Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
United States Attorney Ryan Raybould announced that a federal grand jury in the Northern District of Texas returned a twelve-count indictment against an Amarillo man for conspiracy to provide firearms to the Sinaloa Cartel and three others charged with related crimes on June 25.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
An Ohio man was sentenced to prison today in connection with his involvement with online groups dedicated to creating and distributing videos depicting acts of extreme violence and sexual abuse against monkeys.
Nicholas T. Dryden, of Cincinnati, was sentenced to 108 months in prison and three years of supervised release for creating so-called “animal crush videos,” and for conspiring to create and distribute animal crush videos.
According to court documents, in 2023 Dryden paid a minor residing in Indonesia to create videos of monkeys being tortured and abused. Dryden sold the resulting videos through various online groups which he administered to numerous other individuals.
According to statements of facts signed by Dryden, the videos in question included depictions of baby and adolescent monkeys being tortured in a multitude of ways, including having their genitals burned and cut off.
“The conduct perpetrated by these defendants was reprehensible,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department’s Energy and Natural Resources Division (ENRD). “Congress has said clearly that this conduct has no place in our society, and the Department of Justice stands ready to prosecute those who engaged in these heinous practices to the fullest extent of the law.”
“Dryden, who resided in Cincinnati, paid a minor on the other side of the world to film the torture and abuse of monkeys and then sold those videos to others,” said U.S. Attorney Dominick S. Gerace II for the Southern District of Ohio. “This sadistic and obscene conduct is unacceptable in any civilized society and Dryden will rightfully spend time in prison for his actions.”
“This was an extraordinarily disturbing and heinous case of animal cruelty,” said Assistant Director Doug Ault of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement. “Orchestrating the deliberate torture and murder of baby primates is unconscionable. Our agents worked tirelessly to support the pursuit of justice. Today’s sentencing reflects our unwavering commitment to protecting the most vulnerable and sends a clear warning to anyone who would commit such acts: we will find you, and you will be held accountable.”
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and FBI investigated the case.
Senior Trial Attorney Adam C. Cullman of ENRD’s Environmental Crimes Section is prosecuting the case. Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Oakley for the Southern District of Ohio also helped prosecute the case.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
MACON, Ga. – The final of seven defendants involved in a methamphetamine trafficking network sourcing methamphetamine from Atlanta for distribution in Milledgeville, Georgia, has been brought to justice resulting from an Operation Take Back America investigation led by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, together with the U.S. Secret Service Washington Field Office announced today that multiple investigations conducted by its Cyber Fraud Task Force have resulted in the seizure of more than $25 million in cryptocurrency tied to international fraud schemes targeting residents of the United States and Canada. The seizures represent part of the more than $800 million recovered through the Scam Center Strike Force, launched in 2025 by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Source: United States Department of Justice
The Justice Department announced that the Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) has just released $25 million in new grant Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs) to support law enforcement. Today’s NOFOs are in addition to the nearly $700 million in NOFOs the COPS Office released last month in June.
The recently released NOFOs include the Safer Outcomes: Enhancing Crisis Response Training for Law Enforcement Program and other grant programs that:
“The Department of Justice is investing in strategies that reduce crime, hold offenders accountable, and give law enforcement the tools they need to do their jobs,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. “These additional funding programs are another example of our commitment to safer neighborhoods, smarter strategies, and stronger partnerships across the country.”
Safer Outcomes: Enhancing Crisis Response Training for Law Enforcement Program supports agency-wide deescalation training, including train-the-trainer and overtime costs, while partnering with academies, academic institutions, and POST commissions to institutionalize best-practice training nationwide. Up to $13 million will be available.
Community Policing Development (CPD) Law Enforcement Products and Resources supports the development of products and resources that provide guidance on promising practices; develop and test innovative strategies; build knowledge about effective practices and outcomes; and support new, creative approaches to preventing crime and promoting safe communities and a positive image of policing. Products and resources must specifically be designed for national distribution and offer creative ideas to uplift the image of the law enforcement profession, advance crime fighting, or support common sense policing efforts. Up to $6 million will be available. High priority areas include the following topics:
The Collaborative Reform Initiative (CRI) offers a suite of services designed to highlight best practices of law enforcement agencies and the many ways they protect Americans, enhance officer safety and wellness, build agencies’ capacity for self-improvement and effectiveness, and promote community policing practices nationwide. CRI consists of programs meant to complement one another that range in time and complexity. This year’s Collaborative Reform program has two funding opportunities. The first funding opportunity has two subcategories: Collaborative Reform Technical Assistance Center (CRI-TAC) and Critical Response (CR). The second funding opportunity is invitational and only open to applicants that receive an invitation to apply. Up to $4.2 million will be available.
Community Policing Development (CPD) Accreditation Program is seeking to establish new and support existing accreditation bodies in states or territories throughout the United States. Funding will focus on activities such as providing technical assistance to agencies, defraying or underwriting accreditation costs for local agencies, improving customer service and marketing, and developing user-friendly policy templates. Up to $2.5 million will be available.
The COPS Office is the component of the U.S. Department of Justice responsible for advancing the practice of community policing and the Administration’s priority of Making America Safe Again by supporting the nation’s state, local, territorial and Tribal law enforcement agencies through information and grant resources.
For more information on COPS Office NOFOs, please visit https://cops.usdoj.gov/grants.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – On July 20, 2026, Harry E. Mueriel-Falero, a Puerto Rico Department of Treasury (Departamento de Hacienda or “PRDT”) employee pleaded guilty to his intentional participating in a wire fraud conspiracy involving the loss of approximately $665,693 in Puerto Rico tax revenue, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349. Business owner Gabrielle López-Berríos, pleaded guilty to participating in the same wire fraud conspiracy and a conspiracy to bribe a separate Hacienda employee, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 666. The defendants were indicted on October 23, 2025, and arrested on October 29, 2025.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Juan Rueda-Palacios and Lourdes Prudente Blanco, both illegal aliens from Mexico, and Alan Hernandez, of Marietta, Georgia, are facing federal drug charges related to the recent seizure of nearly 500 pounds of methamphetamine from a vehicle in Brookhaven, Georgia, and an apartment in Sandy Springs.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Robert D’Angelo Poteat, 40, a previously convicted felon residing in the District of Columbia, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 33 months in prison in connection with illegally possessing a loaded firearm and high-capacity magazines that were recovered after he fled from a police traffic stop, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Source: United States Department of Justice
Robert D’Angelo Poteat, 40, a previously convicted felon residing in the District of Columbia, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 33 months in prison in connection with illegally possessing a loaded firearm and high-capacity magazines that were recovered after he fled from a police traffic stop, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Memphis, TN – Twelve people have been indicted in the Western District of Tennessee and are facing federal charges for their involvement in an organized cargo theft conspiracy targeting Nike’s North American Logistics Center in Memphis, Tennessee according to recently unsealed indictments. The charges are the culmination of a multi-year investigation by FBI’s Cargo Theft Task Force. D. Michael Dunavant, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced…