Category: MIL-OSI

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

NEW ORLEANS – Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that BRETT GABRIEL, age 32, of Thibodaux, Louisiana, was sentenced on November 19, 2025 by U.S. District Judge Jane Triche Milazzo.

According to court documents, BRETT GABRIEL used stolen identity information to purchase a firearm and to obtain fraudulent paycheck protection program loan proceeds administered by the federal government.

The defendant was sentenced to twenty-seven months of imprisonment followed by three years of supervised release. The defendant was also ordered to pay a mandatory special assessment fee of three hundred dollars.

Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the work of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, the United States Secret Service, and the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office in investigating this matter. Assistant United States Attorney Richard R. Pickens, II of the Financial Crimes Unit is in charge of the prosecution.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

PITTSBURGH, Pa. – A resident of Orlando, Florida, and a resident of Vienna, Virginia, have been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, First Assistant United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

The six-count Indictment named Trevaughn J. Yearwood, a/k/a Larry Wood, 28, of Florida, currently in custody in the Clearfield County Jail on unrelated state charges, and Amit Kumar Jain, a/k/a Buddy Patel, 46, of Virginia, as defendants.

According to the Indictment, which was unsealed following Jain’s arrest today in Virginia, Jain and Yearwood conspired to defraud senior citizens in Western Pennsylvania and throughout the United States in an elder fraud scheme in which conspirators used deceptive emails that led victims to give Yearwood, Jain, and their co-conspirators tens of thousands of dollars in cash or to make substantial deposits of cash into bitcoin ATMs. The Indictment alleges that, between January 2024 and August 2025, Jain and his co-conspirators operated fictitious entities through which Jain and others laundered approximately $26 million of victim funds through accounts held at a Vienna, Virginia, bank.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of up to 40 years in prison, a fine of up to $1 million, or both for Jain, and up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, or both for Yearwood. Under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Gregory C. Melucci is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

The Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Mt. Lebanon (Pa.) Police Department conducted the investigation leading to the Indictment.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

PENSACOLA, FLORIDA – Charlie N. Steans, 58, of Pensacola, Florida, and of Texas City, Texas, was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for conspiring to distribute large amounts of cocaine and methamphetamine between Texas and Escambia County, Florida. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “I applaud the excellent collaborative work of our state and federal law enforcement partners to stop this individual from continuing to flood our streets with deadly drugs. My office will continue to deliver successful prosecutions and substantial prison sentences for drug traffickers, like this defendant, as part of the Homeland Security Task Force’s whole-of-government approach to eliminating and eradicating organized criminal enterprises that threaten the safety of our communities.”

Court documents reflect that Steans was caught at a Greyhound Bus Station in Houston, Texas, with approximately 10 kilograms of methamphetamine and one kilogram of cocaine hidden in his luggage in early 2023. He was able to bond out of a Texas state jail after being caught only to be arrested again in late-2024, this time on a Greyhound Bus in Mississippi heading toward Pensacola, Florida, with nearly 4 kilograms of cocaine in his possession. At that point, law enforcement from multiple jurisdictions connected Steans to being an interstate transporter of large amounts of drugs between Texas and Florida with the drugs destined for Pensacola. Steans was then taken into federal custody based on charges out of the Northern District of Florida.

“Our agents and law enforcement partners will continue to fight those trafficking poisons into our Florida communities,” said DEA Miami Field Division Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter. “Whether by bus, tractor trailer, plane, or boat, we will find you and bring you to justice.”

The case involved a joint investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Pensacola Police Department; the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office; the Florida Department of Law Enforcement; and the Florida Highway Patrol.  The case

was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys David L. Goldberg and Jessica S. Etherton.

This prosecution is part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative established by Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. The HSTF is a whole-of-government partnership dedicated to eliminating criminal cartels, foreign gangs, transnational criminal organizations, and human smuggling and trafficking rings operating in the United States and abroad. Through historic interagency collaboration, the HSTF directs the full might of United States law enforcement towards identifying, investigating, and prosecuting the full spectrum of crimes committed by these organizations, which have long fueled violence and instability within our borders. In performing this work, the HSTF places special emphasis on investigating and prosecuting those engaged in child trafficking or other crimes involving children. The HSTF further utilizes all available tools to prosecute and remove the most violent criminal aliens from the United States. HSTF comprises agents and officers from the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the prosecution being led by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General.  To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Fifth Iowa Meatpacking Plant Worker Sentenced in $2.4 Million Scheme to Defraud the SBA

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

            WASHINGTON – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia announced today that there is insufficient evidence to pursue federal criminal civil rights or District of Columbia charges against a Deputy United States Marshal for a fatal shooting that occurred on June 12, 2025, and fatally injured a 42-year-old District resident at the intersection of 7^th and L Streets, NW.

            The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Internal Affairs Division of the Metropolitan Police Department conducted a comprehensive review of the incident, which included a review of law enforcement and civilian accounts, crime-camera footage, Body Worn Camera footage, physical evidence, recorded radio communications, forensic reports, and reports from MPD.

            According to the evidence, on June 12, 2025, a Deputy United States Marshal encountered Marco Mosley. Mr. Mosley was operating a black Tahoe and the deputy was operating a pickup truck. After Mr. Mosley pulled his vehicle to the side of the road, he and the deputy conversed briefly. At that point, Mr. Mosley retrieved a handgun from his waist area and began to point it at the deputy. The deputy immediately retrieved his service weapon and fired shots at Mr. Mosley.  Mr. Mosley was struck in the head. Despite lifesaving efforts by law enforcement and an emergency medical team, Mr. Mosley succumbed to his injuries and died at the scene. 

           After a careful, thorough, and independent review of the evidence, federal prosecutors found insufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the officer willfully violated the civilian’s rights.

Investigations generally

           The U.S. Attorney’s Office reviews all police-involved fatalities to determine whether sufficient evidence exists to conclude that any officers violated either federal criminal civil rights laws or District of Columbia law. 

           The U.S. Attorney’s Office remains committed to investigating allegations of excessive force by law enforcement officers and will continue to devote the resources necessary to ensure that all allegations of serious civil rights violations are investigated fully and completely. The Metropolitan Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division investigates all police-involved fatalities in the District of Columbia.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

NEW ORLEANS, LA – Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson announced that on November 18, 2025, QUINCEY MCKINLEY, age 46 of Terrebonne Parish, pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Lance M. Africk to Possession with Intent to Distribute Controlled Dangerous Substances, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C), and Felon in Possession of a Firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8). Judge Africk scheduled sentencing for March 4, 2026.

According to court records, after the execution of multiple search warrants, large amounts of methamphetamine, fentanyl, and cocaine, along with numerous firearms, were located in two residences maintained and used by MCKINLEY. MCKINLEY is prohibited from possessing a firearm due to a prior felony conviction.

At sentencing, as to the drug charge, MCKINLEY faces up to twenty years imprisonment, up to a $1,000,000 fine, and at least three years of supervised release. As to the gun charge, he faces up to fifteen years imprisonment, up to a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release. Both counts also carry a mandatory $100 special assessment fee.

Acting U.S. Attorney Simpson praised the work of the Terrebonne Parish Sheriff’s Office and Homeland Security Investigations. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stuart Theriot of the Narcotics Unit.

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 (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that ROBERTO MUY, 35, a citizen of Ecuador last residing in Torrington, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea in Hartford to 18 months of imprisonment for illegally reentering the United States after being deported.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in February 2006, Muy was admitted to the U.S. using a fraudulent visitor visa under the alias of a Peruvian citizen.  In June 2012, he was convicted in Connecticut Superior Court in Torrington of sexual assault of a minor in the second degree, and was sentenced to 10 years of incarceration, suspended after 15 months, and 25 years of probation.  In June 2013, Muy was removed to Ecuador.

Muy illegally reentered the U.S. and, on November 9, 2024, was arrested by the Torrington Police Department and charged with illegal operation of a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol/drug.  On March 18, 2025, he was sentenced in state court to two years of incarceration for violating his state probation related to his 2012 conviction, and a concurrent two days of incarceration for the 2024 motor vehicle offense.

Muy has been detained since his arrest.  He pleaded guilty to illegal reentry on August 18, 2025.

This matter was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary G. Vitale.

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

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Stacey Taylor, 42, of Plattsburgh, New York, appeared for an arraignment Monday after a federal grand jury in Albany returned an indictment on Oct. 2 charging her for her role in an international alien smuggling conspiracy that brought aliens primarily from India into the United States across the northern border. 

According to court records, U.S. Border Patrol agents interdicted the defendant’s vehicle near Churubusco, New York, in the early morning hours of Jan. 20. Upon encountering the defendant, U.S. Border Patrol located four foreign nationals inside her vehicle. Agents then determined the four men, three Indian nationals and one Canadian national, had just crossed the U.S.-Canadian border illegally, without inspection, in the freezing cold. When law enforcement later examined the defendant’s cellphone, they observed text messages that indicated that the defendant had been involved in multiple other smuggling ventures in the days prior. Since her January 2025 arrest, the defendant was subsequently stopped in a suspected alien smuggling venture in August 2025, and was implicated in alien smuggling as recently as September 2025.

According to the indictment, Taylor is charged with conspiring with others to engage in alien smuggling, and four counts of alien smuggling for profit, with three counts being second or subsequent offenses. If convicted, she faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison per count of alien smuggling for profit, and additional time for second and subsequent offenses.

Matthew R. Galeotti, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney John A. Sarcone III for the Northern District of New York made the announcement.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Rouse’s Point and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), U.S. Border Patrol Champlain Station are investigating the case. HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington D.C. and CBP’s International Interdiction Task Force provided significant assistance.

The investigation is a result of the coordinated efforts of Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA). JTFA, a partnership with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), has been elevated and expanded by the Attorney General with a mandate to target cartels and other transnational criminal organizations and eliminate human smuggling and trafficking networks operating within the Americas that impact public safety and the security of our borders. JTFA currently comprises detailees from U.S. Attorneys’ Offices along the southwest border, the Northern District of New York, the District of Vermont, and the Southern District of Florida. Dedicated support is provided by numerous components of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, led by the Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section (HRSP) and supported by the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery Section, the Office of Enforcement Operations and the Office of International Affairs, among others. JTFA also relies on substantial law enforcement investment from DHS, FBI, and the Drug Enforcement Administration, and other partners. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 425 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling; more than 375 U.S. convictions; more than 325 significant jail sentences imposed; and forfeitures of substantial assets.

Trial Attorney Chelsea Schinnour of the Criminal Division’s HRSP and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Stitt for the Northern District of New York are prosecuting the case.

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 Neighborhoods.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

RICHMOND, Va. – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia has recovered and cleared title to 420,740.422314 USDT, also known as “Tether,” and 1,249,996.15 BUSD, also known as “Binance USD,” representing cryptocurrency investment fraud proceeds and property involved in money laundering, using civil asset forfeiture.  Both USDT and BUSD are forms of cryptocurrency equivalent in value to the dollar. The United States is now in the process of returning that property to the victim.

According to court documents, the perpetrators of the fraud scheme contacted one victim by text message and the other victim through social media. These unsolicited contacts were purported to be accidental, but after the victims responded the perpetrators enticed the victims into continuing the communications and eventually convincing them to move to an encrypted chat application. The perpetrators then earned the victims’ trust before encouraging them to “invest” in cryptocurrency using a spoofed investment website. Although the website mimicked a legitimate cryptocurrency investment platform, the spoofed site funneled the victims’ funds to the fraud perpetrators.

The site falsely represented that the victims’ “investments” were making sizeable gains.  When the victims attempted to make any significant withdrawals, however, the perpetrators coerced the victims to send more money, using tactics such as claiming the victims owed taxes and fees on their “profits.” Ultimately, the perpetrators never let the victims withdraw anything more than trivial amounts and stole the victims’ money. After receiving the victims’ funds, the perpetrators laundered the victims’ funds by conducting a series of complicated transactions and making quick exchanges of one type of cryptocurrency to another in an attempt to hide the funds.

Agents with the United States Secret Service seized 420,740.422314 USDT and 1,249,996.15 BUSD from three cryptocurrency wallets. The United States began a civil forfeiture action against the seized funds by publicly filing a civil forfeiture complaint in U.S. District Court.

Lindsey Halligan, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; William Mancino, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service Criminal Investigative Division; and Meghan Dubea, Resident Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service Raleigh Resident Office, made the announcement.

This matter was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Hudson.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 3:25-cv-713.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Two Illinois brothers were indicted yesterday in a superseding indictment on charges related to a scheme to defraud Medicare, Medicaid and private health care insurers and for participating in a money laundering conspiracy with the fraud proceeds.   

“These defendants are charged with a brazen scheme to steal nearly $300 million from vital health care programs by taking advantage of the fear and panic of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “These charges make clear that the Criminal Division will never rest in its pursuit of those who try to exploit the most vulnerable members of our society, the elderly and the disabled, for their own personal gain.” 

“The defendants chose to enrich themselves and deprive the most vulnerable members of society from much needed assistance designed by the U.S. Government to provide critical relief efforts,” said , Special Agent in Charge Douglas S. DePodesta of the FBI Chicago Field Office. “Health care fraud affects everyone — it costs taxpayers millions of dollars, contributes to rising health insurance premiums, and depletes resources from our vital health care system. The FBI is committed to working with all our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to ensure that anyone who dares to exploit government programs intended to assist the American people will be held fully accountable under federal law.”

“Allegedly billing almost $300 million dollars to taxpayer-funded health care programs for services that were never provided is a staggering abuse of public resources,” said Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Christian J. Schrank of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General. “These charges demonstrate HHS-OIG’s unwavering resolve to hold accountable those who exploit federal health care programs and betray the public trust.”

According to court documents, Minhaj Feroz Muhammad, 37, and Sufyan Feroze, 35, both of Naperville, owned and controlled, sometimes through straw owners, four clinical laboratories located in Illinois and California. Their scheme allegedly sought to defraud Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers by submitting fraudulent claims of over $293 million for COVID-19 laboratory testing services that were never provided, for which insurers paid at least approximately $65 million in reimbursements. 

Additionally, as alleged in the superseding indictment, the defendants participated in a money laundering conspiracy by transferring fraud proceeds between laboratories and other businesses controlled by the defendants, ultimately using the funds to purchase real estate, including luxury developments overseas, gold bars, luxury watches and luxury vehicles.

Each defendant has been charged with six counts of health care fraud and one count of money laundering conspiracy. Feroze has also been charged with one count of engaging in a monetary transaction in criminally derived property in excess of $10,000.

If convicted, the defendants face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each health care fraud charge and 20 years in prison on the conspiracy to commit money laundering charge. If convicted, Feroze faces an additional 10 years in prison on the engaging in a monetary transaction in criminally derived property charge. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

FBI and HHS-OIG are investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Kelly M. Warner of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,800 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $30 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, are taking steps to hold providers accountable for their involvement in health care fraud schemes. More information can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal-fraud/health-care-fraud-unit.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.