Category: Security

Source: US FBI

LAS VEGAS – A Las Vegas woman was sentenced Wednesday by United States District Judge James C. Mahan to 30 months in prison to be followed by three years of supervised release for fraudulently seeking over $1 million in COVID-19 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans.

According to court documents, from April 2020 to July 2020, Karen Chapon, aka Karen Hannafious, made multiple false statements about her companies’ respective business operations and payroll expenses, and submitted false documents to support six fraudulent PPP loan applications, including false federal tax filings. As part of the fraudulent loan applications, Chapon falsely stated that she had not been convicted of a felony in the past five years, but in fact, she pleaded guilty to felony fraud offenses in 2016. She received four loans totaling approximately $596,931. Chapon used fraudulently obtained funds for her own benefit, including the purchase of a Mercedes Benz SUV.

In August 2023, Chapon pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud. In addition to the prison term, Chapon was ordered to pay $589,484.13 in restitution.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is a federal law enacted March 29, 2020. It is designed to provide emergency financial assistance to millions of Americans who are suffering the economic effects resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. One source of relief provided by the CARES Act is the authorization of up to $349 billion in forgivable loans to small businesses for job retention and certain other expenses through the PPP. In April 2020, Congress authorized over $300 billion in additional PPP funding.

The PPP allows qualifying small businesses and other organizations to receive loans with a maturity of two years and an interest rate of one percent. Businesses must use PPP loan proceeds for payroll costs, interest on mortgages, rent and utilities. The PPP allows the interest and principal to be forgiven if businesses spend the proceeds on these expenses within a set time period and use at least a certain percentage of the loan towards payroll expenses.

United States Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada; Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans for the FBI; Acting Inspector General Heather M. Hill for the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA); and Special Agent in Charge Weston King for the U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General (SBA-OIG), Western Region made the announcement.

This case was investigated by the FBI, TIGTA, and SBA OIG. Assistant United States Attorney Jessica Oliva and Trial Attorneys Lucy Jennings and Jennifer Bilinkas of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.

In May 2021, the Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the department’s response to the pandemic, please visit www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.

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Source: US FBI

RENO – The final defendant involved in a large methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy was sentenced Monday by United States Chief District Judge Miranda M. Du to 145 months in prison for his role in a large methamphetamine trafficking conspiracy.

According to court documents, in 2014, Nassrollah Behmard fled to Mexico to avoid being arrested for his involvement in a Washoe County drug trafficking case. In March 2022, the FBI learned that Behmard, who was still in Mexico, was conspiring with co-conspirators located in Reno and Los Angeles to distribute multi-pound quantities of methamphetamine in the Reno area. From March 2022 to June 2022, Behmard and his co-conspirators were responsible for distributing over 140 pounds of methamphetamine.

On June 6, 2022, Behmard arranged with co-conspirator Ramon Guadalupe Sanchez Maldonado to deliver 100 pounds of methamphetamine from Los Angeles to Reno. Law enforcement intercepted the methamphetamine and traced it back to a clandestine lab located in the Los Angeles area. Law enforcement dismantled the lab and seized approximately 1,000 pounds of methamphetamine.

In June 2022, a federal grand jury in Reno charged Behmard, also known as “Benny” and “Michael Holt,” and his co-conspirators Sanchez Maldonado, Melissa Ann Longo, Owen Eugene Dick, and Jesus Sanchez Vargas with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and related offenses including money laundering. Maldonado was sentenced to 120 months in prison, Longo was sentenced to 57 months in prison, and Dick was sentenced to 57 months in prison.

United States Attorney Jason M. Frierson for the District of Nevada and Special Agent in Charge Spencer L. Evans for the FBI made the announcement.

The FBI Northern Nevada Safe Streets Task Force, comprised of the FBI, Reno Police Department, Carson City Sheriff’s Office, Nevada Gaming and Control Board, Nevada Department of Corrections, and the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case with assistance by the FBI Los Angeles Field Office, the San Bernardino Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney Andolyn Johnson prosecuted the case.

This case was part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

If you have information of potential drug trafficking, call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit an anonymous tip online at TIPS.FBI.GOV.

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Source: US FBI

WILLIAMSPORT – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Walter Sitosky, age 67, of Houtzdale, Pennsylvania, was sentenced to 120 months in prison to be followed by five years of supervised release by U.S. Chief District Judge Matthew W. Brann after pleading guilty to attempted enticement of a minor charge. 

According to Acting United States Attorney John C. Gurganus, Sitosky arranged to pay for sexual services from a 13-year-old child. Sitosky was arrested as part of an undercover operation after travelling to an establishment in Centre County to meet the child on November 10, 2023.

The case was investigated by the FBI, Pennsylvania State Police, Patton Township Police, the Centre County District Attorney’s Office, Williamsport Police, and the Lycoming County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alisan V. Martin is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.

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Source: US FBI

CHICAGO — A federal jury has convicted the owner of several Chicago-area convenience stores of scheming to defraud a low-income food program for women and children.

HASSAN ABDELLATIF, also known as “Eric,” 36, of Chicago, was convicted of all five counts against him, including two counts of wire fraud, one count of fraudulently obtaining government benefits, and two counts of willfully failing to file corporate tax returns. The jury returned its verdicts on Monday after a week-long trial in federal court in Chicago.  U.S. District Judge Jorge L. Alonso set sentencing for Aug. 26, 2025.

Evidence at trial revealed that Abdellatif, who owned or operated El Milagro Mini Market, Supermercado El Grande, Star Mini Market, In & Out Grocery, and Harding Grocery, schemed with eight other store owners or workers to fraudulently redeem checks from the Women, Infants, and Children (“WIC”) program, a federally funded initiative designed to provide a nutritious diet to moderate and low-income infants, children up to five years of age, and pregnant, breastfeeding, and post-partum women. Over a period of several years, Abdellatif and the others knowingly allowed customers to provide their WIC checks as payment for ineligible items at the stores, often at inflated prices. Abdellatif and a co-defendant redeemed more than $6.5 million in WIC checks at two of the stores alone, before law enforcement searched those premises and shut down the fraud scheme.

The evidence established that ten stores involved in the scheme redeemed more than $19 million in WIC checks over an eight-year period.  All eight of Abdellatif’s co-defendants pleaded guilty prior to his trial.

The convictions were announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI, Shantel R. Robinson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Midwest Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of Inspector General, and Ramsey E. Covington, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation in Chicago.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kartik Raman, Rick Young, and Matthew Moyer.

Source: US FBI

RAPID CITY – United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced a Porcupine, South Dakota, man convicted of Involuntary Manslaughter, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, and Possession of an Unregistered Firearm. The sentencing took place on April 25, 2025.

McKenzie Big Crow, age 20, was sentenced to a total of 12 years in federal prison for Involuntary Manslaughter, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, and Possession of an Unregistered Firearm, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Big Crow was also ordered to pay $300 in special assessments to the Federal Crime Victims Fund.

A federal grand jury indicted Big Crow in June 2024. In January 2025, he was found guilty following a federal jury trial.

On August 20, 2023, near Porcupine, Big Crow was illegally in possession of a Savage Arms Model 62, semiautomatic rifle. The barrel had been sawed off, and the defendant had taped components of an Airsoft rifle to the gun to make it appear like an AK-47. Big Crow claimed he put the rifle in a backpack and that the gun discharged when he bumped the bag against a door. The gunshot struck 19-year-old Ashton Provost in the chest, killing her and her unborn child within minutes. The gun was later found hidden under Big Crow’s bed. On the day of the shooting, Big Crow had drugs in his system including marijuana, cocaine, MDMA (commonly known as ecstasy) and methamphetamine.

“We commend the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of South Dakota for its decision to pursue charges under the Unborn Victims of Violence Act — recognizing the value of every life lost as a result of this crime,” said Special Agent in Charge Alvin M. Winston Sr. of the FBI Minneapolis. “This case highlights our shared commitment to justice for the most vulnerable and to holding violent offenders accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.

This matter was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office because the Major Crimes Act, a federal statute, mandates that certain violent crimes alleged to have occurred in Indian country be prosecuted in Federal court as opposed to State court.

This case was investigated by the FBI, the Oglala Sioux Tribe Department of Public Safety, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Knox prosecuted the case.

Big Crow was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.

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Source: US FBI

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Portland man was sentenced to federal prison yesterday for breaking into a local pawn shop and stealing forty-seven firearms from the federal firearm licensee. 

Kory Dean Boyd, 39, was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release. 

According to court documents, on January 31, 2022, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) were notified of a burglary at a Southeast Portland pawn shop. Early that morning, shop owners discovered two large holes in a concrete block wall on the building’s exterior. The exposed room contained dozens of firearms, forty-seven of which were reported stolen, including pistols, revolvers, rifles, and shotguns.

ATF agents reviewed exterior surveillance video from the pawn shop and observed two vehicles and five individuals present near the holes in the building during the late evening and early morning hours of January 29 and 30, 2022. Two individuals used a sledgehammer to make holes in the exterior wall while Boyd and others carried firearms and firearm cases to the vehicles.

On February 4, 2022, ATF agents searched Boyd’s residence and recovered eight firearms, including seven stolen from the pawn shop. Boyd was arrested without incident and admitted to his involvement in the burglary.

On February 8, 2022, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a two-count indictment charging Boyd with the theft of firearms and possessing firearms as a convicted felon.

On March 4, 2024, Boyd pleaded guilty to stealing firearms from a federal firearm licensee.

This case was investigated by ATF with assistance from the FBI, Portland Police Bureau, and Clackamas County Sheriff’s Office. It was prosecuted by Lewis S. Burkhart, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN is the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts. PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Source: US FBI

DETROIT – Tribar Technologies, Inc., a Southeast Michigan manufacturer, was sentenced today to pay a $200,000 criminal fine, pay $20,000 in restitution, serve five years of probation, and implement an environmental management system and compliance plan within the first six months of probation. Tribar pleaded guilty to violating the Clean Water Act when it discharged insufficiently treated wastewater, a misdemeanor, Acting United States Attorney Julie A. Beck announced.

According to court documents, Tribar is a manufacturer of decorative trim assemblies and components serving the automotive and commercial vehicle markets in Southeast Michigan. The Tribar facility where the events in this case occurred – Plant 5 – is a chrome plating facility in Wixom, Michigan, that uses an electroplating process to apply chrome finishing to plastic automotive parts. The summer of 2022, Tribar held an Industrial Pretreatment Program Permit, authorizing discharges of treated wastewater from Plant 5 into the Wixom sanitary sewer system. Tribar’s permit included a notification requirement for batch discharges and prohibited Tribar from bypassing its own treatment system.

On July 23, 2022, Tribar Plant 5 accumulated approximately 15,000 gallons of untreated wastewater with high concentrations of hexavalent chromium. Tribar employees attempted to treat this wastewater, but by July 29, 2022, it still contained high levels of hexavalent chromium that required treatment before it could be released into Tribar’s wastewater treatment system. On the evening of July 29, 2022, a Tribar employee discharged a batch of approximately 10,000 gallons of insufficiently treated wastewater from a holding tank into Plant 5’s wastewater treatment system. The discharge activated approximately 460 alarm bells all of which were disabled, allowing the wastewater to be discharged into the Wixom sanitary sewer system. Tribar did not report this illegal discharge until August 1, 2022. 

“Tribar’s failure to adequately train and supervise its employees jeopardized the safety and quality of local water resources. This sentence recognizes the importance of strict adherence to regulatory standards and best practices intended to protect human health and the environment. Together with our partners we will continue to protect environmental resources in the Eastern District of Michigan,” said Acting United States Attorney Julie A. Beck.

“Tribar illegally discharged industrial wastewater, posing a risk to downstream waterways,” said Special Agent in Charge Allison Landsman of EPA’s Criminal Investigation Division. “The successful and cooperative effort by EPA, federal and state partners resulted in today’s sentencing, holding Tribar responsible for violating federal environmental law.”

The investigation of this case was conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division, the Department of Justice Environmental Crimes Section, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service. 

Source: US FBI

MOBILE, AL – On April 29, 2025, United States District Court Judge William H. Steele sentenced Isaiah Lorenzo Bess, 28, to 33 months imprisonment for Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl.

Documents filed with the court established that beginning in or around July 2023 and continuing to or about December 8, 2023, Bess conspired with others to distribute fentanyl pills throughout the Mobile area.

Bess was indicted for Conspiracy to Possess with Intent to Distribute Fentanyl and pled guilty to the charge.  United States District Court Judge William H. Steele sentenced Bess to 33 months in prison followed by a 5-year term of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Sean P. Costello of the Southern District of Alabama made the announcement.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Mobile County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica S. Terrill prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

Source: US FBI

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Portland man, who for more than a decade claimed to be a successful foreign exchange currency trader to solicit millions of dollars in investments, was sentenced to federal prison yesterday for wire fraud.

William Bennington, 53, was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison and three years’ supervised release. 

According to court documents, from March 2012 until October 2022, Bennington knowingly and intentionally carried out a scheme to defraud victims out of more than $2 million. In order to solicit investments, Bennington claimed to be a wealthy foreign exchange currency trader that had written a proprietary trading algorithm, which he alleged was the source of his wealth.  

Over the course of the scheme, Bennington promised annual returns of up to 80 percent and repayment terms as short as six months. He also created a fake website and fabricated monthly statements falsely showing victims were earning significant returns. Instead of investing his victims’ money as promised, Bennington spent it on extravagant trips, a golf simulator, and personal expenses such as rent, vehicle leases and credit card payments. 

On October 17, 2023, a federal grand jury in Portland returned a five-count indictment charging Bennington with wire fraud. Later, on April 4, 2024, Bennington pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud.

This case was investigated by the FBI, and was prosecuted by Robert Trisotto, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

Source: US FBI

MOBILE, AL – Michael Edward Terrell, age 46, was sentenced today to 135 months in prison after entering a guilty plea to a count of Attempted Receipt and Distribution of Child Pornography.  Terrell entered his guilty plea on January 30, 2025.

According to court documents, between August 22, 2017, and September 5, 2017, an FBI Online Convert Employee identified Terrell as a person who was distributing child pornography online. FBI executed a search warrant at his home, seized his electronic devices, and found child pornography on his devices.

On December 3, 2019, an ALEA SBI Special Agent was notified that Terrell was soliciting child pornography on Twitter.  ALEA obtained the contents of the Twitter account and confirmed that Terrell, using an explicit username, was engaging in conversations with other Twitter users in which he would request that they send him “hard core” images of child pornography.

At sentencing, Judge Steele imposed the 135-month sentence of incarceration and a 15-year term of supervised release upon his future release. During his term of imprisonment, Terrell will be subject to sex offender treatment, substance abuse testing and treatment, and mental health treatment.  Terrell will be required to register as a sex offender and is to have no contact with minors.  Terrell was ordered to pay $30,500 in restitution to the victims of his offenses and $5,100 in special assessments.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency investigated the case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Kacey Chappelear prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc/publications-resources