Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: US FBI

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JONATHAN CRUZ-CARMONA, 34, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven to 12 months and one day of imprisonment for assaulting another inmate while imprisoned at the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Danbury.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on December 18, 2023, while incarcerated at FCI Danbury, Cruz-Carmona used a weapon fashioned from a broken pencil and two razor blades to assault another inmate, causing wounds to the victim’s chin and neck.  The injury was not life-threatening.

On June 3, 2024, Cruz-Carmona pleaded guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon.

At the time of the offense, Cruz-Carmona was serving a 200-month federal sentence from the Western District of New York for murder with a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  The sentence imposed today will run consecutively to Cruz-Carmona’s previous sentence.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Anastasia E. King.

Source: US FBI

Scammers stole $43,502,744 from Wyoming victims in 2024, according to the latest report from the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3). Those losses made Wyoming the No. 3 state in the nation in terms of per capita losses. People filed 1,377 IC3 complaints in 2024.

Reported losses in the state increased nearly $30 million over the 2023 dollar amount.

The top schemes with the largest dollar amount losses in 2024 in Wyoming were data breach ($21 million) and investment fraud ($13 million).

The top schemes in terms of numbers of reports from Wyoming were extortion (193) and personal data breach (89).

The age group that made the most reports was people 40-49 years old, with 479 complaints. The age group with the most reported losses was those 60 and older, with $8,648,675.

“This report is a sobering reminder that people in Wyoming remain prime targets for scammers who will jump at every opportunity to defraud potential victims,” said Special Agent in Charge Mark Michalek, who oversees FBI operations in the Cowboy State. “It’s important for the public to remain vigilant to guard against ever-increasing cyber-enabled threats both at places of employment and in personal life.”

In 2024, the IC3 received 859,532 complaints nationally of suspected Internet crime with reported losses of $16.6 billion. That is a 33 percent increase in losses from 2023.

These are only the reports made to IC3; not every victim files a complaint—or even realizes he or she is a victim—so the actual numbers are probably higher in terms of victims and losses.

Nationwide, the top three scams most frequently reported by victims were phishing/spoofing, extortion, and personal data breaches. Victims of investment fraud, specifically those involving cryptocurrency, reported the most losses—totaling more than $6.5 billion.

Cryptocurrency investment fraud increased 29 percent over 2023. Ransomware complaints were up 9 percent across the country

As a group, people 60 and older suffered the most reported losses in 2024 at nearly $5 billion and submitted the greatest number of complaints.

If you feel you have been a victim of a cyber-enabled crime, file a complaint at IC3.gov.

Read the full IC3 report here: https://www.ic3.gov/AnnualReport/Reports/2024_IC3Report.pdf

Breakdowns by state are here: https://www.ic3.gov/AnnualReport/Reports/2024State/

Source: US FBI

Jackson, TN – Five people have been indicted in the Western District of Tennessee and are facing federal charges for their involvement in an organized drug trafficking scheme in the Western District of Tennessee according to recently unsealed indictments. The charges are the culmination of a two-year long investigation by FBI’s Transnational Organized Crime Task Force and the Drug Enforcement Administration in conjunction with the Selmer Police Department, McNairy County Sheriff’s Office, Adamsville Police Department, Bolivar Police Department, and Jackson Police Department.  Joseph C. Murphy, Jr., Interim United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the unsealing of the indictments today.

According to court documents, between April 2023 and March 2025, the defendants worked together and with others to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine, and marijuana throughout West Tennessee. The investigation revealed the drug trafficking organization is linked to and worked in conjunction with the Sinaloa cartel in furtherance of the distribution efforts within McNairy County and Memphis, Tennessee.  The Sinaloa cartel, also known as Cártel de Sinaloa, is a transnational organization based in Sinaloa, Mexico and was designated on February 20, 2025 as a foreign terrorist organization (FTO) and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist.  Cártel de Sinaloa is one of the world’s most powerful drug cartels and is one of the largest producers and traffickers of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine into the United States.

During the investigation, agents seized 10 kilograms of cocaine, over 16 pounds of methamphetamine, 30,000 fentanyl pills, approximately 40 pounds of marijuana, approximately $21,000 in cash, and a firearm. The indictment is in conjunction with the initiative “Operation Take Back America.”

On March 20, 2025, a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging all five individuals with Conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute five kilograms of cocaine; four of the individuals with Conspiracy to distribute more than 50 grams of actual methamphetamine; and three of the individuals with conspiracy to distribute over 100 kilograms of marijuana. Two of the defendants were charged with multiple individual counts of distribution of cocaine, methamphetamine, and fentanyl. One defendant was charged with being an illegal alien and unlawfully in the United States and knowing possession of a firearm.

Those individuals named in the indictment are:

• Juan Palomino, 36, of Selmer, TN
• Joaquin Elizalde, 44, of Selmer, TN
• Javier Varela, 41, of Byhalia, MS
• Luis Lizarraga, 36, of Memphis, TN
• David Asua, 46, of Memphis, TN

“These defendants took part in a conspiracy that exposed our communities to significant amounts of Fentanyl, Methamphetamine, and Marijuana,” said Special Agent in Charge Joseph E. Carrico of the FBI Nashville Field Office. “The FBI and our law enforcement partners remain committed to identifying, disrupting, and dismantling any criminal enterprise that risks the wellbeing of our citizens.”

McNairy County Sheriff Guy Buck stated “We are extremely proud of the outcomes of this investigation and would like to express our sincere gratitude to the Federal, State, and Local Agencies that played a vital role in its success. This case highlights how even small, tight-knit communities are directly impacted by the influence of drug cartels and the international drug trade. As Sheriff, I want to emphasize that no one is above the law, and we will ensure that every individual involved is held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

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).

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Christie Hopper and Greg Allen.  It was investigated by FBI’s Transnational Organized Crime Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Selmer Police Department, the McNairy County Sheriff’s Office, the Adamsville Police Department, the Bolivar Police Department, and the Jackson Police Department.  The investigation was furthered by assistance from the FBI – Denver Division.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations of criminal conduct, not evidence.  The defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and convicted through due process of law.

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For more information, please contact the media relations team at USATNW.Media@usdoj.gov. Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Facebook or on X at @WDTNNews for office news and updates.

Source: US FBI

According to court documents, Brian Christopher Williams III, 25, and Kalaijha Tomeco Ranier Lewis, 29, schemed to defraud various federally insured banks and credit unions between November 2021 and June 2023. To carry out the fraud scheme, Williams recruited Lewis, who worked at the post office on Saint Joseph Street in Mobile, to steal hundreds of high-value business checks and sell them to Williams. In turn, Williams and other coconspirators sold the stolen checks via an illicit online marketplace hosted on a Telegram channel called “Work Related.” Fraudsters who purchased the stolen checks later counterfeited and negotiated many of them, causing substantial financial losses to multiple victims. In total, the value of the stolen checks posted to the “Work Related” channel exceeded $17 million.

In June 2023, investigators began surveillance at the Saint Joseph Street post office in Mobile. On several occasions, agents saw Lewis manipulating the windowed envelopes of checks to see the amounts listed inside while she sorted mail. On June 23, 2023, agents confronted Lewis after capturing her on video stuffing a large stack of stolen checks into her pants before the end of her work shift. Lewis confessed that for several months, she stole business checks for Williams, who paid her $2,000 to $3,000 for each stack of stolen checks that she brought him.

That same day, agents arrested Williams at a gas station in Mobile, where he had arrived to purchase the stolen checks from Lewis. Agents seized more than $10,000 in cash from Williams’s pocket, which Williams admitted was proceeds of his fraud scheme. Agents also searched Williams’s car, seizing a loaded .40 caliber Glock pistol equipped with an extended magazine, ammunition, marijuana, and stolen checks valued at more than $417,000. Williams confessed to selling stolen checks to a coconspirator in Birmingham who marketed the checks for sale on Telegram.

Agents executed warrants to search cell phones and social media accounts belonging to Williams and Lewis, each of which contained extensive communications regarding the scheme. For example, on June 1, 2023, Williams messaged Lewis, “I need a load today!!!!!,” to which Lewis responded, “I done seen 7 [checks] since 6am.” Days later, Williams messaged Lewis about meeting up to purchase high-value stolen checks, emphasizing, “I need like 20k, 15k, 30k and up, majority of this whole damn load low asf, 1000-1600 are lows.”

Chief United States District Judge Jeffrey U. Beaverstock sentenced Williams and Lewis to serve 100 months and 60 months in federal prison, respectively. Following their release from prison, Williams and Lewis will each serve five-year terms of supervised release, during which time they will receive mental health evaluation and treatment, and will be subject to credit restrictions. The court did not impose a fine, but Chief Judge Beaverstock ordered the defendants to pay $234,246.63 in victim restitution and a total of $300 in special assessments. The court also forfeited $10,773.53 in cash seized from Williams to the United States.

Acting U.S. Attorney Keith A. Jones of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement and thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Alabama for its significant partnership and coordination in the investigation and prosecution of this case.

The United States Postal Inspection Service and the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General investigated the case with significant assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Birmingham.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Justin Roller and Scott Gray prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

Source: US FBI

Assault

Charlene Brown, 26, of Riverton, Wyoming, was sentenced to three years of probation for assault resulting in serious bodily injury. The court also imposed $34,777.33 in restitution. According to court documents, the defendant and the victim had been drinking heavily into the morning of May 29, 2024.  The defendant took the victim for a drive in the victim’s car and crashed the car.  The defendant’s blood alcohol content was .327. The victim sustained serious injuries, including one that involved a substantial risk of death. The FBI and Fremont County Sheriff’s Office investigated the crime. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kerry J. Jacobson prosecuted the crime. The defendant was indicted on July 18, 2024, and pleaded guilty on Jan. 27. U.S. District Court Judge Alan B. Johnson imposed the sentence on April 21 in Cheyenne. Case No. 24-CR-00124

Firearm Offenses

Jason Sikkila, 46, a transient, was sentenced to 15 months with three years of supervised release to follow for being a felon in possession of a firearm. According to court documents, on June 3, 2024, the defendant was stopped in Buffalo, Wyoming, for blaring an airhorn in a mobile home park. Officers suspected he had been drinking and asked Sikkila to take a breath test, which he consented to, resulting in a .290 BAC. During a search of his vehicle, officers located a .380 caliber pistol. When questioned, Sikkila admitted he was a convicted felon and prohibited from possessing firearms. The Buffalo Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives investigated the crime. Assistant U.S. Attorney Page Hammer prosecuted the case. Sikkila was indicted on July 19, 2024, and pleaded guilty on Jan. 28. Chief U.S. District Court Judge Scott W. Skavdahl imposed the sentence in Casper on April 24. Case No. 24-00113

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About the United States Attorney’s Office

The United States Attorney’s Office is responsible for representing the federal government in virtually all litigation involving the United States in the District of Wyoming, including all criminal prosecutions for violations of federal law, civil lawsuits brought by or against the government, and actions to collect judgments and restitution on behalf of victims and taxpayers. The Office is involved in several programs designed to make our communities safer. They include:

Project Safe Childhood
Project Safe Childhood (PSC) is a DOJ initiative that combats the proliferation of technology-facilitated sexual exploitation crimes against children. The threat of sexual predators soliciting children for sexual contact is well-known and serious.

Operation Take Back America
Operation Take Back America is 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. It also streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

Victim Witness Program
The Victim Witness Coordinator for the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Wyoming is dedicated to ensuring victims of federal crimes and their family members are treated with compassion, fairness, and respect.

To report a federal crime, go to: https://www.justice.gov/actioncenter/report-crime

Source: US FBI

DENVER – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that defendant Carl Howard Payne, Jr., of Colorado Springs, was charged with Interstate Communication of Threats.

According to the criminal complaint, on or about March 20, 2025, threatening emails were sent from betweensaltandstart@proton.me to various news media outlets across state lines. The emails detailed a “Declaration of War” against the 47th Presidential Cabinet of the United States and further described how Tesla owners would be murdered on April 17, 2025, and thereafter, until the death of Elon Musk.

Also on March 20, 2025, Payne sent the same email to ProPublica and Thomson Reuters, both in New York, from Signal user “c”. And on or about April 2, 2025, Payne deposited or caused to be deposited similar threatening letters for delivery by the Postal Service to several insurance companies. The return address on the letters indicated they were from “The White House,” but the letters were postmarked in Denver.

A review of Internet Protocol (IP) address information from Proton Mail, along with other information, indicates that Payne is the user of the Proton Mail account and the Signal account from which the threatening emails originated.

The investigation is being handled by the Denver Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Jasand Mock.

The charges in the complaint are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Case Number:  25-mj-00081-NRN

Source: US FBI

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – A federal grand jury in Huntsville has charged an individual with committing a string of bank robberies in Madison County, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Carlton L. Peeples.

A four-count indictment filed in U.S. District Court charges Lawrence Jones, 57, of Huntsville, with committing bank robberies at four Regions Bank locations between May 2022 and January 2023.

FBI investigated the case along with the Huntsville Police Department and Madison Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sara M. Judah and Russell Penfield are prosecuting the case.

An indictment contains only charges.  A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Source: US FBI

SAN FRANCISCO – Darneko Yates, 30, of Richmond, Calif., was sentenced today to 46 months in federal prison for possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a felony.  U.S. District Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín handed down the sentence.

Yates was found guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g), following a one-day bench trial on Jan. 17, 2025.  The evidence at trial established that on Aug. 27, 2023, police officers stopped Yates for a vehicle infraction.  Yates’s young nephew and niece were in the backseat of his car.  Police officers discovered that Yates possessed a loaded automatic handgun, which was concealed in the front of his six-year-old nephew’s pants.  At the time, Yates was on parole following three felony convictions for carjacking, solicitation to commit murder, and possessing a loaded firearm.  

In addition to the prison term, Judge Martinez-Olguín ordered Yates to serve three years of supervised release.

Acting United States Attorney Patrick D. Robbins and FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani made the announcement.

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 of Justice 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.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Leif Dautch and Richard Ewenstein are prosecuting this case.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI, the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office, and the San Pablo Police Department.  
 

Source: US FBI

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A Florida man has been sentenced for his role in a Telegram-based check fraud scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Patrick Davis.

U.S. District Court Judge Madeline Haikala sentenced Gabriel Samuel Odiot, 21, of Kissimmee, Florida, to 60 months in prison and ordered him to forfeit $84,000. In December 2024, Odiot pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

According to the plea agreement and other court documents, from August 2022 to March 2023, Odiot served as an administrator of “RICH OFF PLAYS,” a Telegram channel dedicated to the negotiation of fraudulent checks. Odiot used the channel to recruit mail carriers, to advertise the services of bank insiders, and to collaborate with others to commit bank fraud. He frequently posted pictures and videos of himself committing bank fraud on the channel. These included pictures and videos depicting stolen checks, transaction receipts, and large amounts of cash. In many cases, the pictures and videos were branded with Odiot’s nickname “Motion.”

The U.S. Secret Service investigated the case with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the Heflin Police Department.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. Canter prosecuted the case. 

Source: US FBI

OAKLAND – A two-count indictment was unsealed today charging property developers David Sanson and Trent Sanson with conspiracy and bribery in connection with offering to pay an Antioch City Councilmember $10,000, and later giving the Councilmember a company travel mug with $5,000 in cash, in exchange for favorable treatment for one of their development projects.  The Councilmember reported the alleged bribe to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).  Both defendants made their initial appearances in federal court this morning.

According to the indictment filed April 3, 2025, David Sanson, 60, of Philipsburg, Mont., is the owner and Chief Executive Officer of a home building and development company based in Concord, Calif., and his son, Trent Sanson, 33, of Walnut Creek, Calif., is the Vice President.  The development company has a number of projects in Antioch and neighboring areas, including the Aviano project, a multi-phase 533-unit residential development project.  

As alleged, the Antioch Engineering and Development Services Division indicated that the development company had not completed all of its required public infrastructure improvements and that Phase 3 of the Aviano project should not be deemed complete or approved by the City Council until those improvements were completed.  As a result, the City of Antioch had not approved the release of bonds secured for the project.  To get the Antioch Engineering and Development Services Division to affirm completion and release the bonds associated with the project, Trent Sanson allegedly contacted an Antioch City Councilmember via iMessage on May 29, 2024, stating that he wanted to discuss with the Councilmember issues that the development company was facing with the Antioch “Engineering department” on a number of projects, including Phase 3 of the Aviano project.

The indictment describes a video-recorded meeting between the Councilmember and Trent Sanson on June 12, 2024, during which Trent Sanson allegedly stated that he wanted the Councilmember to place on the City Council agenda, and vote in favor of, “acceptance for Phase 3 at Aviano to release the completion and guarantee bonds . . . .”  Trent Sanson allegedly stated that David Sanson was willing to pay the Councilmember $10,000 in exchange for the requested actions.  A second video-recorded meeting took place on June 20, 2024, at which David Sanson allegedly paid the Councilmember $5,000 in cash concealed in a travel coffee mug branded with the logo of the Sansons’ development company.

“This indictment alleges that the defendants tried to bribe an Antioch City Councilmember to take favorable action on their real estate project and to evade having to make the public infrastructure improvements that the City required,” said Acting United States Attorney Patrick D. Robbins.  “This case is another example of my Office’s commitment to working closely with our partners at the FBI to root out bribery and attempts to corrupt public office.”

“Attempting to bribe a public official is a blatant attack on the integrity of our government and the trust of the communities we serve,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Sanjay Virmani.  “The allegations in this case reflect a clear attempt to manipulate the system for personal gain. The FBI will continue to aggressively investigate and hold accountable anyone who seeks to corrupt public institutions through bribery or abuse of power.”

The defendants are next scheduled to appear in district court on June 12, 2025, for a status conference before U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers.

The indictment charges each defendant with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 and one count of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 666(a)(2).  The bribery count also includes an allegation that defendants aided and abetted one another in bribing the Antioch City Councilmember.  

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.  If convicted, defendants each face a maximum sentence of five years in prison for the count under 18 U.S.C. § 371 and 10 years in prison for the count under 18 U.S.C. §§ 666(a)(2).  Any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas R. Green and Benjamin K. Kleinman are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Amala James and Laurie Worthen.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI.

Sanson, David and Trent Indictment