District of Arizona Charges 156 Individuals for Immigration-Related Criminal Conduct this Week

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

PHOENIX, Ariz. – During the week of enforcement operations from Feb. 21 through Feb. 27, 2026, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona brought immigration-related criminal charges against 156 individuals. Specifically, the United States filed 106 cases in which aliens illegally re-entered the United States, and the United States also charged 40 aliens for illegally entering the United States. In its ongoing effort to deter unlawful immigration, the United States filed nine cases against 10 individuals responsible for smuggling illegal aliens into and within the District of Arizona.

Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office Announces Take Back America Prosecutions Including Sentence for Man Who Resisted Arrest

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes announced the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland’s recent prosecutions in connection with the Department of Justice’s Operation Take Back America, including sentencing for an illegal alien who resisted arrest. 

Florida Man Sentenced for Aggravated Identity Theft and Fraud Committed Against at Least 450 Victims

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A Florida man was sentenced today to 55 months in prison and three years of supervised release for possessing approximately 450 fraudulent, stolen or counterfeit access devices, which included others’ credit card numbers, social security numbers, and means to gain access to bank accounts.

Mckenzie Levar Monestine, 33, of Miami, pleaded guilty in December 2025 to one count of possessing 15 or more unauthorized access devices and one count of aggravated identity theft. Monestine pleaded guilty to these charges based on conduct stemming from a 2020 FBI investigation.

According to court documents, on or about June 22, 2020, law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at Monestine’s home. That search uncovered a trove of fraud evidence inside Monestine’s padlocked room, including mechanisms to access the banking information of other people, such as personally identifying information (PII), social security numbers, account passwords, driver’s license numbers, phone numbers, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, debit card numbers, and dates of birth belonging to other persons. Because much of the fraudulent activity was committed online and using social media and email, the evidence of how Monestine committed the fraud was found on numerous electronic devices, such as cellphones and a Macbook laptop. Monestine kept information consisting of the PII in various forms and locations on his devices including in a spreadsheet containing approximately 450 access devices and in notes maintained on his MacBook Pro. Monestine exchanged numerous text messages on his phone that contained PII as well, including logins for banking information, pin numbers for credit and debit cards, and data used to access other people’s bank accounts.

In addition, the search uncovered physical evidence of fraud, including over $11,000 in U.S. currency; a large number of credit, debit, and gift cards, in the names of other people; fake identification cards; Western Union money orders; a credit card re-encoder that the information encoded in a credit card’s chip or magnetic strip and mail in other people’s names.

The estimated loss to victims in this case is between $250,000 and $550,000.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida; and Special Agent in Charge Brett D. Skiles of FBI Miami Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI Miami Field office investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Jinah Chang and Jennifer E. Burns of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey Maultasch for the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the case.

This case is part of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime Initiative to prosecute violent crimes in Miami. The Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida have partnered, along with local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, to confront violent crimes committed by gang members and associates through the enforcement of federal laws and use of federal resources to prosecute offenders and prevent violence.

Defense News in Brief: Japan, Philippine and U.S. forces conduct Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity in South China Sea

Source: United States Navy

SOUTH CHINA SEA — The combined armed forces of Japan, the Philippines and the United States conducted a Multilateral Maritime Cooperative Activity (MMCA) within the Philippines’ Exclusive Economic Zone, Feb. 20-26, 2026. This activity demonstrated a collective commitment to strengthening regional and international cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.