Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – MELVIN EMDE (“EMDE”), age 44, resident of LeFlore County, Oklahoma, pled guilty on October 14, 2026, to conspiracy to commit a federal offense against or defraud the United States or an agency thereof, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, and communication of a false distress message to the United States Coast Guard, in violation of Title 14, United States Code, Section 521(c), announced United States Attorney David I. Courcelle.