Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
SAN DIEGO – Julianna C. Lung pleaded guilty in federal court today to health care fraud, admitting she marketed and sold hearing protection devices to United States Border Patrol agents, other federal employees, and their family members, then falsely billed insurance providers for what she claimed were medically-necessary hearing aids. According to her plea agreement, Lung submitted approximately 385 fraudulent claims to health insurance plans participating in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program. The claims falsely represented that beneficiaries suffered from hearing loss or tinnitus that required treatment.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
NEW ORLEANS – ZOE MARIE FRANCIS (“FRANCIS”), age 47, of New Orleans, was sentenced on June 24, 2026, after previously pleading guilty to theft concerning programs receiving federal funds, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 666(a)(1)(A), tothree years of probation, announced United States Attorney David I. Courcelle.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas man who had previously admitted to unlawful possession of an unserialized, privately made AR-15-pattern pistol was sentenced today by United States District Judge Richard F. Boulware, II to 80 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release. A privately made firearm without a serial number is sometimes called a “ghost gun.” The government recommended 130 months’ imprisonment.
CAMP ZAMA, Japan – Half a world away from home, the strength of the U.S.-Japan alliance isn’t just being forged in high-level strategic meetings. It is being built in the mud, shoulder-to-shoulder, on the banks of the Sagami River near Camp Zama.
Around 75 volunteers, including Camp Zama Soldiers, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force personnel and citizens from neighboring communities, gathered June 7 at the Shindo Sports Ground for an annual U.S.-Japan joint cleanup, now going on its seventh year.
The event brought together local residents alongside leadership from U.S. Army Garrison Japan, the Camp Zama JGSDF, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the South Kanto Defense Bureau, and the mayors of Zama and Sagamihara cities.
While the event was rooted in environmental stewardship, participating leaders emphasized a broader message: Grassroots community integration serves as the vital, beating heart of the U.S. military’s presence in the Indo-Pacific.
Volunteers, including Camp Zama Soldiers, Japan Ground Self-Defense Force personnel and citizens from neighboring communities, pose together for a photo at the Shindo Sports Ground following an annual U.S.-Japan joint cleanup held there June 7 and now going on its seventh year. (Photo Credit: Sayuri Nagai)VIEW ORIGINAL
For Sgt. 1st Class Joseph C. Delay, assigned to the 78th Signal Battalion, that integration simply begins with being a good neighbor.
“The main reason I came out is for the sense of community,” Delay said. “I walk my dogs out here. It’s a beautiful area, and helping clean it up ensures it’s safe for my dogs, safe for me, and safe for the community. I just feel like a member of this community.”
For centuries, the Sagami River has served as an ancestral landmark and the lifeblood of the local ecosystem, making the preservation of its banks a shared responsibility for local citizens, the U.S. military, and its partners.
While the event drew high-level officials, the true core of the cleanup was found in the quiet, side-by-side moments of connection between neighbors on the riverbank. Every piece of trash collected was a tangible demonstration of “Kizuna,” the Japanese concept of an enduring bond.
U.S. military personnel and local community members stand together at the Shindo Sports Ground during an annual U.S.-Japan joint cleanup June 7. (Photo Credit: Sayuri Nagai)VIEW ORIGINAL
For Yusuke Minami, chief of the Zama Defense Office for the SKDB, this shared physical space is precisely where true bilateral relationships take root.
“Building a good relationship starts with knowing the other party and letting them know you,” Minami said. “Despite the advancement of technology and communication tools, nothing beats direct interaction where you can physically shake hands. Working together toward a common goal like this is incredibly meaningful.”
“When I was cleaning up, we worked together to separate out the plastic bottles from the rest of the trash,” Delay recalled. “The Self-Defense Forces are very good professionals, and it’s great to work with them whenever I can. Today just shows how great we can be when we come together and support each other.”
Minami agreed, noting that the shared effort leaves a lasting impression on the community that goes well beyond just the cleanliness of the riverbank.
“Through this cleanup activity, I believe that not only the location itself, but the hearts of everyone who participated, were made cleaner as well,” Minami said.
USAG Japan plans to continue this annual joint cleanup activity to maintain the local ecosystem and reinforce ties between U.S. military personnel, host-nation partners, and neighboring municipalities.
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a Hot Springs, South Dakota, man convicted of Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person. The sentencing took place on June 22, 2026.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On June 24, 2026, after a week-long trial, a federal jury convicted Myrna Faria, a/k/a Myrna Oliveras-Santiago, a former Social Security Administration employee, of embezzling and stealing SSA funds, namely Retirement Insurance Benefits, Survivors Insurance Benefits and Auxiliary Benefit payments, to which she knew she was not entitled.
Danny D. Garrett, Jr., 46, of North Kansas City, Mo., has been charged by criminal complaint for distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine, possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of firearms by a felon.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Larry Wilson, also known as “L,” 36, of Memphis, Tennessee, was sentenced today to 87 months in prison following his conviction for RICO conspiracy.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Wilson admitted to attempting to commit and committing a robbery and distributing methamphetamine as part of a pattern of racketeering activity for Young Mob, a Memphis-based gang founded in 2007. In June 2024, Wilson and multiple other members and associates of Young Mob robbed at gunpoint three customers at a Memphis tattoo shop. Wilson also distributed and conspired to distribute methamphetamine with other Young Mob members.
From March 14, 2024, until June 13, 2024, by court order, investigators monitored wire and electronic communications between Wilson and other Young Mob members. Intercepted communications revealed that Wilson and certain Young Mob members were conspiring to distribute and distributing large quantities of controlled substances to include fentanyl and methamphetamine. Those communications also revealed that Wilson and other Young Mob members were committing acts of violence as part of a pattern of racketeering activity.
On June 11, 2024, Wilson, and certain Young Mob members, to include Braxton Beck, also known as “B Mack,” attempted to rob a customer at the Therapeutic Ink tattoo shop in Memphis. When investigators learned of the plot, they dispatched Memphis Police Department (MPD) marked units to the tattoo shop to prevent the robbery attempt. The MPD deployment succeeded and the Young Mob co-conspirators abandoned their plan.
The next day Wilson, Beck, and others learned that the same customer had returned to the tattoo shop and a second robbery plot was hatched. Investigators again dispatched MPD marked units to the tattoo shop. Investigators believed that the second deployment succeeded in preventing the robbery, but later learned that Wilson, Beck and others returned to the tattoo shop after MPD units left the area. Wilson and Beck, both armed with firearms, stormed the tattoo shop and robbed three individuals, including the customer who was the target of the original plot.
Young Mob gang insignia seized during warrant search of co-defendant Brian Lackland’s house.
Beck previously pleaded guilty to his role in the tattoo shop robbery as part of the RICO conspiracy. On May 12, 2026, Beck was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant for the Western District of Tennessee, and Special Agent in Charge Jamey VanVliet of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Nashville Field Division made the announcement.
The ATF and the Memphis Police Department and Multiagency Gang Unit (MGU) are investigating the case.
Trial Attorneys Brian P. Leaming and Amanda Kotula of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section are prosecuting the case.
This case is part of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime Initiative in Memphis conducted in partnership with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Tennessee and local, state, and federal law enforcement. The joint effort addresses violent crime by employing, where appropriate, federal laws to prosecute gang members and their associates in Memphis.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, announced that LEWIS LI was sentenced today to six years in prison by U.S. District Judge Philip M. Halpern for his role in the forceful abduction and extortion of a man in Peekskill, New York.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
ONIEL ACOSTA-REYES, 27, a citizen of the Dominican Republic residing in Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 48 months of imprisonment and two years of supervised release for a fentanyl trafficking offense.