Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced today that U.S. District Judge Eric C. Schulte has sentenced a man from Eagle Butte, South Dakota, convicted of Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury. The sentencing took place on July 13, 2026.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
An Oklahoma businessman waived his bankruptcy discharge of more than $120 million after an investigation by the Department of Justice’s U.S. Trustee Program (USTP) found that he concealed income and financial accounts in his bankruptcy case.
On July 1, the Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Oklahoma approved Michael Ray Friday’s voluntary waiver. As a result, Friday remains liable for his debts, and creditors are free to pursue payment from him after the case is closed.
“Dishonest debtors undermine the integrity of the bankruptcy system,” said U.S. Trustee Ilene Lashinsky of Region 20, which includes the Western District of Oklahoma. “The debtor in this case misrepresented his financial position and sought to exploit our nation’s bankruptcy laws for selfish gain. The USTP will continue to hold accountable those who attempt to abuse the system.”
Friday filed a chapter 7 liquidation case in August 2024, about nine months after a company that had bought his power line construction business obtained a more than $58 million judgment against him. An investigation by the USTP’s Oklahoma City office found evidence of multiple omissions and misrepresentations in Friday’s bankruptcy documents and testimony. Among other things, Friday failed to disclose several financial accounts and about $400,000 in income.
Despite Friday’s claims that he was unemployed, his bank accounts showed multiple large cash deposits and withdrawals that he could not explain. He also failed to disclose several expenses, including monthly payments toward his son’s home loan. The USTP also alleged that before he filed for bankruptcy, Friday orchestrated a quick divorce to transfer real estate to his ex-wife and shield it from his creditors.
Friday agreed to voluntarily waive his bankruptcy discharge shortly before a trial was scheduled to begin on the USTP’s complaint to deny him a discharge.
The USTP’s mission is to promote the integrity and efficiency of the bankruptcy system for the benefit of all stakeholders — debtors, creditors and the public. The USTP consists of 21 regions with 82 field offices nationwide and an Executive Office in Washington, D.C. Learn more about the USTP at www.justice.gov/ust.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
ROANOKE, Va. – The Pulaski County Work Report Program Coordinator and current member of the Pulaski Town Council, who previously served as a sheriff’s deputy and corrections officer, was arrested today by the FBI. Steven Wayne Erickson, 48, was arrested on a federal criminal complaint and charged with one count of receipt of child sexual abuse material (“CSAM”) and one count of distribution of CSAM.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Baltimore, Maryland – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland announced, today, a federal grand jury indicted a Maryland man in connection with child sexual exploitation charges. Jurel Daquone Leo Bowman, 32, of Lusby, is charged with producing child sexual abuse material (CSAM), coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in criminal sexual activity, receipt of CSAM, and possession of CSAM. Bowman previously served as a Harford County emergency medical technician.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A federal grand jury in the District of Maine returned a six-count indictment today charging Shawn Bonneau, 40, of Fullerton, California, with sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion and wire fraud.
According to court documents, from January 2016 through December 2023, Bonneau compelled three adult women to perform commercial sex acts in Maine, and elsewhere, for his financial benefit. He also used the electronic mail systems to fraudulently obtain funds from another individual at the same time he was engaging in his sex trafficking scheme.
If convicted, Bonneau faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, with a maximum penalty of life in prison, as well as a maximum penalty of lifetime supervised release.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Andrew B. Benson for the District of Maine made the announcement.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New England Field Office is investigating the case.
Trial Attorney Elizabeth Hutson of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Anne Yereniuk for the District of Maine are prosecuting the case.
Anyone who has information about human trafficking should report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888, which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For more information about human trafficking, please visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org. Information on the Justice Department’s efforts to combat human trafficking can be found at www.justice.gov/humantrafficking.
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
BOSTON – Three individuals, including one from Massachusetts, have been charged for their alleged involvement in multi-state schemes to defraud property owners by impersonating them and selling their land, and launder the proceeds of the deed fraud scheme. One defendant allegedly defrauded property owners of approximately $1.5 million, while all three defendants are accused of laundering the proceeds of the fraud between June 2023 and June 2024. The following individuals have been charged by criminal complaint:
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
ALBANY, NEW YORK – William Huber, 39, of Troy, was charged earlier this month in a now unsealed two-count indictment, alleging that he manufactured a destructive device using an explosive and attempted to destroy a vehicle with it. First Assistant United States Attorney John A. Sarcone III, Craig L. Tremaroli, Special Agent in Charge of the Albany Field Office for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and New York State Police Superintendent Steven G. James made the announcement.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Darryl Dacota Riley, Jr., 40, a previously convicted felon residing in the District of Columbia, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 120 months in prison in connection with his role as a wholesale PCP supplier in a large-scale narcotics trafficking conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Source: United States Department of Justice
Jacksonville, Florida – Braden Huston Hobbs (28, Ponte Vedra) has been sentenced by U.S. District Judge Harvey E. Schlesinger to nine years in federal prison for conspiracy to traffic firearms, making a materially false statement to a licensed firearms dealer, and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, including 500 grams or more of cocaine. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.
Source: United States Department of Justice
Christian Malik White, 26, a previously convicted felon residing in Maryland, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 40 months in prison, to be followed by 10 months home confinement, in connection with possessing a loaded firearm and ammunition discovered after he was found in possession of a stolen pickup truck in the District of Columbia, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.