Category: Security

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Okmulgee Resident Sentenced to Over 20 Years for Voluntary Manslaughter

Source: US FBI

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Brett Wayne Pigeon, age 45, of Okmulgee, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 126 months in prison for one count of Voluntary Manslaughter in Indian Country, and 120 months in prison for one count of Using, Carrying, Brandishing and Discharging a Firearm in Relation to a Crime of Violence.  The terms will be served consecutively.

The charges arose from an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Okmulgee Police Department, and the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Lighthorse Police Department.

On January 6, 2025, Pigeon pleaded guilty to the charges.  According to investigators, on November 27, 2023, law enforcement responding to reports of shots fired discovered the victim deceased from apparent gunshots to the back, head, and hip.  Pigeon was identified as a suspect, and later admitted shooting the victim with a 12-gauge shotgun.    The crimes occurred in Okmulgee County, within the boundaries of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

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.

The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing.  Pigeon will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick M. Flanigan and Rachel Geizura represented the United States.

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McAlester Resident Sentenced to 11 Years for Maiming in Indian Country

Source: US FBI

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced Cody Ray McFadden, age 36, of McAlester, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 132 months in prison for one count of Maiming in Indian Country.

The charge arose from an investigation by the Pittsburg County Sheriff’s Office, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

On December 16, 2024, McFadden pleaded guilty to the charge.  According to investigators, on July 16, 2022, McFadden invited a visitor to his residence. Once inside, McFadden beat the victim, forced the victim into a cage, and padlocked the door.  During the next 36 hours, McFadden proceeded to assault and torture the victim, threatening to kill the victim with a cross bow and intentionally striking at the victim with an axe.  The victim, who sustained a head laceration, burns, bruises, and a broken arm, managed to break free, escape through a window, and run to a neighbor’s home.  Law enforcement responding to the neighbor’s emergency call took McFadden into custody after a brief standoff.  The crime occurred in Pittsburg County, within the boundaries of the Choctaw Nation Reservation, in the Eastern District of Oklahoma.

“This defendant demonstrated a complete lack of humanity, subjecting the victim to an extended period of violence resulting in unimaginable physical and mental trauma,” said FBI Oklahoma City Special Agent in Charge Doug Goodwater.  “The FBI and our law enforcement partners are committed to rooting out violent offenders through aggressive investigations and prosecutions.”

“This is the stuff of nightmares, but unfortunately, it was sickeningly real,” said United States Attorney Christopher J. Wilson.  “I commend the bravery of this survivor, the quick work of law enforcement in securing an end to this horrifying ordeal, and the steadfastness of investigators and prosecutors who ensured that McFadden spends the next decade in prison answering for his ruthless crimes.”

The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief U.S. District Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing.  McFadden will remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Satter represented the United States.

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Grove Woman Sentenced for Strangling 70-Year-Old Neighbor to Death

Source: US FBI

TULSA, Okla. – Today, U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell sentenced Kellie Lee Crawford, 57, for Voluntary Manslaughter in Indian Country. Judge Frizzell ordered Crawford to 180 months imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release.

According to court documents, in September 2021, Crawford was drinking with her 70-year-old neighbor, Richard Strade. Crawford was under the influence of methamphetamine and unreasonably believed that Strade was attempting to assault her sexually. She admitted to repeatedly striking Strade in the head with a cookie jar lid and a plastic hanger before strangling him to death.

Crawford is a citizen of the Potawatomi Nation and will remain in custody pending transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

The FBI, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations, and the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stacey Todd prosecuted the case.

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Violent Crime Consortium Keeps Public Safety at Forefront

Source: US FBI

CLEVELAND – The Northern Ohio Violent Crime Consortium (NOVCC) recently brought together more than 100 regional law enforcement participants, representing more than 20 agencies, to take part in a region-wide initiative to discuss public safety. The annual event is hosted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office (USAO) for the Northern District of Ohio. The District covers the 40 northern-most counties in the state of Ohio, which is home to more than 5.7 million people.

The violent crime consortium was established in 2007 through a Department of Justice grant to specifically address violent crime issues in eight Northern Ohio cities: Akron, Canton, Cleveland, Elyria, Lorain, Mansfield, Toledo, and Youngstown.

As the current top federal law enforcement officer for the District, Acting U.S. Attorney Carol M. Skutnik provided welcoming remarks on the importance of the consortium’s work to keep crime off the streets.

“The Consortium’s purpose is to prevent and reduce violent crime through the use of data-driven and evidence-based technologies,” said Skutnik. “NOVCC enhances our member agencies through skills training on accepted best practices and emerging technologies.”

Subject-matter experts addressed several key topics at this year’s gathering including the importance of inter-agency data sharing and information to combat crime, promising law enforcement practices, and modern policing in the digital age.

The USAO would like to acknowledge and thank the following for attending and participating in this year’s event:

Event speakers representing

  • Fordham University
  • Johns Hopkins University Center for Gun Violence Solutions
  • Blacksburg, Virginia Police Department
  • Brookhaven, Georgia Police Department
  • Research Innovations, Inc.

Law enforcement agencies represented

  • Akron Police Department
  • Avon Police Department
  • The University of Akron Police Department
  • Barberton Police Department
  • Berea Police Department
  • Canton Police Department
  • Cleveland Division of Police
  • Cuyahoga County Sheriff
  • Elyria Police Department
  • Lorain Police Department
  • Mansfield Police Department
  • Maple Heights Police Department
  • North Royalton Police Department
  • Put-in-Bay Police Department
  • Sandusky Police Department
  • Toledo Police Department
  • Warren Police Department
  • Westlake Police Department
  • Youngstown Police Department

State agencies

  • Ohio Adult Parole Authority
  • Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction
  • Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services

Nonprofit agency

  • Partnership for a Safer Cleveland

Federal agencies

  • ATF-Cleveland
  • FBI-Cleveland
  • U.S. Marshals Service-Cleveland
  • U.S. Department of Justice-Office of Legal Policy

For more information about the consortium, contact Thomas McCartney at 216-622-3955.

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Eleven Defendants Sentenced in Connection with Cleveland Drug Trafficking Organization

Source: US FBI

Suitcases stuffed with drugs were flown from L.A. to sell on Cleveland streets

CLEVELAND – The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Ohio has announced sentencings in connection with a drug trafficking organization (DTO) that transported suitcases stuffed with illegal drugs from California to Ohio. Eleven defendants were charged with numerous federal crime violations, including Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy, in a superseding indictment on Feb. 22, 2024, with the initial indictment issued on Sept. 20, 2023.

According to court documents, from about May 2021 to about Nov. 29, 2022, the defendants played different roles in a drug trafficking conspiracy. Jerry Baker, aka Jerry Bogarty, 34, of Cleveland, established a criminal organization primarily active on the city’s east side. He led the day-to-day operations of the organization, directing members and associates to generate income by engaging in illegal activities including drug trafficking, extortion, and robbery. Baker determined who was allowed to traffic narcotics on behalf of the enterprise and who was permitted to collect and launder the proceeds. Some enterprise members conspired and attempted to threaten others with acts of violence, including extortion, robbery, and assault, in attempts to collect outstanding debts.

Overall, the DTO received more than 600 pounds of marijuana from a major supplier based in California. Walter Sornoza, 50, of Los Angeles, led a nationwide distribution network that he named “Empire Genetics.” To get the drugs to Cleveland, enterprise associates would fly from California to Ohio and check-in their baggage, which were suitcases filled with packaged marijuana. The drugs would then be delivered to Cleveland-based members of the organization. Baker directed associates to launder the cash profits from the marijuana sales by converting the proceeds into money orders. Another associate was responsible for flying from Cleveland to Los Angeles to hand the money orders and cash over to the Sornoza enterprise as payment for the marijuana supply received.

Baker also purchased a small business in Cleveland, “In & Out Tires,” which served as a hub for members and associates to store and distribute drugs. During the investigation, agents also seized several firearms scattered throughout the business, which were intended to be used for protection of the drug enterprise. Other items recovered included money order receipts, packing materials, suitcases, and other supplies used to transport, store and distribute marijuana.

The defendants were each sentenced to imprisonment and/or probation by U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Gaughan after pleading guilty to their roles in the drug trafficking conspiracy.

  • Baker was sentenced to 168 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to launder money, RICO conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute, and distribution, of marijuana, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl and heroin, maintaining a drug premise, and for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. He was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release after imprisonment.
  • Deshaun Martin, 36, of Cleveland, was sentenced to 87 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, RICO conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute marijuana and cocaine base (crack), and for being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition. He was also ordered to serve four years of supervised release after imprisonment.
  • Sornoza was sentenced to 108 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, and possession with intent to distribute, and distribution, of marijuana. He was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release after imprisonment.
  • Noblys Garcia, aka Flaco, 43, of Studio City, California, was sentenced to 60 months in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, distribution of marijuana, and possession with intent to distribute, and distribution, of marijuana. He was also ordered to serve five years of supervised release after imprisonment.
  • Sidne Spencer, 28, of North Hollywood, California, was sentenced to two years of probation for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and marijuana.
  • Keveon Lewis, 44, of Corona, California, was sentenced to six months in prison and six months location monitoring for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and distribution of marijuana. He was also ordered to serve two years of supervised release after imprisonment.
  • Moniqka Hazzard, 32, of Riverside, California, was sentenced to 30 days in prison and seven months location monitoring for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. She was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment.
  • Jerry Baker Sr., 55, of Cleveland, was sentenced to three years of probation for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and for maintaining a drug premise.
  • Antonio Lanier, 35, of Cleveland, was sentenced to 12 months and one day in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, and RICO conspiracy. He was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment.
  • Herman Wilson, 43, of Katy, Texas, was sentenced to two years of probation for conspiracy to launder monetary instruments.
  • Ajeremiah Baker, aka AJ, 20, of Garfield Heights, Ohio, was sentenced to 24 months in prison for RICO conspiracy. He was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release after imprisonment.

This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Strike Force Initiative, which provides for the establishment of permanent multi-agency task force teams that work side-by-side in the same location. This co-located model enables agents from different agencies to collaborate on intelligence-driven, multi­-jurisdictional operations to disrupt and dismantle the most significant drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations.

The specific mission of the OCDETF Cleveland Strike Force is to disrupt and dismantle major criminal organizations and subsidiary organizations, including criminal gangs, transnational drug cartels, racketeering organizations, and other groups engaged in illicit activities that present a threat to public safety and national security and are related to the illegal smuggling and trafficking of narcotics or other controlled substances, weapons, humans, or the illegal concealment or transfer of proceeds derived from such illicit activities in the Northern District of Ohio. The OCDETF Cleveland Strike Force is composed of agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), United States Marshals Service (USMS), U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Internal Revenue Service (IRS), and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), along with task force officers from numerous local law enforcement agencies, including the Cleveland Division of Police. Prosecutions are led by the Office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

This case was investigated by the FBI Cleveland Division, IRS Criminal Investigation, ATF Cleveland Division, U.S. Marshals Service Cleveland, the Cleveland Division of Police, and the Los Angeles Police Department Narcotics Unit. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret A. Sweeney for the Northern District of Ohio and Trial Attorney Brian Lynch of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section.

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Toledo Man Convicted of Sexual Offenses Against a Minor

Source: US FBI

TOLEDO, Ohio – A federal jury has convicted an Ohio man of attempting to entice and coerce a minor into illegal sexual activity and attempted production of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM), also known as child pornography. Derran Reebel, 52, of Toledo, was found guilty of committing criminal offenses that violate federal laws regarding the sexual exploitation of children.

According to court documents, from Oct. 10-15, 2020, Reebel used a social media application to communicate with a minor, namely, an undercover agent purporting to be a 14-year old girl. Evidence presented at trial to the jury included the defendant’s sexually explicit communications which were sent through the app’s messaging function in repeated attempts to persuade the minor into sending him sexually explicit photos and commit sexual acts.

In November 2024, Reebel was convicted of receiving and distributing CSAM, for nearly eight years, from about Jan. 1, 2014 through Aug. 17, 2022. During a federal search warrant execution of his residence, investigators found numerous CSAM items that included visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct in his possession. Law enforcement officials also discovered that Reebel used social media for a number of years to chat with minors and send them sexually explicit messages and photos of himself.

Sentencing for both convictions has not yet been scheduled. Reebel faces a minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of 40 years in prison.

This case was investigated by the FBI-Toledo. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sara Al-Sorghali and Frank Spryszak for the Northern District of Ohio.

This case was brought as part of the Justice Department’s “Project Safe Childhood,” a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, the initiative 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. For more information, visit justice.gov/psc.

To report child exploitation, please visit cybertipline.org, or call 1-800-843-5678, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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New Jersey Man Sentenced to Prison as Part of $50 Million Ponzi Scheme Involving Off-the-Road Tires

Source: US FBI

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A New Jersey man was sentenced in U.S. District Court here today to 18 months in prison for his role in a nationwide, off-the-road tire sale fraud scheme that resulted in tens of millions of dollars of losses.

Ahmet Neidik, 65, of Fort Lee, New Jersey, pleaded guilty in January 2024 to conspiring to commit wire fraud. Before his guilty plea, Neidik allegedly fled to Turkey and then returned to the United States.

Neidik was the co-owner of, and ran the daily operations for, purported transportation, logistics and importing/exporting businesses. Some of the proceeds of the scheme were sent to businesses controlled by Neidik. Neidik would then wire money to the bank accounts of co-conspirators.

John K. Eckerd, Jr., 61, of Dallas, was one of the leaders of the multi-state conspiracy. He pleaded guilty in December 2024 to conspiring to commit wire fraud and tax crimes and admitted responsibility for at least $14 million involved in the scheme. Based on his plea agreement, Eckerd will be sentenced to 36 to 109 months in prison.

Conspiring with previously convicted and sentenced defendant Jason E. Adkins, 47, of Jackson, Ohio, Eckerd and others orchestrated a $50 million Ponzi scheme that defrauded more than 50 investors.

From 2012 until at least in or around late 2018, Eckerd represented himself to potential investors as an entrepreneur and businessman with expertise in the market for off-the-road tires. Off-the-road tires are over-sized tires that are used on earth moving equipment and/or mining equipment. Eckerd had control of or access to many corporations allegedly used as part of the scheme.

Co-conspirators solicited millions of dollars from investor-victims under false pretenses. Investors were told their money would be used to buy off-the-road tires at a steep discount, and that the tires would then be re-sold to a buyer at a much higher rate. Investors were promised a high percent rate of return on investment, generally within 180 days.

Defendants rarely bought or sold tires, and when they did, they used the same tires as the basis for multiple deals, promising multiple investors that they each owned the same tires.

Defendants corresponded with the potential investors face-to-face, as well as through a combination of phone calls, text messages, and, on occasion, emails. They used private planes to showcase their inventory and appear wealthy and successful. Defendants also provided investors with elaborate, fraudulent paperwork regarding the purported deals. The co-conspirators requested large investments and loans, most to be funded through wire transfers.

To give potential investors confidence in the tire deals, Eckerd and Adkins offered the services of a purportedly neutral third party to arrange shipment of the tires and/or hold investment funds in escrow until certain conditions were met in completing the deal. Neidik allowed Eckerd and Adkins to represent to investors that he was the neutral third party, and on some occasions, entered into escrow agreements with the investors.

As part of his sentence, Neidik will pay $370,000 in restitution for his part of the scheme. He was also fined $250,000.

Kelly A. Norris, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Karen Wingerd, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Criminal Investigation; and Elena Iatarola, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; announced the sentence imposed today by U.S. District Judge Algenon L. Marbley. Assistant United States Attorneys S. Courter Shimeall, Peter K. Glenn-Applegate and David J. Twombly are representing the United States in this case.

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