Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Tampa, Florida – Rebecca Stewart Vaughn (64, Tampa) has been charged by federal indictment with four counts of wire fraud and one count of theft of government money. If convicted, Vaughn faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison on each wire fraud count and up to 10 years for the theft of government money. The indictment also notifies Vaughn that the United States is seeking the forfeiture of more than $75,000, the proceeds of the charged criminal conduct. U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
ROANOKE, Va. – A pair of Maryland men who conspired with Dr. Rotimi Iluyomade, an Annandale-based doctor convicted of distributing more than 7,000 oxycodone pills, 34,000 milliliters of hydrocodone-chlorpheniramine solution (also known as “Tussionex”), and 107,000 milliliters of promethazine-codeine solution (“also known as lean”), had court appearances today in U.S. District Court in Roanoke.Obioma Alozie Ndubuka, 32, a.k.a. “Bank Roll” of Derwood, Maryland, was sentenced today to 24 months in federal prison. Ndubuka pled guilty in February to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute Schedule II controlled substances and to acquire promethazine-codeine solution by fraud.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, announced that RODERIC SAGE pled guilty today to conspiring to defraud the United States in connection with a scheme to help high-value U.S. taxpayer-clients conceal more than $60 million in income and assets held in undeclared, offshore bank accounts and evade U.S. income taxes.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
The Department of Justice announced today that it filed denaturalization actions in various U.S. district courts against 12 individuals accused of serious offenses—including providing material support to a terrorist group, committing war crimes, and sexually abusing a minor.
Under the Immigration and Nationality Act, a naturalized U.S. citizen’s citizenship may be revoked, and certificate of naturalization canceled, if the naturalization was illegally procured or procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation.
“Individuals implicated in committing fraud, heinous crimes such as sexual abuse, or expressing support for terrorism should never have been naturalized as United States citizens,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “The Trump administration is taking action to correct these egregious violations of our immigration system. Those who intentionally concealed their criminal histories or misrepresented themselves during the naturalization process will face the fullest extent of the law.”
“This Department of Justice continues to file denaturalization actions at record speeds to restore integrity in our naturalization process,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate of the Justice Department’s Civil Division. “The disturbing criminal histories confirm these individuals should have never received the privilege of U.S. citizenship. We remain committed to leveraging every tool available under the law to pursue those who obtain their U.S. citizenship unlawfully.”
Ali Yousif Ahmed (Age 48/Iraq): On Friday, May 8, 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice and the United States Attorney for the District of Arizona filed a civil denaturalization complaint in the United States District Court in Phoenix, Arizona, against Ali Yousif Ahmed, a native of Iraq. Ahmed entered the United States in 2009 based on a claim that he and his family were attacked by Al-Qaeda terrorists in Iraq. In 2019, the Republic of Iraq requested that the United States extradite Ahmed to Iraq to face criminal charges for the premediated murder of two Iraqi police officers in 2006. Iraq claims that Ahmed murdered the police officers as a leader in the Al-Qaeda terrorist organization. Upon further investigation, United States learned that, in 2015, Ahmed illegally procured his naturalization, which warrants his denaturalization, because he lied under oath about his criminal and family history when he sought admission to the United States and naturalized as a U.S. citizen.
Oscar Alberto Pelaez (Age 75/Colombia): The United States has also brought a denaturalization action against Oscar Alberto Pelaez, a Colombian Roman Catholic priest, who, from 1998 to 2000, sexually abused a child on multiple occasions from the time that child was 14 until he was 17 years old. In 2002, Mr. Pelaez pleaded guilty to and was convicted of thirteen counts of sexual assault against a child, including two counts of oral copulation with a person under eighteen years of age, and two counts of sodomy of a person under eighteen years of age. Mr. Pelaez lied about the commission of these crimes in connection with his naturalization application. The United States has brought four claims against Mr. Pelaez seeking his denaturalization, including claims that he lacked the good moral character to become a U.S. citizen and that he knowingly lied to immigration authorities.
Khalid Ouazzani (Age 48/Morocco): When Khalid Ouazzani, a native of Morocco, applied for U.S. citizenship in 2005 and again when he naturalized in 2006, he swore to his attachment to the principles of the Constitution of the United States. Those oaths were false because as early as 2003, Kahlid was planning—with two men later convicted of trying to bomb the New York Stock exchange—ways to support Al‑Qaida. By 2007, just one year after he naturalized, he sent Al‑Qaida tens of thousands of dollars in financial support with money that he had fraudulently obtained, and in 2008, he took an oath of allegiance to that terrorist organization. In May 2010, Ouazzani pleaded guilty to bank fraud, money laundering, and providing material support to Al-Qaida. The denaturalization complaint filed against Ouazzani alleges that he gave false testimony during his naturalization proceedings about his attachment to the Constitution and because his affiliation and membership with Al-Qaida within five years of his naturalization constitutes prima facie evidence that when he naturalized, he lacked the requisite attachment to the Constitution.
Salah Osman Ahmed (Age 43/Somalia): Ahmed was not attached to the principles of the U.S. Constitution when he naturalized in 2007. Just months after he naturalized, Ahmed began providing material support to terrorists. Ahmed traveled to Somalia to fight and kill Ethiopians and joined the terrorist group al-Shabaab. On July 28, 2009, in the United States District Court for the District of Minnesota, he pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2339A(a). Ahmed joined al-Shabaab, and his membership of, or affiliation with al-Shabaab within five years of naturalization would have precluded him from citizenship. Ahmed procured his naturalization by concealment of material facts or willful misrepresentation, for joining al-Shabaab shortly after his naturalization.
Baboucarr Mboob (Age 58/Gambia): On November 11, 1994, Baboucarr Mboob, a native of The Gambia, while serving as a military police officer in the Gambian army, participated, along with fifteen other soldiers, in the execution of six officers following the orders from his commanding officer who believed the victims were plotting a counter-coup against then President Yahya Jammeh – all without giving their victims the benefit of a trial. Mboob concealed his involvement in war crimes and acts of persecution throughout his immigration and naturalization proceedings after entering the United States 2002, naturalizing as a U.S. citizen in 2011. But, in testimony before a hearing of The Gambian Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC) held on April 9, 2019, Mr. Mboob admitted to executing his six fellow officers. The Unites States is seeking to revoke his certificate of naturalization because he obtained his U.S. citizenship illegally by concealing material fact and willfully misrepresented his military background.
Kevin Robin Suarez (Age 31/Bolivia): Beginning in May 2016, and continuing for ten months after his January 2017 naturalization, Kevin Robin Suarez engaged in a conspiracy to purchase firearms through straw purchasers for the eventual exportation of the firearms to Bolivia and other Latin American countries. Working with his sister, Suarez solicited individuals to purchase firearms on their behalf from licensed federal firearms dealers and provided those firearms to Suarez’s father. These firearms were part of a larger network of gun trafficking from South Florida to Bolivia by Bolivian nationals in the United States. Once in Bolivia, the guns were often sent to drug trafficking organizations in Brazil, Paraguay, and Peru, fueling drug violence there. Suarez pled guilty to conspiracy to cause false statements to be made to federally-licensed firearms dealers, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 and 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(1)(A), in February 2020. Suarez illegally procured his naturalization as a United States citizen because his crime precluded the required good moral character to naturalize. Also, SUAREZ falsely testified under oath and misrepresented and concealed facts that were material to determining his naturalization eligibility.
Abduvosit Razikov (Age 46/Uzbekistan): In 2005, Abduvosit Razikov, a native of Uzbekistan, paid a U.S. citizen to enter into a sham marriage with him so that he could procure permanent residency in the United States. Then, in 2007, Razikov paid another U.S. citizen to enter into a sham marriage with Razikov’s actual romantic partner so she could enter the United States from Uzbekistan. In 2010, Razikov divorced his U.S. citizen “wife,” and in 2012, he naturalized. Months later, Razikov engaged in a third sham marriage, this time marrying another Uzbekistani woman (not his own romantic partner) so she could obtain immigration benefits. The denaturalization complaint filed against Razikov alleges that he never lawfully acquired the permanent resident status required to naturalize because of his sham marriage and immigration fraud, that his unlawful acts and false testimony about those acts precluded him from establishing the good moral character required for naturalization, and that he obtained his naturalization by concealment or willful misrepresentation of materials facts.
Abdallah Osman Sheikh (Age 28/Kenya): Abdallah Osman Sheikh, a resident of Fairdale, Kentucky, unlawfully procured his naturalization and obtained his naturalization by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation. Specifically, in July 2019, before he naturalized, but while he was in the Marines, Sheikh possessed indecent digital images of two minor individuals and posted an indecent digital image of one of them to his social media account. Those crimes and his efforts to hide those crimes from the government throughout his naturalization proceedings warrant Sheikh’s denaturalization pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1451(a). In addition, Sheikh naturalized based on his military service, but received an other than honorable discharge (for misconduct) from the U.S. Marines after failing to serve honorably for five years, warranting his denaturalization under 8 U.S.C. § 1440(c).
Debashis Ghosh (Age 62/India): Before Debashis Ghosh naturalized, he conspired to defraud investors of $2.5 million intended for the construction of an aircraft maintenance facility. After naturalizing, Ghosh, a native of India, continued the fraudulent scheme, misrepresenting the location and safekeeping of the investor funding. But in his 2012 naturalization application and interview, Ghosh claimed that he had never committed a crime or offense for which he had not arrested. The denaturalization complaint against Ghosh alleges that he is subject to denaturalization because during the period in which he was statutorily required to demonstrate good moral character, he committed a crime involving moral turpitude, committed unlawful acts that adversely reflected on his moral character, and falsely testified about his crime. Additionally, Ghosh willfully misrepresented the material fact of his crime during his naturalization proceedings.
Pin He (Age 53/China): After he was ordered removed under the name Chun Di He in 1992, Pin He applied for an immigration benefit the very next year under a different identity. That application was granted, and in 2007, Mr. He obtained permanent residence. In 2013, Defendant naturalized under the identity and immigration history of Pin He, without ever disclosing his prior removal order under the Chun Di He. Because Mr. He obtained his citizenship after concealing his prior identity and misrepresenting his eligibility for citizenship, the United States is seeking to revoke his certificate of naturalization.
George Oyakhire (Age 66/Nigeria): Mr. Oyakhire naturalized under a false identity. Mr. Oyakhire, who was born in Nigeria, first entered the United States on October 18, 1986, using a visa issued in his true name, George Ofuan Oyakhire. Approximately two years later, on September 2, 1988, Mr. Oyakhire obtained temporary resident status using a false name, “Oliver Bennett Oyakhire,” and a false date of birth. On December 1, 1990, Mr. Oyakhire adjusted his status to that of a lawful permanent resident using the false Oliver Bennett Oyakhire identity. On September 12, 1995, again using the false Oliver Bennett Oyakhire identity, Mr. Oyakhire filed an application for naturalization, which was approved on March 22, 1996. On April 22, 1996, Mr. Oyakhire became a naturalized citizen, under the false name Oliver Bennett Oyakhire.
Victor Manuel Rocha (Age 75/Colombia): Mr. Rocha is a native of Colombia who was convicted of serving as an unregistered agent for the Republic of Cuba. The U.S. seeks an order revoking Rocha’s naturalization based on his admission in criminal proceedings that he began spying for Cuba in 1973 before he naturalized in 1978. When he applied for naturalization, Rocha represented under penalty of perjury that he had not committed crimes for which he had not been arrested; he was not affiliated with the Communist Party of Cuba; he had not advocated, believed in, or knowingly supported and furthered the interests of Communism; and he believed in the U.S. Constitution and the form of government of the U.S. None of these were true.
These cases were prosecuted by the Justice Department’s Office of Immigration Litigation, Affirmative Litigation Unit, with assistance from USCIS, and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the District of Arizona, Southern District of Florida, Eastern District of California, District of Minnesota, Middle District of Florida, Western District of Kentucky, District of Columbia, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Southern District of Iowa, and Northern District of Illinois.
The claims made in the complaints are allegations only, and there has been no determination of liability.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
SAN DIEGO – Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of California filed 83 border-related cases this week, including charges of bringing in aliens for financial gain, reentering the U.S. after deportation, and importation of controlled substances. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California is the fourth-busiest federal district, largely due to a high volume of border-related crimes. This district, encompassing San Diego and Imperial counties, shares a 140-mile border with Mexico. It includes the San Ysidro Port of Entry, the world’s busiest land border crossing, connecting San Diego (America’s eighth largest city) and Tijuana (Mexico’s second largest city).
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Tallahassee, Florida – Laquinton Montral Harris, 36, of Tallahassee, Florida, has been indicted in federal court for one count of Hobbs Act robbery; carrying, brandishing, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence; and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
NAGO-TORBOLE, Italy — Under the shadow of the Italian Alps, where the echoes of World War II finally fell silent eight decades ago, U.S. Soldiers and Italian community members gathered this week to honor a legacy of sacrifice that remains anchored in the deep waters of Lake Garda.
The ceremonies marked the 81st anniversary of April 30, 1945—a day of dual tragedies for the U.S. Army. It was on this date, just days before the German surrender in Italy, that an enemy shell in Torbole killed Colonel William O. Darby, the legendary founder of the Rangers, and his senior enlisted leader, Sgt. Maj. John “Tim” Evans.
Hours later, an amphibious vehicle carrying 26 Soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division sank in the lake’s frigid depths. Only one man survived. For Bradley Galvin, the weight of that history is personal. He traveled to Italy to represent his great-grandfather, Pfc. Frank J. Miller, who was among the 25 men lost in the lake.
“I’ve kind of known about it probably since I was a kid, but I didn’t really know the full story,” Galvin said. “I didn’t know that it was a major event that other people would know about.”
U.S. Soldiers and Italian community members gathered… (Photo Credit: Rick Scavetta)VIEW ORIGINAL
Standing near the shoreline where his great-grandfather was last seen, Galvin noted the importance of the pilgrimage.
“I’m kind of excited for all the events, but also to remember my great-grandfather died here,” he said. “They were very important historical events and should keep being remembered.”
During an evening ceremony in Torbole’s piazza, Col. Vaughn Strong, commander of U.S. Army Garrison Italy, remarked that Darby was only 34, yet his leadership shaped the U.S. Army Rangers.
“His legacy endures in our formations and at Camp Darby, our U.S. Army post in Pisa, which bears his name,” Strong said. “As we mark the 81st anniversary, we reflect on what this day represents, leadership in combat, sacrifice at every level and the enduring bond between our Soldiers and the Italian communities who keep this history alive.”
Wreaths were presented and Bobby J. White, commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8862, read the names of those who died.
U.S. Soldiers and Italian community members gathered… (Photo Credit: Rick Scavetta)VIEW ORIGINAL
The remembrance was not limited to a solemn ceremony. During the day, service members, to include Soldiers from the States joined paratroopers of the 173rd Airborne Brigade and Soldiers from U.S. Army Garrison Italy for a grueling 40-mile road march beside the lake, retracing the final “race” to the Alps led by Darby’s men.
Pvt. Mitchell Crawford, of the 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, said he’d never undertaken such an endurance event.
“First I came here to honor the fallen but it’s also a personal challenge for me,” Crawford, said. “After the first 20 miles, I really started hurting. I just focused on getting it done.”
For others, like Spc. Elyieth Barton of 2/503rd’s Chosen Company, the march was a test of future leadership.
“I thought about Rangers and my future,” Barton said. “I wanted to attempt this and see if I have what it takes to do it. And I guess I do.”
The local Italian community remains a vital partner in preserving this history. Ben Appleby and Antonella Previdi, co-founders of the Benàch Historical Research Association, have spent years documenting these final battles. Their research led to the 2023 documentary, “The Lost Mountaineers,” and helped bring families for the fallen, like Galvin’s, to Italy.
“The fighting here and the Soldiers who died here were the last Soldiers who died in Italy in World War II,” Previdi said, noting that Darby’s death remains a focal point for military historians. “It’s something that makes this place very special.”
Col. Vaughn Strong, commander of USAG Italy, shakes… (Photo Credit: Rick Scavetta)VIEW ORIGINAL
Capt. Anthony Dove, commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, USAG Italy, emphasized that these events are more than just memorials. They are vital for Soldiers to learn from history.
“Learning from mistakes or what happened in the past is also a training tool that we can use in the future,” Dove said. “Just being there, seeing that, honoring Colonel Darby and the 10th Mountain Soldiers, it’s an emotional and significant event.”
The amphibious vehicle remains submerged under 200 meters of water. After the walk and the ceremony, Sgt. Ernesto Ortiz-Montero of the 173rd Airborne Brigade reflected on the enduring bond between the Soldiers and the Italian population.
U.S. Soldiers and Italian community members gathered… (Photo Credit: Rick Scavetta)VIEW ORIGINAL
“The Italians see us… they see us doing things that have their culture and our culture in it,” Ortiz-Montero said. “I feel like they love us. We love them. We’re building that cohesion that everybody wants.”
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
United States Attorney Ron Parsons announced that a Parmelee, South Dakota, man was acquitted of Assault with a Dangerous Weapon, Assault Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury, and Using and Carrying a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence following a federal jury trial in Pierre, South Dakota, on May 7, 2026.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
BOSTON – A Quincy, Mass. man pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to injecting clients of his business, Rodrigo Beauty Inc., with unapproved botulinum toxin obtained from illegitimate sources outside the United States, resulting in numerous severe cases of botulism.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A former NFL player who owned a marketing company and was the beneficial owner of eight durable medical equipment (DME) companies was sentenced yesterday to 196 months in prison for his role in a yearslong scheme to bilk Medicare and the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) out of nearly $200 million by selling patient information and sham doctors’ orders for orthotic braces that patients did not want or need.
In addition to the prison sentence, the defendant, Joel Rufus French, 47, of Armory, Mississippi, was ordered to pay $110,753,619 in restitution and to forfeit approximately $17 million that the government seized from bank accounts and other assets.
“Fueled by lies, bribes, and overseas telemarketers, this corrupt scheme preyed on senior citizens and disabled veterans to flood the country with unnecessary medical devices — and then billed the taxpayer for it,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “Today’s sentence makes clear that if you target America’s elderly, sick, or vulnerable — and rob America’s purse doing so — you will be targeted and brought to justice.”
“The defendant orchestrated a brazen, yearslong scheme that preyed on elderly patients and the families of disabled and deceased veterans to steal millions from Medicare and CHAMPVA,” said 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). “By hiding behind overseas call centers, sham telemedicine companies, and straw‑owned DME suppliers, he exploited some of the most vulnerable people these programs were created to protect. This lengthy sentence underscores the seriousness of his crimes and sends a clear message: HHS‑OIG and our law enforcement partners remain steadfast in safeguarding taxpayer‑funded programs and ensuring those who seek to defraud them will be found, stopped, and held accountable.”
“Schemes such as these compromise the integrity of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) programs and services and divert funds from our nation’s deserving veterans and their families,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Greg Wentz of the VA Office of Inspector General (VA OIG) Southeast Field Office. “The VA OIG will continue to work with our law enforcement partners to root out fraudsters and hold them accountable.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, French worked with overseas telemarketing call centers that pressured elderly Americans to provide their personal and health insurance information and agree to accept medically unnecessary orthotic braces. In certain instances, the call centers altered call recordings to make it seem like Medicare patients agreed to the braces when they did not.
French paid sham telemedicine companies kickbacks to obtain signed doctors’ orders from doctors and nurse practitioners who never examined, and often never even spoke to, the patients. He sold the orders to marketers and medical supply companies, which then submitted claims to Medicare. French also defrauded Medicare and CHAMPVA, the health care program for spouses and children of veterans who have or had a permanent and total service-connected disability or who died from a service-connected condition, by billing the programs for orthotic braces through eight DME supply companies that he owned and managed, using straw owners and false documents to hide his connection to the companies from Medicare. French also laundered approximately $225,000 in cash from a bank in Mississippi, over $10,000 of which was placed in a bag and driven to Orlando to pay accomplices who sold him beneficiaries’ personal and insurance information.
After a six-day jury trial ending in February, French was convicted of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and conspiracy to offer, pay, solicit, and receive kickbacks.
HHS-OIG, FBI, and VA OIG investigated the case.
Acting Assistant Chief Catherine Wagner and Trial Attorney William Hochul III of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the Fraud Division. The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
The Department of Justice’s Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, currently comprised of nine 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 since 2007. 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.