Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

RAPID CITY – United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Camela C. Theeler has sentenced a Kyle, South Dakota, man convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter.  The sentencing took place on December 1, 2025.

Kevin Hunter, 33, was sentenced to 46 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.

Hunter was indicted for Involuntary Manslaughter by a federal grand jury in July 2024.  He pleaded guilty on September 2, 2025.

On May 15, 2024, near Kyle, South Dakota, Hunter drove his pickup while under the influence of alcohol, reaching speeds over 80 miles per hour.  He crossed into the oncoming lane and struck a van, killing the passenger inside.  Instead of calling 911 or seeking help, Hunter immediately fled the scene and then lied to investigators about his whereabouts that night.  In sentencing him to the top of his Sentencing Guidelines range, Judge Theeler noted that Hunter had a history of previous DUI convictions, concluding such a sentence was necessary to protect the public.   

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

This case was investigated by the FBI and the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety Criminal Investigations Division.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Anna Lindrooth prosecuted the case.

Hunter was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Abdimahat Bille Mohamed, 28, was charged by complaint with Kidnapping a Minor and Kidnapping, announced U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen.  As detailed in the complaint, Mohamed kidnapped and raped a 15-year-old girl in 2017 and an adult woman in 2025.  In between, he raped at least three other women.

“This Somali national in Minnesota is charged with raping a minor and multiple adult women before being detained — only to be quickly released by a local court, after which he committed yet another rape.  This horrific case illustrates how left-wing soft-on-crime policies and vetting failures put innocent people at dire risk.  If Minnesota will not protect its own people, the Department of Justice will do it for them,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi.

“The allegations are sickening — multiple kidnappings and rapes, including against minors — and they happened in a state that has chosen ideology over public safety.  Minnesota’s radical soft-on-crime policies created an environment where predators believe they can act without consequence.  President Trump was elected to restore law and order, and under Attorney General Bondi, this Department is making sure violent criminals like this will face real justice and spend the rest of their natural lives in federal prison,” said Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche.

“Given the history of the state prosecution of Abdimahat Bille Mohamed, my office will aggressively prosecute this serial rapist,” said U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen.

On December 3, 2025, federal law enforcement received information concerning violent kidnappings and rapes committed by Mohamed in Minnesota.  Law enforcement and the U.S. Attorney’s Office immediately investigated and found that, as set forth in the Complaint, there is probable cause to believe that Mohamed committed a string of disturbing sexual assaults—several of them gang rapes—of at least five victims between 2017 and 2025, many following the same pattern.  Mohamed faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years of imprisonment and up to a sentence of life for his crimes.

On December 12, 2017, Mohamed and two others kidnapped and raped a 15-year-old girl (Minor Victim 1).  Minor Victim 1 met Mohamed online, on the social media platform Snapchat.  Mohamed agreed to give Minor Victim 1 a ride and picked her up in St. Paul.  Instead of driving her to her requested location, Mohamed drove Minor Victim 1 to Minneapolis against her will.  Mohamed parked his car in Minneapolis.  Suddenly, two more men got in the car.  One of them was holding a short-barreled silver revolver.  The man pointed the gun at Minor Victim 1’s head and said, “give my brother some head or I’ll blow your head off.”  Minor Victim 1 was forced to perform oral sex on one of the two men.  Minor Victim 1 was then sexually assaulted by Mohamed.  Minor Victim 1 was forced—at gunpoint and in fear for her life—to perform oral sex on Mohamed.  He then raped her vaginally.  After the group sexually assaulted the girl, they let her out of the car.  Minor Victim 1 ran, hid, and called the police.  The police took Minor Victim 1 to the hospital, and she consented to a sexual assault exam.  On September 17, 2024, after Mohamed’s DNA was taken in connection with another sexual assault, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) laboratory matched Mohamed’s DNA to the swabs taken from Minor Victim 1’s body, excluding more than 99.99% of the general population.

On February 7, 2018, Mohamed and two others raped an adult woman (Victim 2).  In the early morning hours of that day, Roseville police received a call from a Lyft driver, reporting that he had a woman in his car who had been sexually assaulted by three men.  Police responded to the scene and interviewed Victim 2.  She explained that a man she knew from Instagram picked her up in his car.  He and two other men held her against her will in the car.  The men raped Victim 2.  After they were done sexually assaulting her, the men released Victim 2, telling her the cops were coming.  Victim 2 ran to a Motel 6 to charge her phone and called a Lyft to pick her up.  When Victim 2 told her Lyft driver what happened, he called 911.  Police took Victim 2 to the hospital, where she consented to a sexual assault exam.  Police located condoms in a car that had been on the scene.  The BCA connected Mohamed’s known DNA sample to the DNA from a recovered condom. 

On May 8, 2018, Mohamed and another man kidnapped and raped an adult woman (Victim 3).  Victim 3 knew Mohamed from Snapchat but had never met him in person before.  Mohamed drove to Victim 3’s house in St. Paul and Victim 3 sat with him in his car.  Victim 3 asked Mohamed for a pack of cigarettes.  Instead, Mohamed began to drive away.  Victim 3 protested, explaining she couldn’t leave her apartment, as her son was inside.  But Mohamed continued to drive and locked the car doors so that Victim 3 could not escape.  Mohamed drove Victim 3 to Minneapolis.  He pulled the car into an alley, where Mohamed raped Victim 3.  After the rape, a second man got into the backseat.  He was holding a black semi-automatic handgun.  He pointed the handgun at Victim 3’s head and said, “If you don’t give me head you’re not going to live.”  Victim 3 then performed oral sex on the second man, under threat of her life.  After they were done, Mohamed and the other man pushed Victim 3 out of the car.  Victim 3 ran until she arrived at a gas station.  She asked for directions to the light rail, which she took back to St. Paul.  She then contacted the St. Paul Police, who took Victim 3 to the hospital, where she consented to a sexual assault exam.  In September 2024 the BCA laboratory matched Mohamed’s DNA to the swabs taken from Victim 3, excluding more than 99.99% of the general population.

On May 30, 2024, Mohamed raped an adult woman (Victim 4).  Victim 4 knew Mohamed from Snapchat.  Mohamed picked up Victim 4 and her sister in his car and, instead of taking them for something to eat, drove the two women to his apartment in Minneapolis.  Mohamed carried Victim 4 to his bedroom and threw her on the bed and closed the door.  Mohamed tried to force Victim 4 to give him oral sex.  When she refused, Mohamed raped her.  Mohamed told Victim 4 that if she didn’t have sex with him, he would get a gun from his car and shoot her or her sister.  Victim 4’s sister heard screaming and her sister saying stop.  Victim 4’s sister opened the door and saw Mohamed on top of her sister.  Mohamed threatened to kill Victim 4’s sister and told her to leave.  Victim 4’s sister fled the building and called the police.  When the police arrived, they found Victim 4 and Mohamed in his apartment.  Victim 4 was crying and stumbling.  When Victim 4 was away from Mohamed, she explained he raped her.  Police took Victim 4 to the hospital, where she consented to a sexual assault exam.  Police arrested Mohamed and took him to the hospital for a sexual assault exam.  Mohamad became hostile—he kicked squad doors and windows, spat on officers, and eventually became assaultive with hospital security guards and nurses.  He was kicked out of the medical center before the sexual assault exam could be completed.  In September 2024, pursuant to a search warrant, law enforcement collected a DNA swab from Mohamed.  

In September 2025, Mohamed committed another kidnapping and rape.  On September 15, 2025, Mohamed picked up an adult woman (Victim 5) in Mankato, Minnesota.  Victim 5 met Mohamed that night and Mohamed was supposed to take Victim 5 to get food and then bring her back home.  Instead, after Victim 5 was in Mohamed’s car, he kidnapped her.  After Victim 5 asked Mohamed to bring her home, Mohamed kept driving and said, “you are not going home.”  Mohamed drove Victim 5 approximately 70 miles to a hotel in Bloomington, where he kept her for nearly a week.  When Victim 5 tried to leave on the first day, Mohamed grabbed her by the hair, slapped her face, and told her she could not leave.  Mohamed raped Victim 5 twice.  Mohamed choked Victim 5 while he raped her.  Victim 5 was able to text her sister, that “I think I’m getting kidnapped” and needed help, but Mohamed took her phone away.  Victim 5’s sister contacted the police, who worked to find Victim 5.  On September 21, 2025, Victim 5 jumped out of Mohamed’s car and told a nearby man, “Can you help me?  I am being kidnapped.”  The man called 911 and police responded to the scene.  Police took Victim 5 to the hospital, where she consented to a sexual assault exam.  The DNA profile obtained from Victim 5 matched to Mohamed’s known sample.

This case results from an investigation conducted by the FBI, in partnership with Homeland Security Investigations, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Minneapolis Police Department, the Roseville Police Department, the Bloomington Police Department, the St. Louis Park Police Department, the Anoka County Sherrif’s Office, and the St. Paul Police Department.

The FBI is investigating Mohamed for the offenses detailed in the complaint and for additional sexual offenses.  If you believe you, your child, or someone you know may be a victim of Abdimahat Bille Mohamed, please call the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Melinda A. Williams is prosecuting the case.

A complaint is merely an allegation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

BILLINGS – A Billings man who previously pleaded guilty to using a cell phone to arrange for commercial sex was sentenced today to 24 months of probation and ordered to pay a fine of $100,000, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Usman Hanif Khan, 52, pleaded guilty in June 2025 to one count of use of a facility of interstate commerce to aid in racketeering.

U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters presided.

The government alleged in court documents that prior to April 9, 2023, Khan met a woman on a social media website for those interested in a commercial sex relationship. Then, on or about April 9, 2023, Khan communicated with the woman for the purpose of arranging a commercial sex date with Jane Doe, who the woman represented was an adult but was actually a minor. Khan and the woman communicated via text messenger, utilized cell phones to make arrangements, and discussed, among other items, the particulars of the commercial sex date. On the evening of April 9, 2023, the woman transported Jane Doe to Khan’s residence for the purpose of a commercial sex date. Khan and Jane Doe engaged in a sex act, after which Khan contacted the woman to arrange transportation of Jane Doe and provided Jane Doe with money for the encounter.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Zeno Baucus prosecuted the case. The FBI conducted the investigation.

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

RICHMOND, Va. – A Goochland man was sentenced today to five years in prison for distribution of cocaine and fentanyl.

According to court documents, on Aug. 20, 2021, in Richmond, Don Carnell Batchelor Jr.’s friend, identified in court records as “SN,” asked Batchelor to acquire cocaine and fentanyl for him.  Batchelor obtained and provided the drugs to SN, who took the substances with him to visit family.  SN used a portion of the cocaine and fentanyl Batchelor had provided, which caused SN’s fatal overdose. SN was found deceased in his parent’s home the following morning. The medical examiner determined that the cause of death was cocaine and fentanyl toxicity.

Lindsey Halligan, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Christopher C. Goumenis, Special Agent in Charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Washington Division and Lee S. Bailey, New Kent County Sheriff, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson.   

The Virginia State Police assisted in the investigation of this case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Olivia L. Norman prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:24-cr-134.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

SAN DIEGO – Former Fallbrook business owner Andrea Nicole Doherty pleaded guilty in federal court today to defrauding customers of her former Porsche restoration and resale business, admitting to pocketing more than $827,000 and agreeing to pay over $8 million in restitution to 57 people.

In her plea agreement, Doherty, 38, admitted that she took over CPR Classic from her father after his death in 2021. The defendant did business as CPR Classic, which was never registered as a corporation or a limited liability company, restoring classic Porsches and selling them on consignment from its storefront in Fallbrook. Doherty pleaded guilty to three counts of wire fraud, relating to three specific vehicles sold on consignment by the defendant through CPR Classic.

Doherty was released on bail pending her sentencing on February 23, 2026, at 10 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Andrew G. Schopler.

During 2022 and 2023, Doherty sold a 1973 Porsche 911E Targa to two different buyers, accepting payment from both without informing or paying the seller. The seller eventually transferred the vehicle’s title after receiving a check from Doherty, which bounced when he attempted to cash it.

In February 2023, Doherty admitted that she agreed to sell a 1972 Porsche 911S for its owner, and found a buyer the very next day who wired her $280,000 within a week. Although this buyer received the vehicle, Doherty did not transfer legal title and admitted that she had not used the wired funds to pay the seller. Instead, in October 2023, Doherty sold the vehicle again to another buyer, who wired her $275,000, part of which she used to pay the seller, who then transferred title to the October 2023 buyer, unaware of the February 2023 sale.

Also in 2023, Doherty admitted that she sold a 1983 Porsche 930T Slantnose on consignment for $130,000, without telling (or paying) the owner. To complete the sale, Doherty forged the seller’s signature on the transfer of title document. More than a year later, this buyer contacted the vehicle’s owner, who then learned that his car had been sold and delivered to the buyer despite still being listed as available for sale on the CPR Classic website.

CPR Classic’s vehicle dealer license was suspended by the California Department of Motor Vehicles in September 2024, and it ceased operations soon thereafter.

If you believe that you are a victim in this case, please submit a report to the Internet Crime Complaint Center at https://www.ic3.gov, or to the California Department of Motor Vehicles at https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/customer-service/dmv-complaints-ffinv-1/. Victims can also file a claim through the Consumer Motor Vehicle Recovery Corporation at www.CMVRC.org.

This case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Jeffrey D. Hill.

DEFENDANT                                                            Case Number 25cr4683-AGS

Andrea Nicole Doherty                      Age: 38                                   Fallbrook, CA

SUMMARY OF CHARGES

Wire Fraud – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1343 (three counts)

Maximum penalty: Twenty years in prison and a $250,000 fine per count

INVESTIGATING AGENCIES

Federal Bureau of Investigation

California Department of Motor Vehicles – Criminal Investigations

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

RICHMOND, Va. – A Richmond man was sentenced yesterday to four years and six months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, on Aug. 10, 2024, law enforcement observed Desmond Mikal Hawkins, 31, walking in the Shockoe Bottom neighborhood in Richmond and noticed what they believed to be a concealed firearm. The officers approached Hawkins and asked him if he had a concealed carry permit, and Hawkins falsely claimed that he did but that he did not have it with him. Officers detained Hawkins and recovered a loaded handgun from underneath his shirt in his waistband.

Hawkins is a previously convicted felon, most recently in 2023 for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Hawkins had been released from prison less than a month before the current offense and was on federal supervised release at the time. As a previously convicted felon, Hawkins cannot legally possess firearms or ammunition.

Lindsey Halligan, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Anthony A. Spotswood, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division; and Rick Edwards, Chief of Richmond Police, made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge M. Hannah Lauck.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Ellen H. Theisen prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:25-cr-5.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

DENVER – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Colorado announces that Filiberto Walle, 24, of Edinburgh, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to engage in the business of dealing firearms without a license, and one count of engaging in the business of dealing firearms without a license.

According to the plea agreement, between approximately August 1, 2023, and September 30, 2023, Walle made a business of obtaining .50 BMG caliber rifles from legitimate federal firearms licensees in Colorado, which Walle then dealt unlawfully in the State of Texas and elsewhere. These rifles are also known as anti-materiel rifles which are designed for use against military equipment, structures, and other hardware targets. Walle conspired with others to conceal the fact that he was the actual purchaser of the firearms. For example, Walle arranged for third parties to complete what’s known as a straw transfer, where those parties completed the required background checks to gain physical possession of the firearms and then provide them to Walle.

The ATF’s investigation also led to federal convictions against others who committed their own firearms crimes when facilitating Walle’s illegal firearms dealing:

Mohamed Savane: 23-cr-468-RMR (convicted of Conspiracy to Engage in the Business of Dealing Firearms Without a License);

Malcolm Johnson: 23-cr-468-RMR (convicted of Making a False Statement During Purchase of a Firearm);

Adrian Cervantes: 24-cr-270-CNS (convicted of Making a False Statement During Purchase of a Firearm);

Torien Pryor-Parson: 24-cr-353-REB (convicted of Conspiracy to Commit Making a False Statement During Purchase of a Firearm and Retaliation Against a Witness or Informant).

United States District Judge Charlotte N. Sweeney presided over the hearing. Sentencing will be held on January 30, 2026.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) handled the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Albert Buchman handled the prosecution.

Case Number: 24-cr-00270-CNS

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that JORGE GIOVANNI ESCOBAR GONZALEZ, 41, a citizen of Colombia last residing in Kissimmee, Florida, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to 57 months of imprisonment for his involvement in an organized jewelry theft ring that targeted mall-based stores and kiosks across the country.

According to court documents and statements made in court, from May 2023 through April 2024, Escobar Gonzalez and several other Colombian nationals burglarized jewelry stores and kiosks in malls and then transported the stolen property or the proceeds from it across state lines.  Before the burglaries, Escobar Gonzalez and his associates surveilled the stores and kiosks to formulate game plans and, as part of that reconnaissance, Escobar Gonzalez more than once posed as a legitimate customer to examine the desired merchandise and assess the establishment’s security measures.  During the burglaries, Escobar Gonzalez frequently served as one of the thieves who broke into stores and display cases while other co-conspirators served as lookouts.

Escobar Gonzalez and his co-conspirators burglarized jewelry establishments in Paterson, New Jersey, on May 17, 2023; in Mentor, Ohio, on July 21, 2023; in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on August 13, 2023; in Greece, New York, on September 20, 2023; at the Connecticut Post Mall in Milford, Connecticut, on October 5, 2023; in Lombard, Illinois on October 17, 2023; in Hamilton Township, New Jersey, on October 27, 2023; and in Henrico, Virginia on November 4, 2023.  The total losses from these burglaries exceed $4.4 million. 

Members of the conspiracy also cased additional jewelry stores and kiosks in Iowa, Indiana, Wisconsin, Illinois, and Delaware.

To date, none of the stolen jewelry has been recovered by law enforcement.

On April 9, 2025, Escobar Gonzalez pleaded guilty to interstate transportation of stolen property.  He has been detained since May 19, 2024, when he was arrested in Florida on state charges related to another jewelry burglary.

This investigation has been conducted by the FBI New Haven’s Transnational Organized Crime Task Force with the assistance of the Milford (Conn.) Police Department, the Hamilton Township (N.J.) Police Division, the Delaware State Police, the Henrico County (Va.) Police Division, the New York State Police, the New York Police Department, the Pensacola (Fla.) Police Department, the Paterson (N.J.) Police Department, the Mentor (Ohio) Police Department, the Fort Wayne (Ind.) Police Department, the Greece (N.Y.) Police Department, and the Lombard (Ill.) Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys David T. Huang and Conor M. Reardon.

U.S. Attorney Sullivan thanked the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida, and FBI Field Offices in New York, Dallas, Miami, and Tampa for their assistance.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ST. LOUIS – Jurors in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on Thursday found a St. Louis man guilty of selling the fentanyl that killed an 18-year-old woman in 2023.

Jurors convicted Bobby Lee Jones, 27, one count of distribution of fentanyl resulting in death. Jones’ started Monday.

The 18-year-old victim initially reached out to Jones on the morning of Jan. 15, 2023, asking in a text message for marijuana, evidence and testimony during the trial showed. After a series of messages, he offered to also sell her the pain pill Percocet, and they met shortly after 7 p.m. to exchange cash for the drugs, the messages show. But the pills were fake and contained a fatal dose of fentanyl, evidence showed. Around midnight, when her boyfriend tried to reach her, she was not answering calls or texts. He found her the next day.

Jones’ sentencing has yet to be scheduled. The fentanyl charge carries a penalty of at least 20 years in prison.

Jones’ trial on unrelated carjacking and firearm charges is scheduled for January 5, 2026. Charges set forth in that indictment are merely accusations and do not constitute proof of guilt.  Every defendant is presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jennifer Szczucinski and Nicholas Lake are prosecuting the case.   

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

HOUSTON – A 40-year-old Nigerian citizen who illegally resided in Houston has pleaded guilty for his role in a business email compromise conspiracy and for running a romance scam that targeted victims nationwide, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

Leslie Chinedu Mba, 40, admitted to his role in conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit false statements in immigration documents.

“These online scams that Mba and others perpetrated jeopardized the livelihood of family-run businesses, the ability of elderly individuals to retire, and exploited the trust on which our economy is based,” said Ganjei. “The Southern District of Texas remains committed to holding such fraudsters accountable, and protecting our people and companies from financial harm, especially when these scammers remain in our country under false pretenses and deceive immigration authorities.”

From April 2018 to December 2023, Mba and others inside and outside of the United States carried out business email compromise and romance scams targeting unsuspecting victims. The schemes began overseas, where co-conspirators gained unauthorized access to business email accounts and redirected payments to fraudulent bank accounts.

Victims believed they were sending money to legitimate businesses, but Mba and others instead funneled the funds to accounts they controlled. Mba and others acted as money mules, opening or using existing bank accounts to collect and move proceeds from the fraud.

Additionally, Mba tried to obtain U.S. permanent residency through multiple fraudulent marriages after his initial application was denied and he was ordered to be removed from the country.

The scheme resulted in a total loss of $4 million.

Four others had also previously pleaded guilty to the same charges – Grace Morisho, 30, Rodgers Kadikilo, 29, Kristin Smith, 37, and Alexandra Golovko, 35, all of Houston.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner accepted the plea and set sentencing for Feb. 26, 2026. At that time, Mba faces up to 20 years for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and five years for committing false statements on immigration documents as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine.

He will remain in custody pending that hearing.

FBI conducted the investigation with the assistance of Houston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen M. Lansden and Alexander Alum are prosecuting the case.