Category: MIL-OSI

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Park Hill Resident Pleads Guilty To Child Neglect In Indian Country

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Cody Dale Cole, age 33, of Park Hill, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea to one count of Child Neglect in Indian Country, punishable by a term of up to life imprisonment, and a fine of $250,000.The Indictment alleged that on or about April 16, 2026, Cole willfully and maliciously failed and omitted to protect a child under the age of 18 from exposure to the use and possession of illegal drugs while responsible for that child’s health, safety, and welfare.

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Two New York Men Indicted For Fentanyl Distribution Conspiracy That Involved The On-Campus Rape And Death Of One College Student And Near-Death Of Another

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Task Force Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), Christopher Roberts, and Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”) Jessica S. Tisch, announced today the unsealing of a three-count superseding Indictment charging MOISES FREIRE and BRIAN PERALTA CABRERA with participating in a fentanyl distribution conspiracy that resulted in the fatal poisoning of one college student (“Victim-1”) and the near-fatal poisoning of another college student (“Victim-2”) in a college residence hall in Manhattan, New York this past March.  The Indictment further alleges that after rendering both women unconscious through fentanyl exposure, FREIRE raped Victim-1, who never regained consciousness and later died.  FREIRE is also charged with distributing fentanyl with the intent to commit a violent crime, specifically, rape.  

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National Fraud Enforcement Division and the Department of Health and Human Services Announce Self-Disclosure Protocol for Criminal Health Care Fraud

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

One disclosure to the Fraud Division’s Health Care Fraud Section now earns companies the benefits of both DOJ’s Corporate Enforcement Policy and HHS-OIG’s Self-Disclosure Protocol

The Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division (Fraud Division) and the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) today issued a policy that clarifies that companies seeking to voluntarily self-disclose potential criminal conduct related to health care need only to disclose to the Fraud Division to receive the benefit of both the Department’s Corporate Enforcement Policy and HHS-OIG’s Health Care Fraud Self-Disclosure Protocol (SDP). HHS-OIG separately updated the SDP to clarify that criminal health care matters should be disclosed to the Department of Justice. 

“Companies that discover fraud within their own operations should not have to navigate a maze of agencies before reporting it,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “Today, together with our partners at HHS-OIG, we are eliminating unnecessary bureaucratic barriers that have caused confusion about whether companies must make multiple disclosures of potentially criminal conduct. There is now one clear point of contact: DOJ’s Fraud Division. If a company comes forward, cooperates fully, and remedies the misconduct, the benefits are clear and predictable. If a company conceals what it knows, it should expect a very different conversation.”

“We encourage companies to come forward and disclose criminal conduct to the Justice Department, and we are committed to extending the benefits of the HHS-OIG Self-Disclosure Protocol to those who do.” said Department of Health and Human Services Inspector General T. March Bell. “The OIG Self-Disclosure Protocol is a critical tool for promoting accountability, transparency, and integrity across the health care system, providing organizations with a clear pathway to voluntarily report potential misconduct and address compliance concerns. This process helps strengthen trust in federally funded health care programs by encouraging timely corrective action, reducing future risk, and demonstrating a commitment to ethical conduct.”

The Policy announced today is designed to eliminate obstacles that may slow disclosures. A single arrangement – an illegal kickback, a scheme to bill Medicare for medically unnecessary services, a scheme concealing an excluded provider – routinely may result in potential criminal, civil, or administrative consequences. Companies facing that overlap have had to decide not only whether to come forward, but also where to make that disclosure. Under the Policy announced today, a company that voluntarily self-discloses criminal conduct affecting a federal health care program to the Fraud Division’s Health Care Fraud Section will receive the benefits of HHS-OIG’s SDP – automatically, with no additional direct submission necessary through the HHS-OIG portal.

HHS-OIG separately updated the SDP today to settle the reverse question. The SDP covers conduct that may violate civil or administrative law, and the SDP was updated today to clarify that criminal conduct should be disclosed to the Department of Justice. A company that discloses only to HHS-OIG generally will not have made a voluntary self-disclosure to the Department and generally will not qualify for a declination on that basis. Companies seeking the benefits of both programs should bring potentially criminal conduct to the Fraud Division first.

The policy announced today may be found here. HHS-OIG’s updated protocol may be found here. Self-disclosures may be reported to the Fraud Division at: corporate.enforcement@usdoj.gov.  

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the Fraud Division. The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

The Fraud Division’s Health Care Fraud Section, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in federal districts across the country, has charged more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 billion since 2007. 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.

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Maryland Father and Son Indicted on Dog Fighting, Breeding, and Transportation Charges After Law Enforcement Seizes 44 Dogs

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Baltimore, Maryland – Authorities arrested a Maryland father and son, today, in connection with a dog-fighting conspiracy. A federal grand jury indicted Theodore Lamont Stinson, 48, of Whiteford, and Theodore Lamont Stinson, Jr., 25, of Whiteford, for conspiracy to engage in an animal fighting venture; buying, selling, delivering, possessing, training, or transporting animals for participation in an animal fighting venture; use of postal service or other interstate instrumentality for promoting or furthering an animal fighting venture; and interstate and foreign travel or transportation in aid of racketeering enterprises.

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United States Sues California After Determining More Than 20,000 Likely Noncitizens Are Registered to Vote in the Golden State

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The Justice Department, working with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), today filed a complaint against the State of California over its voter list after determining that more than 20,000 people who are likely aliens are registered to vote in California. Under California law, every registered voter is mailed a ballot. It is unlawful for aliens to vote in federal elections.

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Convicted Murderer Sentenced for Drug Trafficking Crimes in HSTF Investigation

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Baltimore, Maryland – A Baltimore man, who a Baltimore City jury recently convicted of a gang-related murder, received a federal-prison term, today, for drug-trafficking crimes. This prosecution is in connection with a Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) drug investigation. U.S. District Judge Julie R. Rubin sentenced Jarvis Joyner, 35, to 10 years in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after he pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl.

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Orangeburg Man Sentenced to 5 Years in Federal Prison for Burning Puppy Alive in S.C.’s First PACT Act Prosecution

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Desmond Levon Brown, 30, of Orangeburg, has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for animal crushing, which includes burning, under the Preventing Animal Cruelty and Torture Act (PACT Act). This was the first PACT ACT case prosecuted in the District of South Carolina. 

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Justice Department Files Complaints Against the Cities of St. Paul and Portland Challenging Mask Ban and Identification Requirements for Federal Officers

Source: United States Department of Justice

Today, the Department of Justice filed two lawsuits against the Cities of St. Paul, Minnesota and Portland, Oregon, challenging their unconstitutional attempts to regulate federal law enforcement officers by prohibiting federal officers from wearing masks and requiring them to provide identification in the manner prescribed by Code of Ordinances of the City of Saint Paul, Minnesota §§ 268A–268B and P.C.C. §§ 23.30.030, 23.30.100.

Not only are these laws illegal attempts to regulate the Federal Government, but, as alleged in the complaints, the laws threaten the safety of federal officers who have faced an unprecedent wave of harassment, doxxing, and even violence. Threatening officers with prosecution for simply protecting their identities and their families also chills the enforcement of federal law and compromises sensitive law enforcement operations.

“Under the Supremacy Clause of our Nation’s Constitution, states and localities cannot regulate the Federal Government and its law enforcement officers,” said Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. “And they certainly cannot enact laws that place the safety of federal law enforcement at risk and undermine federal operations authorized by Congress. This Department of Justice will never tolerate the doxxing or harassment of federal officers, or any law like those in St. Paul and Portland that enables violent behavior against federal law enforcement officers and their families.”

“These St. Paul and Portland local laws are a direct regulation of federal law enforcement operations and threaten severe consequences for officers and public safety alike,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The Federal Government, not state and local governments, gets to decide which equipment federal officers may or may not wear when performing their official duties.”

“Aside from being unconstitutional, laws like these impede federal law enforcement’s ability to keep Oregonians safe and endanger the brave men and women of federal law enforcement,” said U.S. Attorney Scott Bradford for the District of Oregon. “They live in our communities. Their kids go to school in our communities. They care about our communities. They are part of our communities. It is unfair and improper to vilify them for political purposes.”

Attorney General Blanche has instructed the Department’s Civil Division to identify state and local laws, policies, and practices that facilitate violations of federal laws or impede lawful federal operations. Today’s lawsuits are the latest in a series of lawsuits brought by the Civil Division targeting illegal policies designed to thwart federal law enforcement across the country, including in New York, Virginia, Connecticut, New Jersey, California, Maryland, Philadelphia, Denver, and Milwaukee. Through these filings, the Department reaffirms that federal law enforcement operations cannot be compromised by state or local measures that violate federal law.

Note: Read the lawsuit against St. Paul here and Portland here.

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Justice Department Sues State of California over Voter List

Source: United States Department of Justice

Note: view complaint here.

The Justice Department, working with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), today filed a complaint against the State of California over its voter list after determining that more than 20,000 people who are likely aliens are registered to vote in California. Under California law, every registered voter is mailed a ballot. It is unlawful for aliens to vote in federal elections. 

“State-facilitated voter fraud is unacceptable in the United States of America,” said Attorney General Todd Blanche. “If found responsible in a court of law, the State of California will have seriously undermined confidence in our electoral system and violated laws that protect our nation’s representative system of government. The Department of Justice will continue working to uncover cases of voter fraud, hold fraudsters accountable, and restore trust in American elections.”

“It is unlawful for noncitizens to vote in federal elections,” said Secretary Markwayne Mullin of DHS. “The Department of Homeland Security and our federal partners reviewed publicly available California voter-registration files and compared relevant records with federal immigration data to identify alien registrants. This preliminary analysis has identified a significant number of individuals in California who are likely noncitizens and appear to be registered to vote; the analysis and review remain ongoing. This is completely unacceptable — as even one noncitizen vote cancels out the ballot of an American citizen and undermines our elections. DHS is committed to identifying unlawful voting, protecting the integrity of federal elections, and ensuring that only eligible American citizens elect America’s leaders.”

“The law is clear, aliens in the United States cannot vote in federal elections,” said Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter. “What our complaint alleges is that California is facilitating unlawful voting by knowingly allowing noncitizens to vote. This needs to stop.”

“California election officials were given an opportunity to remove noncitizens from their voter rolls and to sequester ballots returned from suspected ineligible voters. They refused,” said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli for the Central District of California. “We are taking California to federal court to demand that the votes of American citizens not be diluted by noncitizens.”

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), in coordination with federal partners, analyzed publicly available voter-registration records to identify potential indicators that aliens may have registered to vote, cast ballots, or received election-related mail. The Department of Justice has filed a complaint against the State of California alleging that these individuals, who are likely noncitizens, registered to vote and/or voted in a federal election. HSI and its federal partners used multiple data-enrichment and verification methods to assess whether the individuals identified were likely aliens.