Category: MIL-OSI

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The Department of Justice announced that Clift Seferlis, 55, of Garrett Park, Maryland, entered a plea of guilty today before U.S. District Judge Mark A. Kearney on 17 counts of mailing threatening communications and eight counts of obstruction of free exercise of religious beliefs, arising from numerous threats sent to Jewish organizations and entities.

Seferlis was charged with those offenses by information last month, following his arrest in June on a criminal complaint and warrant in connection with such threats.

As presented in court filings and admitted to by the defendant, from at least March 2024 through at least June 2025, Seferlis used the United States mail to transmit at least 40 letters and at least two postcards to more than 25 Jewish organizations and entities located in multiple jurisdictions, including, but not limited to, synagogues, Jewish museums, Jewish community centers, Jewish schools, Jewish non-profit organizations, and a Jewish delicatessen. In many of these letters and postcards, Seferlis threatened to destroy physical buildings and/or to injure individuals.

Specifically, Seferlis caused the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) to deliver threatening communications to these institutions on or about the following dates:

• Jewish Institution 1, a synagogue in Washington, D.C.
  • (March 6, 2024; January 24, 2025)
• Jewish Institution 2, an entity in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • (April 4, 2024; July 29, 2024; January 18, 2025; March 5, 2025; May 7, 2025; May 9, 2025)
• Jewish Institution 3, an entity in Fairfax, Virginia
  • (January 18, 2025)
• Jewish Institution 4, a synagogue in Gaithersburg, Maryland
  • (February 3, 2025)
• Jewish Institution 5, an entity in Fairfax, Virginia
  • (February 7, 2025)
• Jewish Institution 6, a synagogue in Hagerstown, Maryland
  • (March 2025)
• Jewish Institution 7, an entity in Rockville, Maryland
  • (May 12, 2025)
• Jewish Institution 8, an entity in Washington, D.C.
  • (May 29, 2025; June 3, 2025)
• Jewish Institution 9, an entity in Washington, D.C.
  • (June 3, 2025)
• Jewish Institution 10, a synagogue in Brookline, Massachusetts
  • (June 3, 2025)

Each communication listed above contained a threat to injure the occupants of the receiving institution.

As court filings further detail, the defendant, by threat of force, intentionally obstructed and attempted to obstruct congregants and other attendees in the enjoyment of their free exercise of religious beliefs, by threatening to harm the occupants of:

• Jewish Institution 1, a synagogue in Washington, D.C.
  • (March 6, 2024; January 24, 2025)
• Jewish Institution 11, a synagogue in Rockville, Maryland
  • (January 25, 2025)
• Jewish Institution 12, a synagogue in Falls Church, Virginia
  • (January 31, 2025)
• Jewish Institution 13, a synagogue in Gaithersburg, Maryland
  • (February 3, 2025)
• Jewish Institution 14, a synagogue in Washington, D.C.
  • (February 10, 2025)
• Jewish Institution 15, a synagogue in Hagerstown, Maryland
  • (March 2025)
• Jewish Institution 16, a synagogue in Brookline, Massachusetts
  • (June 3, 2025)

Further, the offenses against Jewish Institution 12, Jewish Institution 13, Jewish Institution 14, and Jewish Institution 15 included the threatened use of a dangerous weapon, fire, or explosives.

Seferlis waived venue as to those institutions and synagogues not in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and agreed to be charged in this District.

Seferlis is scheduled to be sentenced on March 16. He faces a maximum penalty of 169 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $5,650,000 fine.

This case was investigated by FBI Philadelphia, with assistance from FBI Baltimore, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Montgomery County (Md.) Police Department, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland’s Greenbelt office. The Anti-Defamation League, Secure Community Network, and Delaware Valley Intelligence Center also provided assistance with this case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S Attorney Mark Dubnoff for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Trial Attorney Taylor Payne of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Louis, Missouri on Monday admitted recording his sexual abuse of a five-year-old.

Marshall Williams, 41, pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography. Williams admitted sexually abusing the victim and recording it with his cell phone in March of 2024. After the victim’s aunt found the videos, she alerted the victim’s mother and they confronted Williams, who fled. They then contacted the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department.

Williams is scheduled to be sentenced Feb. 19, 2026. His crime carries a mandatory minimum prison term of 15 years, with a maximum term of 30 years.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jillian Anderson is prosecuting 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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Department of Justice Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Source: United States Department of Justice

WASHINGTON – Today, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against California, Governor Gavin Newsom, and Attorney General Robert Bonta challenging their unconstitutional attempt to regulate federal law enforcement officers through the so-called “No Secret Police Act” and “No Vigilantes Act.”

Not only are the laws illegal attempts to discriminate against and regulate the federal government, but, as alleged in the complaint, the laws threaten the safety of federal officers who have faced an unprecedent wave of harassment, doxxing, and even violence. Threatening officers with prosecution for simply protecting their identities and their families also chills the enforcement of federal law and compromises sensitive law enforcement operations. The danger is acute.

“Law enforcement officers risk their lives every day to keep Americans safe, and they do not deserve to be doxed or harassed simply for carrying out their duties,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “California’s anti-law enforcement policies discriminate against the federal government and are designed to create risk for our agents. These laws cannot stand.”

“The Department of Justice will steadfastly protect the privacy and safety of law enforcement from unconstitutional state laws like California’s,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.

“Assaults against federal agents have exploded over the last few months, thanks in part to recklessness political rhetoric aiming to delegitimize our brave agents,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli of the Central District of California. “Unconstitutional laws such as this one further endanger our brave men and women protecting our community. Our immigration enforcement will continue unabated and unhindered by unconstitutional state laws enacted by irresponsible politicians.”

On her first day in office, Attorney General Bondi instructed the Department’s Civil Division to identify state and local laws, policies, and practices that facilitate violations of federal laws or impede lawful federal operations. Today’s lawsuit is the latest in a series of lawsuits brought by the Civil Division targeting illegal policies designed to thwart federal law enforcement across the country, including in New York, New Jersey, and Los Angeles, California. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

According to court records and evidence, on the afternoon of August 14, 2024, REID and his girlfriend were at the Hanes Mall Shopping Center located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Following a confrontation with another mallgoer, REID pulled out a gun and shot at the other man. The shot missed and went into a nearby store that was occupied by both employees and customers.  The other man fled towards the mall exit while REID chased him. Once outside the mall doors, REID shot the man in the back, hitting him in the spine. As the man lay injured on the ground, REID approached him and used the firearm to pistol-whip him multiple times. REID and his girlfriend then fled the mall and were found shortly afterward a nearby hotel.  At the time of the shooting, REID was on post-release supervision for another offense.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The Defendant was a Leader of the “Maniac Murder Cult” and Recruited Others to Bomb and Poison the Jewish Community and Racial Minorities

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

BILLINGS – A Billings man accused of kidnapping admitted to charges today, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

The defendant, Joshua Lawrence Wellington, 34, pleaded guilty to one count of kidnapping. Wellington faces a maximum potential term of life imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and 5 years of supervised release.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan presided. U.S. District Judge Susan P. Watters will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing will be set for a later date. Wellington was detained pending further proceedings.

The government alleged in court documents that in June 2024, Wellington and Jane Doe were in a dating relationship. Wellington was absconding from Montana Probation & Parole and staying in Miles City. Doe visited Wellington in Miles City on three occasions. Wellington used methamphetamine during those visits. During the final visit, on June 29, 2024, Doe and Wellington got a hotel room. Wellington became aggressive and angry during sex with Doe, threatened to hit her over the head with a liquor bottle, then strangled her until she began to pass out. Doe begged him to stop, and he hit her over the head with the liquor bottle.

Wellington told Doe that Doe had “gone too far,” and they were going to leave Miles City and Montana. Wellington forced Doe into her car and took her cell phone. As soon as Wellington got onto the highway, he began to beat Doe. He hit her with his right hand while he drove with his left. He pulled the rearview mirror and a sun visor off Doe’s car and beat her with those items, stabbed her with a pen, threatened to beat her progressively worse if she did not comply with him, and told her to write a letter to her son telling him good-bye. Doe was terrified and did not feel she could willingly leave.

This continued for several hours until Wellington needed to stop for gas in Lemmon, South Dakota. Wellington placed Doe on the floorboard of the passenger seat and covered her with a blanket. Wellington told Doe not to do anything stupid and stated that if he got caught, he would kill her when he got out of custody. Doe ran out of the car and yelled for help in the parking lot and the gas station. Wellington was ultimately arrested after a high-speed pursuit. Wellington admitted that he hit Doe “quite a bit.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case.  The FBI conducted the investigation.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

PROVIDENCE – A Florida man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Rhode Island for allegedly trafficking 37 kilograms of cocaine, announced Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.

Rafael Rivera, 33, of Miami, Florida has been charged with one count of Possession with Intent to Distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine. Rivera was arraigned in federal court today, November 17, 2025.

According to charging documents, in June 2025 Rivera used a rental vehicle to transport thirty-seven kilograms of cocaine from Miami, Florida to Smithfield, Rhode Island.  When stopped by Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agents, he admitted to possessing the narcotics, which were seized.  Rivera was arrested on the scene.   

A federal criminal indictment is merely an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney G. Michael Seaman.

The matter was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

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 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 and Project Safe Neighborhood.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on Monday sentenced a man to 12 years in prison for the robbery or attempted robbery of eight stores and businesses in St. Louis.

Jermel Rush, 43, of St. Louis, pleaded guilty in June to seven counts of robbery, one count of attempted robbery and one count of use of a firearm during a crime of violence. As part of his plea agreement, he admitted the following acts:

• On June 21, 2018, Rush used an Airsoft gun that appeared to be a handgun to rob a retail store in the 4400 block of Natural Bridge Road. Rush took cash after grabbing a clerk by the neck and dragging her to the cash register.
• On July 6, 2018, Rush used an Airsoft gun that resembled a large revolver to hold employees of a grocery store in the 3600 block of Page Avenue at gunpoint and steal cash.
• On Oct. 9, 2018, Rush tried unsuccessfully to rob a retail store in the 4300 block of North Grand Boulevard by using the Airsoft revolver to force employees to unlock the store after closing time. Rush also threatened to kill the manager.
• On Oct. 28, 2018, Rush grabbed the assistant manager’s neck and used the Airsoft revolver to rob a retail store in the 5000 block of Enright Avenue of cash. He also threatened to kill the assistant manager.
• Two days later, Rush used the Airsoft revolver to rob a retailer in the 1400 block of North Grand Boulevard of cash and clothing.
• On Nov. 8, 2018, Rush used a firearm to rob a business in the 300 block of North Sarah Street of cash and threatened to shoot an employee.
• On Nov. 14, 2018, Ruch robbed a cell phone store in the 4900 block of Delmar Boulevard of cash while armed with a handgun.
• The next day, Rush robbed a retail store in the 3100 block of Dr. Martin Luther King Drive at gunpoint of cash, Christmas lights and dish towels. He told the manager he would “…blow your head off, hurry up.”

When St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department officers arrested Rush, he had a .40 caliber handgun that matched the description of the gun used in the final three robberies.

On Monday, Judge Fleissig also ordered Rush to repay $4,237 to the businesses that he robbed.

The St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Torrie J. Schneider prosecuted the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

WILMINGTON, N.C. – A Morrisville man will spend the next 20 years in federal prison for flooding North Carolina and the Southeast with methamphetamine and other dangerous drugs. Federal prosecutors held Julio Cesar Orozco-Gomez, 34, a naturalized citizen and cartel member, accountable after he pled guilty to the charges on September 30, 2024.

“This cartel thug poisoned our communities with meth and fentanyl and armed himself with high-powered weapons to protect his criminal business,” said U.S. Attorney Ellis Boyle. “Thanks to the work of our federal, state, and local law enforcement partners, we dismantled a cartel pipeline and made North Carolina safer. This case shows that these dangerous drugs are not made in North Carolina, and the Cartel has to work to import this poison. Let me be clear – anyone who participates in such cartel activity will find themselves locked up in federal prison for a long time.”

According to court documents and evidence, Orozco-Gomez led a cartel-connected group that produced and distributed methamphetamine and other drugs across the region. He identified himself as a member of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel, which the United States designated in early 2025 as a Foreign Terrorist Organization and Specially Designated Global Terrorists. Orozco-Gomez ran and supervised a liquid conversion lab in his Morrisville apartment and detached garage. There, he and his co-conspirators converted liquid methamphetamine smuggled from Mexico into crystal meth by drying it with hazardous chemicals such as acetone. Prosecutors proved that his manufacturing and distribution created a substantial risk of harm to human life because he engaged in these hazardous processes in a residential area. During the investigation, Orozco-Gomez bragged about using a college-educated chemist to help him with this hazardous process.

Federal and local law enforcement searched his home and seized several kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, methamphetamine, marijuana, and fentanyl. They also recovered four guns, ammunition, and over $50,000 of cash in the case.

During sentencing the Judge described his operation as a “pipeline” that funneled deadly chemicals from Mexico into the Eastern District of North Carolina. The Judge also noted, the “staggering amount” of drugs the group trafficked represented “tens of thousands of fatal doses.”

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).

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kelly L. Sandling and Logan W. Liles prosecuted the case. The Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, and various local law enforcement agencies investigated the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No. 5:24-CR-38-M-RJ.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

This release was published following the 43-day government shutdown during which the sentencing occurred.

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – A former resident of Roaring Spring, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 46 months of imprisonment, to be followed by six years of supervised release, on his conviction of violating federal narcotics laws related to a six-month Title III wiretap investigation into drug trafficking in and around Blair, Cambria, Centre, and Clearfield counties, First Assistant United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced.

United States District Judge Stephanie L. Haines imposed the sentence on Joshua Pote, 42, on November 4, 2025.

According to information presented to the Court, investigators seized a quantity of methamphetamine from Pote on August 8, 2023.

Assistant United States Attorney Jonathan D. Lusty prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

First Assistant United States Attorney Rivetti commended the Drug Enforcement Administration, United States Postal Service–Office of Inspector General, United States Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations, Internal Revenue Service, Pittsburgh Bureau of Police, and Pennsylvania State Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Pote.