federal Prison

Amie Dawn Eggers of Jonesboro will spend the next 132 months in federal prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine actual and 500 grams or more of methamphetamine and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Read more: Defendant Who Conspired to Traffick Methamphetamine in Northeast Arkansas Sentenced to 11 Years in Federal Prison
Air Force Officer Indicted for Child Exploitation Offenses

A Burlington County, New Jersey, man was indicted yesterday for various child exploitation offenses. Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Read more: Air Force Officer Indicted for Child Exploitation Offenses
Second Straight Week of 231 New Immigration Cases in Western District of Texas

Federal prosecutors in the Western District of Texas filed 231 new immigration and immigration-related criminal cases from March 27 to April 2 Source: U.S. Department of Justice
Read more: Second Straight Week of 231 New Immigration Cases in Western District of Texas
Two Charged by Federal Complaint for Stealing Explosive Material and Illegally Possessing Explosive Material and a Firearm

Louisville, KY – Two Louisville individuals were arrested yesterday and charged by complaint today with stealing explosive material, possession of explosive material by a prohibited person, and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.U.S. Attorney Kyle G. Bumgarner of the Western District of Kentucky, Special Agent in Charge John Nokes of the ATF Louisville…
Read more: Two Charged by Federal Complaint for Stealing Explosive Material and Illegally Possessing Explosive Material and a Firearm
Clarkston Woman Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Role in Overdose Death

Spokane, Washington – First Assistant United States Attorney Pete Serrano announced on March 31, 2026, that Shannon Louise Grove, age 53, was sentenced on fentanyl distribution charges which resulted in an overdose death. United States District Judge Rebecca L. Pennell sentenced Grove to 5 years in federal prison, to be followed by 6 years of…
Read more: Clarkston Woman Sentenced to 5 Years in Prison for Role in Overdose Death

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