Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A man who possessed a stolen firearm as a prohibited person was sentenced November 13, 2025, to more than four years in federal prison.

Jammonttay Coleman, 36, from Fort Dodge, Iowa, received the prison term after a July 7, 2025, guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a prohibited person.

Evidence at the plea and sentencing hearings showed that on August 25, 2024, Coleman possessed a stolen 9mm pistol with a large capacity magazine.  That day, law enforcement in Fort Dodge stopped a vehicle driven by Coleman for speeding through a construction zone.  During the traffic stop, law enforcement smelled marijuana coming from Coleman’s vehicle.  After first refusing to exit his vehicle, Coleman ultimately complied.  When he opened his door, a bag of marijuana fell from the vehicle.  Law enforcement then searched the vehicle and located the stolen 9mm pistol.  This firearm had been reported stolen in July 2024 during a fight in Otho, Iowa, where defendant was observed by others taking the firearm after it had been discarded by the owner.  Coleman admitted to officers to taking the firearm and possessing it as a felon, as well as being a user of marijuana.  As a felon and user of a controlled substance, he was prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition.  At the time of his illegal possession of the firearm, Coleman was on parole for felony burglary and assault while participating in a felony in Sac County, Iowa.

Coleman was sentenced in Sioux City by United States District Court Judge Leonard T. Strand.  Coleman was sentenced to 57 months’ imprisonment.  He must also serve a two-year term of supervised release after the prison term.  There is no parole in the federal system.

Coleman is being held in the United States Marshal’s custody until he can be transported to a federal prison.

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.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Patrick T. Greenwood and was investigated by the Webster County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Dodge Police Department, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.  

Court file information at https://ecf.iand.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/login.pl.  The case file number is 24-3039.  Follow us on X @USAO_NDIA.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in New England, today announced that on October 1, 2025, DIANA MILLER-LLOYD, also known as “Diana Rabin” and “Diana Lloyd,” 44, of Jacksonville, Florida, waived her right to be indicted and pleaded guilty in Hartford federal court to aiding in the preparation of false tax returns.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Miller-Lloyd formerly resided in Middlefield and operated Lloyd Forenzique & Accounting Services Corporation, a tax return preparation business in Connecticut.  She established the business in 2017 in Windsor, and subsequently moved it to Branford in 2019 and to Guilford in 2021.  Before 2017, Miller-Lloyd provided tax preparation services under the business name Lloyd Forensic & Accounting Services.  Miller-Lloyd routinely obtained substantial federal tax refunds for her clients, many of whom had annual incomes exceeding $500,000, by disregarding information provided by the clients and their employers, and by fabricating and improperly deducting charitable contributions and business expenses, including advertising, repairs and maintenance, travel, meals, utilities, insurance, and legal services.

As a result of these fraudulent deductions, for the 2016 through 2021 tax years, Miller-Lloyd attempted to obtain for her clients at least $1,062,293 in either fraudulent refunds or fraudulent reductions on owed tax payments.  The IRS detected apparent fraudulent activity on several of the filed returns before refund monies were paid, resulting in an actual loss to the government of $472,913.

In addition, Miller-Lloyd at times used the professional credentials of another person, who was a certified public accountant, to defend filed returns when audited by the IRS.

Miller-Lloyd pleaded guilty to two counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false and fraudulent income tax returns, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of three years on each count.  She is released on a $25,000 bond pending sentencing, which is scheduled for February 23.

Miller-Lloyd has agreed to pay to the IRS restitution of $472,913.

This investigation has been conducted by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher W. Schmeisser.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that a federal jury has found Giovanni Isai Ramirez Reyes (38, Orlando) guilty of arson of a building or property resulting in injury. Ramirez Reyes faces a minimum penalty of 7 years, up to 40 years, in federal prison. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 12, 2026. 

According to evidence presented at trial, Ramirez Reyes ignited two marine flares and threw them into a crowd of fans during a Major League Soccer match on February 24, 2024, at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando. The flares caused damage to the stadium and a burn injury to a four-year-old child. Immediately after he threw the flares, Ramirez Reyes retreated to another section of the stadium, where he attempted to disguise himself by removing his hat and jacket, and watched the flares burn. He then fled the stadium. He was subsequently identified using stadium surveillance footage.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Orlando Police Department, and the Orlando Fire Department. It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Del Mastro.

NOTE: This matter occurred on a previous date but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

HOUSTON – A 50-year-old resident of Sedgwick County, Kansas, has pleaded guilty to lying to law enforcement, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

In July 2019, Summer Heather Worden alleged her estranged spouse had guessed the password and illegally accessed her bank account while the spouse was deployed to the International Space Station.  

However, Worden had actually opened the account in April 2018. Both parties had accessed it until January 2019 when Worden changed the credentials.  

The investigation revealed Worden had granted her spouse access to her bank records from at least 2015, including her login credentials. 

U.S. District Judge Alfred Bennett accepted the plea Nov. 13. He will impose sentencing Feb. 12, 2026. At that time, Worden faces up to five years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine. 

Worden was permitted to remain on bond pending that hearing. 

NASA-Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Richard D. Hanes and Brandon Fyffe prosecuted the case. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

This release was issued following the 43-day government shutdown during which the pleas occurred.

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – Two former Chief Executive Officers and a former facility manager for Primary Health Network (PHN) have pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of agreeing to defraud their former employer, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced.

Drew Pierce, 58, of West Middlesex, Pennsylvania; Jack Laeng, 72, of Lake Milton, Ohio; and Mark Marriott, 58, of Sharpsville, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering before United States District Judge J. Nicholas Ranjan, with Marriott also pleading guilty to willfully filing a false tax return. Laeng’s plea occurred on September 25, 2025, Marriott’s on October 6, 2025, and Pierce’s on October 31, 2025.

In connection with the guilty pleas, the Court was advised that PHN was a non-profit organization in Sharon, Pennsylvania, that provided medical services to patients in underserved parts of Pennsylvania, regardless of their ability to pay. From approximately July 2015 through January 2019, Pierce served as CEO of PHN, Laeng as former CEO, and Marriott as the company’s facilities manager. The three defendants and others agreed to insert a company called TopCoat, which they owned, between PHN and third parties, with TopCoat paying the third party for providing a service for PHN, then billing PHN a higher amount so that TopCoat could profit. Marriott caused fraudulent invoices to be issued from TopCoat to PHN, purporting that TopCoat had done work when it in fact had not. Pierce, Laeng, Marriott, and others split the profits—the difference between what PHN paid TopCoat and what TopCoat paid the third parties—among themselves, including by issuing checks from the TopCoat bank account to themselves or other entities they controlled. On one deal alone in 2017, TopCoat received more than $200,000 additional from PHN than what it paid the true vendor on a project.

Pierce, Laeng, and others also agreed to defraud PHN through a separate scheme in which the conspirators caused PHN to enter into contracts with a third party in exchange for the third party paying 50% of the fees received to an entity controlled by Pierce, Laeng, and their co-conspirator. In all, Pierce, Laeng and their co-conspirator received more than $1.7 million in kickback payments from the third party between 2013 and 2020, the proceeds of which they split among themselves.

Judge Ranjan scheduled sentencings for March 9, 2026, for Pierce; March 16, 2026, for Laeng; and March 17, 2026, for Marriott. The law provides for a total sentence of up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gain from the offense, or both on the offense of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and up to a 10 year sentence of imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the amount involved in the offense on the offense, or both on the money laundering conspiracy offense. Marriott faces a potential additional three years of imprisonment and fine of up to $250,000 for the tax offense.

Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendants.

Assistant United States Attorney William B. Guappone is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigation conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Pierce, Laeng, and Marriott.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven has sentenced Jason Peterson (29, Parrish) to 11 years and 5 months in federal prison for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The court also ordered Peterson to forfeit the firearms possessed in connection with the offense. Peterson pleaded guilty on June 11, 2025.

According to court records, on November 16, 2024, deputies from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call from a residence in Parrish. The caller stated that Peterson had previously battered her and was in possession of a firearm. Deputies arrested Peterson and recovered a Smith & Wesson handgun and a Bauer handgun from the residence.

ATF agents interviewed Peterson after his arrest. Peterson admitted to possessing the Smith & Wesson handgun and knowing that he could not possess a firearm as a convicted felon. During the same interview, Peterson also discussed a Rossi shotgun that his wife had purchased for him at a gun store in Sarasota, which he subsequently sold to another felon. ATF agents subsequently recovered surveillance video showing Peterson in possession of the shotgun in October 2024.

Prior to possessing the firearms, Peterson knew he had been convicted of multiple felonies, including battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence, and delivery of a controlled substance. As a convicted felon, Peterson is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jeff Chang.

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 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 and Project Safe Neighborhoods.

NOTE: This matter occurred on a previous date but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Jason Rigdon, 44, of Crawfordville, Florida was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “Our state and federal law enforcement partners did a great job removing this violent, drug-dealing felon from our streets, and my office will continue to support their efforts with aggressive federal prosecutions to keep our communities healthy and safe. President Donald J. Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi promised to Take Back America from the drug traffickers who have flooded our communities with deadly drugs, and this successful prosecution is yet another step toward achieving that goal.”

According to court records, in February 2025, investigators developed information indicating that the defendant, who was a multi-time convicted felon, was involved in the trafficking of methamphetamine and illegal firearms.  After a series of controlled operations during which methamphetamine and a handgun were purchased from the defendant, investigators executed a search warrant in March 2025 at his residence.  During the search of the residence and a vehicle the defendant was arrested in, thirteen firearms, two of which had been reported stolen, were recovered.  Ammunition and methamphetamine were also seized.  The defendant has prior felony convictions for Fleeing and Eluding Law Enforcement, Aggravated Assault with a Firearm, Trafficking in methamphetamine, Carrying Concealed Firearms, Fleeing and Eluding Law Enforcement, and Possession of Methamphetamine.

“The Leon County Sheriff’s Office is committed to working alongside our law enforcement partners to protect our community,” said Sheriff Walt McNeil. “We will not tolerate dangerous crimes like drug trafficking and illegal firearms anywhere in our region, and we will continue to collaborate to ensure those responsible are held accountable.”

“Protecting our community from violent offenders remains one of our highest priorities,” said Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell. “This outcome demonstrates the strength of our partnerships and the determination of law enforcement to hold accountable those who traffic dangerous drugs and illegally possess firearms. Together, we are making Tallahassee a safer place for everyone.”

The conviction and sentence were the result of a joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office and the Tallahassee Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Eric K. Mountin.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) 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. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General.  To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Tampa, FL – U.S. District Judge Kathryn K. Mizelle has sentenced Jorge Hernan Gonzalez-Ortiz (49, Colombia) to 13 years and 4 months in federal prison for conspiring to import cocaine into the United States. Gonzalez-Ortiz pleaded guilty on January 14, 2025.

According to the plea agreement and other court documents, from 2016 until 2023, Gonzalez-Ortiz established and led a drug trafficking organization in Colombia responsible for transporting cocaine via commercial airplanes and maritime vessels. Conspirators loaded commercial aircraft with cocaine disguised in boxes of fruit at Alfonso Bonilla Aragón International Airport in Cali, Colombia and intended for Gustavo Rojas Pinilla International Airport in San Andrés Island, Colombia. With the assistance of no less than 20 corrupt Colombian police officers, the conspirators exported the cocaine out of the San Andrés Island airport and then smuggled the narcotics by boat to either Nicaragua or Honduras, then to Mexico and the United States via land routes.

From 2016-2023, Gonzalez-Ortiz’s organization smuggled cocaine onto at least 27 commercial flights in Cali, totaling at least 43,000 kilograms, and worth approximately $1.3 billion (USD). 

In addition to corrupt police officers, Gonzalez-Ortiz’s drug trafficking network included a security supervisor at the Cali airport who was responsible for diverting security cameras away from the airport’s external gates where the cocaine was imported. Other conspirators in the drug trafficking network included airport personnel who altered the cargo manifests, as well as luggage cart drivers and warehouse personnel at both airports who loaded and unloaded the cocaine onto and from the commercial aircraft. On July 29, 2023, one of the organization’s cocaine shipment (1,310 kilograms) was interdicted by the Colombian National Police after it was offloaded from a commercial aircraft in San Andrés Island.

(July 29, 2023, drug interdiction seizure)

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi- jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.

The specific mission of the OCDETF Panama Express Strike Force is to disrupt and dismantle Transnational Criminal Organizations involved in large scale drug trafficking, money laundering, and related activities. The OCDETF Panama Express Strike Force is comprised of agents and officers from the Coast Guard Investigative Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations, and the prosecution was led by the Office of the United States Attorney for the Middle District of Florida.

Valuable assistance was provided by the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, the Colombian National Police’s Dirreccion de Antinarcotics (DIRAN), and the Colombian Equipo de Trabajo Investigativo Control Aeronaves (ETICA). This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David J. Pardo.

NOTE: This matter occurred on a previous date but not published at that time due to government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Douglas Wayne Cornett of Spotsylvania County, Virginia, was sentenced to life in prison in federal court yesterday after he pleaded guilty to two federal hate crime charges, each involving an attempt to kill, and to discharging a firearm during a federal crime of violence.

“No one in this country should be hunted down and shot at because of who they are or where they come from,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This sentence reflects the Justice Department’s unwavering commitment to protecting communities from hate-fueled violence and to hold accountable those who attack others based on prejudice.”

“As our nation recovers from recent political violence, today’s verdict is a welcome reminder that terror motivated by hate will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan for the Eastern District of Virginia. “My office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and vigorously prosecute those who choose brutality and aggression over civility and reason.”

According to court documents, on the evening of Feb. 28, 2024, Cornett followed a box truck driven by a victim with the initials O.G., an adult Latino male, into the Sheetz gas station along Interstate 95 in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. Cornett then asked a victim with the initials J.M., an adult Latino male and a friend of O.G., how long O.G. had been present in the United States. Upon learning that O.G. had arrived within the last two years, Cornett drew a handgun and fired six rounds, striking O.G. three times and J.M. once. Cornett later confessed to a Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Deputy to shooting the victims because of his perception of their national origin.

The Richmond Field Office of the FBI investigated the case with substantial assistance from the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Garnett for the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Kyle Boynton of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Douglas Wayne Cornett of Spotsylvania County, Virginia, was sentenced to life in prison in federal court yesterday after he pleaded guilty to two federal hate crime charges, each involving an attempt to kill, and to discharging a firearm during a federal crime of violence.

“No one in this country should be hunted down and shot at because of who they are or where they come from,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “This sentence reflects the Justice Department’s unwavering commitment to protecting communities from hate-fueled violence and to hold accountable those who attack others based on prejudice.”

“As our nation recovers from recent political violence, today’s verdict is a welcome reminder that terror motivated by hate will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan for the Eastern District of Virginia. “My office will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to investigate and vigorously prosecute those who choose brutality and aggression over civility and reason.”

According to court documents, on the evening of Feb. 28, 2024, Cornett followed a box truck driven by a victim with the initials O.G., an adult Latino male, into the Sheetz gas station along Interstate 95 in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. Cornett then asked a victim with the initials J.M., an adult Latino male and a friend of O.G., how long O.G. had been present in the United States. Upon learning that O.G. had arrived within the last two years, Cornett drew a handgun and fired six rounds, striking O.G. three times and J.M. once. Cornett later confessed to a Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Deputy to shooting the victims because of his perception of their national origin.

The Richmond Field Office of the FBI investigated the case with substantial assistance from the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Garnett for the Eastern District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Kyle Boynton of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section prosecuted the case.