Category: MIL-OSI

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

RENO – An OB-GYN in Reno made his initial court appearance today for allegedly defrauding health care benefit programs by submitting false claims for unnecessary gynecologic tests and surgical procedures, some resulting in serious medical complications.

According to court documents, Dr. Samuel R. Chacon was the owner of Women’s Health Center of Reno and previously held surgical privileges at St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center and Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno. As alleged in the indictment, from January 1, 2017  to November 22, 2022, Dr. Chacon submitted false claims to Medicaid, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Healthcare Solutions, Health Plan of Nevada, Molina Healthcare of Nevada, Silversummit Healthplan, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Nevada, Cigna Healthcare, and other health care benefit programs for procedures and tests that were not medically necessary, including hysterectomies, anterior and/or posterior repairs, enterocele repairs, vaginal vault suspensions, bladder sling procedures, urodynamic studies, physical therapy, and ultrasounds.

In furtherance of the alleged scheme, Dr. Chacon routinely falsified patients’ medical records to include symptoms and complaints that patients did not report, and he made false representations to patients about their diagnoses and need for gynecologic procedures and tests. Some of the unnecessary procedures are alleged to have resulted in serious bodily injury to his patients.

“FBI Las Vegas is determined to hold bad actors in healthcare accountable for exploiting our healthcare programs,” said Special Agent in Charge Christopher S. Delzotto for the FBI Las Vegas Division. “Those who commit illegal acts such as false claims and fraudulent services, prioritizing greed over the well-being of others, will face the full force of the law. The overwhelming fraud uncovered in this investigation reveals a blatant disregard for America’s critical healthcare program, Medicaid. The FBI is committed to pursuing justice relentlessly on behalf of the victim patients and taxpayers, ensuring that anyone who abuses the healthcare system for personal gain will be held accountable.”

A grand jury returned an indictment charging Dr. Chacon with one-count of health care fraud and eight-counts of false statements related to health care matters. He was arrested today. A jury trial has been scheduled for November 18, 2025, before United States District Judge Anne R. Traum.

If convicted, Dr. Chacon faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based on the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting United States Attorney Sigal Chattah for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Christopher S. Delzotto for the FBI Las Vegas Division made the announcement.

The FBI and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant United States Attorney Andolyn Johnson is prosecuting the case.

If you believe that you were victimized by Dr. Samuel Chacon or that you have information pertinent to this investigation, please fill out this short form.

An indictment is merely an accusation, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

On Sept. 24, the Department of Justice filed a civil complaint to revoke the citizenship of Hector Daneri Regalado, who, after naturalizing in 2010, was convicted of Taking Indecent Liberties with a Child within the timeframe in which he was required to establish good moral character to naturalize.

“The allegations in this complaint demonstrate the value the United States places upon both the integrity of its naturalization process and, more importantly, ensuring that criminals – especially child predators – do not game a system designed to prevent such individuals from obtaining the privilege of U.S. citizenship,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.

Pursuant to North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25 (1970), Regalado pled guilty in 2012 to two counts of Taking Indecent Liberties with a Child, in violation of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14–202.1. According to the prosecution’s proffer, over the course of approximately two years, Regalado regularly sexually abused his victim from the time she was twelve until she was fourteen. The conduct to which he pled occurred in 2007, during the pre-naturalization period during which Defendant was required to demonstrate good moral character.

This is the tenth denaturalization action that the Department has filed since Jan. 20.

This case was investigated as part of Operation False Haven, an ongoing national initiative between the Justice Department and ICE. This case is being prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Office of Immigration Litigation, General Litigation and Appeals Section, Affirmative Litigation Unit, with assistance from ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations, ICE’s Office of the Principal Legal Advisor, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

NEW ORLEANS, LA – RASHUN HUTCHINSON (“HUTCHINSON”), age 25 of Ponchatoula, Louisiana, plead guilty on September 11, 2025, to violations of the Federal Controlled Substances and Federal Gun Control Acts before United States District Judge Barry Ashe, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Michael M. Simpson.

Specifically, HUTCHINSON plead guilty to Counts 1, 16, and 17 of the indictment against him. Count 1 charged HUTCHINSON with conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, controlled substances, in violation of Title 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1); § 841(b)(1)(A); § 841(b)(1)(B); and 846. Count 16 charged HUTCHINSON with possession with intent to distribute four hundred grams or more of fentanyl, in violation of Title 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and § 841(b)(1)(A). Count 17 charged HUTCHINSON with possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c).

On Counts 1 and 16, HUTCHINSON faces a minimum of 10 years and up to life imprisonment, up to a $10,000,000 fine, and at least 5 years of supervised release following imprisonment. On Count 17, HUTCHINSON faces a consecutive mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 5 years, up to life imprisonment, a fine of up to $250,000, up to 5 years of supervised release. He also faces payment of a $100 mandatory special assessment fee for each count.

According to the indictment, beginning on a time unknown, but continuing until at least September 10, 2024, HUTCHINSON, and seven other individuals, conspired to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and methamphetamine throughout the Tangipahoa Parish region of the Eastern District of Louisiana. The conspiracy was carried out through wire and electronic communications.

This effort is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at http://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

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.

Acting United States Attorney Simpson praised the work of the Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, Hammond Police Department, Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff’s Office. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Sarver of the Narcotics Unit.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

GREAT FALLS – A Wolf Point man who assaulted two individuals on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation was sentenced today to 48 months in prison followed by 3 years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Philip Ray Azure, 22, pleaded guilty in May 2025 to assault resulting in serious bodily injury.

Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris presided.

The first incident occurred on March 16, 2023, when Azure went to John Doe’s residence in Wolf Point, on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Azure and John Doe were friends and were drinking alcohol together. Azure became intoxicated and was asked to leave for being too loud. A family member of Doe’s, who also lives in the home, started to walk Azure out. As he was leaving, Azure struck the family member. John Doe confronted Azure about hitting his family member. Azure pulled out a knife and stabbed Doe in the chest and then turned and walked away without saying anything.

Doe was rushed to the hospital for treatment of his serious injuries and later airlifted to Billings for surgery. After surgery to repair his lung, Doe spent a week in the hospital.

The second incident happened on January 27, 2024. Azure and several friends, including two co-defendants, and the victim, John Doe 2, were in a yard in Wolf Point, on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, playing a game of “slap-boxing.” The fighting escalated and eventually the group separated. Azure and his co-defendants returned home, and John Doe 2 arrived a short time later asking for his phone. Azure and his co-defendants exited the home and confronted Doe 2 in the driveway.

Several people witnessed the assault. One witness described seeing Azure and his co-defendants hitting John Doe 2 and saw someone using a bat and someone else using a hammer. A second witness saw Azure and his two co-defendants approach Doe 2 while he backed away and said all three “jumped” Doe 2. That witness saw Azure use a bat during the assault.

Doe 2 died at the scene before law enforcement arrived. According to an autopsy, he died from blunt and sharp force injuries to the head and chest, including a stab wound to the chest that perforated Doe 2’s sternum, heart, and esophagus.

Azure was arrested the day after the second assault. He initially claimed he wasn’t there when Doe 2 was assaulted. He later admitted he was involved but didn’t remember the details because he was intoxicated. He claimed Doe 2 had a big knife and he ultimately hit Doe 2 with a bat to stop him from using the knife. None of the other witnesses reported seeing Doe 2 with a knife.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case. The FBI, Fort Peck Tribes Department of Law and Justice, and Wolf Point Police Department conducted the investigation.

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 https://www.justice.gov/psn.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

On Sept. 24, the Department of Justice filed a civil denaturalization complaint against Gurdev Singh Sohal, also known as Dev Singh, also known as Boota Singh Sundu, who obtained his U.S. citizenship in 2005 despite having been ordered deported in 1994. Instead of leaving the country based on his 1994 deportation and exclusion order under the name Dev Singh, Sohal used a different identity, with a new name, date of birth, and date of entry into the United States, to naturalize. He did not disclose his prior immigration history under the Dev Singh identity in any of his immigration applications or proceedings when he naturalized under the Gurdev Sohal identity. Expert analysis in February 2020 confirmed that the fingerprints submitted under both identities came from the same individual. The analysis was only made possible after DHS digitized the paper fingerprint submission documents from older immigration files.

“If you lie to the government or hide your identity so that you can naturalize, this Administration will find you and strip you of your fraudulently acquired U.S. citizenship.” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division.

The complaint alleges that Sohal illegally procured his U.S. citizenship because he was never lawfully admitted for permanent residence and because the lies he told throughout his naturalization process rendered him unable to show the requisite good moral character to naturalize. A third count charges Sohal with procuring his naturalization by concealment or willful misrepresentation of his prior identity and immigration proceedings.

This is the ninth denaturalization action that the Department has filed since Jan. 20.

This case was investigated as part of the Historic Fingerprint Enrollment project, an ongoing national initiative between the Justice Department and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

This case is being prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Office of Immigration Litigation, General Litigation and Appeals Section, Affirmative Litigation Unit, with assistance from USCIS and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

CINCINNATI – James River Phillips, 21, of Mason, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court today to illegally transporting explosive materials. 

Phillips was arrested in April 2025 by the FBI Cincinnati Field Office’s Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) after agents executed search warrants in Mason, Oxford and Liberty Township.

According to court documents, on Sept. 22, 2024, Phillips transported components of an improvised explosive device (IED) to a large soccer complex in Lebanon, Ohio. Phillips planned to detonate the IED but was stopped when a Lebanon police officer instructed him to leave the complex because it was closed. The officer discovered the live IED and it was seized by the Butler County Bomb Squad. Subsequent testing revealed that the IED contained Nickel Hydrazine Nitrate (NHN) and Erythritol Tetranitrate (ETN).

Sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court at a future hearing.

Dominick S. Gerace II, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati and officials with the Lebanon Police Department, Warren County Sheriff’s Office, Butler County Sheriff’s Office, Mason Police Department, Oxford Police Department, Ohio State Highway Patrol, Dayton Police Department and U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) announced the guilty plea entered today before U.S. District Judge Douglas R. Cole. Deputy Criminal Chief Emily N. Glatfelter is representing the United States in this case.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

GREAT FALLS – A Great Falls man with prior felony convictions who lied about his income and his criminal history to obtain COVID funds was found guilty by Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris yesterday, U.S. Attorney Kurt Alme said.

Following a one-day bench trial, Raymond Marcellous Blair, 45, was found guilty of one count of wire fraud and two counts of money laundering. Blair faces up to 20 years in prison on the wire fraud charge and up to ten years in prison on each money laundering count, as well as a $250,000 fine, and three years of supervised release.

Chief Judge Morris presided and will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentencing was set for January 28, 2026. Blair was released on conditions pending sentencing.

The government alleged in court documents and at trial that Blair applied for COVID relief in the form of an Economic Injury and Disaster Loan (EIDL) from the Small Business Administration (SBA) in August 2020. Blair claimed in the loan application that his business has gross revenues of $249,000, which was false. He also falsely claimed he not been convicted of a felony or placed on probation within the last five years. In truth, Blair was convicted of aggravated assault in 2011 and of failing to register as a violent offender in 2017 and was on probation in 2020 when he applied for the EIDL loan.

Relying on Blair’s representations, the SBA approved his EIDL loan application and wired $99,900 into his bank account on September 1, 2020. Blair twice transferred more than $10,000 out of that account and spent the majority of the loan proceeds on personal expenses. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin D. Hargrove prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted by the Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General.

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Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Kansas City, Mo., man was sentenced in federal court today for possessing and transferring three machine gun conversion devices.

Demetrius Harris, also known as “Meech,” 24, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs to two and a half years in federal prison without parole for illegally possessing and transferring machine guns – an Anderson Manufacturing, Model AM-15, multi-caliber firearm containing an AR-type machine gun conversion device, and two AR-type machine gun conversion devices.

On Jan. 24, 2024, Harris sold an AR-style firearm containing an auto sear, two additional auto sears, and ammunition to an undercover agent for $1,060.

Machine gun conversion devices, also known as “switches” or “auto sears,” are used to convert semi-automatic weapons into machine guns that fire multiple shots automatically through a single pull of the trigger, enabling more rapid and often less accurate gunfire. Whether or not they are attached to a firearm, these devices constitute machine guns under federal law. It is therefore illegal to possess, sell, or use machine gun conversion devices.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brad K. Kavanaugh. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Project Safe Neighborhoods

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.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An Olathe, Ks., man pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Roseann A. Ketchmark to stealing 41 firearms from a gun store in Raytown, Mo., and for transporting child pornography on his cell phone into the United States from Mexico.

Frank Guereca, 23, pleaded guilty today to one count of stealing firearms from a federal firearms licensee and one count of transportation of child pornography.

On June 16, 2023, Guereca and two others backed a stolen U-Haul truck into the store of a federally licensed firearms dealer, located in Raytown, Mo., creating a hole in the front of the business.  Thereafter Guereca and the others entered through the hole and took 41 firearms from the business.  One of the stolen pistols was recovered in Tracy, Ca., on Nov. 14, 2023. A second stolen pistol was recovered in Chihuahua, Mexico, on Dec. 19, 2023. A third stolen pistol was recovered in Juarez, Mexico, on Feb. 6, 2024.

Guereca was arrested on April 25, 2024, as he attempted to cross back into the United States from Mexico. Guereca had in his possession a Samsung Galaxy cell phone, which was seized by law enforcement.  Subsequent review of the contents of the phone pursuant to a federal search warrant revealed at least approximately 250 images and 70 videos depicting child pornography, which Guereca transported into the United States from Mexico.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection records, Guereca had previously crossed the border approximately 20 times since the burglary and theft on June 16, 2023.

Under federal statutes, Guereca is subject to a sentence of up to 10 years in prison without parole for the firearm theft, and up to 20 years in prison without parole for the transportation of child pornography. The maximum statutory sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Bradley K. Kavanaugh and Alison D. Dunning. It was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Raytown, 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. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The Defendant Sold Kilos of Fentanyl, Built Vending-Machine Sized “Pill Presses” and Possessed Millions of Fake and Deadly Pharmaceutical Pills and Multiple Firearms