Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Tallahassee, Florida – Michael Termaine Bell, of Marianna, Florida, was sentenced to ten years in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and 50 grams or more of marijuana, possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine and 50 grams or more of marijuana, possession of firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes, possession of firearms by a convicted felon, and possession with intent to distribute cocaine and 50 grams or more of marijuana. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Memphis, TN – A federal judge has sentenced Maurice Harris, 32, to 946 months and a day in federal prison for committing a series of business robberies by discharging a firearm and violating the conditions of his supervised release from a previous case. D. Michael Dunavant, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the sentence today. According to information presented in court, Harris conducted a series of armed robberies of… 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Greenbelt, Maryland – A former National Security Advisor to the President of the United States entered a guilty plea in federal court, today, in connection with charges stemming from the transmission and retention of national defense information. John Robert Bolton, II, 77, of Bethesda, Maryland, pled guilty to retention of national defense information, as alleged in Count 12 of the indictment. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Carlton Lenard Adams, of Bessemer and Adger, Alabama, was sentenced last month to 120 months in prison after pleading guilty in January to four counts of possessing dogs for fighting purposes and two counts of possessing firearms subsequent to a felony conviction. In addition to the prison sentence, the court also yesterday imposed a restitution of $548,449 for the costs of care of 78 pit bull-type dogs rescued in this investigation. At time of rescue, 78 dogs was the second-greatest number rescued from a single defendant in any federal case. 

“This case demonstrates that the cruelty of dog fighting is not limited to the brutal injuries inflicted in the fighting pit,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “These animals suffer before, during, and after the fights. We will continue to vigorously pursue Congress’s mandate to snuff out this illegal industry.”

“This prior convicted violent felon is now off our streets. We will show no mercy to individuals in this District like Carlton Adams that torture animals for entertainment purposes,” said U.S. Attorney Phillip W. Williams Jr. for the Northern District of Alabama. “The Department of Justice has prioritized a whole-of-government approach to prosecuting crimes against animals, and we stand ready with our law enforcement partners to swiftly bring the full force of justice to bear.”

“This case reflects the brutal reality of organized dog fighting operations and the appalling conditions these animals are forced to endure. It also exposes how dog fighting operations are often accompanied by broader criminal activity as evidenced by the presence of dangerous weapons such as the ones in the defendant’s possession,” said U.S. Department of Agriculture Inspector General John Walk. “USDA OIG will continue working aggressively with our federal, state, and local partners to investigate animal fighting crimes and protect both public safety and animal welfare. We thank our partners in this case that helped bring this defendant to justice.” 

According to court documents, Adams maintained a stock of 78 fighting dogs at three properties — two in Bessemer, Alabama, and one in Adger, Alabama. When they were rescued, some of the dogs bore scars and other injuries, and some were living in conditions of extreme neglect. Adams was also found to possess two pistols and a semi-automatic shotgun known colloquially as a “Street Sweeper.” Under federal law, a street sweeper is considered a destructive device.

In addition to the dogs, guns, and destructive device, law enforcement personnel also recovered from Adam’s residences tools and supplies used in the training and keeping of dogs used for fighting. These items included modified treadmills to hold dogs in place for conditioning, injectable veterinary steroids, suture materials and syringes, skin staplers, intravenous bags and lines, a homemade breeding stand, and a break stick device used to break the bite hold of a dog.

The dogs were rescued and cared for by a program administered by the U.S. Marshals Service. Following a separate, successful civil forfeiture action brought by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama, the dogs did not have to be returned to Adams. They were instead rehabilitated and evaluated for possible adoption.

Under federal law, it is illegal not only to fight dogs in a venture that affects interstate commerce, but also to possess, train, transport, deliver, sell, purchase or receive dogs for fighting purposes. 

The USDA OIG, FBI, and Alabama Law Enforcement Agency investigated the case. 

Senior Trial Attorney Ethan Eddy of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ryan Rummage for the Northern District of Alabama prosecuted the case. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Austin Shutt for the Northern District of Alabama handled the civil forfeiture case for the dogs. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

An Arizona woman pleaded guilty yesterday to attempting to steal more than $7.7 million in government funds by filing false tax returns with the IRS.

According to court documents, Regina Durkin, of New River, Arizona, and others, conspired to defraud the United States by submitting false quarterly employment tax returns to the IRS.

“No matter the scheme, the agency, or the program involved, those who cheat on their taxes for personal enrichment undermine the very foundation of public trust,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “The Fraud Division is working across all fronts to detect, investigate, and prosecute criminal tax violations. We will protect the integrity of our tax system and ensure that those who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of honest citizens face the full weight of federal prosecution.”

“Our work continues as we find and prosecute individuals like Ms. Durkin who took a benefit meant to help the public during a crisis, and used it instead to line their own pockets,” said U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine. “We are grateful to our partners at IRS-CI for their tireless efforts to seek accountability on behalf of federal taxpayers.”

Durkin conspired with others to file tax returns seeking fraudulent refunds based on the employee retention credit and paid sick and family leave credit, credits passed by Congress to aid struggling businesses during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Instead, these companies were not in operation at the time, had no employees, and paid no wages.

In total, Durkin, and others, submitted fourteen fraudulent claims to the IRS that requested over $7.7 million in tax refunds.

Durkin pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to file false claims. She is scheduled to be sentenced on September 11 and faces a maximum penalty of ten years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division and U.S. Attorney Timothy Courchaine of the District of Arizona made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

“Regina Durkin chose to steal $7.7 million from the American public through deliberate fraud—and now faces the full weight of a felony conviction,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Phoenix Field Office Acting Special Agent in Charge Scott Brown. “Let this case be a clear warning: IRS‑CI will relentlessly pursue anyone who abuses emergency relief programs for personal gain. IRS-CI agents specialize in dismantling complex financial schemes. We will follow the money, expose the fraud, and ensure those who steal from taxpayers are held fully accountable.”

Trial Attorney Robert Kemins and Trial Attorney Matthew Hoffman of the Criminal Division, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Williams for the District of Arizona, are prosecuting the case.

On April 7, 2026, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A federal jury convicted a Minnesota man yesterday for filing false tax returns for clients of his tax preparation business.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Cortez Hollis owned and operated Hollis Tax Time, a Minnesota tax preparation business that he used to prepare false tax returns for clients. Hollis told his clients he was able to provide them tax credits that other tax preparers did not know about. In reality, he reported fictitious businesses that claimed thousands of dollars of business losses the clients did not actually incur. Hollis filed these tax returns with the IRS and generated large refunds the clients were not entitled to receive. He often paid himself tax preparation fees of $2,000 or more out of the resulting refunds, sometimes without his clients’ knowledge.

“No matter the scheme, the agency, or the program involved, those who cheat on their taxes for personal enrichment undermine the very foundation of public trust,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “The Fraud Division is working across all fronts to detect, investigate, and prosecute criminal tax violations. We will protect the integrity of our tax system and ensure that those who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of honest citizens face the full weight of federal prosecution.”

At trial, the government established that Hollis added more than $1 million in fraudulent losses to client tax returns and sought approximately $387,000 in refunds they were not entitled to receive.

Hollis was found guilty of 20 counts of aiding or assisting the preparation of false tax returns. Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date. Hollis faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison for each count of aiding and assisting in the preparation of a false tax return. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division and U.S. Attorney Daniel Rosen for the District of Minnesota made the announcement.

IRS Criminal Investigation is investigating the case.

Assistant Chief Eric B. Powers and Trial Attorney Megan E. Wessel of the Criminal Division’s Tax Section are prosecuting the case.

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (‘Fraud Division’). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Carlos Javier Padron, 36, an illegal alien from Venezuela, was sentenced yesterday to 78 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to deploy malware and steal millions of dollars from ATMs in the United States, a crime commonly referred to as “ATM jackpotting.” His co-defendant, Oddry Arnoldo Cabrera Torrealba, also known as “Luis Alejandro Berdugo Barraza,” 37, an illegal alien from Venezuela, was sentenced on June 11, to 78 months in prison for similar conduct.   

“Carlos Javier Padron and Oddry Arnoldo Cabrera Torrealba helped deploy sophisticated malware as part of a transnational criminal network that hacked ATMs across the United States and stole millions of dollars through a technique known as ATM jackpotting – which caused bank ATMs to dispense the cash inside of them,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Crimes like this undermine the security of our financial institutions and fuel the operations of violent transnational criminal organizations such as Tren de Aragua (TdA). This sweeping investigation with the District of Nebraska and our law enforcement partners has disrupted this network at all levels. We will protect our financial institutions from technology enabled fraud.”

“ATM jackpotting is TdA’s business plan and their assessed primary source of revenue to fund their terrorist activities that range from reprehensible forms of human trafficking to armed robbery, murder, and the general undermining of America’s national security by flooding our communities with controlled substances,” said U.S. Attorney Lesley Woods for the District of Nebraska. “We will use these prosecutions to put a chokehold on their funding pipeline.” 

“TdA is a violent terrorist organization relying on a range of criminal activities to generate revenue supporting their campaigns of violence and terror,” said Special Agent in Charge Euguene Cowel of the FBI Omaha Field Office. “As criminal enterprises change tactics, we surge resources and adapt accordingly to protect the American people. FBI Omaha will continue standing shoulder to shoulder with our local, state, and federal partners in the fight to dismantle and disrupt the activities of TdA locally and globally.” 

“These individuals participated in a crime that was both an attack on the American financial system, and an effort by Tren De Aragua to fund even more terror in our country,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Rick Sabatini of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Kansas City. “I’m proud of our agents and partners for working tirelessly to pursue justice and put consumers at ease, knowing their bank’s health is sound and not at risk of being damaged by violent, dangerous criminals.”

According to court documents, Padron and Torrealba were part of a sophisticated criminal network responsible for ATM jackpottings throughout the United States. The members of the network conspired to develop and deploy a variant of malware known as Ploutus, which was deployed on ATMs and used to permit the unauthorized withdrawal of currency. The conspiracy relied on individuals including Padron and Torrealba to deploy the Ploutus malware onto ATMs in person. Once installed and activated, the malware permitted the co-conspirators to issue commands to the cash dispensing module of the ATM in order to force unauthorized withdrawals of currency. The Ploutus malware also was designed to delete evidence of its existence to prevent financial institutions from detecting its use on ATMs. Padron and Torrealba were arrested by the Lincoln, Nebraska Police Department at the site of a jackpotting in October 2024. 

Padron and Torrealba both pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank burglary and one count of computer fraud and intentional damage to a protected computer. At their respective sentencings, the Court also ordered both Padron and Torrealba to jointly pay $1,537,696 in restitution to the multiple victim banks.   

Following the arrest of Padron and Torrealba, a comprehensive federal investigation identified a network of co-conspirators throughout the United States and abroad. Since the arrests of Padron and Torrealba, 96 other defendants have been indicted for their roles in this conspiracy for related offenses including material support to a designated foreign terror organization, bank burglary, money laundering, damage and unauthorized access to protected computers, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit the same offenses. 

The investigation has established extensive direct and indirect links between the indicted co-conspirators and TdA. According to court documents, TdA is a violent transnational criminal organization that originated as a prison gang in Venezuela in the mid-2000s. TdA has expanded its criminal network throughout the Western Hemisphere and established a presence in the United States. TdA’s criminal activities range from drug trafficking and firearms trafficking to commercial sex trafficking, kidnapping, robbery, theft, fraud, and extortion. TdA members also commit murder, assault, and other violent acts to advance the organization’s criminal activities. TdA has also developed an additional source of revenue stream through financial crimes that target financial institutions throughout the United States, including using ATM jackpotting to steal millions of dollars in cash.

FBI’s Omaha Field Office and HSI Omaha are investigating the case, with assistance from FBI’s Denver, Houston, Miami, New Orleans, Oklahoma, Sacramento, Seattle, and Springfield Field Offices, and the United States Secret Service, U.S. Marshals Service (USMS), Customs and Border Protection, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of the Inspector General, Financial Deposit Insurance Corporation, Adams County Sheriff’s Office, Appanoose County Sheriff’s Office, Bates County Sheriff’s Office, Sheridan Police Department, Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Leesburg Police Department, Sterling Heights Police Department, Kearney Police Department, Warrant Police Department, Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Colombus Police Department, Cass County Sheriff’s Office,  Bluff City Police Department, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Lincoln Police Department, Gothenburg Police Department, Loudon Police Department, Alcoa Police Department, Milford Police Department, Grand Island Police Department, Nebraska State Patrol, Papillion Police Department, Central City Police Department, Holdrege Police Department, New York State Police, Berkeley Police Department, Cook County Electronic Monitoring Unit, Aurora Police Department, Austin Police Department, U.S. Capitol Police, Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office, City of Rome Police Department, Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office, McCook Police Department, Nebraska DMV Crime Analysts, Rantoul Police Department, Olathe Police Department, North Platte Police Department, Walla Walla Police Department, Milton-Freewater Police Department, Missoula Police Department, Omaha Police Department, Larimer County Sheriff’s Office, Sidney Police Department, Denver Police, Howard County Sheriff’s Office, St. Paul Police Department, Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office, Glendale Police Department, Columbia Police Department, Brookfield Police Department, Wauwatosa Police Department, Mount Pleasant Police Department, Grafton Police Department, South Milwaukee Police Department, Dubuque Police Department, Fargo Police Department, and Paducah Police Department.

This case is being prosecuted by the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska, and Joint Task Force Vulcan. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Western District of Washington, Eastern District of California, Southern District of New York, Northern District of Illinois, Central District of Illinois, Eastern District of Oklahoma and Eastern District of Wisconsin, as well as the Larimer County Attorney’s Office, Colorado Attorney General’s Office, Tennessee 9th District Attorney General’s Office, Tennessee 5th District Attorney General’s Office, the Texas Financial Crimes Intelligence Center, East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office, and Louisiana State Police have provided significant assistance.

This Operation is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of U.S. law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF Omaha comprises agents and officers from the FBI and HSI with the prosecution being led by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nebraska.

Joint Task Force Vulcan (JTFV) was created in 2019 to eradicate MS-13 and now expanded at the direction of the Attorney General to target TdA. JTFV is comprised of U.S. Attorney’s Offices across the country, including Southern and Eastern Districts of New York; Eastern and Western Districts of North Carolina; Western District of Virginia; Southern District of Florida; Eastern District of Texas; Western District of Oklahoma; Northern District of Indiana; District of Nevada; and District of Arizona; as well as the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, and the Department of Justice’s National Security Division, Criminal Division, and the Office of Judicial Attaché and DEA partners in Bogotá, Colombia. Additionally, the FBI, HSI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), USMS, and the Federal Bureau of Prisons are essential law enforcement partners with JTFV.

CCIPS investigates and prosecutes cybercrime and intellectual property (IP) crime 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 cyber and IP criminals, and court orders for the return of over $350 million in victim funds.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a Rapid City, South Dakota, man convicted of Attempted Enticement of a Minor Using the Internet.  The sentencing took place on June 15, 2026.