Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A federal jury in Miami convicted Victor Rafael Arcia Albeja, also known as “Vitico,” 32, of Miami, on Feb. 20 for his role in a violent human smuggling scheme that kidnapped and extorted Cuban migrants, holding them captive and threatening brutal harm to force payments from their families.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
BOSTON – The U.S. Department of Justice announced today that the Roger Knox Remission Fund distributed more than $12.4 million in funds forfeited to the United States from Roger Knox and his co-conspirators to over 8,000 victims. An additional $3.1 million turned over to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission related to the securities fraud scheme was also distributed to the victims.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
The U.S. Department of Justice announced today that the Roger Knox Remission Fund has begun distributing more than $12.4 million in funds forfeited to the United States from Roger Knox and his co-conspirators to over 8,000 victims. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also distributed an additional $3.1 million related to the securities fraud scheme to these victims.
Knox, with others, operated the Swiss-based asset management firm Silverton, which was later renamed Wintercap. Through the business, Knox facilitated pump-and-dump schemes by selling massive quantities of microcap securities on behalf of undisclosed control groups who secretly owned the stock through nominee entities formally owned by third parties. The shares were generally held by the nominees in blocks of less than 5% of the issuer’s total outstanding shares in order to evade the disclosure obligations and sale limitations in the federal securities laws. To generate investor demand for the shares, the undisclosed control groups simultaneously orchestrated promotional campaigns to artificially inflate the price and trading volume of the shares. Knox then funneled the proceeds of the pump-and-dump schemes — totaling over $137 million between 2016 and 2018—to co-conspirators in the United States and around the world through a complex money transfer system that disguised the source and nature of the funds.
In January 2020, Knox pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to charges that he engaged with others in a massive global securities fraud scheme. In October 2023, Knox was sentenced to 36 months in prison, and in January 2024, he was ordered to pay over $58 million in restitution to more than 8,000 victims.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Carol E. Head for the District of Massachusetts prosecuted the case.
The Department of Justice, through the Asset Forfeiture Program, works diligently to compensate victims of crime. Since 2000, the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section (MNF), which oversees the Asset Forfeiture Program’s victim compensation program, has successfully used its specialized expertise to return more than $12 billion in forfeited assets to victims of crime. MNF Attorney Advisor Brittany R. Van Camp with the section’s Program Management and Training Unit is leading the compensation process.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
DES MOINES, Iowa – On February 27, 2026, United States Attorney David C. Waterman presented at the Iowa Academy of Trial Lawyers’ 63rd Annual Seminar. His presentation outlined the mission, priorities, and recent accomplishments of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Baltimore, Maryland – Today, a recidivist sex offender pled guilty in federal court to more child sex abuse crimes. Patrick Daniel McKernan, 45, of Pasadena, Maryland, is charged with the sexual exploitation of a child as he persuaded, induced, enticed, and coerced a minor victim to engage in sexually explicit conduct.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, a complaint was unsealed charging Dan Sohail with intentionally damaging religious property, specifically the global headquarters for the Chabad-Lubavitch movement (Chabad Headquarters) in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. Sohail was taken into federal custody earlier today and is scheduled to be arraigned this afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Clay H. Kaminsky.
“Americans should be free to practice their faith without fearing defacement of their sacred places,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon. “The Department of Justice will not tolerate attacks on houses of worship, and will vigorously prosecute those who carry them out.”
“As alleged, the defendant’s conduct — driving his vehicle back and forth into an entrance of the synagogue five times — caused damage to a sacred religious institution,” said U.S. Attorney Joseph R. Nocella for the Eastern District of New York. “Our Office will not tolerate conduct that endangers the safety of that community or any of our diverse communities. We will continue to protect religious gathering spaces to ensure worshippers are free to safely congregate.”
“Dan Sohail allegedly rammed his vehicle five times into the Chabad Headquarters during a packed memorial service,” said Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle of the FBI New York Field Office. “Sohail allegedly jeopardized dozens of lives and damaged one of our city’s sacred synagogues. The FBI and the NYPD will continue to protect our community’s religious institutions to ensure a safe place for all worshippers.”
“Every New Yorker deserves to live in a safe city where they can practice their faith freely and without fear,” said Commissioner Jessica S. Tisch of the New York Police Department. “The Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters in Brooklyn is a sacred place for many Jews in New York City and around the world, and the purposeful destruction of this property is unacceptable. We will always work to ensure that those who violate the law are held accountable, and I thank our NYPD investigators, the FBI, and the U.S. Attorney’s office for working swiftly to pursue justice in this case.”
As alleged in the complaint, on the evening of Jan. 28, Sohail drove to the Chabad Headquarters located on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, New York. The Chabad Headquarters was hosting an event that evening which was attended by dozens of people, marking the anniversary of the death of the movement’s leader. When Sohail arrived at the side entrance of the building, he exited his vehicle and moved barriers that were set up to protect the building, which includes a synagogue and religious gathering spaces. After gesturing for various congregants to move away, Sohail returned to his vehicle and drove his car into the building’s side entrance. He then reversed his vehicle and accelerated into the entrance four additional times. The impact knocked the entrance door off its hinges. No one was injured in the incident.
The charge in the complaint is an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted of the charge, Sohail faces a maximum penalty of three years in prison.
The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Human Trafficking and Civil Rights and General Crimes Sections. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Eric Silverberg and Brachah Goykadosh are in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Marlane Bosler.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
BOSTON – The United States Attorney’s Office filed a civil forfeiture action to recover 327,829.720952 USDT (Tether), a form of cryptocurrency, alleged to be involved in a money laundering scheme to conceal funds that originated from an online romance fraud scheme targeting a Massachusetts resident. The cryptocurrency currently has an estimated value of approximately $327,829.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Dr. Roya Jafari-Hassad was sentenced by United States District Judge Gary R. Brown to 7 years’ imprisonment for prescribing oxycodone pills without a legitimate medical purpose and fraudulently billing insurance providers for procedures which were never performed. In addition to the term of imprisonment, Judge Brown imposed a fine of $150,000, and ordered Jafari-Hassad to pay restitution in the amount of $152,765. The defendant was convicted at trial in December 2024 of eight counts of prescribing oxycodone pills without a legitimate medical purpose. The defendant subsequently pleaded guilty to health care fraud in April 2025.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Timothy Lamar McGee, 43, of Pensacola, Florida was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after previously pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, tetrahydrocannabinol, and marijuana, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Tampa, FL – Heidi Richards (52, Brandon) has been sentenced to 22 months in federal prison after a jury found her guilty of conspiring to traffic in illicit Microsoft certificate of authenticity (COA) labels. The Court also ordered Richards to pay a $50,000 fine.