Category: MIL-OSI

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

SIOUX FALLS – United States Attorney Ronald A. Parsons, Jr. announced today that United States District Chief Judge Roberto A. Lange has sentenced a former middle school teacher from Sioux Falls, South Dakota convicted of four counts of Production of Child Pornography, three counts of Attempted Production of Child Pornography, and one count of Transfer of Obscene Materials to a Minor. The sentencing took place on October 14, 2025.

Justin Preuschl, age 29, was sentenced to 24 years and 4 months in federal prison, 7 years of supervised release, restitution in the amount of $1,000, a special assessment of $1,000 under the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Act of 2018, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $800. Upon release from federal prison, Preuschl must register as a sex offender.

Preuschl was indicted by a federal grand jury in June 2024. He pleaded guilty on July 15, 2025.

Between 2022 and 2024, Preuschl created multiple social media personas posing as a teenage boy. Using his personas on SnapChat and TikTok, Preuschl targeted and sexually groomed over 20 young teenage and preteen girls and convinced several of them to produce for him child sexual abuse materials. The victims included some of his own students, ages 13-15 years old, while he was a teacher at Whittier Middle School in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

This case was investigated by the Sioux Falls Police Department, the Division of Criminal Investigations, and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth A. Ebert-Webb prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by 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 identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

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

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Winner Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Federal Prison in Child Sex Trafficking Case and Co-defendant Sentenced to 7 Years in Federal Prison

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

PIERRE – United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Eric C. Schulte has sentenced a Mission, South Dakota man convicted of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon.  The sentencing took place on October 20, 2025.

Robert Romero, age 48, was sentenced to five years and eight 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.

Romero was indicted by a federal grand jury in October 2024.  He pleaded guilty on July 21, 2025.

The conviction stems from an incident that occurred in May 2024 within the boundaries of the Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation.  On May 12, 2024, Romero was driving a vehicle in Mission when he observed the victim walking alongside the roadway.  Romero stopped his vehicle and argued with the victim.  Romero then exited his vehicle and produced a machete, which he used to strike the victim’s arm, inflicting a serious injury that required hospitalization.

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 Rosebud Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement Services.  Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Kirk Albertson prosecuted the case.

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

Source: United States Department of Justice

As federal employees return to work following the recent lapse in appropriations, OIP is aware that there are questions regarding whether the lapse in appropriations affects how agencies should count the number of days needed to respond to FOIA requests and administrative appeals. OIP has issued guidance to federal agencies in calculating FOIA response times for requests received during the government shutdown.

Agencies should use the automatically generated received date as the “date received” for electronic communication.  For physical mail, the date on which the mail was physically received by the FOIA office should control.  For most agencies, this means that the “date received” for physical mail will be the date that the government reopened, November 13, 2025. You can read the full guidance piece here.

OIP’s FOIA Counselor Service and Annual FOIA Report Team are available to answer any questions on this guidance or any other topic regarding FOIA administration by calling (202) 514-FOIA (3642).

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Editor’s Note: This matter occurred on date indicated but not published at that time due to the government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

            WASHINGTON – Kunal Mehta, 45, of Irvine, California, pleaded guilty today in connection with his role in a multi-state conspiracy that used social engineering to steal hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency from victims throughout the United States, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.

            Mehta, aka “Papa,” “The Accountant,” and “Shrek,” pleaded to participating in a RICO conspiracy before U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly and admitted that he helped to launder at least $25 million.

            Joining in the announcement were FBI Special Agent in Charge Reid Davis of the Washington Field Office Criminal Division and Executive Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (CI), Washington, D.C. Field Office.

            “Kunal Mehta along with his co-conspirators stole hundreds of millions of dollars in cryptocurrency from victims and then laundered that money to give it the appearance of legitimacy, spending it lavishly on themselves,” said U.S. Attorney Pirro. “We are committed to rooting out fraud and holding those responsible fully accountable.”

            ‘Mehta is the eighth defendant to plead guilty for his role in this scheme,” said the FBI’s Davis. “Today’s plea reaffirms the FBI’s commitment to exposing fraudsters and should remind Americans to beware of online scammers: Do not reply to calls, emails, or texts that request personal information, such as your password, PIN, or any one-time passwords that are sent to your email or phone.”

            According to the court documents, the social engineering enterprise began before October 2023 and continued through at least March 2025. It grew from friendships developed on online gaming platforms and was comprised of individuals based in California, Connecticut, New York, Florida, and abroad.

            Mehta was a money launderer for the group which also included database hackers, organizers, target identifiers, callers, money launderers, and residential burglars targeting hardware virtual currency wallets.

            According to court documents, members of the enterprise stole cryptocurrency from victims throughout the United States through elaborate ruses committed online and through spoofed phone numbers. They then used the stolen virtual currency to purchase, among other things, nightclub services ranging up to $500,000 per evening, luxury handbags valued in the tens of thousands of dollars that were given away at nightclub parties, luxury watches valued between $100,000 and $500,000, luxury clothing valued in the tens of thousands of dollars, rental homes in Los Angeles, the Hamptons, and Miami, private jet rentals, a team of private security guards, and a fleet of at least 28 exotic cars ranging in value from $100,000 to $3.8 million.

            The original indictment alleges that on Aug. 18, 2024, Mehta’s co-conspirator Malone Lam and another associate contacted a victim in the District of Columbia and, through the communications with that victim, fraudulently obtained over 4,100 Bitcoin – valued then at $263 million, and valued this week at more than $384.5 million.

            Mehta first met the members of the in early 2024 through a money exchanger who was friendly with the owner of a Los Angeles exotic car dealership. The money exchanger solicited Mehta’s assistance with crypto-to-cash conversions in the tens of thousands of dollars. Mehta charged a 10% fee for converting the cryptocurrency to fiat cash.

            Mehta created multiple shell companies in 2024 for the purpose of laundering funds through bank accounts created to give the appearance of legitimacy. To facilitate crypto-to-wire money laundering services, Mehta received stolen cryptocurrency from the group which they had already laundered. Mehta then transferred the cryptocurrency to associates who further laundered it through sophisticated blockchain laundering techniques. The solen funds returned to Mehta’s shell company bank accounts through incoming wire transfers from additional shell companies organized by others throughout the United States.

            When members of the conspiracy requested cash, Mehta often delivered it himself. Mehta also performed wire transfers for the group, sending stolen funds to an exotic car dealership, a private jet company and real estate rental companies in exchange for a 10% fee for himself. 

             In addition, Mehta used his shell companies to facilitate exotic car purchases for members of the criminal enterprise. The co-conspirators — predominately 18-, 19-, and 20-year-olds — did not want Lamborghinis, Rolls Royces, Porsches, Ferraris and the like held in their true names because it would bring unwanted attention to their unexplained wealth as unemployed young men. Mehta titled the vehicles in the names of his shell companies to help disguise the true owners. He also sought out straw signers who would place their names on the car titles and purchase documents in exchange for payments which exceeded $10,000 per signing. In turn, Mehta would typically charge a 10% fee for his services.

            The FBI, IRS-CI, and U.S. Attorney’s Office are committed to helping prevent Americans from falling victim to cryptocurrency investment fraud schemes.

            If someone claiming to be a company “representative” contacts you and asks you to provide personal information or to verify your account by providing a code, you should initiate a new call to that company by dialing the company’s verified customer service line. You can visit the FBI’s website for more information about cryptocurrency investment fraud.

            This case is being investigated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, the FBI’s Washington Field Office, and the IRS-Criminal Investigation Washington D.C. Field Office. Significant investigative and operational support was provided by the FBI’s Los Angeles and Miami field offices.

            The matter is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Kevin Rosenberg, Co-Chief of the Fraud, Public Corruption, and Civil Rights Section of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

24cr417

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that on November 5, 2025, DARYL TODD, 45, of Vernon, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to 84 months of imprisonment and five years of supervised release for enticing minors to send him sexually explicit images and videos on Snapchat.

According to court documents and statements made in court, an investigation by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force revealed that Todd used Snapchat to communicate with minor girls and entice them to send him sexually explicit images and videos of themselves, sometimes in return for money that Todd sent the victims using the mobile payment service Cash App.  Todd also sent sexually explicit images of himself to the minor victims.

After Todd was arrested on March 7, 2024, analysis of his cellphone and tablet revealed sexually explicit images of minor females.

On April 8, 2025, Todd pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography.

Todd, who is released on a $100,000 bond, is required to report to prison on January 7.

This matter was investigated by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy V. Gifford through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Editor’s Note: This matter occurred on date indicated but not published at that time due to the government shutdown. Press release posted and made available following the return to normal operations.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Like federal employees across the country, during the lapse in funding that began on October 1, 2025, and ended during the evening of November 12, 2025, the men and women of the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Vermont were not paid for the work they performed. Nevertheless, during that time, the office’s accomplishments included the following:

   Cases Charged

•    On October 2, the Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Tashama Oates, 47, from Connecticut, with conspiracy to distribute, and possession with intent to distribute, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine. If convicted Oates faces a mandatory minimum sentence of at least 10 years’ imprisonment. On October 14, Oates was ordered detained pending trial.

•    On October 15, the Grand Jury returned a superseding indictment charging Dontayveus Thomas, 33, of Florida, with conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine, and possessing a firearm in connection with his drug conspiracy. If convicted Thomas faces a mandatory minimum sentence of at least 15 years’ imprisonment. He has been ordered detained pending trial.

•    On October 16, the Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Deandre Watson, 35, from Detroit, Michigan, with possession with intent to distribute cocaine base. If convicted, Watson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of at least 5 years’ imprisonment. Watson had previously been charged by criminal complaint, and on October 10 was ordered detained pending trial.

•    On October 16, the Grand Jury also returned an indictment charging Jamelle Willis, 39, from Brooklyn, New York, with possession with intent to distribute cocaine base. If convicted Willis faces a mandatory minimum sentence of at least 5 years’ imprisonment. The government sought Willis’s detention, but he was ordered released on conditions.

•    On October 22, Juan Pablo Espinoza-Morales, 51, of Mexico, was charged by criminal complaint with transporting nine aliens (from Brazil, Portugal, Guatemala, and Venezuela) into the United States from Canada. If convicted, he faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment. He has been ordered detained pending trial.

•    On October 23, the Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Isiah Smith, 38, from Brooklyn, New York, with conspiracy to distribute heroin and cocaine base. If convicted, Smith faces a mandatory minimum sentence of at least 10 years’ imprisonment. Smith had been previously charged by criminal complaint, and on October 15 was ordered detained pending trial.

•    On October 23, the Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Ezra Dillon, 34, from Burlington, Vermont, with a Hobbs Act robbery in connection with his brandishing a knife while stealing from City Market in Burlington. If convicted, Dillon faces a potential sentence of up to 20 years’ imprisonment. Dillon, who had been previously charged by criminal complaint, was ordered detained pending trial.  

•    On October 29, the Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Mark Billy Brown, 31, from Springfield, Massachusetts, with possession with intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl. Brown faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment if convicted. Brown was previously charged by criminal complaint, and has been ordered detained pending trial.

•    On October 29, the Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Raymond Regimbald, 54, from Rutland, Vermont, with various offenses relating to the distribution of cocaine. If convicted, Regimbald faces up to 20 years’ imprisonment. He has been ordered detained pending trial.

•    On October 30, the Grand Jury returned a superseding indictment charging Maurice Jackson, 33, from Brooklyn, New York, with conspiracy to manufacture and distribute more than 280 grams of cocaine base. If convicted Jackson faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years. He has been ordered detained pending trial.

•    On October 30, the Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Aldrain Ashby, 40, with distribution of fentanyl and that such distribution resulted in the death of one victim, and serious bodily injury to another. Ashby was also charged with distributing fentanyl within 1000 feet of a school in South Burlington. If convicted Ashby faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment. He has been ordered detained pending trial.

•    On October 30, the Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Mohamed Mubarak, 28, from Kenya, with making a false statement in connection with his attempt to acquire firearms from a licensed firearm dealer. If convicted, Mubarak faces up to 10 years’ imprisonment. He has been ordered detained pending trial.

•    On November 6, the Grand Jury returned a three-count superseding indictment charging Tremaine Knight, 43, from Hartford, Connecticut, with one count of murder-for-hire, one count of distribution of cocaine and fentanyl, and one count of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. If convicted, Knight faces up to a lifetime prison sentence. He has been ordered detained pending trial.

•    On November 6, the Grand Jury returned a two-count indictment charging Haley Morgan, 21, from Burlington, Vermont, with enticing and attempting to entice a minor child to engage in unlawful sexual conduct and with distribution of child sexual abuse materials. If convicted, Morgan faces a mandatory minimum sentence of at least 15 years’ imprisonment. The government sought Morgan’s detention, but she was ordered released on conditions.

•    On November 6, the Grand Jury returned a six-count indictment charging Ayman Khalifa, 25, from St. Albans, Vermont, with distribution of cocaine and possession with intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl. If convicted Khalifa faces a mandatory minimum sentence of at least five years’ imprisonment. He has been ordered detained pending trial.

•    On November 12, the Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Guadalupe Vargas, 43, from Arleta, California, with distributing methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute cocaine base and fentanyl, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug crime. If convicted, Vargas faces a mandatory minimum sentence of at least 10 years’ imprisonment. Vargas has been ordered detained pending trial.

•    On November 12, the Grand Jury returned an indictment charging Dejaneiro McDaniel, 20, from Lancaster, California, with distribution of cocaine base and fentanyl. If convicted McDaniel faces up to 20 years in prison. He has not had a court appearance yet.

   Sentencings

•    On October 6, Davonne Brown, 42, from Manhattan, New York, was sentenced to a 110-month prison term, to be followed by three years of supervised release following his plea to conspiring to carry a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking offense.

•    On October 9, Hussein Iman, 21, from Springfield, Massachusetts, was sentenced to a 120-month prison term, to be followed by three years of supervised release, following his guilty plea to drug and money laundering offenses.

•    On October 16, Davon Lee, 26, from Springfield, Massachusetts, was sentenced to a 60-month prison term, to be followed by three years of supervised release, following his guilty plea to possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.

•    On October 20, Meghan Cox, 40, from Laconia, New Hampshire, was sentenced to a 20-month prison term, to be followed by three years of supervised release, following her guilty plea to conspiring to commit a robbery by force on a commercial business. (On September 30, 2025, her co-defendant Christopher Boisvert had received a 74-month prison sentence following his guilty plea to bank robbery.)

•    On October 22, Gordon Richard, 77, from Georgia, Vermont, was sentenced to an 18-month prison term, to be followed by three years of supervised release, following his guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute cocaine.

•    On October 22, James Plunkett, 40, recently from Burlington, Vermont, was sentenced to a 78-month prison term, to be followed by a three-year term of supervised release, following his guilty plea to bank robbery.

•    On October 23, Joseph Cadorette, II, 38, from Williamstown, Vermont, was sentenced to a 40-month prison term, to be followed by three years of supervised release, following his guilty plea to using and maintaining a place to further drug distribution activities.

•    On October 27, Gabriel Lopes Da Silva Santos, 28, from Brazil, was sentenced to a 9-month prison term following his guilty plea to possessing a firearm as an alien in the United States without immigration status.

•    On November 3, Jaquan Rivera, 26, from New Britain, Connecticut, was sentenced to a 48-month prison term, to be followed by three years of supervised release, following his guilty plea to being a felon in possession of a firearm and possessing with intent to distribute fentanyl.

   Other Matters

•    The United States also successfully forfeited the Milton residence of Gordon Richard, because he had utilized that location to further the drug crime for which he was sentenced on October 22, as described above.

All indictments and complaints are allegations only. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until they are convicted. Upon conviction, the Court’s sentencing decisions will be informed by the Federal Sentencing Guidelines and Statutory Sentencing Factors.

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