Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The CEO of a Fresno-based home health care company was arrested at San Francisco International Airport while attempting to board a flight to Nigeria. He is charged in a criminal complaint alleging that he fraudulently obtained more than $7 million in payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs for services that were never actually rendered, including care purportedly rendered to veterans weeks after they had died, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

According to court documents, between December 2019 and July 2024, Cashmir Chinedu Luke, believed to be 66, of Antioch, operated Four Corners Health LLC. That entity provided unskilled in-home nursing and day-to-day care for elderly VA beneficiaries under the Veterans Community Care Program. Four Corners provided services in Fresno, Tulare, Merced, Mariposa, Madera, San Francisco, and Contra Costa Counties. Luke engaged in a five-year scheme to bill the VA for hours of care that were not actually rendered to veterans. Luke caused Four Corners to submit approximately 10,000 individual false claims of care provided that caused the VA, through its third-party benefits administrator, to reimburse Four Corners $7 million for duplicate claims for care actually provided, claims for days caretakers were not present with veterans, claims for hours of care beyond those actually worked by caretakers, and claims of care for veterans who were actually dead.

Luke served as the sole owner and billing representative for Four Corners and actively deceived the VA’s third-party benefits administrator as it attempted to recover some of the fraudulently paid reimbursements. This allowed the Four Corners billing scheme to continue. Luke personally profited from the scheme as the sole owner of the bank account that received the reimbursement payments. Luke spent reimbursement payments immediately after being paid by the VA, either by spending lavishly on personal expenses or by promptly transferring the funds across a network of bank accounts throughout Asia and Africa.

This case is the product of an investigation by the U.S. Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorney Calvin Lee is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Luke faces a maximum statutory penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would 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. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Mexican national has been sentenced for illegally reentering the United States.

Andres G. Angel-Martinez, 25, pleaded guilty to illegal reentry by a previously removed alien and was sentenced to time served by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays on Dec. 3, 2025.  Angel-Martinez has been in custody since March 2025.   He is being held on an active immigration detainer and will soon be deported to Mexico.

According to information presented in court, on April 15, 2025, Angel-Martinez was transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody at the Cass County, Missouri Jail after being previously removed from the United States on November 11, 2019.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rudolph R. Rhodes IV. It was investigated by ICE, Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO).

Operation Take Back America

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.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and P.J. O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that RUDOLPH GIRDHARI, 36, of Norwalk, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today in Hartford federal court to possession of child pornography.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in May 2012, Girdhari was convicted in state court of possession of child pornography in the second degree, and was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment, execution suspended after two years, and 20 years of probation.  In 2022 and 2023, an FBI investigation of individuals trading child sex abuse images and videos on Wickr, an encrypted communication service, determined that an email address connected to Girdhari was being used to access two child pornography trading networks on Wickr.

On May 2, 2024, investigators conducted a court-authorized search of Girdhari’s residence and seized numerous electronic devices including phones, tablets, computers, hard drives, and thumb drives.  Analysis of the seized devices revealed more than 2,000 images and videos of child sex abuse.

Girdhari has been detained since May 16, 2024, when he was arrested for violating his state probation.

Sentencing is scheduled for February 27, 2026, at which time Girdhari faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.  The penalties in this matter are enhanced based on Girdhari’s prior conviction for possession of child pornography.

This matter is being investigated by Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Office of Adult Probation and the Norwalk Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anastasia E. King.

This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Gordon “Rudy” Connell, 28, of Summerville, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Connell has numerous felony convictions, including for illegally possessing firearms (including sawed off shotguns), theft, and violent assaults. Since Connell turned 18, he has been arrested on 53 warrants in 20 incidents with 24 convictions. He was on probation at the time of this crime.

Evidence obtained in the investigation revealed that Connell was arrested in Laurens County on Sept. 9, 2023, for stealing a motorcycle. After the arrest, he sold his motorcycle to Timothy Lattimer to raise money for bond. When Connell posted bond and was released from jail, he demanded that Lattimer return the motorcycle. Lattimer refused. Days later on Sept. 15, Connell stole the motorcycle back from Lattimer’s yard.

That night, Lattimer drove to where Connell was staying and saw him working on the motorcycle. Surveillance videos recovered from the residence by Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office detectives showed that Lattimer drove down the driveway where Connell approached him in his car. Both exchanged threats and Lattimer drove off and returned later with a firearm. Connell, who was again working on the motorcycle, approached Lattimer, who had begun backing away toward the street. Connell pulled out a gun from his waistband and pointed the gun at Lattimer.

The two exchanged gun fire, and Connell ran from the scene. One of Lattimer’s shots hit another person in the yard, severely injuring her. Detectives recovered spent shell casings from the crime scene. Lattimer was arrested and a 9mm pistol was recovered. Lattimer was convicted and is currently incarcerated in the South Carolina Department of Corrections.

Arrest warrants were also issued for Connell. On Sept. 18, 2023, Connell was spotted by Dorchester County Sheriff’s deputies riding a white motorcycle and attempted to arrest him. Connell fled. Deputies found the white motorcycle in a ditch behind a business with a loaded 9mm handgun strapped to the handlebar. Connell was found hiding inside the business and was arrested.  

“Career criminals, like Connell, propel violence into our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Bryan Stirling for the District of South Carolina. “Law enforcement is working together at every level to identify, investigate and prosecute offenders who continue to break the law and put others in danger. Thank you to our partners at ATF and Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office for seeing this investigation through.” 

“Repeat offenders often become bolder criminals and bigger threats to the community,” said ATF Special Agent in Charge Alicia Jones. “This case illustrates that fact. ATF is dedicated to working closely with the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office, and all our law enforcement partners to lessen community violence by taking habitual criminals off our streets. This always increases public safety in our neighborhoods.”

“This case shows how local and federal partners have been working closely together to protect the people of Dorchester County,” said Dorchester County Sheriff Sam Richardson. “This was a dangerous, relentless offender, and our streets are safer with him serving a federal sentence. Connell is well known to police, and his criminal record speaks for itself. We are grateful to ATF and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for their commitment to justice and accountability on behalf of our citizens.”

United States District David C. Norton sentenced Connell to 120 months imprisonment, to be followed by a three-year term of court-ordered supervision.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was made possible by investigative leads generated from the ATF’s National Integrated Ballistic Information Network (NIBIN). NIBIN is the only national network that allows for the capture and comparison of ballistic evidence to aid in solving and preventing violent crimes involving firearms. NIBIN is a proven investigative and intelligence tool that can link firearms from multiple crime scenes, allowing law enforcement to quickly disrupt shooting cycles. For more information on NIBIN, visit https://www.atf.gov/firearms/national-integrated-ballistic-information-network-nibin

This case is also 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.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, and the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sean Kittrell is prosecuting the case.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A federal grand jury in the Middle District of Louisiana returned an indictment today charging a Texas man with a scheme to obtain controlled substances from multiple pharmacies using fraudulent prescriptions and then sell those drugs on the street.

According to court documents, Darrion Denard Brooks, 28, of Houston, and co-conspirators, used fictitious identification information to obtain fraudulent prescriptions for controlled substances on behalf of patients who either did not exist or for whom medical providers did not authorize the prescriptions. As alleged in the indictment, from November 2023 through March 2025, Brooks and his co-conspirators fraudulently obtained controlled substances from pharmacies in the Baton Rouge area and elsewhere using prescriptions obtained using the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) registration numbers and other identifying information of at least five medical professionals without their authority. It is alleged that through this scheme, Brooks and his co-conspirators obtained at least 11 fraudulent prescriptions for codeine and other controlled substances from at least eight different pharmacies in Louisiana, Texas, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee.

Brooks is charged with one count of conspiracy to acquire and obtain controlled substances by fraud and to possess with the intent to distribute controlled substances, and four counts of obtaining possession of controlled substances by fraud. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of four years in prison per count. A federal judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Kurt L. Wall for the Middle District of Louisiana; Assistant Administrator Cheri Oz of the DEA Diversion Control Division; and Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian J. Schrank of the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) made the announcement.

DEA and HHS-OIG are investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Zakeria A. Haidary of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen L. Craig for the Middle District of Louisiana are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey on Wednesday sentenced a man who temporarily blinded Metro Air Support pilots with a laser pointer last year to 21 months in prison.

Evidence and testimony at the July trial of Joshua J. Johnson showed that shortly before 9:45 p.m. on August 9, 2024, Johnson used a blue Class IV laser to target a marked Metro Air Support helicopter that was flying over the Benton Park neighborhood in St. Louis in support of other officers. A St. Louis County Police Department pilot and a St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department pilot were temporarily blinded when the blue light flooded the cockpit. As the laser light started to wane, officers tracked the beam to a vehicle below them and tracked the vehicle as it drove down the street. The driver aimed the laser at the helicopter again. The officers continued to track the vehicle and provided updates to officers on the ground, who stopped the vehicle and arrested the sole occupant – Johnson. After initially denying that he pointed the laser, he later told officers that he was responsible. He also admitted that fact in calls from jail.

Jurors the trial of Johnson, now 44, of Warrenton, Missouri, convicted him of one felony count of knowingly aiming a laser pointer at an aircraft.

“This is dangerous conduct,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Mohsen Pasha said at Wednesday’s sentencing hearing. The strongest consumer model lasers can permanently blind air crews. In addition to criminal penalties, anyone who points a laser at an aircraft can also be subject to civil penalties of up to $11,000 imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration.

“Pointing a laser at an aircraft can have catastrophic consequences, including the potential for fatal accidents if pilots are temporarily blinded. This is not a harmless prank,” said Special Agent in Charge Chris Crocker of the FBI St. Louis Division. “The act is not difficult to trace, and in this case, it took mere minutes for the jury to convict Joshua J. Johnson.”

The case was investigated by the FBI, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Metro Air Support Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mohsen Pasha and Derek Wiseman prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

LOS ANGELES – A former physician from Santa Monica was sentenced today to 30 months in federal prison for repeatedly selling vials of ketamine to actor and author Matthew Perry despite knowing Perry’s well-documented history of drug addiction and that Perry’s personal assistant was administering the drug without medical training or supervision.

Salvador Plasencia, 44, a.k.a. “Dr. P,” was sentenced by United States District Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett, who also fined him $5,600 and ordered him immediately remanded to federal custody. 

Plasencia pleaded guilty on July 23 to four counts of distribution of ketamine. He surrendered his California medical license in September 2025.

Plasencia was a physician who owned and operated a Calabasas-based urgent-care clinic called Malibu Canyon Urgent Care LLC. As a medical doctor, Plasencia knew that ketamine was a controlled substance and an anesthetic that is used to treat – without the approval of the United States Food and Drug Administration – depression and other psychiatric conditions.

At all relevant times, Plasencia knew about potential risks associated with ketamine, including sedation, psychiatric events, abuse and misuse by patients, among others. As his treatment notes reflected, Plasencia also believed that patients “should be monitored by [a] physician when undergoing treatment as a safety Measure,” according to court documents.

On September 30, 2023, Plasencia was introduced to Perry by one of his own patients who stated that Perry was a “high profile person” who was seeking ketamine and was willing to pay “cash and lots of thousands” for ketamine treatment, according to Plasencia’s plea agreement.

“Rather than do what was best for Mr. Perry – someone who had struggled with addiction for most of his life – [Plasencia] sought to exploit Perry’s medical vulnerability for profit,” prosecutors argued in a sentencing memorandum. “Indeed, the day [Plasencia] met Perry he made his profit motive known, telling a co-conspirator: ‘I wonder how much this moron will pay’ and ‘let’s find out.’”

The same day Plasencia met Perry, he contacted Mark Chavez, 55, then a licensed San Diego physician. Plasencia that day drove to Costa Mesa and purchased from Chavez $795 in ketamine vials and tablets, syringes, and gloves. Plasencia then drove to Perry’s home in Los Angeles, injected Perry with ketamine, and left at least one vial of ketamine to Kenneth Iwamasa, 60, of Toluca Lake, Perry’s personal assistant. Iwamasa paid Plasencia $4,500.

During the following weeks, Plasencia again purchased ketamine from Chavez and administered the drug to Perry multiple times at Perry’s home and once in a Long Beach parking lot while in the backseat of Perry’s vehicle. 

During one ketamine treatment at Perry’s home, Perry’s blood pressure spiked causing him to freeze up. Notwithstanding Perry’s reaction, Plasencia left additional vials of ketamine with Iwamasa, knowing that Iwamasa would inject the ketamine into the victim.

From September 30, 2023, to October 12, 2023, Plasencia distributed 20 vials and multiple tablets of ketamine and syringes to Iwamasa and Perry, knowing that his conduct fell below the proper standard of medical care and that the ketamine transfers were not for a legitimate medical purpose. As prosecutors argued in their sentencing memorandum, Plasencia charged a total of $57,000 for these efforts, even though the going price of ketamine was only approximately $15 per vial. 

Plasencia later placed an order for 10 vials of ketamine through a licensed pharmaceutical company using his Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) license. After receiving the ketamine, on October 27, 2023, he sent the following text message to Iwamasa: “I know you mentioned taking a break. I have been stocking up on the meanwhile. I am not sure when you guys plan to resume but in case its when im out of town this weekend I have left supplies with a nurse of mine …I can always let her know the plan.”

Perry fatally overdosed on ketamine the following day. Plasencia did not provide the ketamine that caused his death.

After Perry’s overdose and in response to a subpoena issued by the DEA to Plasencia, Plasencia falsified purported treatment notes and an invoice for Perry, which prosecutors argued were designed to cover up that he had been illegally selling vials of ketamine to Iwamasa. Among other things, Plasencia provided fraudulent notes that claimed on October 7, 2024, Perry was “scheduled to meet for a treatment session but was not present,” when, in fact, as Plasencia knew, the only person he was schedule to meet on that day was Iwamasa, at midnight, at a public street corner outside of a bar in Santa Monica, to sell Iwamasa vials of ketamine, to be administered to Perry without any health care professional present. 

Chavez and Iwamasa pleaded guilty last year to federal drug charges and are scheduled to be sentenced on December 17, 2025, and January 14, 2026, respectively.

Two other defendants charged in connection with Perry’s death – Erik Fleming, 56, of Hawthorne, and Jasveen Sangha, 42, a.k.a. “Ketamine Queen,” of North Hollywood, also pleaded guilty to federal drug charges and await sentencing on January 7, 2026, and February 25, 2026, respectively.

The Los Angeles Police Department, the DEA, and the United States Postal Inspection Service investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Ian V. Yanniello of the National Security Division and Haoxiaohan H. Cai of the Major Frauds Section prosecuted this case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ALBUQUERQUE – A former student doctor was sentenced to 30 years in prison for producing and possessing child sex abuse material.

There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court records, between June 2020, and February 2024, Kevin Weiss, 29, produced child sexual abuse imagery of a minor victim. Further, between December 2023, and March 2024, Weiss possessed child sex abuse material involving prepubescent minors.

Weiss pled guilty to production of child pornography and possession of child pornography. Upon his release from prison, Weiss will be subject to 10 years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender.

Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Ryan G. McRae, Acting Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) El Paso, made the announcement today.

The Albuquerque Police Department investigated this case with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations, the New Mexico State Police, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Jaymie L. Roybal and Meg Tomlinson are prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ALBUQUERQUE – An Arizona man was sentenced to 96 months in prison for the assault of a one-month-old child.

There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents, in October 2022, Logan Nelson, 22, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, assaulted a one-month-old baby multiple times. As a result of the final incident on October 15, 2022, the baby suffered an ulna fracture on their left arm and multiple other fractures in the legs and ribs.

Nelson subsequently pled guilty to assault resulting in serious bodily injury. Upon his release from prison, Nelson will be subject to three years 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 Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with the assistance of the Navajo Police Department and Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittany DuChaussee is prosecuting the case. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ALBUQUERQUE – The United States has reached a civil settlement with Luis Carlos Cordova, operator of Limitless Aesthetics and Healthcare in Santa Teresa, New Mexico, to resolve allegations that he failed to meet federal controlled-substance recordkeeping requirements under the Controlled Substances Act.

According to the settlement agreement, Cordova committed multiple recordkeeping violations over a two-year period. For the clinic’s 2021 biennial inventory, he allegedly failed to record the required count or volume of the controlled substances on hand and could not account for 240 missing dosages of controlled substances. For the 2022 biennial inventory, he again failed to document the required count, volume, and finished form of controlled substances and failed to account for an additional four missing dosage units.

Per the settlement agreement, Cordova also allegedly failed to record the actual dates of receipt for controlled-substance shipments delivered on four occasions between 2020 and 2021, and that he failed to document the bottle size for 269 dispensing-log entries between September 30, 2020, and May 15, 2022. Federal law requires practitioners to maintain complete, accurate, and current records for all controlled substances they receive, store, and dispense so that inventories can be fully tracked and audited.

“Accurate recordkeeping is the backbone of the Controlled Substances Act and the clearest way to prevent diversion,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison. “This office and our DEA partners will keep enforcing those requirements without exception so New Mexicans stay protected from the risks of missing or unaccounted-for controlled substances.”

“The men and women of the Drug Enforcement Administration will continue to utilize every tool at its disposal to hold those who betray the American trust,” said Omar Arellano, Special Agent in Charge of the DEA’s El Paso Division. “When a DEA registration is issued, practitioners are held to the highest standard; they are expected to properly handle and document the handling of controlled substances.”

Under the settlement, Cordova will pay $70,000 to resolve the alleged civil violations. The agreement includes no admission of liability but resolves the United States’ civil monetary claims arising from this conduct.

U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Omar Arellano, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s El Paso Division, made the announcement today.

The Drug Enforcement Administration supported the Government’s investigation. The governments investigations were led by Assistant United States Attorney Sean M. Cunniff and Auditors Julie Chappell and Phillip Stella.