Category: MIL-OSI

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ALBUQUERQUE – A Bloomfield man was sentenced to 208 months prison for sexually abusing an incapacitated minor victim.

There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents, between February 26 and February 27 of 2016, Donovan Pete, 44, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, engaged in and attempted to engage in a sexual act with a sleeping minor victim.

Pete pled guilty to sexual abuse. Upon his release from prison, Pete will be subject to 15 years of supervised release and must register as a sex offender.

Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Farmington Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Brittany DuChaussee is prosecuting the case.

This press release was posted November 13, after the end of the federal government shutdown.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

TULSA, Okla. – A Mexican national and his son were charged by Criminal Complaint for Trafficking Firearms purchased from 
a gun show.

Andres Avila, 48, a Mexican national, is charged with Trafficking Firearms and being an Alien Unlawfully in the United States in Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition. His son, Anthony Avila, 22, of Houston, Texas, is also charged with Trafficking Firearms.

Agents saw two individuals, later identified as Andres Avila and Anthony Avila (“Andres” and “Anthony”), allegedly engaging in activities consistent with straw purchasing and firearms trafficking. Andres and Anthony were seen wearing backpacks and working together to purchase firearms. When their backpacks were full, it is alleged that they emptied their bags into large totes kept beneath a specific vendor’s table. Court documents show that they paid cash to purchase firearms from private sellers in an attempt to avoid law enforcement detection. 

After making several purchases and spending more than six hours at the gun show, agents observed Andres and Anthony leaving in a vehicle with a Texas license plate. When law enforcement conducted a traffic stop, they found large quantities of bulk ammunition marked in the vehicle, consistent with ammo purchased at the gun show. A records check showed that Andres was not in the United States legally and is a prohibited person from receiving or possessing firearms. A second records check showed that Anthony was the son of Andres.

Agents interviewed the vendors sitting at the booth where the guns were stored in totes. They explained that Andres is not legally inside the United States and discovered that there were more than 75 firearms in the totes. Apparently, the vendors met Andres and Anthony through a Texas pawn shop and explained they would pay cash to purchase firearm magazines.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol are investigating the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney John W. Dowdell is prosecuting the case.

A criminal complaint is merely an allegation, and the defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Operation Take Back America is 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.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ALBUQUERQUE – A Shiprock woman was sentenced to five years of probation after failing to seek medical care for her injured son.

There is no parole in the federal system.

According to court documents, on March 15, 2024, Avondale Johnson, 32, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was arrested after Navajo Nation Police responded to a concerned citizen’s report that Johnson‘s minor son was living in a disabled car without heating or cooling and was left unattended for hours at a time. When officers arrived, they found the minor in the car wearing a soiled diaper and complaining of arm pain. Medical examination revealed the minor had a displaced spiral fracture in his upper arm that was approximately one week old. Johnson admitted she knew her son was injured but did not seek medical care. Johnson pled guilty to recklessly permitting the abandonment or abuse of a child, with no death or great bodily harm.

Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Farmington Resident Agency of the FBI’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Caitlin L. Dillon is prosecuting the case.

This press release was posted November 13, after the end of the federal government shutdown.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

BOSTON – The owner of a Sudbury accounting firm and a real estate company has been charged and has agreed to plead guilty to paying an executive more than $1.6 million in compensation and fringe benefits under the table, and to making a fraudulent application for more than $179,000 in pandemic relief, through a multi-year scheme.

Charles D. Katz, 63, was charged with conspiracy to defraud the United States and two counts of loan fraud. The defendant pleaded guilty on Oct. 20, 2025 and is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 2, 2026 before U.S. District Court Judge Leo T. Sorokin.

According to the charging documents, Katz and an employee, who served as the Director of Corporate Services at Katz’s accounting firm and as Chief Operating Officer at Katz’s real estate firm, allegedly agreed that Katz would pay the employee off the books so that the employee would have tax-free income and so that Katz’s firms, CD Katz LLC and Gebsco Realty Corporation, would have lower employment taxes. Over time, Katz allegedly paid the employee’s family, provided rent-free housing to the employee’s ex-wife, paid college tuition for the employee’s children, and paid personal expenses that the employee and the employee’s ex-wife charged on corporate credit cards. All told, it is alleged that Katz paid the employee at least $1,668,487 in unreported income and avoided taxes of at least $835,105. It is also alleged that in 2020, Katz and the employee fraudulently applied for Paycheck Protection Program loans for both of Katz’s firms and obtained $179,900 which Katz used in part to fund the under-the-table compensation he paid the employee.

The charge of conspiracy to defraud the United States provides for a sentence of up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of $250,000. The charge of loan fraud provides for a sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, a fine of $250,000, restitution, and forfeiture.  Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah B. Foley; Thomas Demeo, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office; and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Division made the announcement today. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kriss Basil, Deputy Chief of the Securities, Financial and Cyber Fraud Unit is prosecuting the case.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ALBUQUERQUE – A Zuni man is facing an agreed-upon 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to the federal felonies of assault with a dangerous weapon and using a firearm during a crime of violence and discharging that firearm.

According to court documents, at about 9:50 p.m. on Sunday, February 2, 2025, Cody Laweka, an enrolled member of the Pueblo of Zuni, drove with another person to a home on the Pueblo of Zuni. The person with whom Laweka drove had a shotgun in his truck bed. On the way to this residence, Laweka asked to use this shotgun. When Laweka arrived at the residence, he exited the vehicle with the shotgun and shot at least twice at a car occupied by John Doe. After this shooting, Laweka got back into the truck with the other person and left the scene. No one was hit by Laweka’s gunshots.

At the time Laweka committed these crimes crime, he was on supervised release for committing a prior federal crime. Sentencing in this case is not yet scheduled.

Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Gallup Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Pueblo of Zuni Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary C. Jones and Nicholas Marshall are prosecuting this case.

All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

This press release was posted November 13, after the end of the federal government shutdown.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Defendant was on federal supervised release at the time of the offense, following a prior conviction for distributing child sexual abuse material

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ALBUQUERQUE – A Fruitland man pleaded guilty to a federal crime after a fatal car crash involving drugs that resulted in the death of a baby.

According to court documents, on April 3, 2024, Dewayne Earl Blackie, 37, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, was driving on a two-lane highway near Shiprock, New Mexico, when he collided with two other cars that were pulled over on the right-hand side of the road. A 16-month-old child was ejected from his vehicle. The child died from blunt-force injuries. After the wreck, methamphetamines and marijuana were found in Blackie’s system.

Blackie pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. At sentencing, Blackie is subject to a prison sentence of up to eight years. Upon his release from prison, Blackie will be subject to up to three years of supervised release.

Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Farmington Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Nation Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary C. Jones is prosecuting the case.

This press release was posted November 13, after the end of the federal government shutdown.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ALBUQUERQUE – A Tohatchi man has been indicted on federal charges in connection with a violent assault.

According to court documents, on June 23, 2025, Jeremy Yazzie, 41, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, assaulted the victim with a knife. As a result of the assault, the victim suffered serious bodily injury.

Yazzie is charged with assault with intent to commit murder, assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury and will remain in custody pending sentencing, which has not yet been scheduled. If convicted, Yazzie faces up to life in prison.

Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison made the announcement today.

The Navajo Nation Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations investigated this case with assistance from the McKinley County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Marshall is 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.

This press release was posted November 13, after the end of the federal government shutdown.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

ALBUQUERQUE – A Morgan Lake man has been charged with assaulting an officer using his vehicle.

According to court documents, on September 28, 2025, officers from the Navajo Nation Police Department responded to a report of a suspected drunk driver. When they arrive in the area, the driver, Kendall Benally, 42, an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, refused to obey commands and attempted to flee in his vehicle, striking and injuring an officer and a marked unit in the process. Benally then exited the vehicle and fled on foot and attempted to hide from officers. Benally was found and arrested a short time later.

Benally is charged with assault with a dangerous weapon and will remain in custody pending a detention hearing. If convicted of the current charges, Benally faces five years in prison.

Acting U.S. Attorney Ryan Ellison and Justin A. Garris, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office, made the announcement today.

The Farmington Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Albuquerque Field Office investigated this case with assistance from the Navajo Nation Police Department and Navajo Department of Criminal Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack E. Burkhead is prosecuting the case.

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

This press release was posted November 13, after the end of the federal government shutdown.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

BOSTON – A Newton man was sentenced on Oct. 8, 2025, in federal court in Boston for illegally possessing two firearms and ammunition.

James Welch, 30, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Chief Judge Denise J. Casper to 30 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. In June 2025, Welch pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. Welch was charged in February 2025.

On Feb. 28, 2025, during a search of Welch’s Newton residence, a pistol and a rifle, as well as ammunition were recovered. Welch is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition due to multiple prior felony convictions.

The charge of possessing ammunition after being convicted of a felony provides for a sentence of up to 15 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of a $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

United States Attorney Leah Foley and Thomas Greco, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives, Boston Field Division made the announcement today. The Newton Police Department provided valuable assistance with the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric L. Hawkins of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.