Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ROANOKE, Va. – A Catawba, Virginia youth pastor, who has been in federal custody since his arrest in August for attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, pled guilty this week to related federal charges.

Jacob Ryan Barnett, 34, pled guilty to one count of attempted sexual exploitation of a 15-year-old child.

“Cases involving adults who use the internet to exploit young people are all too common,” Acting United States Attorney Robert N. Tracci said today. “I urge parents to supervise their children’s internet use; vet their social media apps and caution them against answering unsolicited messages and friend requests. It’s disturbingly easy for predators to pose as children online. Barnett might have continued his online hunt for victims if the victim’s mother had not found the conversation between Barnett and the victim and reported it to the FBI.”

“Our children deserve to grow up in a world where adults protect them, not victimize them. Sadly, Jacob Barnett chose to do the latter, and now he will face justice for his crimes,” said Ian Kauffmann, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Division. “The men and women of FBI Richmond will never stop pursuing these harmful predators and removing them from our communities.”

According to court documents, on May 18, 2025, Barnett used TikTok to message the Minor Victim (M.V.) and they began chatting. That same day, Barnett gave M.V. his phone number and the two began texting.

Early on, M.V. told Barnett she was 15. Barnett, however, claimed he was 17 and later sent M.V. images of a young man, which he falsely claimed was him. As their chat progressed, Barnett sent increasingly graphic sexual messages to M.V.

Barnett continued to engage in sexual conversations with M.V. and repeatedly asked her for photos. On May 20, 2025, Barnett told M.V. that he was starting to develop feelings for her. He also said he wanted to “use” M.V. and asked her to tell him about the last time she masturbated or to send him something that he could use to masturbate. In response, M.V. sent Barnett a video of herself masturbating in which her genitals were uncovered.

Evidence at Barnett’s detention hearing earlier this year showed that he continually prowled TikTok, Discord, Snapchat, and other social media apps to solicit minor girls for sexual chats and images. Barnett also solicited young men for selfies and images of their genitals, which he used to pose as a teenaged boy when soliciting girls.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the case.

Assistant United States Attorney Drew O. Inman is prosecuting the case for the United States.

The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identity and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Monday, a federal court prohibited a Tampa-area pharmacist from filling prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances and entered a civil penalty against him in a case alleging violations of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).

In a complaint filed in August 2022, the United States alleges that Nathaniel Esalomi unlawfully distributed powerful opioids by filling prescriptions he knew were not valid at Apexx Pharmacy in Hudson, Florida, where he was the owner and sole pharmacist. The complaint alleges that Esalomi charged dramatically inflated prices to fill opioid prescriptions and accepted thousands of dollars in cash for the drugs. The complaint further alleges that Esalomi instructed individuals to forge signatures on certain forms and to falsify addresses. The complaint also alleges that Esalomi filled numerous controlled substance prescriptions for persons who were deceased.

“Medical professionals who knowingly facilitate the abuse of opioids violate their legal obligations,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Department will pursue justice against anyone who seeks to profit from unlawfully distributing opioids.”

“The opioid epidemic has devastated not only our communities here in Florida but the entire nation,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe for the Middle District of Florida. “Our office will continue to investigate and hold accountable those who contributed to this crisis.”

“Approximately 70 percent of all drug overdose deaths in America involve opioids,” said Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter of the Drug Enforcement Administration Miami Field Division. “This epidemic began in the mid-1990s, and it’s still something we’re fighting. We will remain steadfast in our effort to remove these poisons from our communities.”

Esalomi agreed to a consent judgment to settle the allegations in the complaint. The order entered by the court permanently prohibits Esalomi from distributing opioids or other controlled substances, permanently prohibits him from managing, owning, or controlling any entity that dispenses controlled substances, and requires Esalomi to pay $10,000 of a $500,000 suspended civil penalty. Apexx Pharmacy was dissolved following the United States’ August 2022 complaint and the federal court’s associated temporary restraining order, and remains dissolved under the terms of the consent order. Esalomi also pleaded no contest to charges brought by the State of Florida in a related criminal case.

U.S. District Judge Thomas Barber entered the judgment and permanent injunction in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. The case was investigated by DEA’s Tactical Diversion Squad in the Tampa District Office.

This case was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Carolyn B. Tapie and Alexandra N. Karahalios for the Middle District of Florida, and Trial Attorney Scott B. Dahlquist of the Justice Department’s Enforcement & Affirmative Litigation Branch.

The claims made in the complaint are allegations that the United States would need to prove by a preponderance of the evidence if the case proceeded to trial.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ALBUQUERQUE – A Las Cruces man pleaded guilty in federal court to robbing two banks in February 2025.

According to court documents, on February 12, 2025, Daniel Guereca, 29, robbed the U.S. Bank in Los Lunas, New Mexico.  Wearing a black hoodie and a white mask, Guereca passed a handwritten demand note to two tellers before fleeing the bank with at least $6,000 in cash. Guereca then escaped the scene with the assistance of Breanne Gallegos, 29, who was waiting in the getaway vehicle and who had written the demand note that Guereca used.

Eight days later, on February 20, 2025, Guereca robbed the PNC Bank in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Wearing a green hat, white mask, black hoodie, Adidas jacket, and sunglasses, Guereca again passed a handwritten note, claiming he was armed and demanding $20,000. The teller turned over $3,313 before Guereca fled the bank, leaving the demand note behind. Guereca then escaped the scene with the assistance of, Aarika Cuevas, 35, who was waiting in the getaway vehicle, who had written the demand note that Guereca used for this second bank robbery, and who had entered PNC bank a few minutes before the robbery to assess the feasibility of robbing the bank.

Fingerprint analysis of the demand note recovered from the PNC Bank positively identified Guereca as the robber, and surveillance footage from both incidents showed a suspect matching his height and build.

Photos from US Bank Robbery on Feb. 12, 2025

Photos from PNC Bank Robbery on Feb. 20, 2025

Guereca pleaded guilty to bank robbery and faces up to 20 years in federal prison. Upon his release from prison, Guereca will be subject to three years of supervised release.

Gallegos pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank robbery and faces up to five years in federal prison. Upon her release from prison, Gallegos will be subject to three years of supervised release.  Cuevas is currently charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bank robbery and likewise faces up to five years in federal prison if convicted.

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 Las Cruces Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with the assistance of the Las Cruces Police Department, the Los Lunas Police Department, and the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office. Criminal Chief Richard Williams and Assistant U.S. Attorney Grant B. Gardner are prosecuting the cases.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A federal grand jury has indicted an Ashville, Ohio, man, charging him with trafficking in bulk amounts of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine, and with illegally possessing firearms.

Samuel A. Griffith, 35, is charged in a six-count indictment.

According to charging documents, in October 2025, Griffith allegedly sold narcotics from a room at the Red Roof Inn on Renner Road in Columbus. When law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at the location, they discovered 18 firearms and kilogram quantities of fentanyl, cocaine and methamphetamine.

As a convicted felon, Griffith is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition. Griffith has at least three prior felony convictions in Franklin and Pickaway counties for robbery, aggravated possession of drugs and illegally having weapons.

Griffith is charged with federal drug distribution and possession charges that carry potential punishments of at least 10 years and up to life in prison and five to 40 years in prison. Griffith faces up to 15 years in prison for illegally possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.

Dominick S. Gerace II, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Jorge Rosendo, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF); Columbus Police Chief Elaine Bryant; Ohio State Highway Patrol Superintendent Col. Charles A. Jones; Pickaway County Sheriff Matthew O. Hafey; Fairfield County Sheriff Alex Lape; and Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin announced the indictment filed on Dec. 4. The South-Central Ohio Major Crimes Unit, Columbus Division of Police Gang Enforcement Unit, Franklin County Sheriff’s Office Special Investigations Unit and the Ohio State Highway Patrol Special Response Team participated in the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Kevin W. Kelley is representing the United States in this case.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Paxful Holdings Inc., an online virtual currency trading platform, agreed to plead guilty yesterday to a three-count information filed in the Eastern District of California and agreed to pay a criminal penalty of $4 million based on its ability to pay.

“Paxful made millions of dollars in part by knowingly moving cryptocurrency for the benefit of fraudsters, extortionists, money launderers and purveyors of prostitution,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “The defendant attracted its criminal clientele by promoting its lack of anti-money laundering controls and its deliberate decision not to identify its customers. This conviction shows that no matter the means, the Criminal Division will hold criminals accountable for knowingly engaging in illicit finance to further dangerous criminal activity.”

“Yesterday’s guilty plea by Paxful Holdings holds the company accountable for knowingly facilitating serious criminal conduct in the United States and elsewhere,” said U.S. Attorney Eric Grant for the Eastern District of California. “Through its calculated lack of controls, the company made itself available as a vehicle for money laundering, sanctions violations, and other criminal activity, including fraud, romance scams, extortion schemes, and prostitution. This resolution sends a clear message: those who deliberately turn a blind eye to criminal activity on their platforms will face serious consequences under U.S. law. The Department of Justice remains committed to protecting victims and ensuring that the financial system, including the cryptocurrency ecosystem, is not exploited.”

“For years, Paxful disregarded its Bank Secrecy Act obligations and facilitated transactions associated with illicit activity and high-risk jurisdictions, such as Iran and North Korea,” said Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Director Andrea Gacki. “FinCEN is committed to mitigating risks to the U.S. financial system while fostering responsible innovation in the virtual asset ecosystem.”

“Paxful Holdings, Inc. knowingly enabled its platform to serve as a conduit for criminal activity — including fraud and illegal prostitution,” said Special Agent in Charge Linda Nguyen of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI) Oakland Field Office. “By willfully disregarding anti-money laundering laws and failing to report suspicious activity, Paxful profited in illicit trades while facilitating crimes with serious harm and consequences. IRS-CI remains steadfast in its mission to hold virtual currency platforms accountable when they are used to conceal and enable criminal conduct.”

According to court documents, Paxful Inc., and later, Paxful Holdings Inc. (collectively Paxful), owned and operated an online peer-to-peer virtual currency platform and money transmitting business (MTB) where customers negotiated for and traded virtual currency for a variety of other items, including fiat currency, pre-paid cards and gift cards. Paxful knew that its customers transmitted funds from criminal offenses, including fraud schemes and illegal prostitution. From Jan. 1, 2017, to Sept. 2, 2019, Paxful facilitated more than 26.7 million trades, totaling nearly $3 billion in value, and collected more than $29.7 million in revenue.

Paxful knowingly transferred virtual currency on behalf of its customers, including Backpage, an online advertising platform for illicit prostitution and similar sites. In various criminal proceedings, Backpage and its owners and operators admitted that Backpage advertised and profited from illegal prostitution, including illegal sex work depicting minors. Paxful’s founders boasted about the “Backpage Effect,” which enabled Paxful’s business to grow. Between December 2015 and December 2022, Paxful’s collaboration with Backpage and a similar site caused nearly $17 million worth of bitcoin to be transferred from the Paxful wallet to Backpage and the copycat site from which Paxful obtained at least $2.7 million in profits.

As described in the plea agreement, from July 2015 to June 2019, Paxful and its founders marketed Paxful as a platform that did not require know-your-customer (KYC) information; allowed customers to open accounts and trade on the Paxful platform without gathering sufficient KYC information; presented to third parties fake anti money-laundering (AML) policies that they knew were not implemented or enforced; and failed to file suspicious activity reports, despite knowing that Paxful users were engaged in suspicious and criminal activity. As a result, Paxful knew it was used as a vehicle for prostitution, fraud, romance scams and extortion schemes.

Paxful agreed to plead guilty to conspiring to violate the Travel Act by promoting illegal prostitution through interstate commerce; conspiring to operate an unlicensed MTB by knowingly transmitting funds derived from criminal offenses or supporting unlawful activity, including illegal prostitution and fraud schemes; and conspiring to violate the Bank Secrecy Act’s (BSA) AML program requirement. As a result of its illegal conduct, the virtual currency platform was used to transfer the proceeds of fraud schemes, illegal prostitution, hacks by malign state actors and distribution of child sexual abuse material.

The Justice Department reached its resolution with Paxful based on several factors, including the nature and seriousness of the offenses, which involved Paxful’s processing of millions of dollars of illicit transactions. Paxful did not make a timely and voluntary disclosure of wrongdoing, but it received credit for its cooperation with the department’s investigation, including among other things, collecting, analyzing and producing voluminous information, providing timely updates on facts learned during its internal investigation and engaging in extensive and timely remedial measures. Accordingly, Paxful received a 25% reduction off the bottom of the applicable U.S. sentencing guidelines fine range. According to court documents, Paxful agreed that the appropriate criminal penalty based on the law and the facts in its case is $112,500,000. Based on the Justice Department’s independent analysis, it determined that Paxful did not have the ability to pay a criminal penalty greater than $4 million. The court will sentence Paxful on Feb.10, 2025.

On July 8, 2024, Paxful’s co-founder and former chief technology officer, Artur Schaback, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to fail to maintain an effective AML program in relation to the same scheme.

Paxful’s guilty plea is part of a coordinated resolution with FinCEN.

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (ICE HSI) and IRS-CI are investigating the case.

Bank Integrity Unit Deputy Chief Kevin Mosley and Trial Attorneys Emily Cohen, Caylee Campbell and Katherine Nielsen of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Thuesen for the Eastern District of California are prosecuting the case.

The Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section’s Bank Integrity Unit investigates and prosecutes banks and other financial institutions, including their officers, managers and employees whose actions threaten the integrity of the individual institution or the wider financial system.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ABERDEEN – United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann has sentenced an Aberdeen, South Dakota man convicted of Possession of a Firearm by a Prohibited Person.  The sentencing took place on December 8, 2025.

Christopher Emmanuel Walton, 35, was sentenced to serve five months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Walton was indicted for Prohibited Person in Possession of a Firearm by a federal grand jury in July 2024.  He pleaded guilty on November 3, 2025.

Walton is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to a prior domestic violence conviction.  In June 2024, Walton’s roommate borrowed his car to go target shooting.  When he returned home, the roommate inadvertently left a pistol in the trunk.  Later that day, Walton discovered the firearm in his vehicle as he was preparing to leave for parenting time with his children.  Since he was already late, Walton put the firearm inside his backpack rather than take it back inside to his roommate.  An Edmunds County deputy pulled Walton over and found the firearm in the trunk of his vehicle.

This case was investigated by the FBI.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl Thunem prosecuted the case.

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.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Jackson, MS –Joe Lewis, a resident of Hinds County, Mississippi was sentenced to 292 months in federal prison for two counts of Attempted Production of Child Pornography. After release from prison, Lewis will be on supervised release for 10 years and must register as a sex offender.

According to court documents, Joe Lewis, 55, under the pretense of mentoring middle school aged boys, would send money to his victims via Cash App and demand that victims expose their pubic areas to him during FaceTime sessions that Lewis recorded.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation Jackson ‘s Office (“FBI”) was contacted by the Jackson Police Department (“JPD”) for assistance in investigating Joe Lewis and identifying other victims.  JPD’s investigation began when the mother of one of the minors reported to JPD that an older man had being sending her son money via Cash App. The FBI forensically examined Lewis’ electronic devices and found that Lewis had also been sending obscene sexually explicit abuse materials to young boys in and around Jackson. During the course of the investigation the FBI Jackson was able to locate other minor victims.

“Those who hurt and endanger our children by committing these despicable crimes will not be tolerated and will be held accountable”, said Baxter Kruger, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi. “This lengthy sentence ensures this defendant can never again hurt and abuse children. My office is committed to working with the FBI, Jackson Police Department, and other state and local law enforcement agencies to help protect children.”

FBI Special Agent in Charge Rob Eikhoff said, “Those who prey on minors shatter their innocence. Protecting children and holding vile predators, like Joe Lewis, accountable is one of the FBI’s highest priorities.  FBI Jackson, the United States Attorney’s Office and the Jackson Police Department stand together to protect our children and ensure justice is served for all who seek to harm them.”

This case was brought as part of 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 the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Glenda R. Haynes prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

SIOUX FALLS – United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Charles B. Kornmann has sentenced an Aberdeen, South Dakota man convicted of Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance.  The sentencing took place on December 4, 2025.

Calvin Taylor, 42, was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, fine, and ordered to pay a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

Taylor was indicted for Conspiracy to Distribute a Controlled Substance by a federal grand jury in November 2024.  He pleaded guilty on June 2, 2025.

In February 2024, Taylor began having packages of methamphetamine mailed to various addresses in Aberdeen and the surrounding area from a source of supply in California.  Taylor then sold the drugs to other members of a conspiracy of which he was a member who distributed it in the Aberdeen area.  Approximately 4.5 pounds of distributed methamphetamine was attributed to Taylor at sentencing.

This case was investigated by the Brown County Sheriff’s Office, the Aberdeen Police Department, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Joyce prosecuted the case.

Taylor must self-report to the U.S. Marshals Service on or before December 26, 2025. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

RAPID CITY – United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a jury has convicted Oliver Brown Bull, age 37, of Kyle, South Dakota, of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury following a 3-day jury trial in federal district court in Rapid City.  The verdict was returned on December 4, 2025.

The charges carry a maximum penalty of ten years in custody and/or a $250,000 fine, three years of supervised release, and a $100 special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.  Restitution may also be ordered.

Brown Bull was indicted by a federal grand jury in March 2025, for two counts of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury and one count of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon.  At the conclusion of a federal jury trial, he was found guilty of assaulting one victim and not guilty of assaulting another victim.

On January 31, 2025, in the Pine Ridge Reservation, Brown Bull assaulted another man by  pushing him to the ground and punching him multiple times in the face.  Brown Bull then kicked the victim in the face.  As a result, the victim suffered several injuries, including a broken eye socket, a laceration around his eye, two broken bones in his nose, and severe bruising.  At the time of trial, the victim was still suffering from the assault, including continued pain and disfigurement.

This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian country be prosecuted in Federal court as opposed to State court.

This case was investigated by the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin Schroeder prosecuted the case.

A presentence investigation was ordered, and a sentencing date will be set.  In the interim, Brown Bull was remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.