Category: MIL-OSI

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle announced that TANYANEEKA POWELL (“POWELL”), age 38, of Laplace, LA, pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Jay C. Zainey to a two-count bill of information that charged her with making, and assisting in the making, of false statements related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act).  

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Andre Foster, 49, a previously convicted felon residing in the District of Columbia, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court to 15 months in federal prison for illegally possessing a Glock 19 pistol that had been modified for fully automatic fire.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A former Miami Heat security officer has been sentenced to 36 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $1,889,931.91 in restitution for stealing hundreds of game-worn jerseys and other valuable sports memorabilia from the team and selling the stolen items across state lines for personal profit.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Seattle – Today the Western District of Washington observes National Human Trafficking Prevention Month and joins the Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Homeland Security (DHS) in reaffirming the administration’s commitment to combating all forms of human trafficking and protecting victims and survivors. 

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

NEW ORLEANS, LA – LARRY G. TURNER, (TURNER), age 41, of Tangipahoa Parish, pled guilty on January 15, 2026 before U.S. District Judge Barry W Ashe to Conspiracy to distribute, and possess with intent to distribute, more than 400 grams of fentanyl, in violation of Title 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1); §841(b)(1)(A), and 846, announced U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman sentenced Lawrence Nathanial Harris, 33, of Temple Hills Maryland, to 15 years in federal prison in connection with two cases — one involving drug-trafficking and firearms crimes — and the other relating to identity-theft and wire-fraud charges.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

WASHINGTON – The Departments of Justice (DOJ) and Homeland Security (DHS) today observe National Human Trafficking Prevention Month and reaffirm the administration’s commitment to combating all forms of human trafficking and protecting victims and survivors. Human Trafficking Prevention Month presents an opportunity for DHS and DOJ, through Homeland Security Task Forces (HSTF) to intensify operational efforts, raise public awareness, and strengthen partnerships across federal, state, and local agencies to disrupt trafficking networks, protect vulnerable individuals, and ensure traffickers are brought to justice.

“This Department of Justice is working tirelessly alongside our partners to dismantle human trafficking networks, help survivors, and protect vulnerable populations from being exploited,” said Attorney General Pamela Bondi. “Under this administration we have seen an increase in human trafficking prosecutions, and during Human Trafficking Prevention Month we reaffirm our commitment to prosecuting traffickers and encourage Americans to report instances of human trafficking in their communities.”

“Through the Homeland Security Task Force, President Trump is taking the fight directly to human trafficking networks and disrupting their modern-day slave trade while seizing their assets and arresting their kingpins and foot soldiers. The American people should not have to live in fear of cartels, gang bangers, and foreign terrorists preying upon the most vulnerable among us,” the United States Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem said in a statement. “The Homeland Security Task Force is the largest coordinated campaign against transnational criminal organizations in U.S. history, and I’m proud to co-lead it with Attorney General Bondi.”

“During Human Trafficking Prevention Month, the FBI reiterates our work with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies and national victim-based advocacy groups in joint task forces to protect our communities across the country,” said FBI Director Kash Patel. “The horrifying reach of human trafficking spreads far and wide. Homeland Security Task Forces are fighting back to disrupt these perilous networks and put a stop to that reach. The FBI will continue our investigations and bring justice to those exploited by human traffickers.”

In January 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. Section 6 of this order directed the Attorney General and the Secretary of Homeland Security to jointly establish HSTFs in every state nationwide. The HSTF objective is to end the presence of criminal cartels, foreign gangs, and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) throughout the United States; dismantle cross-border human smuggling and trafficking networks; end the scourge of human smuggling and trafficking, with a particular focus on such offenses involving children; and ensure the use of all available law enforcement tools to faithfully execute the immigration laws of the United States.

In January 2026, DHS and DOJ are surging resources to fight and raise awareness about human trafficking, including:

• Identifying ongoing investigations and prioritizing featured operations across 45 federal locations and 10 state locations with an emphasis on border states.
• Coordinating with FBI Human Trafficking Squads and multi-agency Human Trafficking Task Forces to conduct victim recovery.
• Partnering with AMTRAK and FAMS to increase law enforcement resources and distribute posters with QR codes for reporting human trafficking in all station bathrooms and trains.
• Running advertisements related to $250 million recovery from Backpage to distribute to victims and additional victim restitution efforts by DOL-OIG.
• Organizing Human Trafficking seminars and outreach events with DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking at high schools and colleges to highlight the role of HSTFs in addressing human trafficking.

On August 25, 2025, HSTF officially launched its effort to protect the Homeland with a September Surge encompassing 400 operations nationwide. In just 43 days, HSTF nationwide operations resulted in 3,266 arrests and seizures including:

• 1,041 Sinaloa members,
• 856 Cártel Jalisco Nueva Generación (“CJNG”) members,
• 641 MS-13 members,
• 456 Tren de Aragua members,
• 1,067 weapons
• More than $3,250,000 in currency
• Approximately 91 metric tons of narcotics

Since January 20, 2025, the Department of Justice has:

• Secured substantial sentences and landmark convictions against sex traffickers and labor traffickers who used violence, addictive drugs, and psychological coercion to exploit victims in Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Ohio, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Texas, and beyond.
• Seized $15 billion from a wire fraud and money laundering conspiracy originating from a Cambodian forced labor scam center.
• Secured high-impact sex trafficking indictments in New York against an enterprise associated with the notorious Tren de Aragua Transnational Criminal Organization and in California against traffickers affiliated with local street gangs.
• Pursued extraditions of fugitive traffickers to permanently disrupt and dismantle transnational labor trafficking and sex trafficking enterprises
• Secured sizable restitution orders, including several over a million dollars, to aid victims in their recovery from the unspeakable losses they endured.
• Launched a Remission Portal for survivors of sex trafficking that was facilitated through Backpage or CityXGuide to seek compensation.
• Conducted nationwide crackdowns this month and during Operation Justice for All in August 2025.
• Streamlined and strengthened Joint Task Force Alpha efforts to combat combined human trafficking, human smuggling, and transnational organized crime threats by integrating the Department’s National Human Trafficking Coordinator and human trafficking prosecution experts into the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section; and
• Announced new grant funding opportunities to support victim services for the year ahead.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

On Jan. 21, 2026, the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) convened the 20th Annual Government-to-Government Violence Against Women Tribal Consultation on the lands of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux (Dakota) Community in Prior Lake, Minnesota. Associate Attorney General Stanley E. Woodward Jr. provided opening remarks in which he reaffirmed the Department of Justice’s commitment to Indian Country and its dedication to protecting Tribal communities — particularly women and children — from violent crime, exploitation, and drug trafficking.

The Justice Department announced today that it awarded over $75 million through six grant programs that support American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes and communities in combatting domestic violence, sexual assault, dating violence, sex trafficking, and stalking. The Tribal Affairs Division (TAD) of the OVW administers these funds. 

The OVW fiscal year 2025 awards announced today are:

• The Tribal Governments Program
  • Nearly $47.5 million through 64 awards in support of efforts to combat domestic and sexual violence, trafficking, and stalking in Tribal communities.
• The Tribal Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Initiative
  • More than$3.3 million through three awards to cross-designate Tribal prosecutors as Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys, to prevent violent offenders from causing more harm.
• The Tribal Sexual Assault Services Program
  • More than $8 million through 17 awards to establish, maintain, and expand assistance programs for sexual assault victims.
• The Special Tribal Criminal Jurisdiction (STCJ) Program
  • More than $7 million through eight awards to protect victims of assault or abuse by non-Indian offenders and to bring criminals to justice.
• The Tribal Coalitions Program
  • More than $8 million awarded to 21 Tribal nonprofit coalitions to support organizations that serve victims in Tribal communities.
• The National Tribal Clearinghouse on Sexual Assault
  • One award of $980,100 to provide resources on effective responses to sexual assault of American Indian and Alaska Native women.

OVW administers grant programs designed to combat sexual assault, domestic and dating violence, and stalking. Tribal organizations and governments interested in applying for these and other grants can visit the OVW website for more details and application guidelines.