Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Jacksonville, Florida – U.S. District Judge Marcia Morales Howard has sentenced Evin Scott Young (39, Texas) to 35 years in federal prison for production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. Young pleaded guilty on May 14, 2025.

According to court documents, Young pursued four children solely for sex. Using various social media applications, he drew each of the victims – ranging from 15 to 17 years old – out of their homes after their parents went to sleep, instructed them to meet him at the front of their neighborhoods, and brought each back to his apartment. Young recorded himself having sex with two of the victims and invited another man to have sex with one victim. Over a 10-month period, Young continued his sexual abuse of another victim, sent him CSAM he made of the victim, and told the victim never to get caught with it. Over six months, Young repeatedly groomed and courted the final victim for sex. Law enforcement caught Young after following the thread of a CyberTip identifying explicit communications between him and one of the victims. From there, further investigation revealed evidence of his crimes.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kelly S. Milliron.

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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and 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

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Springfield, Mo., man with ties to a local gang was sentenced in federal court today to illegally possessing a stolen firearm that has been connected to two shootings.

Jayden Isaac Simmonds, 19, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool, to 63 months in federal prison without parole for being an unlawful user of a controlled substance while in possession of a firearm.

Simmonds, who pleaded guilty on May 19, 2025, admitted he possessed a stolen Smith and Wesson 10mm semi-automatic pistol, was a daily user of marijuana, and addicted to fentanyl. Simmonds also admitted to being a member of a local gang known as the “1500” which is closely associated to another area gang, FTO.

On Jan. 30, 2024, the Springfield Police Department responded to a car accident. One of the drivers indicated that his two passengers, which included Simmonds, had fled the scene and taken the driver’s two firearms with him. The following day, police responded to a drive-by shooting and located shell casings which were consistent with the firearm that Simmonds had taken on Jan. 30, 2024.

On Aug. 23, 2024, Simmonds’s father turned in the Smith & Wesson pistol to the Springfield Police Department. Investigators later learned that the pistol had been stolen.

Following his arrest, Simmonds told investigators he had been using marijuana daily since he was 11 or 12 years old, that he had been using opioids since he was around 15 or 16, and had been using fentanyl.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie L. Wan. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Christian County, Mo., Sheriff’s Department and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.

Project Safe Neighborhoods

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.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that CANYON BEASLEY, 22, of Gresham, Oregon, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Sarah F. Russell in New Haven to 84 months of imprisonment and five years of supervised release for a child exploitation offense involving his engaging in an online relationship and unlawful sexual activity with a minor in Connecticut.

According to court documents and statements made in court, beginning in approximately January 2023, Beasley began communicating with a minor victim in Connecticut primarily through text messaging and Snapchat.  In July 2023, he began requesting sexually explicit images and videos from the minor victim.  In August 2023, he learned that the minor victim was 13 years old.  For more than a year, Beasley and the minor victim exchanged sexually explicit images through these online platforms.  In June 2024, Beasley traveled to Connecticut to engage in sexual activity with the minor victim and recorded the sexual activity using his phone.

Beasley was arrested on September 30, 2024.  On April 25, 2025, he pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography.

Beasley, who is released on a $250,000 bond, is required to report to prison on January 28.

Beasley pleaded guilty in Connecticut state court to a related charge and is awaiting sentencing in that matter.

This matter was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Cheshire Police Department and the Connecticut State Police.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Lembo.

This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal grand jury indicted a Venezuelan national today on charges alleging he assaulted federal officers while resisting arrest. 

Hector Velandia-Anaya, 18, allegedly attempted to flee from immigration officials and dragged two officers with his vehicle while he began to drive away.

“We will not tolerate any action that endangers the agents who are working to enforce our immigration laws,” said U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II. “As today’s indictment shows, those who threaten the safety of our federal law enforcement partners will be prosecuted.”

According to court documents, on Nov. 2, immigration officers pulled over Velandia-Anaya near Shrock Road in Columbus. The defendant turned off his car’s ignition, but when asked to step out of the vehicle, he allegedly closed the driver’s door and restarted the vehicle to flee.

One officer re-opened the driver’s side door to try to keep Velandia-Anaya from driving away. The other officer partially climbed into the passenger seat to try to stop him from putting the vehicle into drive. Velandia-Anaya allegedly accelerated the vehicle and drove forward with the officers partially inside.

An affidavit details that officers wrestled with Velandia-Anaya’s hand to regain control of the gear shifter, stop the vehicle and ultimately arrest the defendant.

He was charged by federal criminal complaint on Nov. 6. In today’s indictment, he is charged with two counts of assaulting, resisting or impeding a federal officer, a federal crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Dominick S. Gerace II, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Matthew Stentz, Acting Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit; and Kevin Raycraft, Acting Field Office Director, ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Detroit Field Office; announced the charges. Assistant United States Attorney Emily Czerniejewski is representing the United States in this case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

KBWB Operations LLC, doing business as Atrium Health and Senior Living (KBWB-Atrium), and Kevin Breslin, former chief executive officer and managing member of KBWB-Atrium, were sentenced yesterday, in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin following prior guilty pleas to health care fraud and tax conspiracy related to the operation of numerous skilled nursing facilities, the Department of Justice announced.

Kevin Breslin, 58, of Hoboken, New Jersey, was sentenced to 90 months in prison and ordered to pay $146 million in restitution and $8.4 million in forfeiture. KBWB-Atrium also was ordered to pay the same restitution and forfeiture amounts. Breslin pleaded guilty on Dec. 17, 2024. KBWB-Atrium pleaded guilty on Jan. 21. According to court documents, Breslin is one of six owners of KBWB-Atrium. KBWB-Atrium’s corporate headquarters was located in Little Falls, New Jersey, and its Midwest corporate office was located in Appleton, Wisconsin. KBWB-Atrium operated and/or owned nursing facilities in New Jersey, Wisconsin, and Michigan.

“Health care fraud drives prices up for all Americans and can cause serious negative outcomes for patients,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “We remain dedicated to working with our law enforcement partners to protect the most vulnerable Americans from those who would take advantage of them.”’

“Protecting Medicare and Medicaid is not just about preserving the programs. It is about safeguarding the dignity, health, and financial security of the millions of Americans who rely on them,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Chadwick M. Elgersma for the Western District of Wisconsin. “I commend the investigators and prosecutors who identified Mr. Breslin’s fraud scheme and worked tirelessly to hold him accountable for his serious criminal conduct.”

“Today’s sentencing underscores an investigative priority of the FBI,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Chris Ormerod of the FBI Milwaukee Field Office. “The FBI, in collaboration with its partners have not lost sight of investigating people and companies that misuse taxpayers’ money for personal gains and at the expense of people needing quality healthcare. The safety and well-being of Wisconsin residents remains our highest priority.”

“The defendant’s actions not only defrauded federal health care programs but also jeopardized the well-being of vulnerable nursing home residents,” said Special Agent in Charge Mario M. Pinto of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG), Chicago Region. “HHS-OIG will continue to work closely with our law enforcement partners to hold accountable those who exploit programs meant to provide essential care and services to our nation’s most at-risk populations.”

“Greed was the driving force behind this scheme, which not only defrauded our health care system but also violated employment tax obligations,” said Special Agent in Charge Adam Jobes of IRS Criminal Investigation, Chicago Field Office. “By failing to pay over withheld taxes, the defendants harmed their employees’ Medicare and Social Security benefits — while also exploiting healthcare programs meant to protect the most vulnerable.”

“Health care and the health benefit plans that provide coverage are of the utmost importance in everyday lives,” said Regional Director Mark Seidel of the Employee Benefits Security Administration in New York. “The Employee Benefits Security Administration remains committed to working with our law enforcement partners to bring to justice those who break the law and abuse their positions of trust while managing health benefit plans.”

On Feb. 1, 2023, a grand jury returned a 12-count indictment against Breslin and KBWB-Atrium charging health care fraud and tax conspiracy, among other charges. According to court documents, from approximately Jan. 1, 2015 to in or about September 2018, KBWB-Atrium operated 23 skilled nursing facilities in Wisconsin. Breslin was solely responsible for KBWB-Atrium’s management, operation, business, and finances. The primary source of income for the KBWB-Atrium Wisconsin facilities was federal Medicare and Medicaid funds from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

The government alleged that the defendants unlawfully diverted CMS funds intended for the operation, management, maintenance, and care of the residents at the KBWB-Atrium Wisconsin facilities for personal expenses and other purposes. The government further alleged that the defendants prioritized multi-million-dollar owner distributions and guaranteed payments regardless of KBWB-Atrium’s financial situation. The government alleged that the defendants knowingly and willfully failed to disclose to CMS that they were not using CMS funds for resident care, were not in compliance with applicable federal regulations and laws, and had not paid vendors or certain federal and state taxes. As a result, the government alleged, vendors went unpaid and residents did not receive adequate care.

The government alleged that the defendants also diverted health insurance premiums and 401(k) contributions from employee paychecks, as well as money from resident accounts. The government further alleged that as part of the tax conspiracy, Breslin, acting on behalf of KBWB-Atrium, directed that employment taxes withheld from KBWB-Atrium employees’ paychecks not be paid to the IRS, which caused employees to prepare inaccurate tax returns listing those withholdings.

Trial attorneys with the Civil Division’s Enforcement and Affirmative Litigation Branch prosecuted the case.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Wisconsin investigated and initially prosecuted the case with assistance from the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Chicago Field Office; the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General – Office of Investigations, Milwaukee Field Office; the U.S. Department of Labor, Employee Benefits Security Administration, New York and Chicago Regional Offices; the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Milwaukee Field Office; and the State of Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation, Medicaid Fraud Control and Elder Abuse Unit.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. on Tuesday sentenced a former police officer to five years in prison for possessing machine guns.

Ira Brown, 56, admitted that on Oct. 23, 2020, Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers found a fully automatic AR-15 rifle and an auto sear that converts an AR-15 into a fully automatic weapon. The items were found during a court-approved search of Brown’s home prompted by an unrelated investigation. Investigators also found 10,000 rounds of belt-fed .223 caliber ammunition, including armor piercing rounds, in Brown’s Viburnum home, his plea says.

Brown was employed as a dispatcher at a 911 call center at the time of his arrest but formerly worked as a police officer.

Brown fled while out on bond and was arrested in 2024 in Oregon. He pleaded guilty in July of 2025 to possession of a machine gun.

Brown’s son Zerak Brown, now 24, is now serving a 125-month prison sentence after he was convicted at trial in 2021 of two counts of assaulting a federal officer and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Evidence and testimony at trial showed that when troopers showed up to allow Zerak Brown’s girlfriend to remove her belongings from Ira Brown’s home, Zerak Brown refused to allow them to enter. Zerak Brown struggled with the troopers, asked his brother to bring him a gun and then fled. Zerak Brown was later spotted with a rifle and ran away again, encountering law enforcement officers a third time and pointing a rifle at them, evidence and testimony showed. He later turned himself in.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol, the Viburnum Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hunter prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

PLANO, Texas – A Plano man has been sentenced to more than 16 years in federal prison for child exploitation violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.

Ashley Blaine Brooks, 57, pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography and was sentenced to 200 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder III on October 21, 2025.

According to information presented in court, Brooks was a registered sex offender living within the City of Plano.  During a sex offender registry compliance check, Plano Police Department detectives discovered that Brooks was trading child pornography using computer equipment that he owned, the Internet, and a peer-to-peer file sharing platform.

This case is 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 (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, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

This case was investigated by the Plano Police Department and the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Miller.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

SHERMAN, Texas – A Denton man has been sentenced to more than 14 years in federal prison for child exploitation violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.

Trinity Snow Cassells, also known as Dustin Joseph McDuffie, 34, pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography and was sentenced to 170 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone on October 21, 2025.

According to information presented in court, Cassells was the subject of 10 different CyberTips between 2018 and 2024.  He utilized multiple social media platforms, cloud storage accounts, email accounts, and the dark web to trade child pornography.  Cassells chatted with purported minors on social media platforms commonly used by children, groomed them to engage in illegal sexual conduct, and encouraged them to abuse other children.  As part of that conduct, he distributed child pornography to them.

This case is 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 (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, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

This case was investigated by the Denton Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Miller.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Tampa, FL – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that a federal jury has found Heidi Richards (52, Brandon) guilty of conspiring to traffic in illicit Microsoft certificate of authenticity (COA) labels. Richards faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for February 26, 2026.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Richards, doing business as Trinity Software Distribution, paid co-conspirators millions of dollars for thousands of genuine, standalone Microsoft COA labels at prices significantly lower than the retail price of the associated software. Richards and her employees harvested product key codes from the labels and then sold them in bulk to her customers. Federal law prohibits the trafficking of standalone COA labels separate from the software programs they were intended to accompany.

COA labels authenticate Microsoft software, assist customers in identifying genuine software, and bear security features intended to dissuade counterfeit duplication. There is an illicit, secondary market for COA labels because they bear product key codes used to activate Microsoft software. COA labels are not to be sold separately from the license and hardware that they are intended to accompany, and they hold no independent commercial value.

The Homeland Security Investigations Kansas City Field Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Risha Asokan of the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorney Jared Hosid of the Justice Department’s Computer Crime & Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) prosecuted the case.

CCIPS investigates and prosecutes cybercrime in coordination with domestic and international law enforcement agencies, often with assistance from the private sector. Since 2020, CCIPS has secured the conviction of over 180 cybercriminals, and court orders for the return of over $350 million in victim funds.