Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

HOUSTON – A 49-year-old Mexican citizen who illegally resided in Houston has been ordered to federal prison for robbing a local food establishment at gunpoint, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

Moises Arvizo Del Carmen pleaded guilty May 27.

U.S. District Judge Ellison sentenced Del Carmen to serve 94 months in federal prison. Not a U.S. citizen, he is expected to face removal proceeding following his imprisonment.

On Sept. 12, 2023, Del Carmen entered a taco truck through the customer window and demanded money from the register. He threatened and pointed a firearm at employees before exiting through the same window and fleeing. Surveillance video showed Del Carmen entering a Hummer decorated with purple flames.

Witnesses provided a description of the robber and the distinctive vehicle.

Approximately three weeks later, authorities executed a search warrant at Del Carmen’s residence and discovered clothing matching the description from the robbery as well as a firearm.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Houston Police Department conducted the investigation.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Smith prosecuted this case as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, 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.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

URBANA, Ill. – A Guatemalan national, Roberto Nicolas-Simon, 24, pleaded guilty on September 24, 2025, to being illegally present in the United States after a prior removal and failing to update his registration as a convicted sex offender. Acceptance of the plea is pending before U.S. District Court Judge Colin S. Bruce. Sentencing for Nicolas-Simon has been scheduled for February 2, 2026, at the U.S. Courthouse in Urbana, Illinois.

In court before U.S. Magistrate Judge Eric I. Long, Nicolas-Simon admitted to illegally reentering the country and failing to update his sex offender registration. The government noted during the hearing, that Nicolas-Simon had previously been removed from the United States following his conviction for aggravated criminal sexual abuse of a minor in Champaign County, Illinois, in 2020. Due to that conviction, he was required to register his residential address under the Sex Offender Notification and Registration Act.

This year, an investigation revealed that Nicolas-Simon had illegally returned to the United States and was living in Champaign without registering his residence as required by law.

Nicolas-Simon remains in the custody of the United States Marshals Service pending sentencing.

Nicolas-Simon faces statutory penalties of up to ten years of imprisonment and up to a $250,000 fine for each offense. He could also receive up to three years of supervised release for being illegally present in the United States and at least a five-year term and a maximum life term of supervised release for failure to update his registration as a sex offender.

The case investigation was conducted by the Department of Homeland Security, Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, in collaboration with the United States Marshals Service. Assistant United States Attorney William J. Lynch is representing the government in the prosecution. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

According to court documents, on September 2, 2025, WILLIAMS robbed the Capital One Bank located in the 4100 block of Canal Street, in New Orleans, of United States currency. The deposits of the Capital One Bank branch are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”).

WILLIAMS faces a maximum term of imprisonment of twenty (20) years, a fine of up to $250,000, up to three (3) years of supervised release, and a mandatory $100 special assessment cost.

Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson reiterated that an indictment is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Violent Crime Task Force in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Duane A. Evans of the General Crimes Unit is prosecuting the matter.

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 (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).

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

PEORIA, Ill. – A Peoria, Illinois, man, Matthew T. Miller, 40, was sentenced on September 24, 2025, to 200 months imprisonment, to be followed by a five-year term of supervised release, for possessing with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine.

At the sentencing hearing before U.S. District Judge Michael M. Mihm, the court considered evidence that between June and September 2024, Miller sold methamphetamine on three occasions, totaling 86.14 grams. During a traffic stop in September 2024, Miller, a passenger in the vehicle, refused to comply when officers ordered him to step out of the car. Officers saw Miller moving around in the car, attempting to destroy a large amount of apparent methamphetamine by dumping it out of the baggies. Miller was taken into custody by law enforcement officers who then located approximately 55.72 grams of methamphetamine (actual) and marijuana in and around the vehicle and on Miller’s person. Ultimately, Miller was accountable for 257.22 grams of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, 55.72 grams of methamphetamine (actual), and 20.35 grams of marijuana.

Also at the hearing, Judge Mihm found Miller to be a career offender based upon his previous drug offenses.

Miller was arrested in September 2024 and indicted in October 2024. He entered a guilty plea in January 2025 and has remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his arrest.

The statutory penalties for distribution of more than 50 grams of methamphetamine (actual) are ten years to life imprisonment, followed by at least five years of supervised release. A fine of up to $10 million can also be imposed.

The Drug Enforcement Administration, Springfield Resident Office, and Peoria Metropolitan Enforcement Group (PMEG) investigated the case, with assistance from the Peoria Police Department and Bartonville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa P. Ortiz represented the government in the prosecution.

The case against Miller 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.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The Justice Department, together with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), announced today that recent actions targeting unauthorized flavored e-cigarettes, or vapes, resulted in the seizure of more than 2.1 million illicit vaping products taken from five distributors and six retailers across seven different states.

In seizure complaints and accompanying court papers filed in U.S. District Court, the government alleged that the distributors and retailers where the electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) products were seized received previous warnings from the FDA that their ENDS products required premarket authorization before they could legally be sold. According to the seizure complaints, recent FDA inspections and undercover purchases by agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) showed that the firms continued to sell or distribute unauthorized ENDS products.

The seizures were carried out by the U.S. Marshals Service, ATF agents, and other law enforcement partners, with support from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and FDA.

“These dangerous and unauthorized vapes are often smuggled in from China to be sold near schools and military bases, putting our kids and service members directly at risk,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “This is a national security issue, and this month’s raids are just the beginning. Working with our partners at HHS, we will prosecute anyone participating in the illegal sale of these products.”

“Along with our partners, the U.S. Marshals seized and removed from the marketplace more than 2 million non-FDA approved products from five warehouse distribution centers and six retail locations across the country,” said Director Gadyaces S. Serralta of the U.S. Marshals Service. “This operation is a great example of the U.S. Marshals Service and its partners joining forces to protect our youth and to Make America Healthy Again.”

“The vaping products seized by the United States Marshals Service threatened the health and safety of our communities and undermined the integrity of statutory and regulatory safeguards designed to protect consumers, including our nation’s youth,” said U.S. Attorney Andrew S. Boutros for the Northern District of Illinois, where one of the largest seizures took place. “Americans expect and deserve that prohibited products never make their way on consumer shelves, and that other products are lawfully marketed and comply with all federal laws and regulations. We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to ensure illegal products never enter into the stream of commerce and pursue all possible civil and criminal remedies against those who violate federal laws and regulations.”

The Department of Justice also filed civil injunctive actions against the distributors and retailers where the products were seized to prevent future violations. Those complaints allege that the defendants continued to market adulterated and misbranded tobacco products despite receiving warnings from FDA that they were violating the law. The injunction actions were filed against the same entities where the seizures took place along with related individuals, including:

• Tampa Vapor, a Tampa, Florida company, and its owner, Michael R. Synychak, filed in the Middle District of Florida;
• Progressive Retail Inc., doing business as Rainbow Food Mart, a Tampa, Florida company, and its president, Varun Chawla, filed in the Middle District of Florida;
• Bouslimi Holdings, Inc., doing business as Marathon/Food Center, a Tampa, Florida company, and its president, Imed Bouslimi, filed in the Middle District of Florida;
• A Joint Effort, Inc. doing business as Blvd Smoke Shop, a Miami, Florida, company, and its officer and director, Husam Bahhur, filed in the Southern District of Florida;
• Calle 8 Petroleum LLC, doing business as UGAS/Circle K, a company based in Miami, Florida, and its owner, Rashid A. Saeed, filed in the Southern District of Florida;
• Smoke House Sunset, a company based in Los Angeles, California, and its owner, Ali Masoud, filed in the Central District of California;
• D&A Distribution, LLC, doing business as Strictly E-Cig, a corporation based in Savannah, Georgia, and owner Robert S. Ali, filed in the Southern District of Georgia;
• PSM101, LLC doing business as Center Point Distributors, a corporation based in South Plainfield, New Jersey, and its owner Niravkumar G. Vora, filed in the District of New Jersey;
• B&G Trading LLC doing business as Vaportech Wholesale, a corporation based in Phoenix, Arizona, and its co-owners Ataman Bilgin and Hasmet Girgin, filed in the District of Arizona;
• Midwest Goods Inc. doing business as Midwest Distribution and Midwest Distribution Illinois, a corporation based in Bensenville, Illinois, and its owner and CEO, Kamran Yasin, filed in the Northern District of Illinois; and
• Dream Distro LLC, a company based in Garner, North Carolina, and its owner, Faisal A. Alhadrami, filed in the Eastern District of North Carolina.

An additional injunctive action was filed against Gorilla Vapes LLC, a New Jersey company, and its co-owners Nick Jurczyk and Russell Jurczyk, in the District of New Jersey.

Under the law, ENDS manufacturers generally must obtain premarket review of new tobacco products and obtain FDA’s marketing authorization before they can be legally sold through interstate commerce. In each of the seizure actions, the court issued a warrant authorizing the seizure of specified unapproved vapes that lacked marketing authorization.

Trial Attorneys Coleen Schoch, James T. Nelson, Roger Gural, Zachary L. Cowan, and Pauline A. Stamatelos of the Justice Department’s Civil Division’s Consumer Protection Branch are handling the cases under the leadership of Sarmad Khojasteh, Acting Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Scott D. Heffron for the Northern District of Illinois, Carlos Raurell for the Southern District of Florida, Joseph Bozdech for the District of Arizona, and other AUSAs from districts across the country provided critical support, along with attorneys at the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of General Counsel and FDA’s Office of the Chief Counsel.

Additional information about the Consumer Protection Branch and its enforcement efforts may be found at www.justice.gov/civil/consumer-protection-branch.

The claims announced today are allegations only. There has been no determination of liability.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ALBUQUERQUE – A Pigeon Springs man was sentenced to 3 years’ probation for his role in a fatal drunk driving crash that claimed the life of a passenger.

According to court documents, on September 22, 2024, Irvin Virgil Wauneka, Jr., 35, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, operated a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol after consuming alcohol and falling asleep at the wheel. Jane Doe was a passenger in the vehicle. Wauneka’s impaired driving resulted in a head-on collision with another vehicle. Jane Doe suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. The passengers in the other vehicle survived with injuries and will receive restitution.

U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department and Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittany DuChaussee is prosecuting this case. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ALBUQUERQUE – An Arizona man admitted to engaging in sexual acts with a victim using threats and intimidation.

According to court documents, in August of 2021, Fernando Yatsatie, Jr., 47, a member of the Zuni Pueblo, unlawfully engaged in in a sexual act with a victim, placing them in fear.

Yatsatie pleaded guilty to sexual abuse. At sentencing, Yatsatie is subject to a sentence of up to life in prison. Upon his release from prison, Yatsatie will be subject to no less than five years and up to life of supervised release.

Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office made the announcement today.

The Gallup Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Zuni Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Marshall is prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

PORTLAND, Maine: Two New Bedford, Massachusetts men pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Portland to a three-count superseding indictment that included charges for conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine, perpetrating a drive-by shooting, and using a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime. 

Joshua Estrada (aka “Mac”), 20, and Yancarlos Abrante (aka “Glizzy”), 22, pleaded guilty to the superseding indictment returned by a federal grand jury on March 19, 2025.

According to court records, on February 9, 2024, Estrada and Abrante fired at least five rounds from a 9mm handgun into another vehicle in a drug trade dispute. Shortly after they fired on their drug rivals and fled the scene, they drove their vehicle against traffic and through a red light, crashing into another passenger vehicle and a school bus. Video footage captured by another driver who witnessed the accident showed them exiting their vehicle and fleeing the scene on foot. Court records reflect that Estrada, Abrante and others had been trafficking cocaine in and around Saco and Biddeford since at least January 2024.

A third defendant, Jason Johnson-Rivera (aka “Ouda”), 20, is expected to go to trial later this year.

“Today’s guilty pleas by Joshua Estrada and Yancarlos Abrante are the result of a tireless and cooperative investigation by local, state and federal law enforcement,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Craig M. Wolff. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office and its partners are united in bringing to justice those who distribute drugs and commit acts of violence in this state.”

“These two violent, dangerous men committed a brazen, drive-by shooting in Saco in broad daylight following a dispute over the cocaine they were trafficking,” said Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Boston Division. “Their unabashed criminal behavior put innocent lives at risk, all so they could maintain their hold on their drug territory and keep the cash rolling in. This case underscores how the FBI’s Southern Maine Gang Task Force and our law enforcement partners are working together to target and dismantle the violent drug gangs wreaking so much havoc in our communities, just to make money and a name for themselves on the street.”

Estrada and Abrante face a mandatory minimum prison sentence of 20 years with a maximum of life, a fine of up to $10 million, and not less than five years of supervised release. Both defendants will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigative report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Saco Police Department, FBI’s Southern Maine Gang Task Force, U.S. Border Patrol, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case with assistance from the New Bedford (Mass.) Police Department.

Project Safe Neighborhoods: 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. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit https://www.justice.gov/usao-me/psn.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

            WASHINGTON – Dawayne Joseph Spriggs, 35, of Washington, D.C. and Prince George’s County, Maryland, was sentenced today to nine years in prison for obstruction of justice and subornation of perjury, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

            Spriggs pleaded guilty on June 23, 2025, to obstruction of justice in Superior Court of the District of Columbia. The Honorable Judge Jason Park also ordered that Spriggs serve a five-year term of supervised release after released from prison.

            On September 13, 2023, a District of Columbia Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Spriggs in a 2014 cold case sexual assault. On October 11, 2023, the Grand Jury returned a superseding indictment, adding the charge of obstructing justice.

            “Neither time nor pressure nor obstruction will prevent this office from identifying and convicting the guilty,” said U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro. “This defendant pressured many witnesses to give false testimony and lie to cover up his violent crimes, which corrupts the principles of truth-seeking upon which our system of justice is based—it didn’t work.”

            On May 18, 2023, the defendant was arrested for sexually assaulting a stranger on July 6, 2014. In 2016, a database reported a match between the DNA profile obtained from the victim’s rape kit and another sexual assault offense that had been reported in Anne Arundel County, Maryland in 2013, but the assailant’s remained unknown. In 2023, detectives with MPD’s Cold Case Sexual Assault Unit obtained a lead as to the assailant’s identity that led them to lawfully collect DNA samples from defendant Spriggs. These DNA samples were tested by both law enforcement entities and resulted in a match to both rape kits. The defendant was arrested on the D.C. sexual assault charges in May 2023 and indicted in September of 2023.

            While awaiting trial in the District of Columbia, the defendant engaged in a months-long scheme to obstruct justice and evade responsibility for the underlying assault. Over hundreds of recorded phone calls and texts from the D.C. Jail, he pressured his then-girlfriend to tamper with evidence and urged associates to lie for him. The defendant bullied his girlfriend into obtaining photographs of the victim from her Instagram and other social media and provided them to his associates so they could falsely identify her. Over numerous months, the defendant solicited others to provide invented witness statements to his investigator, the grand jury, and the Court regarding events they did not witness. The defendant’s plan was for his investigator to bring these false statements to the government, causing the government to dismiss the case. The defendant attempted to cover up his corrupt actions and instructed his associates to clear their phones of his incriminating texts and emails. He pressured a close family member to commit perjury in the grand jury to undermine the government’s case. For her role in the scheme, the defendant’s then-girlfriend also pleaded guilty to attempted obstruction of justice and has been sentenced.

            This case was brought as part of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia’s Cold Case Sexual Assault Initiative and investigated by MPD’s Sexual Assault Unit. In February 2018, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia created the Cold Case Sexual Assault Initiative. The goal of the Initiative is to collaborate with law enforcement partners to reinvestigate, solve and bring charges in previously unsolved cases of sexual assault against adults and juveniles. The Cold Case Initiative works with the MPD, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the United States Marshals Service, and state and local law enforcement agencies in the DMV area.

            Joining in the announcement was Chief Pamela Smith of the Metropolitan Police Department.

            In announcing the sentence, U.S. Attorney Pirro and Chief Smith commended the efforts of those who investigated the case from the Metropolitan Police Department. They also acknowledged the work of Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Zubrensky, who prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Trevor Christopher Fountain, 38, formerly of Sacramento, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to transport stolen property, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

According to court documents, Fountain worked with co-conspirators Stephan James Evanovich, 46, of Sacramento; Jonathan Matthew Curl, 36, of Sacramento; and Andrea Carter, 35, formerly of Sacramento, to illegally enter communications towers and steal rectifiers and other communications equipment. Rectifiers are a power source necessary to maintain power at communications towers. Fountain was responsible for stealing equipment and transferring it to Evanovich, who then paid him for the stolen equipment. Evanovich sold the stolen property to legitimate third-party vendors in California, Illinois, Colorado, and Texas. The conspirators stole, sold, and shipped more than 485 stolen rectifiers across state lines. The total value of the stolen rectifiers is no less than $260,000.

As part of the scheme, Fountain created false invoices in the name of a false business. These invoices were used to make it appear as though Evanovich had obtained the stolen rectifiers from legitimate businesses.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with assistance from Weld County Sheriff’s Office in Colorado. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica Delaney is prosecuting the case.

Carter pleaded guilty and was sentenced on June 5, 2025, to 29 months in prison. Evanovich and Curl are awaiting trial, which is scheduled for Feb. 23, 2026. The charges are only allegations; they are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Fountain is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Daniel J. Calabretta on Feb. 19, 2026. Fountain faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.