Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A Georgia man was sentenced today to 46 months in prison and ordered to pay over $7.2 million in restitution for his role in a scheme to pay and receive illegal kickbacks in exchange for inducing Medicare beneficiaries to accept medically unnecessary genetic tests.

According to court documents, Patrick C. Moore Jr., 48, of Peachtree City, engaged in a kickback scheme in which he instructed a network of recruiters to target and induce Medicare beneficiaries to accept genetic tests that were not medically necessary, not provided as represented or not eligible for reimbursement. Moore received approximately $4.3 million in kickbacks and bribes from his co-conspirators in exchange for the referral of beneficiary insurance information, DNA specimens and accompanying doctors’ orders for genetic testing. Moore, in turn, paid illegal health care kickbacks and bribes to his network of beneficiary recruiters. To conceal the scheme, Moore created sham invoices documenting fabricated numbers of hours worked instead of the per-referral payments he received in violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute. Laboratories associated with Moore and his co-conspirators billed Medicare approximately $24 million and were paid approximately $7.2 million on the kickback-induced claims for the unnecessary genetic tests.

In May 2025, Moore pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States and to pay and receive illegal health care kickbacks.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Margaret Heap for the Southern District of Georgia; Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian J. Schrank of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Dallas Regional Office; Special Agent in Charge Kelly Blackmon of the HHS-OIG Atlanta Regional Office; and Special Agent in Charge Paul W. Brown of the FBI Atlanta Field Office made the announcement.

The HHS-OIG and FBI investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Ethan Womble and Benjamin Smith of the Justice Department’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Thompson for the Southern District of Georgia prosecuted the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A federal grand jury in the Northern District of Ohio returned an indictment today charging an Ohio man with four counts of engaging in illicit sexual conduct with minors in Haiti.

According to court documents, Jeriah Mast, 44, of Millersburg, Ohio, traveled from the United States to Haiti on multiple occasions between 2002 and 2019, including with the organization Christian Aid Ministries (CAM), and sexually abused minors in that country. During the course of the investigation, law enforcement obtained flight records showing that Mast had taken over 30 flights from the United States to Haiti between November 2002 and August 2018. Each count of the indictment is premised on his sexual abuse of a different minor in Haiti.

“As alleged, this defendant traveled abroad to commit heinous, unspeakable crimes against vulnerable children living in an impoverished nation,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Despite the fact that the defendant’s alleged crimes occurred abroad, our law enforcement partners and prosecutors will continue to relentlessly seek justice on behalf of the minor victims.  Wherever the Criminal Division has jurisdiction, we are committed to investigating and prosecuting those who engage in the intolerable crime of abusing and exploiting children.”

“Crimes against children, like those mentioned in these allegations, are reprehensible. Such appalling and morally corrupt behavior will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said U.S. Attorney David M. Toepfer for the Northern District of Ohio. “We commend the work of Homeland Security Investigations and the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office, whose thorough work led to these federal charges being filed today.”

“This case highlights the vital role HSI plays in identifying and investigating individuals —  especially those in positions of trust — who exploit children, regardless of where these heinous crimes occur,” said HSI Detroit acting Special Agent in Charge Matthew Stentz. “HSI Cleveland, in collaboration with the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Justice, worked diligently to ensure that those who prey on children abroad are held accountable here in the United States. We remain steadfast in our commitment to pursuing justice for victims and ensuring that predators face the full weight of the law wherever our investigations lead.”

HSI Cleveland is investigating the case and received substantial assistance from the Holmes County (Ohio) Sheriff’s Office.

Trial Attorney Jessica L. Urban of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Margaret Kane and Jennifer King for the Northern District of Ohio 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.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Joaquin Guzman Lopez, who succeeded his father, Joaquin Guzman Loera, also known as “El Chapo,” as one of the leaders of the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico, pleaded guilty yesterday to federal drug charges.

“The Sinaloa Cartel is a terrorist organization that has spent decades destroying American families through brutal violence and deadly drug trafficking,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Yesterday’s guilty plea from El Chapo’s son is a major victory against the Sinaloa Cartel and underscores the Trump Administration’s historic, aggressive campaign to dismantle terrorist organizations that target the American people.”

“Under the Chapitos’ leadership, the Sinaloa Cartel has fueled the deadliest drug crisis in our nation’s history, manufacturing poison and profiting from the destruction of American lives,” said DEA Administrator Terrance Cole. “DEA stands committed to dismantle Sinaloa Cartel’s command and control, expose their criminal networks, and deliver justice for the hundreds of thousands of lives lost to their greed. Joaquin Guzmán Lopez’s guilty plea marks another blow to the cartel’s ruthless operations. We will not stop until these narco-terrorists are held accountable and the American people are protected.”

“After the United States successfully prosecuted El Chapo, his son, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, took up his father’s mantle and jointly led the ‘Los Chapitos’ faction of the Sinaloa Cartel — one of the world’s most notorious drug trafficking organizations — in its efforts to flood the United States with deadly fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Under the leadership of Guzman Lopez and his associates, the Sinaloa Cartel spread violence and bribed public officials to protect its illicit business. The Criminal Division and our partners will not rest until we have fully dismantled the criminal cartels whose ruthless violence and lethal narcotics distribution threaten the safety and health of the American people.”

“For decades, the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office has been at the forefront of the U.S. government’s relentless pursuit of drug cartels, such as the Sinaloa Cartel, as well as their top leaders,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Boutros for the Northern District of Illinois. “Yesterday, because of this Administration’s leadership, the U.S. State Department has designated many of these cartels as foreign terrorist organizations — a fact that has only further stiffened our resolve to track down and hold accountable transnational criminal organizations and their highest-ranking members and associates. Joaquin Guzman Lopez’s guilty plea is the latest step in our efforts to bring to justice drug lords and other dangerous criminals who poison the American public with illegal and harmful drugs and who otherwise engage in violence and corruption to carry out their and their enterprises’ wide-reaching criminal activities.”

“Two down, two to go,” said U.S. Attorney Adam Gordon for the Southern District of California.

“The Guzman’s have made a family business out of trafficking fentanyl and other dangerous drugs,” said Acting Assistant Director Gregory Heeb of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “Protecting Americans from the Sinaloa and other criminal cartels terrorizing and poisoning our communities is one of the FBI’s highest priorities and we will continue to work relentlessly to dismantle and disrupt these dangerous international criminal networks.”

“Yesterday’s guilty plea by Joaquin Guzman Lopez is another example of how HSI is taking on the cartels and their transnational criminal networks and sending a clear message that we are going to hold them accountable,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Ray Rede for Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Arizona. “Dismantling the Sinaloa cartel one arrest at time has taken countless hours but together HSI and our federal partners in the Homeland Security Task Force relentlessly focused efforts to stop this transnational criminal organization scourge by removing leaders from the helm. Yesterday’s announcement exemplifies a whole-of-government approach to protecting our homeland that is yielding results.”

Guzman Lopez, 39, pleaded guilty to one count of drug conspiracy and one count of engaging in a continuing criminal enterprise. The convictions carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. Guzman Lopez has been detained in U.S. custody since his arrest in July 2024.

Guzman Lopez and his three brothers, collectively known as “the Chapitos,” assumed  leadership roles of the Sinaloa Cartel following El Chapo’s arrest in 2016 and subsequent conviction in the Eastern District of New York. Guzman Lopez coordinated the transportation of drugs and precursor chemicals for the manufacture of drugs into Mexico, and the transportation of those drugs, including cocaine, heroin, and fentanyl, to the United States border, at times in shipments of hundreds or thousands of kilograms. He used a network of couriers affiliated with the cartel to smuggle the drugs into the United States using vehicles, rail cars, tunnels, aircraft, submersible vessels, and other means.

After the drugs were distributed throughout the United States, individuals working for Guzman Lopez and others laundered and transferred the illicit proceeds from the United States to Mexico and elsewhere. To protect the Sinaloa Cartel’s operation, Guzman Lopez and his associates bribed corrupt public officials and perpetrated violence against law enforcement officials, rival drug traffickers, and members of their own drug trafficking organization.

In addition to the drug offenses, Guzman Lopez also stipulated to committing an international kidnapping offense. Guzman Lopez admitted to coordinating and committing the kidnapping in the hopes of receiving cooperation credit from the United States. As stated in the plea agreement, the United States did not induce or condone the kidnapping, and Guzman Lopez will not receive any cooperation credit for it.

As part of his plea agreement, Guzman Lopez agreed to the entry of a personal money judgment in the amount of $80 million, which represents proceeds traceable to his offenses. Guzman Lopez also acknowledged that the crimes to which he is pleading guilty involved more than 36 kilograms of fentanyl, 90 kilograms of heroin, 450 kilograms of cocaine, 45 kilograms of methamphetamine, and 90,000 kilograms of marijuana.

Guzman Lopez’s three brothers — Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar, Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar, and Ovidio Guzman Lopez — are also charged with drug trafficking in U.S. indictments. On July 11, Ovidio Guzman Lopez pleaded guilty to federal drug charges in the Northern District of Illinois. He is awaiting sentencing. Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar are charged in both the Northern District of Illinois and Southern District of New York. They are fugitives. The U.S. State Department has issued rewards of up to $10 million for information leading to their arrests and convictions. See the reward information here and here.

Trial Attorney Kirk Handrich of the Justice Department’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section (MNF), Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Erskine, Michelle Parthum, and Michael Maione for the Northern District of Illinois, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Sutton and Robert Miller for the Southern District of California are prosecuting the case.

HSI and the FBI investigated the case.

The guilty plea was announced as part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to achieve various law enforcement goals — including the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) — and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs).

The charges against Ivan Archivaldo Guzman Salazar and Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar are merely allegations. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

According to court documents, on or about June 22, 2023, Louisiana State Police (LSP) Troopers, FBI New Orleans Gang Task Force (NOGTF) members, and other law enforcement personnel were conducting proactive patrols in the Algiers area of New Orleans to combat violent crime. While attempting to stop and investigate a suspicious Dodge Durango vehicle, it sped off, chased by law enforcement, before striking a utility pole. The Durango’s occupants, including WATKINS, fled the vehicle on foot, but were later caught. After WATKINS’s apprehension, officers recovered his backpack that contained a Century Arms Micro Draco 7.62×39 milli-meter pistol, multiple rounds of ammunition, $1,053 in U.S. currency, drug paraphernalia, and quantities of cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation New Orleans Gang Task Force, and the Louisiana State Police. Special Assistant United States Attorney James Ollinger and Assistant United States Attorney Mike Trummel of the Violent Crimes Unit are in charge of the prosecution.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

BOSTON – A Stoneham man was indicted by a federal grand jury on Nov. 20, 2025 for allegedly using an explosive to damage an ATM in Woburn, Mass.

Christopher Silva, 43, was indicted on one count of maliciously damaging by means of an explosive real property used in and affecting interstate commerce. Silva was arrested and charged by complaint in October 2025 and remains in custody pending trial. He will be arraigned in federal court in Boston on Dec. 9, 2025.

According to the charging documents, shortly after 4:00 a.m. on Sept. 4, 2025, Silva, wearing a blue balaclava over his face and a black jumpsuit, allegedly approached an ATM at Eastern Bank in Woburn. It is alleged that Silva then placed an explosive device on the ATM and ran away. Several seconds later, the device exploded, causing significant damage to the frame and lower right section of the ATM. Silva was allegedly identified through DNA evidence and surveillance footage.

The charge of maliciously damaging by explosive property used in and affecting interstate commerce provides for a sentence of at least five years in prison, up to three of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes that govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division; and Colonel Geoffrey D. Noble, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Woburn and Stoneham Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorney Allegra Flamm of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Monday sentenced a St. Louis man who was one of the moderators of an online child sexual abuse material chat group to 84 months in prison and ordered him to pay $10,000 to victims.

David Korte Daues, 37, pleaded guilty in September in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one count of possession of child pornography. He admitted that he was in about 25 groups that shared CSAM on the messaging app Kik and five on the Wire platform. He said he distributed CSAM in these groups. He also possessed images and videos containing CSAM on two cell phones.

The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

INDIANAPOLIS- Bryan Lee Fish, 33, of Mitchell, Indiana, has been sentenced to 50 years in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, after pleading guilty to three counts of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of possession of child sexual abuse material.

According to court documents, between June 2022 and September 2023, Fish sexually abused three children under the age of 12, including a toddler, photographed the abuse, and distributed the images online. The victims, all related to Fish, were in his custody and care at the time.

On September 29, 2023, the Indiana State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force received alerts from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children indicating that an X (formerly known as Twitter) account linked to Fish was sharing newly produced child sexual abuse material. A search of his residence uncovered two cell phones containing folders labeled with the victims’ names, explicit images of the children, and more than 3,000 files of child sexual abuse material involving other unidentified minors, including infants and toddlers, as well as CGI and Anime.

Following his arrest, another relative disclosed that Fish had sexually abused her as a child, beginning at age five.

“This predator not only exploited three young children entrusted to his care, but he also preserved and shared that abuse. Distributing these images is especially insidious because it fuels further exploitation, encourages other offenders to create more material through abuse, and ensures the victims are haunted by the knowledge that their worst experiences live on indefinitely for predators’ gratification,” said Tom Wheeler, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. “I am deeply grateful to the ICAC Task Force, NCMEC, and our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners who work tirelessly to protect the most vulnerable in our communities and bring the most heinous offenders to justice.”

“Children should be nurtured and cherished, not victimized and exploited by deranged adults. Let this sentence be a warning to all child sexual predators: You will be caught, and you will be punished for your crimes,” said Special Agent in Charge Ike Barnes, of the U.S. Secret Service’s Indianapolis Field Office. “The U.S. Secret Service is committed to using its resources to protecting children from this type of abuse and to pursuing their abusers. Thank you to our state and federal law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Indiana for bringing justice in this case.”

“Child exploitation is among the most heinous and damaging crimes we investigate, and this abhorrent conduct represents a profound betrayal of basic human decency,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. O’Malley. “This 50-year sentence reflects the seriousness of his offenses and ensures he will remain far from any child he could victimize. The FBI is relentless in pursuing offenders who exploit the vulnerable, and we will bring every tool we have to bear to identify them, stop them, and deliver justice for their victims. The message is simple: if you harm a child, we will find you, stop you, and hold you fully accountable.”

“This investigation stands as a powerful testament to Indiana ICAC’s unwavering commitment to safeguarding vulnerable children and bringing offenders to justice,” said Lieutenant Christopher Cecil, commander of the Indiana State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

The U.S. Secret Service, FBI, Indiana State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office, and Lawrence County Prosecutor’s Office investigated this case. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Walton Pratt.

U.S. Attorney Wheeler thanked Assistant U.S. Attorneys MaryAnn T. Mindrum and Carolyn Haney, who prosecuted this case.

This investigation was conducted by the Indiana Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, a multiagency task force led by the Indiana State Police that investigates and prosecutes persons who use the internet to sexually exploit or entice children. Each year, Indiana ICAC investigators evaluate thousands of tips, investigate hundreds of cases, and rescue dozens of children from ongoing sexual abuse. Visit https://www.internetcrimesagainstkids.com to learn more about their efforts.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.

If you are a victim of child sexual exploitation, please contact your local police department. Resources for victims of child exploitation can be found on our website at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdin/project-safe-childhood

 

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

According to court documents, on November 7, 2025, JOHNSON was arrested at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport after making bomb threats to airport operations following a dispute over unpaid parking fees. JOHNSON called AVCOM twice to announce the presence of a bomb in the airport. Additionally, he threatened to harm the AVCOM operator. This action prompted an investigation by the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that identified JOHNSON as the caller from the earlier parking lot incident.

If convicted, JOHNSON faces a maximum penalty of up to ten years of imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, up to three years of supervised release, and a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.

Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson reiterated that an indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the Saint Charles Parish Sheriff’s Office in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Spiro G. Latsis of the General Crimes Unit oversees the prosecution.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.

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