Category: MIL-OSI

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A federal grand jury in Minneapolis charged three additional alleged members or associates of the violent street gang known as the Lows, bringing the total number of defendants in this indictment to 14.

“The defendants are allegedly responsible for 10 murders carried out through repeated shootings in public spaces, including gas stations, barbershops, food trucks, and crowded streets,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “By opening fire into groups of people, they took lives, spread fear, and inflicted devastating harm on families and entire communities. This case underscores the Criminal Division’s commitment to dismantling violent gangs and protecting communities from the terror and destruction they cause.”

“The Lows are killing our neighbors, and we’re taking them down,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Thompson for the District of Minnesota. “RICO charges give us the power to dismantle the violent street gangs that fuel the violence and trap families in fear. Every time we bring one of these cases, shootings drop, neighborhoods calm, and law-abiding families reclaim their streets. This progress is only possible because of the relentless work of our law enforcement partners and the Department of Justice’s Violent Crime & Racketeering Section. To every family that has lost someone to gang violence: we will not stop until your streets are safe.”    

“This violent street gang, the Lows, will not continue to wreak havoc in Minneapolis neighborhoods,” said Assistant Director Jose A. Perez of the FBI Criminal Investigative Division. “Violent groups don’t belong in our communities. These charges demonstrate our overall strategy and relentless determination to eradicate the drug-fueled gang violence plaguing our community. The FBI and our partners will continue to aggressively pursue gangs wherever they surface and are steadfast in making sure our communities are a safe place for our citizens.”

“Street gangs have been a persistent source of violence in Minneapolis, and the allegations in this indictment show the toll they continue to take on our communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Travis Riddle of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) St. Paul Field Division. “ATF has been committed to this city for decades, and we will continue working to keep firearms out of the hands of those who are prohibited and to hold accountable those who use violence to threaten the safety of our neighborhoods.”

“This criminal street gang treated gun violence and murder as business tools to maintain power and control,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Jason Bushey of the IRS Criminal Investigation Chicago Field Office. “IRS-CI special agents followed the money to expose how this enterprise was financed, uncovering the cash flow that allowed them to buy weapons, traffic drugs, and sow fear in Minneapolis neighborhoods. By tracing their illicit proceeds, we gave our law enforcement partners the evidence to not only disrupt this conspiracy but to hold its leaders accountable for the violence they inflicted. This case shows how IRS-CI’s financial expertise is critical to dismantling organized crime and protecting communities from violent threats.”

The newest defendants – Marques Armstrong Jr., 30, Davant Moore, 23, and Jahon Lynch, 20, all of Minneapolis — made their initial appearances today in the District of Minnesota.

The superseding indictment charges the Lows with racketeering conspiracy involving murder; using a firearm to kill during murder in aid of racketeering; attempted murder; robbery; and firearms and drug trafficking, including fentanyl distribution. According to the superseding indictment, the Lows have operated in north Minneapolis since approximately 2004. Members and associates allegedly traffic in firearms and narcotics and use threats, intimidation, and violence to protect their territory, reputation, illicit proceeds, and power.

The superseding indictment alleges that the gang committed a total of 10 murders as part of its racketeering activities, including the following:

• On May 6, 2021, Albert Lucas V, 21, shot and killed a victim at a Minneapolis gas station while the victim was pumping gas.
• On Sept. 9, 2021, Kaprice Richards, 24, and Marques Armstrong Jr. stood on a sidewalk and fired at least 26 rounds through the window of a crowded Minneapolis barbershop. The barrage of bullets killed one victim and injured another victim who was inside with a young child.
• On May 14, 2022, Glenn Carter III, 25, shot and killed two victims near a food truck in Minneapolis.
• Just days later, on May 19, 2022, Lows members and associates murdered two victims in a drive-by shooting in Minneapolis, after days of threats and taunting. Lows members and associates located the victim’s vehicle and pulled alongside when it was stopped at a traffic light. Lows members and associates then fired multiple shots from their vehicle at the victim’s vehicle, killing both the driver and passenger. 
• On April 27, 2023, Shannon Jackson, 33, and Kaprice Richards, and others opened fire on a group in Minneapolis, killing one victim.
• On Nov. 6, 2023, Jahon Lynch, using a vehicle he carjacked about a week before, drove Albert Lucas V, Davant Moore, and other Lows members and associates to North Minneapolis, where they shot into a group of people, killing one victim.
• On Dec. 3, 2023, Damari Douglas, 20, Davant Moore, and other Lows members and associates attended a party in Minneapolis. After leaving the party, the group was walking down a street when they began firing at a passing vehicle. A stray bullet struck and killed a victim standing on the sidewalk. Law enforcement recovered discharged cartridge casings at the scene from multiple firearms.
• On Feb. 27, 2024, Albert Lucas V, Victor Collins, 23, and other Lows members and associates drove to the area of the Minneapolis Market, and shot into a group of people, injuring several victims and killing one victim.

If convicted, the defendants face a range of penalties, including up to life in prison for racketeering conspiracy involving acts of murder, using a firearm to commit murder, and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after the consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

ATF, FBI, DEA, IRS-CI, HSI, USPIS, Minneapolis Police Department, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and Minnesota Department of Corrections are investigating the case, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service.

Trial Attorney Jared Engelking of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Garrett S. Fields and David M. Classen for the District of Minnesota are prosecuting the case.

An indictment is merely an allegation. 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

Defendant Allegedly Sought More than $700M in Fraudulent Refunds, Receiving More than $13M from IRS

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Good afternoon. My name is Matthew Galeotti, and I am the Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, and a former Assistant United States Attorney here in the Eastern District of New York.

Today marks another milestone in the Department of Justice’s relentless efforts towards the total elimination of cartels. One of the most notorious narco-terrorists of all-time, Ismael ‘El Mayo’ Zambada, was convicted in a U. S. courtroom, having confessed to more than three decades of crime in service to the ruthless Sinaloa Cartel that he co-founded.

For decades, the Sinaloa Cartel – under El Mayo’s leadership – made billions of dollars by importing dangerous drugs to the United States – intensifying the drug epidemic in our communities by flooding our streets with cocaine, heroin, and deadly fentanyl.

Today, El Mayo admitted to crimes of a staggering scope, including leading a sprawling criminal enterprise that distributed more than 1. 5 million kilograms of cocaine, in addition to the various other drugs he sent over our border, made corrupt payments in order to operate with impunity, and protected Sinaloa’s operations by ordering acts of extreme violence, leaving a trail of human suffering, including innocent victims who became collateral damage. Pursuant to his guilty plea, El Mayo will spend the rest of his life in prison and forfeit $15 billion to the United States.

Results like this are not possible without the prosecutors and agents who have done an extraordinary job building the case, piece-by-piece, and following it through to completion.

This is another significant result, under Attorney General Bondi’s leadership, in the Department’s unparalleled drive to eliminate cartels. As part of that effort, we have seen:

More than 50 high-ranking cartel leaders expelled to face justice in American courtrooms — collectively, one of the greatest takedowns in history by U. S. law enforcement. 

The leaders of foreign terrorist organizations, such as the United Cartels, have been indicted.

Leaders of the CJNG cartel have been convicted, and others have been charged with new crimes, including material support to terrorism.

Today’s guilty plea is a credit to the collaboration between the Criminal Division’s Narcotic and Dangerous Drug Section, the U. S. Attorney’s Offices for the Eastern District of New York, the Southern District of Florida, and the Western District of Texas, and our law enforcement partners, among others around the country. In particular, I’d like to recognize Trial Attorneys Jayce Born and Kirk Handrich as well as Supervisory Paralegal Angela Jimenéz, from the Criminal Division’s Narcotics and Dangerous Drug Section, for their exceptional work on this case.

The Attorney General has made clear that the Department’s goal is eradicating the harms caused by cartels from American communities. And the Department is quickly making historic progress towards achieving just that.

Thank you.