Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – On March 19, 2026, YANCY MATIRNE (“MATIRNE”) and ERROL POINTS (“POINTS”), both from New Orleans, were charged on Marchs 19, 2026 in a three-count indictment by a federal grand jury, announced U.S. Attorney David I. Courcelle.
Source: United States Department of Justice
The owner of a telemedicine company pleaded guilty today to organizing and leading a $46.2 million Medicare fraud conspiracy that spanned more than six years.
According to court documents, Christopher Harwood, 43, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, admitted that he owned and operated a telemedicine company called TelevisitMD. Harwood and his co-conspirators targeted Medicare patients through aggressive telemarketing campaigns, inducing them to accept orthotic braces and genetic tests that they did not need. Harwood paid doctors to approve orders for these braces and genetic tests. These doctors did not follow Medicare’s rules for telemedicine visits, did not have real medical relationships with the Medicare patients, and often signed orders for orthotic braces and genetic tests without any meaningful interaction with the Medicare patients. Harwood then sold the signed doctors’ orders to durable medical equipment (DME) supply companies, laboratories, and marketers who were part of the scheme.
Harwood also owned and operated multiple DME supply companies based in Florida that he used to bill Medicare millions of dollars for orthotic braces that Medicare patients did not want or need. In total, at least $46.2 million in false and fraudulent claims were submitted to Medicare as part of Harwood’s scheme. Medicare paid $17.9 million based on these claims, and Harwood personally received more than $10.4 million from the fraud scheme.
Harwood pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud and agreed to pay $17.9 million in restitution. Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date. Harwood faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Scott J. Lampert of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG); and Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles of the FBI Miami Field Office made the announcement.
HHS-OIG and FBI investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Owen Dunn of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section is prosecuting the case.
The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of eight 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. 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.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Spokane, Washington – First Assistant United States Attorney Pete Serrano announced on October 15, 2025, that former Riverside School District employee Dallas Michael Shuler who formerly pled guilty to 12 felony counts pertaining to the online exploitation of children was sentenced on March 25, 2026, to 360 months (30 years) of imprisonment followed by a lifetime term of supervised release.As indicated in court pleadings and hearings, in May of 2024, the FBI Spokane Office was contacted due to a child sexual abuse material video which had been posted online. When questioned about the video, Mr. Shuler indicated he had been in contact with the minors depicted in the video and had requested they produce the sexually explicit material. Further investigation into Mr. Shuler’s electronic devices and online accounts showed Mr. Shuler had engaged in hands-on sexual abuse of at least three minor children and had filmed the abuse. He also engaged in online sexual exploitation of children with dozens of additional victims, many of whom were contacted and victimized through Snapchat. The charges pled to encompass sexual exploitation against 37 different minor children.At the sentencing hearing, AUSA Rebecca Perez spoke to the incredible breach of trust at the core of Shuler’s crimes due to his position as an educator and a coach. Throughout his hundreds of online contacts with minors, Shuler consistently sought out children from the Riverside School District, indicating his ultimate goal of physical sexual contact with children. Mr. Shuler usually posed as a young teenage girl to attempt to entice his target audience of young teenage boys On three separate occasions, Mr. Shuler filmed himself engaging in sexual contact with children and subsequently distributed those images and videos of child sexual abuse material. AUSA Perez further explained that Mr. Shuler’s actions were not a momentary lapse in judgment; rather, they were a consistent pattern which went on for years and was only stopped by the actions of the FBI and Spokane County Sheriff’s DepartmentDuring one online conversation with another online child predator, Mr. Shuler bragged about how good he was at committing these crimes. He noted “I have tons of stuff like that,” in referring to sexually exploitative material. He went on to note, “I baited the boys and did it myself” and “I got those boys to do stuff haha,” going on to brag that as a result he had “content you won’t find anywhere else.”The impact of Shuler’s crimes was best captured by victims and parents who provided impact statements, two of whom spoke at the sentencing hearing. They expressed their profound sense of anger, sadness, and betrayal due to Shuler’s conduct. All expressed that Shuler’s crimes had dramatically altered their lives and their sense of security in their community.Shuler declined to speak at sentencing. There has been and continues to be no expression of remorse from Mr. Shuler.First Assistant United States Attorney Pete Serrano said, “Shuler is one of the most prolific child predators to be sentenced in this district. No others compare. He was relentless in his pursuit of child victims. The long sentence was merited by the offenses committed on vulnerable children in this case.”“As a school district employee, Mr. Shuler was entrusted with the children of this community, whom he held a responsibility to safeguard and guide as a role model,” said W. Mike Herrington, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Seattle field office. “It was a horrifying betrayal of that trust to abuse his access to children by exploiting them both in person and online, as Mr. Shuler did again and again, causing harm to the children of his community at a truly shocking scope and scale. Tragically, no prosecution can undo what these children suffered or fully erase its record from the Internet. Still, our case team, partner law enforcement agencies, and prosecutors hope this sentence sends a strong message to a predator who would not stop hurting children, and to anyone elsetempted to follow in his footsteps.”This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims.This case is being investigated by the FBI, in cooperation with the United States Secret Service, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Department, and the Spokane County Prosecutor’s Office. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca R. Perez.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Pablo Soria-Porras, Sergio Solano-Sanchez, Eduardo Benitez-Jacinto, and Jesus Diaz Iniguez, who are all illegal aliens from Mexico, face federal charges after law enforcement seized approximately 44 pounds of methamphetamine and two firearms in drug trafficking operations in and around Douglasville and South Fayetteville, Georgia this week.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Ashaad Anthony Turner, 24, a previously convicted felon, was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court to 30 months in federal prison for unlawfully possessing a stolen, loaded firearm while intending to distribute marijuana in Northwest Washington, D.C., announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
LAS VEGAS – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada is set to begin presenting evidence in the trial involving alleged members and associates of La Mara Salvatrucha, commonly referred to as MS-13. This phase of the trial is scheduled to begin on March 30, 2026, before United States District Judge Gloria M. Navarro in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
This afternoon, in federal court in Brooklyn, Elkin Armando Alomia Quiñones, Luis Alberto Arboleda Escobar, Diego Luis Obregon Aguirre, Edwin Obregon Castro, Juan Matias Obregon Castro, Rodrigo Obregon Saavedra and Narjel Paredes, all citizens of Colombia, will be arraigned before United States Magistrate Judge James R. Cho on an indictment charging them with violations of the Maritime Drug Law Enforcement Act and international cocaine distribution conspiracy. The seven defendants were extradited yesterday to the Eastern District of New York from Colombia where they were previously arrested in March 2025.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Jackson, TN – Jonathan Ray Forrest, 43, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for possessing over 50 grams of actual methamphetamine with intent to distribute. D. Michael Dunavant, United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the sentence today.In June 2024, Forrest was found in possession of 165 grams of methamphetamine, 2.7 pounds of marijuana, 395 grams of mushrooms, 90 Xanax pills, and half a gram of heroin during the execution of a search warrant at his residence in Kenton, TN. This was Forrest’s sixth felony drug offense involving his illegal distribution of methamphetamine, and he was on…
Source: United States Army
CAMP BLANDING JOINT TRAINING CENTER, Fla. — Soldiers and Airmen of the Florida National Guard conducted their first joint Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) spray certification in decades at Camp Blanding Joint Training Center, March 23–26.
Personnel from the 715th Military Police Company and the 125th Security Forces Squadron hosted the training for Florida Army National Guard Soldiers assigned to the 265th Air Defense Artillery Regiment and the 116th Field Artillery Regiment. More than 100 Guardsmen participated in nonlethal security training.
“Today we conducted the OC spray contamination level one,” said 1st Sgt. Spencer Gibbs, first sergeant of the 715th Military Police Company and an instructor for the Non-Lethal Weapons Instructor Course. “This contamination is both for familiarization and self confidence purposes. If they have to go down range and the OC spray is deployed, they recognize that and are able to fight through while still accomplishing the mission. This is the first time in my entire military career that I have supported a joint operation for qualification this way. I have served as an instructor for over 14 years and this is the largest instructional group I have been a part of. I am very proud of the level of motivation that the units demonstrated through it all.”
Following exposure to the spray, Soldiers navigated an obstacle course designed to test their ability to operate under stress. Participants applied physical defense and control techniques before detaining an individual, demonstrating proper procedures despite the contaminant’s effects.
“Everyone was pretty well prepared,” said Spc. Kirian Johnson, a military police Soldier with the 715th Military Police Company. “The environment was good, the course got all of your senses moving. The hardest part of going through this was the aftermath. Looking around, trying to regain your vision after, it’s difficult. This training is important because in a real world scenario if someone’s going to pepper spray me, I have to handle that scenario in a professional manner. I need to have an expectation of what’s going to happen and how it’s going to affect me.”
The Florida Army National Guard conducts OC spray certification and other security training to maintain readiness for both state and federal missions. As the Florida National Guard continues to operate as a joint force, realistic training scenarios remain critical to sustaining proficiency across the formation.
Experiences such as OC spray training build confidence and reinforce emotional control, enabling Guardsmen to manage reactions in chaotic situations rather than be overwhelmed.
“This is a type of training you won’t know how to handle until you go through it,” said Master Sgt. Jimmy Randolph, logistics superintendent of the 125th Security Forces Squadron. “Seeing people face the unknown and having the courage to go forth is one of the best parts of this training. This event gives us an opportunity to execute that team building and partnership aspect of our mission by coming together with our brothers and sisters and get them certified. The most beneficial part of these joint ops is coming together as a force and understanding each other’s roles, building camaraderie and that Guard unity. It gives us a platform to understand each other’s mission and how we come together while looking for ways to further train and develop in the future.”
The training also highlighted the importance of discipline, accountability and leadership in developing confident, mission-ready Guardsmen. Instructors maintained clear expectations throughout the event, reinforcing standards across all participating units.
“The military has set a standard for training,” said Gibbs. “Attitude sets everything, we give these Soldiers our expectations of motivation and what they can expect from us. At no point in time did the participants, or the training staff, deviate from those expectations. That’s a testimony to the instructors and the leadership that’s ready to get the job done and complete the mission. I think that by doing that, not just in the training grounds but in the field, keeping that morale up is going to allow us to be more successful in the future.”
Related Links
The Official Website of the National Guard | NationalGuard.mil
State Partnership Program | NationalGuard.mil
The National Guard on Facebook | Facebook.com/TheNationalGuard
The National Guard on Flickr | Flickr.com/TheNationalGuard
The National Guard on Instagram | Instagram.com/us.nationalguard
The National Guard on X | X.com/USNationalGuard
The National Guard on YouTube | YouTube.com/TheNationalGuard
Source: United States Army
The Maine Army National Guard mobilized 27 Soldiers from the 120th Regional Support Group for state active duty in support of snow removal operations in Rhode Island earlier this winter.
Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee issued a state of emergency during Winter Storm Hernando, which delivered over 37 inches of snowfall – the highest total ever recorded in the state. The record-breaking snowfall from the storm overwhelmed local resources and prompted the governor’s request for out-of-state assistance.
“This is an all-hands-on-deck response,” said McKee in a press release. “It’s going to take time to fully recover from this historic blizzard, but we will get through it, and we will not stop until the job is done.”
Rhode Island submitted a request for assistance through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, enabling rapid coordination between states. Rhode Island and the Maine Emergency Management Agency coordinated efforts with the Maine National Guard, several municipal public works departments, and out-of-state partners like the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation to respond to the storm’s impact.
“It’s definitely a lot of snow for one storm and in such a tight area,” said 1st Lt. Nicholas Roberts, an engineering officer with the Maine National Guard and officer-in-charge of the mission. “I can definitely see how the local public works were a little overwhelmed: it’s a lot of snow and not a lot of places to put it.”
Before deploying, the Maine National Guard had to coordinate across multiple functional areas, including human resources, operations, logistics, and the 120th Regional Support Group to identify qualified volunteers capable of operating the necessary vehicles.
“We got the call the night before we all met up, and right from the get go I thought the state did a great job of getting all the parts and pieces moving,” said Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Macduff, 262nd Engineer Construction Company. “It was smooth. We all showed up, we had paperwork to do, we got our trucks ready, and we were out the door the next day.”
As the Soldiers convoyed to Rhode Island, they noted the amount of snow through the region. “Driving through, you kind of go through the different stages of New England,” said Macduff. “You’re like ‘oh the snow is not that bad, oh it doesn’t look that bad.’ And then you get down here and you see… some snowbanks are up to our windows in our trucks.”
Once in Rhode Island, the soldiers quickly got to work clearing snow in and around Providence from locations including downtown streets, residential neighborhoods, and commercial zones. Snow was transported to designated dump sites, such as unused parking lots, where it could safely melt.
“The other entities down here are great,” said Roberts. “The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation guys we’re attached to are phenomenal to work with. They’re a lot of fun and are running an orderly tight ship so it was very easy to integrate with them.”
Despite challenges like melting snow sticking to truck beds and heavy traffic, the teams maintained a steady pace. In just one day, they moved more than 2 million pounds of snow across 134 dump truck loads. Their efforts helped reduce hazardous snowbanks, reopen lanes, and improve safety for both drivers and pedestrians.
Roberts said missions like this reinforce the skills soldiers and officers train on through their careers.
“Coming down here to help Rhode Island is a great opportunity especially as an engineer officer,” said Roberts. “I get to train on this sort of thing a lot but I don’t get to put the skills into use, so it’s nice to do some engineering work and help some local towns and help our friends down in Rhode Island.”
The teams remained in Rhode Island for about a week, working alongside local agencies and out-of-state partners to restore safe road conditions. Many of the soldiers had positive attitudes and worked with smiles on their faces.
“A lot of the guys are happy to be here and I think that’s just because we have a great work ethic,” said Roberts. “Any time we get a chance to go out and help people, do some work, and get stuff done, everyone enjoys that.”