Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

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Former Bank of America Employee Sentenced for Role in International Money Laundering Conspiracy

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

BOSTON – A New York man was sentenced on Oct. 27, 2025 for his involvement in a sophisticated international money laundering and drug trafficking organization.

Rongjian Li, 38, of Staten Island, N.Y., was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Angel Kelley to three years of probation, with the first year to be served on home confinement. Following home confinement, Li will be required to perform 100 hours of community service. In February 2025, Li pleaded guilty to money laundering conspiracy.

In May 2023, a federal grand jury in Boston returned a superseding indictment charging 12 individuals from Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York and California for their alleged involvement in a sophisticated international money laundering and drug trafficking organization. The network was identified in the greater Boston area in 2021 along with the leader of the organization, Jin Hua Zhang, based in Staten Island, New York, and a number of his criminal associates. The investigation revealed that, for a fee, Zhang laundered bulk cash for drug dealers and laundered profits from other illegal businesses. In less than one year, Zhang and his organization laundered at least $25 million.

A large portion of the laundered funds were generated by criminal groups operating overseas who tricked U.S. victims into falling for a variety of internet-based frauds. These frauds included tricking victims into sending money to purchase or extend warranties or soliciting victims to invest in cryptocurrencies and then stealing the invested funds. In order to help these criminal groups launder these funds, Zhang needed U.S. bank accounts.

Rongjian Li was a Bank of America employee in New York who became friendly with Zhang. In 2021-2022, Zhang directed his runners to meet with Li at Li’s Bank of America branch. Li knew some of Zhang’s accounts were opened with runners using fraudulent passports and knew that the accounts were intended for use to launder “scam” money. When the bank’s financial auditing systems flagged or froze accounts for suspicious activity, Li misused the branch customer information system to help Zhang move illicit funds elsewhere. Finally, Li was seated next to Zhang at a lengthy recorded dinner in New York with undercover agents where Zhang discussed the different fee percentages he charged various criminal groups for drug trafficking and scams.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Pohl, Brian A. Fogerty and Meghan C. Cleary of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.

The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Florida Woman Sentenced for Role in International Money Laundering Conspiracy

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

BOSTON – A Florida woman was sentenced on Oct. 15, 2025 in federal court in Boston for her involvement in a sophisticated international money laundering organization that laundered more than $6 million in drug trafficking proceeds from Colombian cartels through the United States, Caribbean and European banking systems. Over the course of the investigation, approximately 1,193 kilograms of cocaine were seized at sea, in addition to 1,555 kilograms of cocaine seized from shipping containers at the Port of Buenaventura, Colombia.

Dawnett McGee, 50, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to 21 months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release. On Dec. 12, 2024, McGee pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy and three counts of laundering of monetary instruments.

McGee was among 20 individuals from Colombia, Jamaica and Florida who were indicted by a federal grand jury in May 2022 in connection with the money laundering conspiracy.

Over the course of the investigation, $1 million was seized from corporate bank accounts and other investigative activity. Nearly 3,000 kilograms of cocaine – with a street value of over $90 million – was traced back to the money laundering organization. This includes approximately 1,193 kilos of cocaine seized at sea, 60 miles south of Jamaica, in July 2019, as well as 1,555 kilos of cocaine seized in nine scrap metal shipping containers at the Port of Buenaventura, Colombia in March 2019.

In or about October 2016, an investigation began into a sophisticated money laundering organization located primarily in Barranquilla, Colombia. During an extensive five-year investigation, the organization laundered over $6 million in drug proceeds through intermediary banks in the United States, including banks in Massachusetts, as well as additional proceeds through banks in the Caribbean and Europe by use of the Colombian Black Market Peso Exchange (BMPE). By using the BMPE, the defendants and their co-conspirators sought to conceal drug trafficking activity and proceeds from law enforcement as well as evade currency exchange requirements in the United States and Colombia through the illegal currency exchange process. As part of the conspiracy, members of the organization held roles and responsibilities relative to the needs and opportunities of the scheme, such as drug suppliers, peso brokers, money couriers and business owners/dollar purchasers.

Through the BMPE, Colombian drug trafficking organizations with drug proceeds generated in the United States use third parties – generally referred to as “peso brokers” that are also based in Colombia – who agree to exchange Colombian pesos they control for the drug supplier’s dollar proceeds. Peso brokers then use money couriers in the United States and elsewhere to physically secure the drug proceeds, often in suitcases or bags on the street, and transfer the proceeds into the United States banking system. To avoid detection, peso brokers deposit the drug proceeds into bank accounts in company or individual names intended to appear as legitimate business activity, or through multiple small deposits into different bank accounts which are then consolidated into larger accounts. As a result, Colombian peso brokers control a pool of drug-derived proceeds in United States bank accounts. These dollar proceeds are then purchased by individuals or companies in Colombia seeking to exchange pesos for United States dollars at a favorable exchange rate and in a manner that avoids currency exchange and income reporting requirements. The dollar drug proceeds are transferred at the direction of the purchaser and often end up in bank accounts of individuals or companies who appear to have no direct involvement in drug trafficking crimes.

Beginning in 2016 and continuing until 2022, an undercover agent infiltrated the organization by portraying himself as an international money launderer able to pick up bulk cash throughout the world, launder the proceeds through his United States-based accounts and send the money to Colombia through the BMPE.

Throughout the course of the investigation, members of the money laundering organization would contact the undercover and arrange meetings for the undercover and the undercover’s purported associates to collect bulk cash throughout the world. Individuals, such as McGee performed the role of money courier. McGee delivered bulk cash on two occasions in Florida. That cash was then deposited into the undercover bank account in Massachusetts, and then subsequently wired to accounts and repatriated back to drug traffickers in Colombia. Over the course of the conspiracy, McGee was responsible for the laundering of over $330,000 in drug proceeds.

McGee is the 15th defendant to be sentenced. All 20 defendants have been convicted either at trial or by pleading guilty.  

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Jarod Forget, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration, New England Field Division; Thomas Demeo, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office; Aura Liliana Trujillo Rojas, Delegate for Criminal Finance for the Colombian Attorney General’s Office; Ricardo Sánchez Silvestre, Brigadier General of the Colombian National Police Anti-Narcotics Directorate; Jervis Moore, Chief of the Narcotics Division for the Jamaica Constabulary Force; and Colonel Geoffrey Noble of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section’s Office of the Judicial Attaché in Bogotá, Colombia provided significant assistance in securing the arrests and extraditions of Cover, Rowe, and other co-defendants from Colombia and Jamaica. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jared C. Dolan and Alathea E. Porter of the Criminal Division are prosecuting the case.

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Brazilian National Sentenced for Selling Firearms Without a License and Conspiracy

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

BOSTON – A Brazilian national unlawfully residing in Florida was sentenced on Oct. 29, 2025 in federal court in Worcester for conspiracy and engaging in the business of to sell firearms without a license.  

Marcos Alves Silva, 24, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Margaret R. Guzman to 18 months in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. The defendant is subject to deportation upon completion of the imposed sentence. In June 2025, Silva pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to engage in the business of dealing firearms without a license and one count of engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license.

Between March 2024 and June 2024, Silva shipped nine firearms to individuals in Massachusetts. In addition to firearms, Silva also sold ammunition and magazines, some of which were large capacity magazines.  

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Thomas Greco, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Boston Field Division; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England;  Patricia H. Hyde, Acting Field Office Director, Boston, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations; and Ketty Larco-Ward, Inspector in Charge of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Massachusetts State Police and the Milford Police Departments. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael J. Crowley and John Reynolds of the Organized Crime & Gang Unit prosecuted the case.

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Marion County Man Sentenced To Federal Prison For Possession Of A Machinegun

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Ocala, Florida – United States District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Sean Rayvon Hubbard, Jr. (19, Ocala) to three years in federal prison for possession of a machinegun. Hubbard pleaded guilty on May 22, 2025. 

According to court documents, on July 28, 2024, officers from the Ocala Police Department approached Hubbard to place him under arrest for outstanding warrants. Hubbard fled from the officers on foot but was ultimately apprehended. On August 7, 2024, officers received a call from an apartment complex about a firearm that had been discovered along the path where Hubbard had been running. The firearm, a black handgun with a tan extended ammunition magazine, had been modified with a “switch” that allowed it to fire more than one round of ammunition with a single pull of the trigger. Officers obtained a search warrant for Hubbard’s cellphone and recovered a video of Hubbard handling the same modified handgun just prior to his arrest on July 28, 2024.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Ocala Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.

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.

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Dorchester Man Charged with Robbery of Local Bank

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

BOSTON – A Dorchester man has been arrested and charged in connection with the robbery of a local bank. The defendant has a prior federal conviction for bank robbery and state convictions for armed and unarmed robberies.

Joseph Wilcox, 58, was indicted by a federal grand jury on Oct. 23, 2025 on one count of bank robbery in relation to the robbery of Santander Bank in East Boston. Wilcox was initially arrested on a criminal complaint on Oct. 1, 2025. He remains detained in federal custody.

According to the charging documents, at approximately 11:40 a.m. on Sept. 6, 2025, a male, allegedly later identified as Wilcox, approached the bank teller, showed a note stating “give me all 20’s and stated “don’t **** with me.” It is alleged that after the teller stated that he did not have many $20 bills, the suspect told the teller to take the money out of the box and give it to him. The teller ultimately gave Wilcox cash totaling $4,150.

A subsequent investigation allegedly identified Wilcox depositing nine $100 bills into his own Santander account at another branch, with his face visible on surveillance. A query of Wilcox through the Registry of Motor Vehicles (“RMV”) revealed a photograph of an individual that resembled the suspect caught on surveillance and matched the description of the suspect provided by the victim teller.

According to court records, Wilcox has a prior federal conviction from 2015 for three counts of bank robbery; a 2010 state conviction for unarmed robbery; and 2004 state conviction for armed robbery.

The charge of bank robbery provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, up to three years 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 which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexandra W. Amrhein 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.

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Former Massachusetts State Police Sergeant Sentenced to Six Years in Prison for Years-Long Bribery and Extortion Conspiracies

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Defendant gave false passing scores on CDL road skills tests to dozens of commercial driver’s license applicants

BOSTON – A former Sergeant with the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) was sentenced on Oct. 14, 2025 in federal court in Boston for orchestrating a series of bribery and extortion schemes to give false passing scores to certain Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) applicants, including individuals who had failed or did not take the CDL skills test.

Gary Cederquist, 60, of Stoughton, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to six years in prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release. Cederquist was also ordered to pay a fine in the amount of $30,000, restitution in the amount of $18,300, and a forfeiture money judgment in the amount of $18,300. In May 2025, Cederquist was convicted by a federal jury of two counts of conspiracy to commit extortion, one count of extortion, six counts of honest services mail fraud, three counts of conspiracy to falsify records, 19 counts of falsification of records and 17 counts of false statements. Cederquist was acquitted of one count of conspiracy to commit extortion, two counts of extortion, three counts of falsification of records and three counts of false statements.

In January 2024, Cederquist was charged in a 74-count indictment along with three other MSP troopers and two civilians:  

  • Former Trooper Calvin Butner, 65, of Halifax;
  • Former Trooper Perry Mendes, 65, of Wareham;
  • Former Trooper Joel Rogers, 56, of Bridgewater;
  • Scott Camara, 44, of Rehoboth; and
  • Eric Mathison, 48, of Boston.

Cederquist was in charge of MSP’s CDL Unit, of which former Troopers Butner, Mendes and Rogers were members. Class A CDLs are required to drive combination vehicles (e.g., tractor-trailers, oil tankers). Class B CDLs are required to drive heavy single vehicles (e.g., box trucks, school buses). Test requirements for CDLs are established by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Members of MSP’s CDL Unit are responsible for administering CDL skills tests. The CDL skills test is a demanding, in-person test that consists of three segments: Vehicle Inspection; Basic Control Skills; and the Road Test. Test scores reported by members of MSP’s CDL Unit are material to whether applicants meet federal requirements for, and therefore whether the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) is permitted to issue applicants, CDLs. In Massachusetts, the pass rate was 48% in 2019, 44% in 2020, 41% in 2021 and 41% in 2022.

Between in on or about February 2019 and January 2023, Cederquist and his co-conspirators arranged to give passing scores to at least three dozen applicants regardless of whether or not they had actually passed or, in some cases, had even taken the CDL skills test, including in some instances in exchange for bribes.

Cederquist and his co-conspirators used the code word “golden handshake” or “golden” to identify applicants who received special treatment and were to be given passing scores on their skills tests regardless of performance. In text message conversations, Cederquist and his co-conspirators described a number of “golden” applicants as performing poorly on their skills tests. However, all of the applicants received passing scores.

Among the CDL applicants to whom Cederquist gave preferential treatment were six MSP Troopers who Cederquist falsely reported as having passed a Class A skills test. In reality, however, the Troopers did not take a real CDL skills test. For four of the Trooper applicants, Cederquist conspired with his friend Camara, who worked for a truck-driving school in Brockton, to accomplish this offense.

Cederquist also conspired with his friend Mathison, who worked for a water company that employed drivers who needed CDLs, to give passing scores to certain applicants affiliated with the water company. In exchange for the passing scores, Cederquist accepted bribes – for years – of free inventory from the water company, such as cases of bottled Fiji, VOSS and Essentia water, cases of bottled Arizona Iced Tea, coffee and tea products and boxes of Twizzlers and Swedish Fish, all of which Mathison delivered to an office trailer at the CDL test site in Stoughton. Cederquist sent Mathison a text describing one applicant as “an idiot,” who had “no idea what he’s doing,” and “should have failed about 10 times already.” Cederquist then texted Mathison that Mathison’s boss “owes big time.”

In exchange for using his official position to give preferential treatment to certain CDL applicants, Cederquist accepted a variety of bribes including inventory from Mathison’s water company valued at $8,300; a $750 granite post and mailbox; a new driveway valued at over $10,000; and a snowblower valued at nearly $2,000. Cederquist described one such applicant as “horrible,” and “brain dead,” but gave him a passing score anyway in exchange for the snowblower.

All CDL recipients identified as not qualified during the course of this investigation have been reported to the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles.  

In August 2025, former Trooper Calvin Butner, a co-defendant, was sentenced to three months in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release with the first three months in home confinement. In August 2025, former Trooper Perry Mendes, also a co-defendant, was sentenced to one month in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release with the first two months on home confinement. In September 2025, civilian co-defendant Eric Mathison was sentenced to one year and one day in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In September 2025, Scott Camara was sentenced to one month in prison, to be followed by one year of supervised release.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; and Elise Chawaga, Principal Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine J. Wichers and Adam W. Deitch of the Public Corruption & Special Prosecutions Unit prosecuted the case.

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Guatemalan National Pleads Guilty and is Sentenced for Illegal Reentry

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

BOSTON – A Guatemalan national unlawfully residing in Chelsea, Mass. pleaded guilty and was sentenced on Oct. 22, 2025 in federal court in Boston for unlawfully reentering the United States after deportation.

Leonardo Hernandez-Blanco, 37, pleaded guilty to one count of unlawful reentry of a deported alien and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Allison D. Burroughs to time served (approximately 10 months) followed by one year of supervised release. The defendant is now subject to deportation proceedings. Hernandez-Blanco was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2020.

Hernandez-Blanco was deported from the United States to Mexico on July 23, 2010 and on Feb. 11, 2020. Sometime after each of removal, Hernandez-Blanco illegally reentered the United States without permission.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Patricia H. Hyde, Acting Field Office Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston; and Chelsea Police Chief Keith E. Houghton made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Suzanne Sullivan Jacobus of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case. 

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Hyena Crips Gang Member Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Racketeering and 2019 Murder of a 15-Year-Old

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Defendant Killed the Victim in Retaliation for a Gang-Related Fight Involving the Victim’s Older Brother

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Martial H. Amilcar, also known as “Drippy,” a member of Hyena Crips, was sentenced by United States District Judge Ann M. Donnelly to 30 years’ imprisonment for racketeering, predicated on the murder of 15-year-old Samuel Joseph and the attempted gunpoint robbery of a Brooklyn pharmacy.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York and Ricky J. Patel, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI) announced the sentence.

“In seeking to exact retribution and promote gang violence, Amilcar ended the life of an innocent child,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “A lengthy prison sentence cannot undo the loss this family and this community has suffered but it delivers a powerful message that senseless violence carries serious consequences.”

“Martial Amilcar’s sentencing is a testament to HSI New York’s relentless commitment to protecting innocent New Yorkers from violent gangs that have brutalized our neighborhoods and exploited fraud schemes to fund their reign of terror,” stated HSI Special Agent in Charge Patel.  “The defendant’s cold-blooded murder of 15-year-old Samuel Joseph and the violent attempted robbery that endangered families and a child highlight the deadly grip gang violence holds on our communities.  Today serves as a powerful reminder that HSI New York, together with our partners, will relentlessly pursue those who devastate our neighborhoods and shatter innocent lives with their savagery.”

Mr. Nocella expressed his appreciation to HSI’s Violent Gang Task Force, the New York City Police Department, and the Department of Labor’s Office of the Inspector General for their outstanding work in this investigation.

As detailed in court filings, the Hyena Crips set of the Crips street gang follows many of the rules and the hierarchical structure of other Crips sets, earning money through fraud and robberies, and protecting their reputation through violent crimes.

February 22, 2019 Murder of Samuel Joseph

As detailed in court documents, including the government’s sentencing memorandum, Amilcar shot and killed 15-year-old Samuel Joseph on February 22, 2019 in retaliation for an altercation earlier the same day between Amilcar’s brother, also a Hyena Crips gang member, and Joseph’s older brother, a rival gang member.  Amilcar’s brother attacked the rival gang member outside a convenience store located on the 1300-block of Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn, and the rival gang member stabbed Amilcar’s brother in the leg.

Shortly after the altercation, Amilcar changed his clothing and contacted various alleged members of the Hyena Crips, including a co-defendant who then met Amilcar.  Amilcar and the co-defendant drove to Samuel Joseph’s apartment building and waited outside.  As Joseph walked down a staircase towards the building’s exit, Amilcar walked into the building, pulled out a gun and shot Joseph three times at close range, killing him. The shooting and events leading up to it were captured on security camera footage taken nearby.

June 9, 2020 Attempted Robbery of a Brooklyn Pharmacy

On June 9, 2020, the defendant and two other alleged members of the Hyena Crips attempted to rob a pharmacy on the 3400-block of Avenue H in Brooklyn.  Amilcar and the others entered the pharmacy and ordered the customers, employees and a small child to the back of the store.  Amilcar placed his hands around a victim’s throat, displayed a firearm and ordered her to the back of the store.  He jumped over the cashier’s counter in an attempt to rob the store but ultimately fled the pharmacy.  Video surveillance from inside the pharmacy captured the incident.

* * *

Eight defendants were charged in the superseding indictment with racketeering in connection with their membership in the Hyena Crips.  Two defendants have pleaded guilty, including Amilcar’s brother Martial C. Amilcar.  Yesterday, November 12, 2025, Martial C. Amilcar was sentenced by United States District Judge Ann M. Donnelly to 96 months’ imprisonment for racketeering in connection with conspiring to commit fraud using means of identification to defraud the Small Business Administration and conspiring to murder rival gang members.

Trial is scheduled to begin for the five remaining defendants on January 26, 2026.  The racketeering charges at trial include the previously unsolved murders of Leandre Mallinckrodt at the West Indian Day Parade on Labor Day 2012 and Roodson Polynice in September 2020.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Organized Crime and Gangs Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Devon Lash, Jessica Weigel and Joshua Dugan are in charge of the prosecution, with the assistance of paralegal specialists Elizabeth Reed and Erin Payne.

The Defendant:

MARTIAL H. AMILCAR, also known as “Drippy”
Age: 28
Brooklyn, New York

Previously Convicted Defendants:

MARTIAL C. AMILCAR, also known as “Hype”
Age:  27
Brooklyn, New York

MATTHEW HARRIS, also known as “Kappy”
Age: 26
Brooklyn, New York

Defendants Awaiting Trial:

BRADLEY AUGUSTIN, also known as “Cradley”
Age:  26
Brooklyn, New York

DAVE AUGUSTIN, also known as “Juice”
Age: 39
Brooklyn, New York

RICK JASMIN, also known as “Jab”
Age: 32
Brooklyn, New York

WISNY JOSEPH, also known as “Weezy”
Age: 34
Brooklyn, New York

RICHLER MORETTE, also known as “Breezy”
Age: 30
Brooklyn, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 23-CR-18 (S1)(AMD)

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Tennessee Man Sentenced To 10 Years For Drug Trafficking And Firearm Offenses

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Orlando, Florida – U.S. District Judge Carlos Mendoza has sentenced Obmar Garcia-Galban (25, Tennessee) to 10 years in federal prison for possessing with intent to distribute over 124 grams of fentanyl and approximately 2 kilograms of a substance containing MDMA and ketamine, also known as “Tusi,” as well as possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. The court also ordered Garcia-Galban to forfeit a Smith & Wesson M&P 15 rifle, which was involved in the offense. Garcia-Galban pleaded guilty on July 10, 2025.

According to court documents, on December 19, 2024, Garcia-Galban possessed 124.6 grams of fentanyl, 1.99 kilograms of Tusi, and a firearm with the serial number removed in his vehicle. During an interview with law enforcement, Garcia-Galban stated that he planned to sell the fentanyl, Tusi, and firearm to an individual in Florida.

This case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Diane Hu.

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.

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Ocala Man Sentenced To Federal Prison For Attempting To Transfer Obscene Material To A Minor

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Ocala, Florida – United States District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Nicholas Robert Davis (30, Ocala) to two years in federal prison for attempting to transfer obscene material to a minor. Davis previously entered a guilty plea on May 7, 2025.  

According to court documents, during an undercover operation on July 24, 2024, a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agent posed online as a 13-year-old girl (UC). The agent received a message from Davis on a social media platform. After learning the UC’s age, Davis had a video call with an undercover detective from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office who also was posing as the minor. During the call, Davis exposed his genitalia to the detective and, afterward, engaged in a sexually explicit conversation with the UC. Davis also sent the UC a sexually explicit video of himself.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.

This is another case brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue child victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.