Author: MIL-OSI Publisher

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

DES MOINES, Iowa – On November 13, 2025, a federal grand jury in Des Moines returned a three-count indictment with offenses relating to false statements on two loan applications and during bankruptcy proceedings.

As alleged in the Indictment, Henry J. Schappert, 57, applied for and obtained over $415,000 of Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans in 2020 and 2021 ostensibly on behalf of his company, Allied Exteriors. The Indictment alleges that Schappert made several false statements on applications or amended applications for the loans which included inflated number of employees, revenue, cost of goods sold, and employee wages.

The Indictment further alleges that Schappert, in 2021, after receiving the EIDL and PPP loan proceeds, formed Pots and Shots, LLC, a bar and plant store in West Des Moines, Iowa. Schappert subsequently transferred over $129,000 from Allied Exteriors’ accounts to this new venture.

The Indictment also alleges that Schappert filed for bankruptcy in the Southern District of Iowa in 2024, in which he made several false declarations on his bankruptcy petition and schedules.

United States Attorney David C. Waterman of the Southern District of Iowa made the announcement. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating the case with assistance from the Office of the United States Trustee.

Assistant United States Attorney Joseph Lubben is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation, and 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

MADISON, WIS. – Chadwick M. Elgersma, Acting United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Kordarow Moore, 36, Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, was sentenced on December 1, 2025, by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 30 months in federal prison for illegally possessing a firearm as a felon, and an  additional 9 months in federal prison for violating the terms of his federal supervision for a previous federal drug trafficking conviction. Moore pleaded guilty to the felon in possession charge on September 12, 2025.

On September 22, 2024, a law enforcement officer stopped Moore’s car for speeding on Interstate 94 in Jefferson County, Wisconsin. Moore was driving 101 miles per hour, which is more than 30 miles per hour over the legal limit. Moore was later arrested for operating a vehicle while intoxicated. Officers searched the car following Moore’s arrest and found a loaded AK-47 style rifle under the front passenger seat. The firearm had an extended magazine that contained approximately 40 rounds of ammunition with one round in the chamber.

At sentencing, Judge Conley stated that the type of firearm possessed by Moore posed a deadly threat to others and went far beyond a need for personal protection. Further, Judge Conley emphasized that it was inexplicable that Moore would possess a firearm, let alone this type of firearm, while under the Court’s supervision for another federal offense and while intoxicated.

The charge against Moore was the result of an investigation conducted by the Wisconsin State Patrol, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and the ATF Madison Crime Gun Task Force, which is comprised of federal agents from ATF and task force officers from state and local agencies throughout the Western District of Wisconsin. Assistant U.S. Attorneys David J. Reinhard and Kathryn Ginsberg Ostrow prosecuted this case.

Federal criminal cases involving firearms are part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the U.S. 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).

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Multi-Agency Partnership Continues Efforts to Combat Health Care Fraud and Protect Taxpayer Dollars

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Ocala, Florida – United States District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced David Araujo (57, St. Petersburg) to 27 years and 3 months in federal prison, followed by a lifetime term of supervised release, for production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. Araujo entered a guilty plea on July 23, 2025. 

According to the plea agreement and court records, in July 2024 during an operation hosted by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, an undercover officer from the Ocala Police Department posed online as a 14-year-old prostitute (UC). Araujo messaged the UC and, after learning the UC’s age, engaged in a sexually explicit conversation with the UC. During the conversation, Araujo also described to the UC a prior relationship he had had with another minor. Araujo was arrested by law enforcement when he drove from St. Petersburg to Marion County to meet with the UC to engage in sexual activity. A search of Araujo’s cellphone revealed he had produced CSAM with the previous minor victim on September 25, 2023. 

This case was investigated by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, the Ocala Police Department, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that Shawn Adampeter Grunther (42, Marion County) has pleaded guilty to attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. Grunther faces a minimum penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, in July 2025, a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) special agent posed online as a 14-year-old girl (UC). Grunther messaged the UC account, and after learning the minor’s age, engaged in a sexually explicit conversation. On July 24, 2025, Grunther was arrested when he traveled to a location in Marion County to meet the UC to engage in sexual activity.

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Baltimore, Maryland – Today, U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes announced that the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland recently secured several criminal complaints, indictments, and sentencings in connection with the Department of Justice’s Operation Take Back America.

A nationwide initiative, Operation Take Back America marshals the full resources of the DOJ 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. Below are recent examples of prosecutions the office secured in connection with this initiative.

On December 2, 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland filed a criminal complaint, against Anderson Martinez-Montenegro, 28, and Elmer Ortiz-Berduo, 37, both citizens of Guatemala and unlawfully present in the United States. They are charged with resisting arrest and assaulting federal officers.

On November 24, 2025, U.S. District Judge Adam B. Abelson sentenced Jairo Eliu Aguilar-Lopez, 54, of El Salvador, to 15 months in federal prison, followed by one year of supervised release, for illegally reentering the United States after he was deported on two separate occasions.

On November 14, 2025, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland filed a criminal complaint against Cristian Rivas-Bonilla, 26, of El Salvador, charging him with resisting, opposing, impeding, and interfering with federal law enforcement officers. Rivas-Bonilla was subject to removal from the United States in connection with a final order of removal to El Salvador from an immigration judge.

On October 30, 2025, U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman sentenced Sarah Maud Jess, 62, a Jamaican national living in Capitol Heights, Maryland, to five years in federal prison for two counts, distributing more than 40 grams of fentanyl and re-entry of an alien removed after conviction for an aggravated felony.

On October 16, 2025, a federal grand jury indicted Luis Melendez Serrano, 19; Kevin Melendez Serrano, 23; Alex Pena Martinez, 19; and William Rivera Nolasco, 19, charging them with conspiring to traffic firearms. According to the indictment, Luis Melendez Serrano and Martinez are illegal aliens who unlawfully possessed a firearm. Additionally, Luis Melendez Serrano, Martinez, and Nolasco are charged with possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine.

On October 2, 2025, U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Maddox sentenced Francisco Reymundo-Reymundo, 30, a citizen of Guatemala, to eight months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for illegally reentering the United States. This marks Reymundo-Reymundo’s third illegal reentry conviction. According to Court filings, the U.S. previously deported Reymundo-Reymundo four other times.

U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the Maryland Office’s Assistant U.S. Attorneys and support staff for their work in these investigations.

For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that Terry Levi Brown (36, Summerfield) has pleaded guilty to attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. Brown faces a minimum penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to court documents, in July 2025, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office conducted an undercover operation aimed at apprehending individuals using the internet to sexually exploit children. On July 27, 2025, two detectives from the Marion County Sheriff’s Office posed online as a 14-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl. Brown messaged both undercover accounts. After learning he was speaking with a minor, Brown engaged in sexually explicit conversations with both undercover accounts. Brown was arrested when he subsequently traveled to a location in Marion County to meet the minors to engage in sexual activity. 

This case was investigated by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Ocala, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces that Keiron Jashua Williams (23, Deltona) has pleaded guilty to attempted enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. Williams faces a minimum penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, in June 2025, a detective with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office posed online as a 13-year-old girl (UC). Williams messaged the UC account. After learning he was speaking with a minor, Williams engaged in a sexually explicit conversation. On July 5, 2025, Williams was arrested when he traveled to a location in Marion County to meet the minor to engage in sexual activity. A search of Williams’s car revealed he had brought an unopened box of condoms, a video game system, and marijuana for the meeting with the minor.   

This case was investigated by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sarah Janette Swartzberg.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.