Source: United States Navy
Washington, D.C. (Dec. 18, 2025) – Commander, Navy Installations Command (CNIC) is enhancing the safety, comfort, and cleanliness of barracks across the Navy Shore Enterprise with $375 million of Barracks Task Force funding. Driven by the Secretary of War (SECWAR) Barracks Task Force initiative and “Sailors First” principle, these investments will improve the well-being of Sailors living in barracks throughout the Navy’s Unaccompanied Housing (UH) program.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, announced today that MARK ANGAROLA was sentenced to 38 months in prison for committing two extensive fraud crimes—an $8.3 million embezzlement scheme and a $668,000 tax evasion scheme.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
HARRISONBURG, Va. – A pair of individuals responsible for distributing the fatal dose of fentanyl that killed an 18-year-old high school student in 2023 were sentenced today in federal court.Bessy Jimenez Mejia, 27, of Harrisonburg, Virginia, was sentenced today to 180 months in federal prison. Jimenez Mejia previously admitted to being the source of supply for the fentanyl that ultimately killed Cayden Foster in 2023.Liam Conaway, 24, also of Harrisonburg, was sentenced today to 240 months in federal prison. Conaway previously admitted to obtaining the deadly fentanyl from Jimenez Mejia and providing it to Foster.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
The United States Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division announced that it has secured a settlement agreement with Tekshapers Inc., (Tekshapers), a Michigan company that provides IT recruitment and staffing services, to address allegations that the company violated the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) when it advertised employment opportunities favoring temporary employment-based visa holders over U.S. workers.
“Recruitment companies cannot place unlawful restrictions based on citizenship status,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “U.S. workers are highly skilled and deserve equal access to all jobs.”
This settlement is the fourth since the Department re-launched its Protecting U.S. Workers Initiative to enforce the law against companies that illegally discriminate against U.S. workers in favor of those with employment visas. Under the settlement, Tekshapers will pay civil penalties to the United States and financially compensate a U.S. citizen applicant who was not given fair consideration for employment. Tekshapers also has agreed to undergo training, revise its employment policies, and agreed not to limit positions based on citizenship status without a lawful reason.
The public can call IER’s free hotline at 1-800-255-7688 for workers or at 1-800-255-8155 for employers (1-800-237-2515, TTY for hearing impaired) for informal assistance between 9am and 5pm Eastern Time, Monday – Friday; sign up for a live webinar or watch an on-demand presentation; email IER@usdoj.gov; or visit www.justice.gov/ier.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Dr. Mark Malone and Advanced Pain Care, of Austin, agreed to pay the United States and the State of Texas $13,625,000 to resolve allegations they submitted false claims for urine drug testing to federal and state healthcare programs.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, announced that Magdaleno Mendoza was sentenced to 71 months in prison for his role in the large-scale cryptocurrency Ponzi scheme known as IcomTech and for reentering the United States illegally after having been deported.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A foreign national and a leader of the Cártel de Jalisco Nueva Generación (CJNG) was sentenced today to 140 months in prison and three years of supervised release for an international money laundering offense.
“Cristian Fernando Gutierrez-Ochoa epitomizes the arrogance of the cartels – laundering millions in drug profits, stockpiling cash and ghost guns, kidnapping military officials, and believing he could live in luxury and anonymity on American soil,” said DEA Administrator Terrance Cole. “He was wrong. Today’s sentencing sends a clear message: DEA is dismantling CJNG piece by piece – the financiers, the lieutenants, the safe houses, and the pipelines that sustain these narco-terrorists. We are targeting their money, their leadership, and their infrastructure, and we will not stop until these organizations are eliminated, and American lives are no longer threatened by their greed.”
“Cristian Gutierrez-Ochoa laundered money for one of the most violent and prolific cartels in Mexico and funded his lavish lifestyle — including luxury homes, cars, watches and jewelry — with its drug trafficking proceeds,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Cartels like the CJNG traffic substantial quantities of illegal drugs into the United States, profiting from their distribution at the expense of people’s lives and the safety of our communities. Gutierrez-Ochoa’s sentence demonstrates the Criminal Division’s commitment to disrupting and dismantling dangerous drug trafficking organizations, including CJNG, and keeping our country safe.”
According to court documents, Gutierrez-Ochoa, 28, of Michoacán, Mexico, worked with other CJNG operatives in Mexico and the United States to launder millions in U.S. currency of CJNG drug proceeds, including to purchase a luxurious residential property in Riverside, California. Gutierrez-Ochoa lived in that residence under a fictitious identity for at least a year with the daughter of the CJNG leader, Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, also known as El Mencho. The residence was purchased under the name of a Mexican company owned and controlled by the CJNG. Gutierrez-Ochoa admitted to keeping over $2.2 million of drug proceeds in bulk cash at the residence and possessing two untraceable firearms in furtherance of the underlying money laundering offense. Gutierrez-Ochoa also used CJNG drug proceeds to purchase items of value, including jewelry, watches and vehicles.
Gutierrez-Ochoa pleaded guilty to conspiracy to launder CJNG’s drug proceeds. As part of his plea agreement, Gutierrez-Ochoa agreed to forfeit the residence and the seized bulk cash, jewelry, watches, vehicles and other items of value.
Gutierrez-Ochoa allegedly entered the United States illegally in part to avoid arrest in Mexico. Specifically, in late 2021, Gutierrez-Ochoa allegedly kidnapped two members of the Mexican Navy to force the Mexican authorities to release El Mencho’s wife from custody.
The DEA’s Special Operations Division Bilateral Investigations Unit Los Angeles investigated the case. The Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance.
Trial Attorneys Kaitlin Sahni, Lernik Begian and Douglas Meisel of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section (MNF) prosecuted the case. Trial Attorneys Stephanie Williamson and Chelsea Rooney of MNF assisted with the forfeiture proceedings.
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 and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Homeland Security Task Force and Project Safe Neighborhoods.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Susan Walker, 31, of Jamestown, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra, Jr. to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 40 grams or more of fentanyl, which carries a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison, a maximum of 40 years, and a fine of $5,000,000.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that a federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging Eddie Franceschini, 34, of Buffalo, NY, with eight counts of production of child pornography and three counts of possession of child pornography. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn, pharmacist Mohamed Hassan was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Ann M. Donnelly to 18 years’ imprisonment. Also today, co-defendant Anthony Mathis, a street narcotics dealer involved in the scheme, was sentenced by Judge Donnelly to 36 months’ imprisonment. On Tuesday, December 16, 2025, Judge Donnelly sentenced pharmacist co-defendant Yousef Ennab to 30 months’ imprisonment.