Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

An Antelope Valley man has been found guilty by a jury of federal drug trafficking and firearm crimes, including supplying fake fentanyl-laced oxycodone pills that caused the fatal overdose of an active-duty United States Marine Corps lance corporal stationed at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, the Justice Department announced today. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The last of six men from Florida has pleaded guilty to his role in a scheme to manipulate the stock prices of publicly traded “penny stock” companies based in Florida, Colorado, and Wyoming. The stocks were sold at inflated prices to victim investors throughout the country, including in the Northern District of Ohio. 

Source: United States Department of Justice

A dual Canadian American citizen who was extradited from Canada pleaded guilty today for his role in a human smuggling conspiracy that resulted in the deaths of a family, including two children under the age of three, in the St. Lawrence River.

“This case is a tragic example of what happens when alien smugglers act for their own greed with callous disregard for human life and for the orderly administration of our nation’s immigration laws,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Through investigations and prosecutions, we will continue to eliminate alien smuggling networks that flout our laws and evade lawful entry at our borders.”

“Protecting our homeland remains a top priority and I thank our federal partners for their unwavering efforts along our Northern Border to keep Americans safe,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney John A. Sarone III for the Northern District of New York: This case highlights the success we can have when working together across government, federal law enforcement, tribal leaders on both sides of the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian reserve and our partners across the border in Canada, all played a key role in bringing this defendant to justice. Although this smuggling attempt ended in tragedy, let this case serve as a warning: Those who attempt to unlawfully bring individuals into our country will be stopped, identified, and brought to justice.”

“Rahsontanohstha Delormier’s actions led to the deaths of two young children and their parents — a loss that will be felt forever by their family and the North Country community,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Anthony Patrone of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Buffalo Field Office. “In response to this tragedy, HSI Massena and our federal, state, tribal, and Canadian partners worked tirelessly to dismantle this deadly smuggling organization, sending a clear message that those who endanger lives at our border will be identified, brought to justice, and removed from our communities.”

According to court documents, Rahsontanohstha Delormier, also known as “Storm,” 31, from the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Territory in Canada, was a boat driver for a human smuggling organization (HSO) that smuggled aliens from Canada into northern New York. Delormier, working with the HSO, routinely smuggled aliens into the United States by piloting boats across the St. Lawrence River. 

Beginning in and around 2023, the defendant worked with an HSO that smuggled illegal aliens of various countries from mainland Cornwall, Ontario to Cornwall Island, Canada and through the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian reserve into the Northern District of New York. The organization arranged for aliens to stay in local motels in Cornwall before they were transported from Cornwall Island and staged along the banks of the St. Lawrence River. Members of the organization would then transport the aliens by boat over the St. Lawrence River to drivers who transported them further into the Northern District of New York.

On the night of March 28, 2023, and into the early morning of March 29, 2023, a co-conspirator travelled to mainland Cornwall and transported a family of four Romanian aliens to Cornwall Island in a truck provided by Delormier. At approximately 3:06 a.m., the co-conspirator dropped the Romanian family off at Delormier’s residence to be brought across the St. Lawrence River. Delormier launched a boat from a landing in St. Regis, Quebec, intending to pick up the family, but due to high winds, freezing temperatures, and limited visibility on the St. Lawrence River, Delormier’s boat broke down and he became stranded on St. Regis Island. Later that night a co-conspirator transported the Romanian family to a public boat launch on the tip of Cornwall Island where a different boat pilot picked them up and attempted to take the family across the St. Lawrence River. While in transit, the boat capsized due to severe weather. As a result, the Romanian family and the boat driver died. 

Mother and child departing room 140 at the Elect Inn walking towards a co-conspirator’s vehicle on March 29, 2023 at 3:21 a.m.

Father and child departing room 140, pulling the door closed before the father walks towards the co-conspirator’s vehicle on March 29, 2023 at 3:21 a.m.

A second co-conspirators vehicle with light blue boat in tow on March 29, 2023, at 9:29 p.m., appearing to match the boat found in the river during recovery efforts.

The second co-conspirators light blue and white boat being recovered from the St. Lawrence River near the bodies of the Romanian family.

Delormier pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit alien smuggling and four counts of alien smuggling for financial gain. He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 27 and faces a minimum penalty of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Co-conspirators Dakota Montour, 32, and Kawisiiostha Celecia Sharrow, 45, both of the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian reserve, New York; Janet Terrance, 46, of Hogansburg, New York; and Timothy Oakes, 35, from the Akwesasne Mohwak Indian reserve, entered guilty pleas on Jan. 23, 2025, Oct. 8, 2024, March 6, 2025, and May 11, 2026, respectively. Delormier and co-conspirator Stephanie Square, 53, of the Akwesasne Mohawk Indian Territory in Canada, were extradited to the United States from Canada in 2025. Square is awaiting trial.

HSI Massena engaged in an extensive years-long investigation of the case, with assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol (USBP), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C., CBP’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force, New York State Police, Canada Border Services Agency, Akwesasne Mohawk Police Service, St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Police Department, Ontario Provincial Police, Sûreté du Québec, St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s Department, Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Cornwall Police Service. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs provided significant assistance in securing the arrests and extraditions of Delormier and Square.

The investigation and indictment were supported and prosecuted by Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), the Department’s lead effort in combating high-impact human smuggling and trafficking committed by cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs). A highly successful partnership between the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), JTFA investigates and prosecutes human smuggling and trafficking and related immigration crimes that impact public safety and border security. JTFA’s mission is to target the leaders and organizers of Cartels and TCOs involved in human smuggling and trafficking throughout the Americas. The Attorney General has elevated and expanded JTFA to target the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating not only in Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, but also in Canada, the Caribbean and the maritime border, and elsewhere. Led by the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and supported by the Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section, the Office of International Affairs, and the Office of Enforcement Operations, among others, JTFA has dedicated Assistant U.S. Attorneys from the Southern District of California; District of Arizona; District of New Mexico; Western and Southern Districts of Texas; Southern District of Florida; Northern District of New York; and District of Vermont. JTFA also partners with other U.S. Attorney’s Offices throughout the country and supports high-priority cases in any district. All JTFA cases rely on substantial law enforcement resources from DHS, including HSI and CBP USBP and Office of Field Operations, as well as FBI and other law enforcement agencies. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 458 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling and/or trafficking; more than 408 U.S. convictions; and more than 357 significant jail sentences imposed, and forfeitures of substantial assets. 

Trial Attorneys Lindsey Roberson and Alexandra Skinnion of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Stitt for the Northern District of New York are prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

NEW ORLEANS, LA – LOREALL GORDEN (“GORDEN”), age 38, of New Orleans, was sentenced by the U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance on June 17, 2026, to 87 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, and the payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee, announced U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle. 

Source: United States Department of Justice

NEW ORLEANS, LA – LOREALL GORDEN (“GORDEN”), age 38, of New Orleans, was sentenced by the U.S. District Judge Sarah S. Vance on June 17, 2026, to 87 months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, and the payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee, announced U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A federal jury in the Central District of California convicted a Los Angeles man today of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion. 

“Elias Shabazz preyed on a vulnerable victim using physical and sexual violence and cruel psychological coercion to compel commercial sex acts for his own profit,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “There is no place for this type of conduct in civilized society. We deeply respect the victim’s courage to face her trafficker in court. The Criminal Division will continue to bring these cases and try them.”

“Sex trafficking matters rank among the most tragic cases our office prosecutes,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “This defendant will now face many years in a federal prison cell for his sick, disgusting, and disturbing behavior.”

“This case highlights Homeland Security Investigations’ determination to rescue victims from exploitation and ensure that those who commit such cruel and violent acts are held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Eddy Wang of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles Field Office. “The defendant manipulated and terrorized the victim for his own gain, using violence, intimidation, and control. We commend the victim’s bravery for sharing her story. HSI, together with our law enforcement partners, will continue to pursue justice for victims and relentlessly work to prevent these crimes from occurring in our communities.”

According to court documents, witness testimony, and evidence presented at trial, Elias Shabazz, 33, of Los Angeles, led his victim to believe that they were engaged in a romantic relationship, but he soon turned physically and sexually violent demanding that the victim engage in commercial sex acts. Shabazz carried a handgun with him and used it on occasion to pistol whip the victim. He also fired the gun at her feet when threatening to kill her. At trial, the victim explained how he introduced her to commercial sex, demanded she meet a daily quota of commercial sex proceeds, and how he terrified her of the consequences of not meeting that quota. She also testified to how Shabazz compelled her to work on Figueroa Street in Los Angeles and how dangerous it was to do so. Shabazz confiscated the victim’s identification, social security card, and birth certificate. He looked through her phone constantly to keep her from communicating with family and friends. He also introduced her to addictive narcotics and controlled every aspect of her life including when she ate, slept, and showered.

The jury convicted Shabazz of one count of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion. The jury found Shabazz not guilty of coercing or enticing interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution. A sentencing date has not been set. Shabazz faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, and a maximum penalty of life in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

HSI is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Kate A. Alexander of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen I. Meyer for the Central District of California are prosecuting the case.

Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Justice Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Seattle – A 21-year-old Lakewood, Washington resident was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Tacoma to 84 months in prison for leading a drug trafficking organization distributing pound quantities of methamphetamine, announced Fist Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Neil Floyd.