Source: United States Department of Justice
Tampa, FL – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, in coordination with the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, announced its comprehensive strategy today to oversee federal voting protections and investigate potential election fraud as early voting begins in Florida for the 2026 midterm elections.
Source: United States Department of Justice
A Bergen County man was charged by complaint with 28 counts of wire fraud for obtaining payments from the Hudson County, New Jersey for work that he did not perform and then applying for unemployment benefits in connection with that purported work.
Source: United States Department of Justice
PROVIDENCE – A Newport man pleaded guilty today in federal court in Rhode Island to one count of simple assault for inappropriate conduct involving a 16-year-old victim during a flight from Tampa, Florida, to Providence, Rhode Island, on November 17, 2025.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A Las Vegas man was sentenced today to 38 months in prison for conspiring to defraud the United States by filing false tax returns with the IRS and diverting portions of the resulting tax refunds to himself and his codefendant.
According to court documents and statements made in court, Ivan Odiaga prepared federal income tax returns at Silver State Tax & Multiservices LLC, a tax preparation business in Las Vegas owned by his mother and co-defendant, Iris Hondermann. From approximately 2017 through 2021, Odiaga and his mother prepared tax returns for clients that included one or more false items, including business profits and losses, COVID-19 sick and family leave credits, and residential energy credits. In 2020 and 2021, Odiaga prepared some of these returns using the Preparer Tax Identification Number (PTIN) of another tax preparer without permission.
Between 2017 and 2021, Odiaga and his mother prepared false tax returns filed with the IRS seeking more than $5 million in refunds that their clients were not entitled to receive. At times, Odiaga and his mother also diverted portions of client tax refunds to themselves. From 2017 through 2021, they diverted more than $1.1 million in fraudulent tax refunds to bank accounts one or both of them controlled.
Hondermann previously pleaded guilty on Aug. 5 to one count of conspiring to defraud the United States.
Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division made the announcement.
IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Stuart A. Wexler of the National Fraud Enforcement Division’s Tax Section prosecuted the case.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the 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
Baltimore, Maryland – The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced, today, that a Baltimore man faces indictment stemming from an armed robbery of a cellphone store. A federal grand jury charged Keith Lewis, 28, with one count of interference with commerce by threats or violence; one count of possession of a firearm and ammunition by a prohibited person; and one count of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence in connection with the armed robbery.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Tallahassee, Florida – Quantavious K. Hurt, 28, who is currently serving a federal sentence in the Bureau of Prisons, has been indicted in federal court on one count of threatening to assault and murder a United States judge with the intent to impede, intimidate and retaliate against the judge; and one count of mailing a threat to injure the United States judge. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida, announced the charges.
Source: United States Department of Justice
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Ernest Eugene Brown, 52, of Columbia, has pleaded guilty to aggravated identity theft for his role in embezzling funds from the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Columbia Housing Authority’s (CHA) Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV) program.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
The Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division announced today investigative findings that Ohio State University College of Medicine (OSU Med) discriminated against white and Asian students in granting admission to its 2023, 2024, and 2025 incoming classes. OSU Med’s discriminatory conduct violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination based on race or color, and the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA), which banned race discrimination in admissions.
“Despite SFFA, OSU Med allows some applicants to bypass its own screening process and skip interviews solely because of the color of their skin,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “A university’s admissions process, and all its stages, should apply equally to all applicants regardless of race. The use of a separate admissions process based on race is plainly illegal under federal law, and this Department will not allow these appalling practices to continue at OSU Med or any other federally funded higher ed institution.”
OSU Med uses a “Holistic Approach” to admit more so-called “underrepresented minorities”. As part of the Holistic Approach, “screeners” score applicants across three scoring categories that have different maximum point values: Attributes (12 max), Experiences (16 max), and Metrics (8 max). OSU Med’s admissions process also includes an interview stage. The Department’s investigation found that black applicants who are screened and interviewed are about 2.8 times as likely to be admitted than Asian applicants with equal credentials.
The Department also found that OSU Med operates a “side door” to its admissions process, which allows some applicants to receive admission without (1) receiving a screener score or (2) sitting for an interview. Using this pathway, in 2024 and 2025 combined, black applicants were four times as likely to be admitted than white applicants, and no Asian applicants were admitted.
Medical schools receive substantial federal financial assistance and are subject to federal non-discrimination laws. The Department will continue to investigate their compliance with Title VI, as interpreted by SFFA’s prohibition on race-conscious admissions. Where a violation has been found, the Department will engage in settlement negotiations to ensure the school’s admissions practices are brought into compliance. If those efforts fail, the Department will file suit.
Members of the public may report possible civil rights violations at www.civilrights.justice.gov/.
Note: Read the Department’s Findings Letter here.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Pensacola, Florida – Dr. Edward Scott Morrison, 58, of Pensacola Beach, Florida, pleaded guilty in federal court to nineteen counts of unlawfully distributing or dispensing controlled substances. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida announced the plea.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Tallahassee, Florida – Mark David Swearingen, 32, of Cottondale, Florida, was sentenced to seven years in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to possession with intent to view child pornography and transportation of child pornography. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.