Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Today a federal jury in the Southern District of West Virginia convicted a West Virginia man for aggravated sexual abuse of a child under the age of 12.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, between September 2006 and December 2006, Dustin Stover Bowles sexually abused a minor known to him while he babysat the minor at his home. The victim disclosed the abuse to several trusted adults in 2020, as well as Army criminal investigators. Bowles was later charged under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act. At the time of his criminal conduct, Bowles had been on active duty with the United States Army, stationed in Hanau, Germany. In addition to the victim identified in the indictment, three additional victims testified that Bowles sexually abused them while they were asleep.

The jury convicted Bowles of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor under the age of 12 while abroad as a member of the armed forces. He is scheduled to be sentenced on August 3 and faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 30 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

“Because of the victim’s courageous disclosure, years after being abused, the jury held Dustin Bowles to account,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “This case demonstrates the Department’s commitment to protecting children from abuse and exploitation, even abuses committed decades ago and overseas.”

“Bowles preyed on a child entrusted to his care and committed a calculated, predatory act that shattered that trust in the most unforgivable way,” said United States Attorney Moore Capito for the Southern District of West Virginia. “This was not a mistake — it was a deliberate exploitation of the most vulnerable. The courage of this victim stands in stark contrast to the cruelty of the offender. Those who target children will be found and brought to answer for it — wherever they are and no matter how long it takes.”

“No matter the circumstances, no matter where you are in the world, the FBI will investigate, find, and bring to justice those who think they can prey on the most vulnerable members of our community. Tarnishing the nation’s uniform makes these actions all the more egregious,” said Special Agent in Charge Richard Evanchec of the FBI Pittsburgh Field Office. “The FBI and our international partners will not hesitate to pursue justice across time and borders to protect our children.”

The FBI and the U.S. Army’s Criminal Investigation Division investigated the case.

Trial Attorney Eduardo Palomo of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer Rada Herrald from the Southern District of West Virginia are prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A Chicago man was sentenced yesterday to 25 years in federal prison for conspiring to provide material support to the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) by using social media to encourage attacks on ISIS’s enemies and recruit ISIS members.

Ashraf Al Safoo was a leader of Khattab Media Foundation, a sophisticated online organization that swore allegiance to ISIS and created and disseminated threats and ISIS propaganda on social media and other online platforms. Al Safoo and other members of Khattab created and posted pro-ISIS videos, articles, essays, and infographics at the direction of, and in coordination with, ISIS. Much of Khattab’s propaganda promoted violent jihad on behalf of ISIS, which has been designated by the United States government as a foreign terrorist organization.  In one posting, Al Safoo encouraged Khattab members to post pro-ISIS information “to cause confusion and spread terror within the hearts of those who disbelieved.” In another posting, Al Safoo wrote, “Work hard, brothers, edit the issue into short clips, take the pictures out of it and publish the efforts of your brothers in the pages of the apostates. Participate in the war, and spread terror, the [Islamic] State does not want you to watch it only, rather, it incites you, and if you are unable to, use it to incite others.”

Many of Khattab’s postings included images of violence, celebrations of terrorist attacks and mass shootings in the United States, and encouragement for “lone wolf” attacks in western countries.

Al Safoo, 41, has been in federal custody since his arrest in Chicago in 2018. Al Safoo immigrated to the U.S. in 2008 and naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2013.

After a bench trial last year in U.S. District Court in Chicago, U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey found Al Safoo guilty of conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization, conspiracy to transmit threats in interstate commerce, conspiracy to intentionally access a protected computer without authorization, providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, and intentionally accessing a protected computer without authorization. Judge Blakey imposed the 25-year prison term during a hearing today in federal court and ordered that it be followed by ten years of court-supervised release.

The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, John A. Eisenberg, Assistant Attorney General for National Security at the Department of Justice, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas P. Peabody of the Northern District of Illinois and Trial Attorney Andrew J. Dixon of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The Justice Department announced today the settlement of United States v. David Montanus and Lisa Montanus, the first lawsuit filed by the Civil Rights Division to enforce the Housing Rights Subpart of the Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization Act of 2022 (VAWA), 34 U.S.C. § 12495.

The Justice Department’s lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Hampshire in May 2025, alleges that Defendants David and Lisa Montanus violated VAWA when they unlawfully penalized the complainant by evicting her after she sought police assistance for domestic violence. The settlement requires the Defendants to comply with VAWA and prohibits them from making adverse credit reports regarding the complainant’s tenancy. If the Defendants acquire rental properties during the three-year term of the settlement, they must report those acquisitions to the United States and undergo VAWA training. The Defendants must also pay $25,000 to compensate the complainant and her minor children.

“Tenants have a right to request law enforcement and emergency services when they need assistance,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “No one should be faced with the choice of calling for help or losing her housing.”

“Violence against women will never be tolerated in New Hampshire,” said U.S. Attorney Erin Creegan for the District of New Hampshire. “Penalizing survivors of violence with eviction for seeking help revictimizes them. We will use all available legal tools to protect the civil rights of victims.”

“I will not allow women seeking police intervention in a domestic violence situation to later be victimized with an eviction because they sought the assistance of our brave police,” said Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity Craig Trainor. “Secretary Turner’s HUD is dedicated to protecting women from violence and ensuring that the fair housing rights of all Americans are protected.”

In 2022, Congress reauthorized VAWA and added provisions that strengthened housing protections for people who require emergency assistance at their homes, including survivors of domestic violence. VAWA provides a right to seek law enforcement or emergency assistance, and prohibits housing providers from taking adverse actions, including eviction or threat of eviction, when a tenant, resident, occupant, or guest seeks emergency assistance.

The case was referred to the Civil Rights Division after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) received a complaint, conducted an investigation, and issued a charge of discrimination.

If you have been penalized by a housing provider for seeking law enforcement or emergency services or have suffered other forms of housing discrimination, call the Justice Department’s Housing Discrimination Tip Line at 1-800-896-7743 or submit a report online. You may also file a report with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development by calling 1-800-669-9777 or submitting a complaint online. More information about the Civil Rights Division and the laws it enforces is available at www.justice.gov/crt.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

MACON, Ga. – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia announced today that it has come to a resolution with Askar Management Group, QSR Group Holdings, LLC, and QSR Southern Group, LLC (collectively, QSR, the owners and operators of Church’s Chicken #749 at 1801 Watson Boulevard, Warner Robins, Georgia), involving an allegation that it improperly excluded an individual with a disability accompanied by a service animal.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On April 14, 2026, José Julio Rodríguez-Cumba, a.k.a. “Chambi/Chembi/Josué/Chambo/Patrón,” pleaded guilty to running a continuing criminal enterprise.  Rodríguez-Cumba was charged by way of information. The Information charged the defendant with engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise from 2011 through May 2024.  Rodríguez-Cumba was arrested in the District of Puerto Rico on October 4, 2021. When sentenced, he will face a mandatory minimum term of 20 years in prison and up to life in prison.

Source: United States Department of Justice

The Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division announced the following actions from across the country to hold individuals accountable for schemes that attempted or succeeded in defrauding the American taxpayers out of over $340 million.

“The National Fraud Enforcement Division is committed to prosecuting anyone who steals from American taxpayers. Over the past seven days the Department of Justice has taken enforcement action in fraud schemes totaling over $340 million, with loss or intended loss amounts in individual cases ranging from $54,000 to over $100 million. No matter the amount, we are steadfast in our effort to eliminate fraud,” said Colin McDonald, Assistant Attorney General for the National Fraud Enforcement Division.

Five people were arrested yesterday in Kentucky, Indiana, and Colorado on federal charges out of the Western District of Kentucky for their role in a scheme to fraudulently obtain approximately $1.6 million in COVID-19 relief funds.  The indictment charges two individuals—Kaelynn Greene, 31, and Camden Newton, 32—with wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, aggravated identity theft, and money laundering, all related to fraudulently obtaining COVID-19 financial assistance program funds.  The indictment also charges Betty Walker a/k/a Betty Bailey, 39, Breanna Patterson, 32, and Jordan Greene, 34, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Thursday, April 16

A former teacher pleaded guilty in federal court in San Diego admitting that she conspired with others to launder millions of dollars of health care fraud proceeds and paid $3.7 million in unlawful kickbacks.  In total, Valenzuela and her co-conspirators billed Medicare nearly $51 million and were paid approximately $20 million, ultimately laundering at least $14 million dollars of Medicare proceeds

A federal grand jury in the District of Maryland jury indicted (link) a former Social Security Administration (SSA) employee in connection with a social security disability theft scheme.  Through the scheme, Corbett received $116,537.62 in SSI disability payments. 

Wednesday, April 15

In St. Louis, Missouri a chiropractor who committed healthcare fraud and issued fraudulent prescriptions for powerful pain medication (including 94,971 oxycodone pills) and other drugs with no legitimate medical purpose was sentenced to more than eight years in prison and ordered to repay $4.7 million to Medicaid, Medicare and Tricare.

A Seaside, Oregon, woman was sentenced to 28 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $581,283 in restitution for submitting fraudulent pandemic unemployment applications, falsely claiming over two dozen employees, and causing the government to pay her over half a million dollars in benefits.

In Arizona, Leslie Victor Gentry, a Peoria man pleaded guilty to submitting 14 false Form 941 tax returns claiming false COVID-related tax credits based on fictitious wages paid to fictitious employees.  Through the false filings, Gentry fraudulently sought and received more than $1.8 million.

On Wednesday, a New Mexico man was sentenced to 41 months in prison for submitting 21 fraudulent unemployment insurance applications using stolen identities during the pandemic.  As a result of his fraudulent activities, he received more than $177,000. https://www.justice.gov/usao-nm/pr/belen-man-sentenced-unemployment-fraud-scheme

In Alabama, a Pennsylvania woman was sentenced to nearly 14 years in prison for her role in a $2 million tax fraud scheme.   

An Orlando, Florida man was sentenced to over six years in federal prison for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft involving pandemic unemployment assistance. The court also ordered him to forfeit $549,375.50 in proceeds from his bank fraud scheme.

Tuesday, April 14

A Florida nursing assistant was sentenced to nine years in prison and two years of supervised release for his role in an $11.4 million health care fraud and wire fraud conspiracy in which hundreds of Medicare beneficiaries were sent thousands of orthotic braces they did not need.  

An illegal alien from Mexico residing in Houston has admitted to theft of government funds and aggravated identity theft.  Using a stolen identity, she submitted immigration petitions on behalf of family members and obtained disability and Medicare benefits, receiving more than $278,000 in benefits from 2013 through February 2026.

Monday, April 13

A Detroit resident pleaded guilty for his role in an extensive unemployment insurance and Paycheck Protection Program fraud scheme, involving $1.9 million in losses.

A Naples, Florida, tax preparer pleaded guilty to defrauding the IRS of more than $65,000

Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania, man was sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $352,155 for misappropriating covid relief funds and wire fraud related charges.

Friday, April 10

A Slidell, Louisiana, man was sentenced for conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud in connection with a scheme to bill Medicare for medically unnecessary cancer genetic tests.  This scheme resulted in over $6.6 million in false and fraudulent claims submitted to Medicare.   

Federal law enforcement arrested West Bloomfield, Michigan resident who is charged by complaint with wire fraud and money laundering for allegedly defrauding financial institutions and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), by applying for more than $5 million in loans across six applications submitted to Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)  

A federal judge sentenced a Robeson County, North Carolina woman, to 10 months in prison for her role in submitting a false application to the Small Business Administration’s to receive a $150,000 Economic Injury Disaster Loan.

Thursday, April 9

A Minneapolis man was sentenced to 43 months in prison for his role in a $250 million fraud scheme that exploited a federally funded child nutrition program during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Two more defendants—Suleman Yusuf Mohamed and his brother Gandi Yusuf Mohamed—have pleaded guilty for their roles in the Feeding Our Future fraud scheme.  The conspirators received over $10 million meant to feed children.

A Columbia, South Carolina woman pleaded guilty to theft of public money by collecting pension benefits of a dead relative that she was not entitled to collect.  The investigation determined that she collected $54,450 in pension payments after the death of her relative.

A Lynn, Massachusetts man pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to receiving stolen Social Security benefits and making false statements.  He received approximately $63,959 in stolen Social Security benefits from June 2019 through June 2025 that were intended for a beneficiary that had died.

A Florida Certified Public Accountant pleaded guilty to evading payment of more than $2.2 million of income tax liabilities.   

An Iowa farmer was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison for cheating federal taxpayers out of more than $1.7 Million.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division. The core mission of the Fraud Division is to zealously investigate and prosecute those who steal or fraudulently misuse taxpayer dollars.  Department of Justice efforts to combat fraud support President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.