Category: MIL-OSI

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Kendall Kyleek Dow, 28, of Sumter, was sentenced to 11 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition and possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes.

Evidence presented in court revealed that agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, in coordination with the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office and the Sumter Police Department, working as part of a joint initiative targeting violent crime and drug trafficking in Sumter, identified Dow as being involved in illegal firearms trafficking and narcotics distribution.

Between February and May 2023, Dow sold 17 firearms, fentanyl, and ammunition to law enforcement. The firearms sold included semi-automatic weapons, multiple stolen firearms, firearms capable of accepting large-capacity magazines, two machine gun conversion devices—designed to convert semiautomatic firearms into fully automatic machine guns—and firearms without serial numbers, along with approximately 170 rounds of ammunition.

In addition to the firearms offenses, Dow distributed more than 153 grams of fentanyl during the same three-month period. Dow has prior felony convictions and is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition under federal law.

United States District Judge Mary Geiger Lewis sentenced Dow to 132 months imprisonment to be followed by five years of court ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office, and the Sumter Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ariyana Gore is prosecuting the case.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

This prosecution was part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative aimed at repelling illegal immigration, dismantling transnational criminal organizations, and protecting communities from violent crime. The operation unites the resources of the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) programs.

Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Department of Homeland Security, as well as their local and federal law enforcement partners, for their handling of this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Spiro G. Latsis of the General Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that MALIK WRIGHT, 22, of Waterbury, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven to 60 months of imprisonment and three years of supervised for a firearm possession offense.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in July and August 2024, Waterbury Police made a controlled purchase of narcotics from Wright and observed him conducting additional hand-to-hand drug sales.  On August 29, 2024, investigators saw Wright stash a satchel in the tire area of an abandoned car in a vacant lot near Coe Street and High Street, and then conduct another apparent drug sale.  Officers took Wright into custody and located the satchel, which contained fentanyl and cocaine, a scale, and a loaded .40 caliber handgun with a 23-round magazine.

Wright has been detained since his arrest.  On August 6, 2025, he pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Waterbury Police Department, and the Connecticut State Police.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Natasha Freismuth through Project Safe Neighborhoods (“PSN”), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce gun violence and other violent crime, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

PORTLAND, Maine: A Florida man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Portland to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.

According to court records, Richard Harris, 23, and a coconspirator, Paul Logugune, broke into unattended vehicles to steal purses and wallets to obtain driver’s licenses and checkbooks. Harris and Logugune forged checks using the stolen checkbooks and made the checks payable to the names on the stolen licenses. They then recruited others to cash the forged checks at credit unions throughout Cumberland County using the stolen IDs to impersonate the ID theft victims.

Logugune pleaded guilty to his role in the offense and has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

Harris faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years, a maximum fine of $250,000, and a maximum term of supervised release of five years. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigative report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI investigated the case.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – A Portageville, Mo., man, who was convicted following a January 2025 jury trial for trafficking methamphetamine and illegally possessing firearms, was sentenced in federal court yesterday.

Michael C. Patton, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Brian C. Wimes to 21 years and eight months in federal prison without parole.

On Jan. 14, 2025, Patton was found guilty after a two-day jury trial of possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, possessing firearms in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, and being a felon in possession of firearms.

Patton was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped by Springfield police officers on May 12, 2021. When officers searched the vehicle, they found a backpack in the front passenger floorboard that contained a loaded Beretta firearm, along with a plastic bag that contained 344 grams of pure methamphetamine and Patton’s Missouri identification. Officers also found a small black backpack in the backseat floorboard that contained a loaded revolver.

According to court documents, Patton has an extensive criminal history that includes prior felony convictions for stealing, possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell, and possession of cocaine with intent to sell.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cameron A. Beaver and Jessica R. Eatmon. It was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Springfield, Mo., Police Department.

Operation Take Back America

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.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces the return of an indictment charging Richard Plummer (44, Tampa) with distribution and possession of child sexual abuse material and escape. If convicted on all counts, Plummer faces a maximum penalty of 65 years in federal prison. 

According to the indictment, in 2018, Plummer was convicted of coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity. He was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison. Between October 29 and 31, 2025, Plummer distributed and possessed a visual depiction of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. On November 1, 2025, Plummer escaped from the Bureau of Prisons and the Tampa Residential Re-Entry Center, a facility where he was serving his sentence. 

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Tampa Police Department. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Courtney Derry.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

TEXARKANA, Texas –A Texarkana, Arkansas woman has been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Jay R. Combs.

Terri Lynn Cooley, 55, pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to 108 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Robert W. Schroeder, III on December 16, 2025.

According to information presented in court, on October 11, 2023, Cooley was stopped in Texarkana, Texas for driving at night without headlights.  During the stop, it was discovered she had an active warrant and was arrested.  A search of the vehicle following Cooley’s arrest led to the discovery of 109.85 grams of methamphetamine.

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.

This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration; the Texas Department of Public Safety; and the Texarkana, Texas, Police Department. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lucas Machicek.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Inc. (Dana-Farber) has agreed to pay $15,000,000 to resolve allegations that, between 2014 and 2024, it violated the False Claims Act by making materially false statements and certifications related to National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grants.

Dana-Farber is a cancer treatment and research center headquartered in Boston, with locations across Massachusetts and New Hampshire. Dana-Farber receives research grant funding from federal government agencies, including NIH.

“NIH has limited resources to support important research being conducted at institutions across the country,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “Today’s settlement demonstrates that the Department of Justice will pursue grantees that undermine the integrity of federal funding decisions by failing to use research funds appropriately or by failing to abide by grant awards’ terms and conditions.”

“There is no place in scientific research, particularly cancer research, for fraud, waste and abuse, and my office will continue to investigate institutions, no matter how prestigious, to ensure that research data is not tainted and that taxpayer funds are used appropriately,” said U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley for the District of Massachusetts. “Patients, and the medical community, rely on the important research conducted by institutions like Dana-Farber. It is critical, to say the least, that all research findings are accurately reported,”

“The alleged falsification of research data and improper use of federal funds represents a serious breach of public trust and threatens the rigorous standards that uphold the credibility of the scientific process,” said Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian J. Schrank of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG). “Individuals who violate federal grant-making rules not only risk legal consequences but also compromise the stewardship of taxpayer resources. HHS-OIG remains firmly committed to ensuring accountability and safeguarding the integrity of Department programs.”

As part of the settlement, Dana-Farber admitted that its researchers used funds from six NIH grants to conduct research that resulted in 14 publications in scientific journals containing misrepresented and/or duplicated images and data.  The publications reused images to represent different experimental conditions; duplicated images to represent different testing conditions, mice, and/or timepoints; or rotated, magnified, or stretched images.  Further, Dana-Farber admitted that a supervising researcher failed to exercise sufficient oversight over these researchers, and that Dana-Farber spent funds from those six NIH grants that were unallowable.  As part of the settlement, Dana-Farber also admitted that another researcher received four NIH grants after submitting grant applications that discussed a journal article authored by the researcher but did not disclose that certain images and data in that article were misrepresented and/or duplicated.  The United States contends that Dana-Farber caused the submission of false claims to NIH by falsely certifying compliance with grant terms and conditions, spending grant funds on unallowable expenses, and obtaining grants through false and misleading statements.

Dana-Farber cooperated with the government in this matter and received credit under the Department’s guidelines for taking disclosure, cooperation, and remediation into account in False Claims Act cases.  Among other actions, Dana-Farber summarized voluminous materials relevant to the government’s investigation, voluntarily disclosed additional allegations of research misconduct relevant to the government’s investigation, voluntarily produced materials without a subpoena, sought to resolve this matter expeditiously, accepted responsibility for its conduct, and implemented remedial measures.

The civil settlement includes the resolution of claims brought under the qui tam or whistleblower provisions of the False Claims Act by Sholto David.  Under those provisions, a private party can file an action on behalf of the United States and receive a portion of any recovery. David will receive $2,625,000 under today’s settlement.  The qui tam case is captioned U.S. ex rel. Sholto David v. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Inc., No. 2:24-cv-11059-WGY (D. Mass.).

The resolution obtained in this matter was the result of a coordinated effort between the Justice Department’s Civil Division, Commercial Litigation Branch, Fraud Section, and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Massachusetts, with assistance from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

The investigation and resolution of this matter illustrate the government’s emphasis on combating healthcare fraud.  One of the most powerful tools in this effort is the False Claims Act.  Tips and complaints from all sources about potential fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, can be reported to the Department of Health and Human Services at 800-HHS-TIPS (800-447-8477).

The matter was handled by Trial Attorney Megan Engel of the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch (Fraud Section) and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Olivia Benjamin and Brian LaMacchia for the District of Massachusetts.

The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only and there has been no determination of liability.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ST. LOUIS – U.S. District Judge Sarah E. Pitlyk on Tuesday sentenced a man who committed bank fraud for years with checks stolen from the mail to 72 months in prison.

Judge Pitlyk also ordered Terron T. Brown, 23, to repay $51,932 to victims.

Brown pleaded guilty in August to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and one count of bank fraud. He admitted that between November 2021 and September 2024, he conspired with others to deposit forged and fraudulent checks that had been stolen from the U.S. Mail. Brown used his social media accounts and other methods to recruit people who would provide him with their debit cards and banking information and allow him to deposit fraudulent checks into their accounts. He also recruited his co-defendants, Justyn M. Boyd, Aaliyah A. Jones, Haiden Williams, and Jalen Wright, to recruit account holders. Together, they found dozens of people willing to participate in the scheme in exchange for some of the money.

Brown then used personal and business checks stolen from U.S. Postal Service collection boxes to create forged and fraudulent checks payable to the account holders. Brown altered the payee and amount payable on stolen checks or used stolen checks to create counterfeit checks. He then deposited those checks into the bank accounts that he had co-opted and withdrew the money himself or had the account holders do it.

After learning in January of 2024 that he had been indicted in U.S. District Court in St. Louis, Brown fled to Los Angeles in a Greyhound bus and began living under the fake name “Amiri Leonard.” He relocated his scheme there in an attempt to avoid arrest and evade law enforcement. On Sept. 10, 2024, federal law enforcement agents conducted a court-approved search of Brown’s California residence and found multiple stolen and counterfeit checks with a value of $1.2 million, blank check stock, multiple debit cards in various names and electronic devices with images of at least $4.7 million worth of counterfeit checks dated between March 2022 and August of 2024. They also found $5,260 in cash and 19 USPS money orders totaling $10,551, proceeds from Brown’s check fraud scheme.

Brown admitted obtaining and possessing at least $6 million worth of counterfeit checks and checks stolen from the mail and intending to cause a loss of at least this amount. Brown and his co-conspirators deposited at least $116,834 worth of fraudulent checks and obtained at least $29,562 from the scheme.

Brown directly harmed the victims who had checks stolen, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow wrote in a sentencing memo, but also undermined public confidence in the mail at a time when mail theft was on the rise. He then assumed a fake name and fled St. Louis to avoid the consequences of crimes while thumbing his nose at law enforcement, Clow wrote.

“This sentencing represents the hard work and dedication by USPS OIG Special Agents working with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to bring charges on this significant mail theft investigation,” said Special Agent in Charge Dennus Bishop, U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, Central Area Field Office. “The United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General and the United States Postal Inspection Service, along with our law enforcement partners, remain committed to safeguarding the U.S. Mail and ensuring the accountability and integrity of U.S. Postal Service employees.”

“The sentencing in this case illustrates that individuals who engage in mail theft will be held accountable for their actions,” stated Inspector in Charge, Ruth Mendonça, who leads the Chicago Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, which includes the St. Louis Domicile. “The Inspection Service is proud to work with our local, state, and federal partners to bring mail theft perpetrators to justice and prevent financial crimes targeting local citizens, postal customers, and financial institutions.”

Boyd, of Northwoods, Jones, of St. Louis County, Williams, of St. Louis, and Wright, of St. Louis, have all pleaded guilty. All are 24 years old. Boyd was ordered to repay $9,354, Jones $6,000 and Williams $13,015. Wright is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 9, 2026.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the University City Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Clow is prosecuting the case.