Category: Security

Source: US FBI

BENTON, Ill. – A district judge sentenced a Paducah, Kentucky, man to 121 months’ imprisonment for attempting to entice a minor in southern Illinois to engage in illegal sexual activity.

In October, a federal jury returned guilty verdicts for Robert R. Rodriguez, 41, on one count of attempted enticement of a minor and one count of soliciting an obscene visual depiction of a minor.

“Those who target children for sex crimes sicken us all. The federal justice system will relentlessly pursue and prosecute these offenders to ensure they face severe consequences for their actions,” said U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft.

According to court documents and evidence presented during the trial, Rodriguez initiated conversation with an undercover federal agent on an online social media platform in May 2023. In the messages, Rodriguez discussed meeting with a purported 9-year-old child to engage in sexual activity and requested child sexual abuse material.

On May 10, 2023, law enforcement arrested Rodriguez in Marion, Illinois, when he tried to meet with the purported 9-year-old child. 

“This sentencing makes one thing clear: the FBI Springfield Field Office is taking decisive action to protect the children of Illinois. We will use every tool at our disposal to stop those who seek to do them harm, and with our partners at the Department of Justice, we will pursue the highest penalties for these crimes.”

Following imprisonment, Rodriguez will serve seven years of supervised release.

FBI Springfield Field Office led the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Tom Leggans and David Sanders prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

Source: US FBI

CHICAGO — A suburban Chicago man has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for cyberstalking a victim he met on an online dating platform.

KEVIN CRUZ met the victim in 2021 on the dating application Grindr.  While the pair communicated about a potential intimate relationship, the victim sent Cruz explicit photographs of himself.  Cruz and the victim met in person on several occasions, but while Cruz expressed an interest in pursuing a romantic relationship, the victim did not.

From December 2021 to mid-2023, Cruz engaged in a course of harassing and intimidating conduct toward the victim.  Cruz created numerous profiles on Grindr and other dating applications in which he impersonated the victim.  Cruz, pretending to be the victim, arranged for men to travel to the victim’s home for sexual encounters.  In some instances, Cruz, pretending to be the victim, instructed the men to enter the victim’s residence and attempt to have sex with the victim even if he resisted, as Cruz said the resistance would be part of a role-playing scenario. Numerous men arrived at the victim’s residence seeking sex as a result of their communications with Cruz.

Cruz also sent the victim’s explicit photographs to the victim’s family members, including his mother, brother, and cousins.  In a text message sent by Cruz to the victim’s mother from a spoofed phone number, Cruz falsely suggested that the victim had committed suicide.

Cruz, 34, of Oak Park, Ill., pleaded guilty last year to a federal cyberstalking charge.  In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger on Wednesday ordered Cruz to pay $17,313.18 in restitution to the victim.

The sentence was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI.

“Defendant’s conduct shocks the conscience,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan L. Shih argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “He created significant risks that the victim would be hurt, injured, and raped.”

Source: US FBI

Hashem Younis Hashem Hnaihen, 44, a Jordanian national residing illegally in Orlando, was sentenced today to six years in federal prison for threatening to use explosives and destruction of an energy facility. A restitution hearing will be held at a future date to address the more than $450,000 in damages Hnaihen caused.

“Threatening to commit mass violence against American citizens and targeting businesses or institutions for destruction will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe for the Middle District of Florida. “Today’s sentence demonstrates the collective fortitude of our law enforcement partners to vigorously investigate and prosecute those who engage in acts of intimidation or violence against our communities.”

“This case highlights the strength of our partnerships and the tenacity of our investigators who are determined to protect the American people from those threatening the safety and security of our communities,” said Special Agent in Charge Matthew Fodor the FBI Tampa Field Office. 

Restaurant damaged in attack with notes taped to the window.

According to court documents, beginning around June 2024, Hnaihen targeted and attacked businesses in the Orlando area for their perceived support for Israel. Wearing a mask, under the cover of night, Hnaihen smashed the glass front doors of businesses and left behind “Warning Letters.” In his letters, which were addressed to the President of the United States and the United States government, Hnaihen laid out a series of political demands, culminating in a threat to “destroy or explode everything here in whole America. Especially the companies and factories that support the racist state of Israel.” 

Solar panels with cracked glass.

Hnaihen’s attacks escalated. At the end of June, as law enforcement worked to identify the masked attacker, Hnaihen broke into a solar power generation facility in Wedgefield, Florida, and spent hours systematically destroying solar panel arrays. He smashed panels, cut wires, and targeted critical electronic equipment. Hnaihen left behind two more copies of his threatening demand letter. Hnaihen’s attacks caused more than $450,000 in damage.

Following a multiagency effort, law enforcement identified Hnaihen and arrested him on July 11, 2024, shortly after another “Warning Letter” threatening to “destroy or explode everything” was discovered at an industrial propane gas distribution depot in Orlando.

The FBI and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case, with valuable assistance from the Maitland Police Department, the Winter Park Police Department, the Orlando Police Department, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Varadan for the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorneys Ryan White and George Kraehe of the National Security Division’s Counterterrorism Section prosecuted the case.

Source: US FBI

Orlando, FL – United States District Judge Wendy W. Berger has sentenced Maria Del Carmen Montes (48, Kissimmee) to 33 months in federal prison for bank fraud. Montes pleaded guilty on January 4, 2024. 

According to court documents, Montes, co-conspirator Carlos Ferrer, and others created and executed a mortgage fraud scheme targeting financial institutions. Montes assisted clients with purchasing homes and, after signing the real estate contract, referred her buyers to a loan officer at a mortgage company. In order to qualify her clients for mortgage loans for which they were unqualified, Montes transferred the personal identifying and financial information of her clients to Ferrer and directed Ferrer to create fictitious paystubs and W-2s showing false earnings and length of employment for her clients, knowing that her clients never worked for the companies on the fictitious employment documents. After Ferrer created the documents, Montes submitted the fictitious paystubs and W-2s to the financial institutions who relied on them when making underwriting decisions. 

On August 13, 2024, Ferrer was sentenced to four months’ imprisonment and ordered to serve three years of supervised release for his role in the case.

This case was investigated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Chris Poor.

Source: US FBI

Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that SUHAIL APONTE, 38, of Wethersfield, waived her right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to a health care fraud offense related to a Medicaid fraud scheme.

The Connecticut Medical Assistance Program (CTMAP) is a Connecticut Department of Social Services-administered program that provides medical assistance to low income persons.  CTMAP’s benefit packages, referred to as “HUSKY” or “Connecticut Medicaid,” are jointly funded by the State of Connecticut and the federal government.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Aponte was the sole principal and registered agent of Minds Cornerstone LLC, dba Minds Cornerstone Behavior Therapy Services (“Minds Cornerstone”), an Autism Specialist Group, which was registered with the State of Connecticut in June 2021.  Beginning in approximately November 2021, Aponte, who is not a licensed provider, was involved in a scheme in which she and a co-conspirator used Minds Cornerstone to defraud the Connecticut Medicaid Program by submitting fraudulent claims for applied behavior analysis (“ABA”) services to children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (“ASD”).  The scheme involved billing for Medicaid for services purportedly rendered to patients when company payroll records indicate employees were not compensated for the associated services; direct supervision services purportedly provided by a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (“BCBA”) of a behavioral technician, when the corresponding procedure code for behavioral technician services was not billed; services purportedly rendered to patients who were actually in an inpatient hospital; and services purportedly rendered when parents of patients and former employees of Minds Cornerstone confirmed those services did not occur.

Between November 2021 and January 2025, Aponte and her co-conspirator submitted or caused to be submitted to Medicaid fraudulent claims that resulted in a loss of approximately $1,876,617 to the Connecticut Department of Social Services.

From approximately May 2022 until November 2024, Aponte was also employed by the State of Connecticut in the Office of Policy and Management.

Aponte pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.

As part of her plea, Aponte has agreed to the forfeiture of approximately $459,000 in funds seized from various bank accounts she controlled, as well as her interest in additional bank accounts and two parcels of land in Hartford.

Judge Underhill scheduled sentencing for July 30.

Aponte has been released on a $100,000 bond since her arrest on January 16, 2025.

This investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG), and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit of the Connecticut Chief State’s Attorney’s Office, with the assistance of the Connecticut Department of Social Services.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David T. Huang.

Source: US FBI

Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that AKEEM MANOO, 34, of New Britain, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Vernon D. Oliver in Hartford to 84 months of imprisonment, followed by four years of supervised release, for possessing with intent to distribute cocaine, and for committing the offense while on supervised release from a prior federal conviction.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on March 26, 2016, Manoo was sentenced in New Haven federal court to 120 months of imprisonment and five years of supervised release for his participation in a gang-related narcotics trafficking conspiracy.  He was released from federal prison in November 2022.  On May 11, 2023, Manoo was arrested after Hartford Police stopped his vehicle and found him in possession of nearly a half-kilogram of cocaine.

Manoo pleaded guilty on October 30, 2024.

Judge Oliver sentenced Manoo to 68 months of imprisonment for the cocaine distribution offense, and an additional 16 months of imprisonment for violating the conditions of his supervised release.

This investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force and the Hartford Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brendan J. Keefe.

Source: US FBI

Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Anish Shukla, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Stephen P. Belleau, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration for New England, today announced that a federal grand jury in Hartford returned a 10-count indictment today charging KEYSHON ZIMMERMAN, also known as “AJ,” “Ace,” and “Slick,” 39, of Stratford; ROBERT SMITH, also known as “Mookie,” 43, of Ansonia; and MAHOGANY PETTWAY-STOKES, 45, of Ansonia with offenses related to the trafficking of fentanyl and cocaine in the Naugatuck Valley.

As alleged in court documents and statements made in court, an investigation by the FBI New Haven Transnational Organized Crime Task Force and the DEA New Haven District Office (NHDO) Task Force determined that Zimmerman and Smith were distributing fentanyl, cocaine, and prescription opioids in Connecticut’s Lower Naugatuck Valley.  Zimmerman and Smith shared a phone used to coordinate drug transactions.  Zimmerman typically used the phone in the morning and early afternoon and Smith used the phone in the late afternoon into the evening. Between July 2024 and April 2025, investigators made multiple controlled purchase of narcotics from Zimmerman, Smith, and Pettway-Stokes.

Zimmerman, Smith, and Pettway-Stokes were arrested on April 23, 2025.  It is alleged that as investigators entered Zimmerman’s residence on Main Street in Stratford, they located Zimmerman in a bathroom attempting to flush fentanyl in a toilet.  In association with the arrests, a search of Zimmerman’s residence revealed a large quantity of unpackaged fentanyl and cocaine, drug processing and packaging materials, and approximately $21,000 in cash.  Searches of two cars parked in Stratford and Ansonia used by Zimmerman revealed additional quantities of fentanyl and cocaine, narcotic pills, a .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol with an obliterated serial number, and a 9mm caliber semi-automatic pistol with an extended magazine.  A search of a residence shared by Smith and Pettway-Stokes on Wakelee Avenue in Ansonia revealed two handguns, and a search of an apartment on Olivia Street in Derby revealed narcotics processing and packaging materials, including a kilogram press.

The indictment charges Zimmerman, Smith, and Pettway-Stokes with one count of conspiracy to distribute, and to possess with intent to distribute, fentanyl and cocaine.  As to this charge, based on the type and quantity of drug attributed to each defendant, Zimmerman faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life, and Smith and Pettway-Stokes each faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.

The indictment also charges Zimmerman, Smith, and Pettway-Stokes with multiple substantive counts related to the possession and distribution of controlled substances.  Zimmerman is also charged with two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, an offense that carries a mandatory consecutive term of imprisonment of at least five years on each count.

Zimmerman and Smith are currently detained and Pettway-Stokes is released on a $75,000 bond.

Acting U.S. Attorney Silverman stressed that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  Charges are only allegations, and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This matter is being investigated by the FBI New Haven Transnational Organized Crime Task Force and the DEA New Haven District Office (NHDO) Task Force.  The FBI Task Force includes participants from the Connecticut State Police and the North Haven, New Haven, East Haven, Milford, and Brookfield Police Departments, and the DEA Task Force includes participants from the U.S. Marshals Service, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division, Connecticut State Police and the New Haven, Waterbury, East Haven, Branford, West Haven, Ansonia, Meriden, Naugatuck, and Shelton Police Departments.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey M. Stone.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.  Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

Source: US FBI

Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that JUSTIN C. MURPHY, 50, of Stamford, pleaded guilty yesterday before U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven to offenses stemming from an investment fraud scheme.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Murphy owned and operated Greenwich-based Mara Investment Group, LLC, also known as Mara Investment Management LP and Mara Investments Global Management LLC (“Mara”), which Murphy purported to be a hedge fund that solicited and accepted investments and used a quantitative strategy that balanced long and short positions in securities.  Between approximately 2016 and September 2022, Murphy defrauded investors by pursuing a much riskier investment strategy than he told investors; diverting substantial investor funds for his own personal use and benefit; representing to investors that their invested funds were performing more favorably than was, in fact, the case, including providing investors with account statements that falsely representing their account balances; and providing investors with federal tax forms that falsely reported business income upon which investors would be required to pay tax.

Murphy stole approximately $3,465,812 in investor funds through this scheme and used the funds to pay for personal expenses and to purchase a personal stake in his relative’s startup company.

Murphy pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years, and one count of money laundering, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.  A sentencing date is not scheduled.

Murphy was arrested in Brazil on December 6, 2023, and was detained for nearly 11 months while awaiting extradition to the U.S.  He has been released on a $250,000 bond since November 1, 2024.

This investigation has been conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation Division.  The Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and Brazilian authorities provided assistance.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney David E. Novick.

Source: US FBI

CAPE GIRARDEAU – A man from Illinois on Wednesday admitted trying to have a business associate in Florida murdered.

Ben Patrick Mullavey, 66, of Mechanicsburg, in Sangamon County, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau to one felony count of use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of attempted murder-for-hire. As part of his plea, Mullavey admitted offering cash to a former employee to commit the murder.

On Jan. 3, 2024, Mullavey picked up the former employee in Missouri and took him to a McDonald’s restaurant. There, Mullavey flashed a stack of cash and said he wanted his business partner killed. On Jan.11, 2024, the employee drove to Mullavey’s house. During the next three days, the employee helped Mullavey with construction work as they discussed the murder. Mullavey said he had been planning the murder for months, had conducted surveillance of the victim in Florida and had stolen a Florida license plate in preparation for the murder. Mullavey suggested the best time and place to commit the murder and how to avoid being identified on surveillance cameras. He also discussed several possible ways of disposing of the victim’s body, including using lime to dissolve it. Many of the conversations were audio and video recorded.

On Jan. 13, 2024, the employee left Mullavey’s home with orders to kill the victim. Mullavey also gave him a crossbow, arrows, the stolen Florida license plate, handwritten directions to a restaurant located next door to the victim’s business and $2,100 in cash, Mullavey’s plea agreement says.

Mullavey is scheduled to be sentenced July 22. The attempted murder-for-hire charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both.

The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Shelton is prosecuting the case.

Source: US FBI

The FBI is the lead federal agency for responding to WMD threats. The Bureau’s program has existed since 1995, but in 2006 it shifted to a more operational posture as the Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate inside the Bureau’s National Security Branch. The directorate, located at FBI Headquarters, develops the overall policy, guidance, and countermeasures for operators in the field. In FBI field offices across the U.S., WMD coordinators put it all into action.

“We’re the boots on the ground,” said Caviggiola.

Their primary roles include training first responders, partners, and even fellow agents and task force officers on the different modalities of WMD investigations—chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive, often referred to as CBRNE. They are subject matter experts who coordinate the tactical responses when WMDs are suspected.

In the Vermont case, for example, WMD coordinator Tom Stewart led all the responding agencies through the FBI’s Threat Credibility Evaluation (TCE) to determine the gravity of the threat and develop a plan of action. While the TCE process follows strict guidelines established by national policy for interagency responses, the FBI also developed a 14-point checklist—available on an FBI phone application—that helps WMD coordinators and first responders evaluate and process scenes that may not rise to the level of Headquarters involvement.

“We’re constantly in a state of being an investigator and being an educator,” Stewart said. Indeed, many WMD coordinators wear multiple hats: the full cadre includes SWAT operators, special agent bomb technicians, and members of evidence response teams (ERT) and hazardous evidence response teams (HERT). Like each of those disciplines, WMD coordinators receive extensive training and certifications before stepping into the uniquely dangerous role.