Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
BURNEST GEYER, JR., 32, of Shelton, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven to 150 months of imprisonment and 10 years of supervised release for engaging in a pattern of activity involving the sexual abuse or exploitation of minors, including attempting to produce child pornography.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Highs gang member Dantrell Johnson was sentenced today to life imprisonment for his role in a racketeering conspiracy and gang-related murder. On Dec. 16, Highs gang member Gregory Hamilton was also sentenced to life imprisonment.
Following a federal jury trial, both defendants were convicted of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy and using a firearm to cause death.
“The defendants orchestrated a calculated campaign of violence that included ruthless shootings and murders,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “They armed themselves, enlisted others – including juveniles – and hunted down perceived rivals, demonstrating the extreme danger posed by violent gangs. These life sentences reflect the Criminal Division’s unwavering commitment to holding gang leaders accountable and restoring safety to communities terrorized by gang violence.”
“These life sentences reflect our unwavering commitment to hold the most dangerous offenders accountable and remove violent gang networks from our communities,” said Assistant Director of Field Operations Brent Beavers of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) “ATF dedicated hundreds of hours to this investigation alongside our law enforcement partners. We are proud of the meticulous work that brought this ruthless gang to justice.”
“The people of Minneapolis deserve to feel safe and protected in their neighborhoods. The defendants took that right away from them by unleashing violence and terror in their streets,” said Acting Assistant Director Rebecca Day of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “Today’s sentencing demonstrates that those who threaten and terrorize innocent community members with violence will be held accountable by the FBI and our partners.”
After a two-week trial in April, a federal jury found Gregory Hamilton, 29, and Dantrell Johnson, 32, both of Minneapolis, guilty for their roles in the Highs, a violent Minneapolis street gang, and for a gang-related murder on Aug. 8, 2021.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Hamilton and Johnson were members of the Highs, a criminal enterprise that controlled territory north of West Broadway Avenue in Minneapolis. The evidence established that Hamilton, Johnson, and other Highs members committed murders, narcotics trafficking, weapons violations, burglaries, assaults, and robberies to further the enterprise. As a member of the Highs, the defendant was expected to retaliate against the rival Lows gang, which operated south of West Broadway Avenue.
Trial evidence showed that, on Aug. 7, 2021, a prominent Highs member was shot and killed by a Lows member at the Winner gas station, a known Highs hangout. The following day, Aug. 8, 2021, Highs members organized a memorial at the gas station, where firearms were distributed and members encouraged one another to retaliate against Lows members for the murder. Hamilton, Johnson, and other Highs members were present at the memorial.
Later that same day, Hamilton and Johnson drove to a Lows hangout, Wally’s Foods, and shot a Lows associate (Victim 1), who survived his injuries. Approximately two hours later, Hamilton, Johnson, and other Highs members drove to Skyline Market, another known Lows hangout, intending to shoot another Lows member.
Hamilton and Johnson followed Victim 2 into the store, where surveillance cameras captured them shooting him. The defendants mistakenly believed Victim 2 was a member of the Lows. Victim 2 fled the store and into the street, where another Highs member, Keon Pruitt, who was driving a stolen Porsche with two juvenile Highs members inside, stopped the vehicle and let the juveniles out. The juveniles chased Victim 2 into a nearby alley and fired additional shots. Victim 2 was shot at least eight times and died at the scene.
On Nov. 16, 2025, Highs gang member Keon Pruitt was sentenced to a 451-month term of imprisonment after a federal jury trial found him guilty of Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Conspiracy and using a firearm to cause death.
These cases against the Highs resulted from an investigation conducted by the ATF; the FBI; the Minneapolis Police Department; IRS Criminal Investigation; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office; the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension; and the Minnesota Department of Corrections, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, the DEA, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office. The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, Dakota County Sheriff’s Office, St. Paul Police Department, and numerous other law enforcement agencies contributed to this investigation through reports or evidence control.
Trial Attorney Brian W. Lynch of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thomas Lopez-Calhoun, Albania Concepcion, and Rebecca Kline for the District of Minnesota prosecuted the case.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, John Cangialosi, Peter Girgis, and Gene Sarabella, also known as “Jerry,” pleaded guilty to all counts of a five-count indictment charging them with conspiracy to commit securities fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, securities fraud, investment adviser fraud, and money laundering conspiracy.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Vincent Larry Phillips, Sr., 60, and Vincent Michael Phillips, Jr., 36, a father and son who operated a tax return preparation business in the District of Columbia, were charged in an 24-count indictment unsealed today in U.S. District Court in connection with an alleged yearslong scheme that defrauded the Internal Revenue Service, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, and Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”), Harry T. Chavis, Jr., announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging STEVEN HOLTZ, ISRAEL PELLOT, and ALTON SCOTT with conspiracy to defraud the United States and aiding and assisting in the preparation and filing of false federal tax returns.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Brandon Washington a/k/a B Mack, 40, of Rochester, NY, who was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 100 kilograms or more of marijuana, and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, was sentenced to serve 262 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
RALEIGH, N.C. – Federal agents seized nearly $8.5 million worth of Tether, a cryptocurrency pegged to the U.S. dollar. Investigators traced the seized funds to a cryptocurrency address allegedly linked to money stolen from victims of cryptocurrency investment scams, commonly known as a “pig butchering scheme.”
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A federal jury in Brooklyn today convicted Billon McLeod on all seven counts of a superseding indictment charging him with sexual exploitation of a child, attempted sexual exploitation of a child, and coercion and enticement of minors. The verdict was returned after a three-day trial before United States District Judge Joan M. Azrack. When sentenced, McLeod faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years’ imprisonment and up to life imprisonment.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
United States Attorney Kurt L. Wall announced that Avelardo Ahumada-Vega, age 49, an illegal alien from Mexico, pleaded guilty before U.S. Chief Judge Shelly D. Dick to possession of a firearm by an alien illegally and unlawfully in the United States.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A Ukrainian-Israeli national pleaded guilty today to wire fraud in connection with his participation in a large-scale, fake stock-brokerage organization. Yaroslav Shilkloper, 49, a dual citizen of Ukraine and Israel, was a member of a criminal organization that used a sophisticated phony brokerage business to scam U.S. citizens out of millions of dollars.
“The defendant helped operate a sham brokerage organization in order to steal millions from American investors,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew R. Galeotti of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Using lies and fake trading platforms, he exploited public trust in U.S. financial institutions and drained millions of dollars from hard-working citizens. The plea today underscores the Criminal Division’s commitment to holding accountable foreign actors who exploit and defraud American citizens.”
“This case demonstrates Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) commitment to protecting Americans from complex financial fraud schemes that cross international borders,” said Deputy Special Agent in Charge Matt Wright of HSI. “Through close collaboration with our law enforcement partners here and abroad, we were able to disrupt a sophisticated criminal enterprise and ensure that stolen funds were returned to victims. HSI will continue to pursue those who seek to exploit our financial systems and bring them to justice.”
According to court documents and statements made in court, Shilkloper and his co-conspirators defrauded victims in the United States of at least $2.8 million dollars by promising high rates of return on investments made through their “K6 Investing,” “Neotron Holding, LTD,” and “Goldex Technology” companies. As part of the scheme, the defendant provided access to a digital platform that allowed victims to see what they believed were real-time investment performance data. However, the victims’ money was instead laundered through a series of bank accounts in Ukraine, Georgia, Hungary, Israel, Czech Republic, and elsewhere, all controlled by Shilkloper and his co-conspirators. When victims attempted to withdraw their money, they were prevented from doing so, threatened with legal action, or manipulated into sending more money to the fraud ring.
Shilkloper is the first of three defendants charged in the case to be arrested and plead guilty. He was extradited from Poland after being arrested there in 2023. If the judge accepts his plea, Shilkloper will pay a fine of $250,000, pay at least $800,000 in additional restitution, and face up to four years in prison. As part of this case, Shilkloper and co-conspirators, with assistance from the Republic of Georgia, have already forfeited nearly $2.8 million dollars that was returned to the defrauded victims.
HSI investigated the case.
Trial Attorneys Ben Tonkin and Justin G. Bish of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Hunter McCreight for the Southern District of Mississippi are prosecuting the case. The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs worked with Polish law enforcement partners to secure the arrest and Sept. 30, 2024 extradition of Shilkloper.