Category: Security

Source: US FBI

TOLEDO – Gerald Isom, age 49, of Toledo, Ohio, was sentenced to 300 months in prison by U.S. District Judge James R. Knepp, II, after earlier pleading guilty to two counts of distribution of fentanyl. Isom was also ordered to serve 3 years of supervised release and pay a $200 special assessment and $1,026 in restitution.

According to court documents, during the evening of December 26, 2019, Isom sold fentanyl to a group of five young men who believed they were receiving cocaine. The young men snorted the fentanyl, and all five overdosed. Three of the young men later woke up to find out that two members of group had died as a result of ingesting the fentanyl. That same evening, Isom sold fentanyl to another man who believed he was receiving cocaine. That man also overdosed, but survived after he was revived with Narcan.

The investigation was conducted by the Lucas County Sheriff’s Office and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Melching, Alissa Sterling, and Michael Freeman.

Source: US FBI

Cleveland – Anil Mangukia, 39, of Edison, New Jersey, and Yash Navadia, 25 of Secaucus, New Jersey, who were Indian Nationals, were both indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with money laundering conspiracy for their roles in an elder fraud gold bar courier scam (“Courier Scam”) targeting older Americans. They allegedly stole more than $127,000 and attempted to steal an additional $650,000 from a victim in Warrren, Ohio.

According to court documents, coconspirators posed as a customer service employee at a company or bank. They contacted a victim—typically an elder person—and falsely claimed that the victim’s account was at risk or had been compromised by a hacking event or similar computer intrusion. The purported customer service employee then referred the victim to another perpetrator who posed as a government agent, claiming that the fake government agent would assist the victim in avoiding or mitigating the effects of the account compromise. The fake government agent would discuss the incident with the victim, validate the false story told by the purported customer service or bank employee, and instruct the victim to either (1) move the victim’s money to another account that the perpetrators controlled, or (2) purchase gold or other valuable items and move them to the perpetrators’ account, claiming that the new account was secure and safe from the purported hackers. The perpetrators then used the stolen funds for their own benefit, without the victim’s knowledge or consent.

According to court documents, the defendants caused their victims to engage in several different types of transfers, such as the following: (i) withdrawing currency, converting it to cryptocurrency, and transferring the cryptocurrency to the coconspirators, who claimed they would deposit it into secure accounts; (ii) initiating bank transfers directly from victim’s accounts to acquire things of value that were handed over or otherwise transferred to coconspirators, who claimed that they would then convert those items into funds and deposit them in a secure account for the victim.

According to court documents, the defendants and their coconspirators also obtained proceeds from the Courier Scam directly from victims, traveling to meet victims either at their homes or nearby designated locations. There, the victims would give the defendants and their coconspirators U.S. currency, gold bars, or gold coins under false pretenses, persuaded that the perpetrators would secure the victims’ property.

“Our Office is committed to investigating and prosecuting those who commit financial scams that defraud our elderly citizens of their hard-earned savings,” said U.S. Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko. “Financial fraud schemes of any variety cause serious financial harm to our community members, but those that target the elderly are particularly reprehensible. We encourage all members of the public to remain vigilant against such hoaxes and report suspected scams to law enforcement.”

“The FBI is focused on finding and investigating criminals preying on the trust of older Americans,” said FBI Cleveland Special Agent in Charge Greg Nelsen. “Scams are becoming more complex, with several layers of deceit in their ploy and bad actors working in groups to give the illusion of legitimacy. The FBI will not yield in its pursuit to identify these criminals and dismantle scam and fraud-based networks.”

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the defendant’s sentence will be determined by the Court after review of factors unique to this case, including the defendant’s prior criminal record, if any, the defendant’s role in the offense, and the characteristics of the violation. In all cases, the sentence will not exceed the statutory maximum, and in most cases, it will be less than the maximum.

This investigation was conducted by the Cleveland Division of the FBI. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Yasmine Makridis and Brian M. McDonough.

If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is standing by at the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833-FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). This U.S. Department of Justice hotline, managed by the Office for Victims of Crime, is staffed by experienced professionals who provide personalized support to callers by assessing the needs of the victim and identifying relevant next steps. Case managers will identify appropriate reporting agencies, provide information to callers to assist them in reporting, connect callers directly with appropriate agencies, and provide resources and referrals on a case-by-case basis. Reporting is the first step. Reporting can help authorities identify those who commit fraud and reporting certain financial losses due to fraud as soon as possible can increase the likelihood of recovering losses. The hotline is staffed seven days a week from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. eastern time. English, Spanish and other languages are available.

Source: US FBI

CLEVELAND – Ciaran Dillon, 57, of Orlando, Florida, was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment and ordered to pay a $25,000 fine by U.S District Judge Christopher A. Boyko after pleading guilty to defrauding multiple states of sales tax revenue where the restaurant chain operated. Dillon, was the former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of CDG Acquisition, LLC (CDG), a company registered in the State of Ohio, which owned “The Claddagh Irish Pubs” chain of restaurants.

According to court documents, from January 2010 through May 2018, the defendant, acting in his official capacity as CFO of CDG, directed a company accountant to pay certain states less sales tax than the true amount owed. Based on the defendant’s instruction, the accountant would edit the company’s sales and sales tax figures, file false tax returns and pay states the amount instructed by the defendant. In total, the defendant defrauded the States of Indiana, Kentucky, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin out of more than $1 million in sales tax revenue collected from CDG customers across fifteen restaurants.

The Court determined the defendant’s sentence after a review of factors unique to the case and the defendant, including the defendant’s role in the offenses and the nature of the crimes.

This investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cleveland Division. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Alejandro A. Abreu.

Source: US FBI

CINCINNATI – A California man pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to transporting a minor interstate to commit third degree rape of the Ohio teenager.

Alex Roman Nguyen, 29, of San Diego, pleaded guilty to transportation with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. The plea agreement includes a sentencing recommendation of up to 151 months in prison.

According to court documents, Nguyen met a 15-year-old girl from Hillsboro, Ohio, online and traveled from San Diego to Ohio to meet her in July 2022. Nguyen drove the minor to Kentucky to attempt to purchase airplane tickets and engaged in sex acts with the minor while in Kentucky.

Unable to obtain flight tickets, Nguyen and the minor boarded a Greyhound bus bound for San Diego and traveled on it until they were apprehended by law enforcement in El Paso, Texas.

Nguyen was charged by criminal complaint in the Southern District of Ohio the next day.

Sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the Court at a future hearing based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Cheryl Mimura, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Cincinnati Division; and Hillsboro Police Chief Eric Daniels announced the guilty plea entered on March 4 before Senior U.S. District Judge Susan J. Dlott. Assistant United States Attorneys Kyle J. Healey and Julie D. Garcia are representing the United States in this case.

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Source: US FBI

McALLEN, Texas – A federal jury has returned guilty verdicts against a doctor and a clinic employee for receiving illegal kickbacks after ordering unnecessary lab tests and prescriptions, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

The jury deliberated for approximately three hours before finding Dr. Osama Nahas, 69, McAllen, and Isabel Pruneda, 53, Edinburg, guilty of conspiracy to commit healthcare fraud, healthcare fraud and conspiracy to violate the Anti-Kickback Statute following a two-week trial. Pruneda was also convicted for aggravated identity theft.

“Adult day cares are supposed to be places where the elderly and vulnerable feel safe, not vehicles for scheming doctors and staff to make illegal profits through kickbacks and get-rich quick opportunities” said Hamdani. “Nahas and Pruneda preyed on the elderly by bribing their way into adult care facilities, abusing the trust and respect that doctors and medical professionals ordinarily deserve. Today’s conviction sends a message that patients should never be seen merely as dollar signs and that kickbacks play no role in the services that doctors order.”

Nahas is the owner and physician at Crosspoint Medical Clinic in Edinburg. He would travel to adult day care centers around the Rio Grande Valley ordering unnecessary lab tests and prescriptions on behalf of elderly and vulnerable clients who were spending time there. Pruneda, a medical assistant at Crosspoint, assisted Nahas in the scheme, helping to forge patient signatures on consent forms and misappropriate expensive patient medications such as pain creams. Among other things, Pruneda would strip patient information off and remove creams from their boxes so that she could hand them out as “goodie bags” to incentivize patients to be tested. 

From January 2016 to December 2017, Nahas and Pruneda ordered unnecessary lab tests and prescriptions which resulting in millions in losses. They directed those prescriptions and tests to companies who then paid them in kickbacks.

In June 2018, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Crosspoint and found hundreds of thousands in stolen medications.

Nahas and Pruneda also bribed their way into the adult daycare facilities by offering kickbacks to the adult daycare owners disguised as “rent” payments. 

The jury heard witness testimony revealing both Nahas and Pruneda accepted bribes in exchange for referrals, many of which were also disguised as “rent” payments.

Evidence revealed that both received tens of thousands of dollars in kickbacks from January 2016 to December 2017.

Nahas attempted to convince the jury the payments he received were legitimate “rent” payments for the use of space, and Pruneda ordered all the prescriptions and lab tests without his consent. Conversely, Pruneda’s defense argued she was doing what Nahas taught her and following orders, and she denied committing any forgeries. The jury did not believe those claims and found both guilty as charged.

U.S. District Chief Judge Randy Crane presided over the trial and set sentencing for May 16. At that time, both face up to 10 years in federal prison for the healthcare fraud conspiracy and each substantive healthcare fraud conviction, while the kickback conspiracy carries another possible five years in prison. For aggravated identity theft, Pruneda must also serve a mandatory two years which must be served consecutively to any other prison term imposed. They could also be ordered to pay up to $250,000 in fines.

Pruneda was taken into custody while Nahas was permitted to remain on bond pending their detention hearings set for March 4 and 8, respectively.

The FBI, Department of Health and Human Services – Office of Inspector General (OIG), Texas Attorney General’s Medicaid Fraud Control Unit and Texas Health and Human Services – OIG conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Swartz and Brad Gray are prosecuting the case.

Source: US FBI

A federal jury convicted an Ohio pharmacist and his operations manager, a pharmacy technician, yesterday for conspiring to defraud Ohio’s Medicaid program.

According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Nathanael Thompson, 45, of Westerville, owned four pharmacies in Columbus, Ohio. Sanam Ahmad, 34, of Galena, managed the pharmacies. Thompson and Ahmad conspired to charge Medicaid for a particular manufacturer’s omeprazole, a type of proton pump inhibitor, which was reimbursable at a significantly higher rate than most omeprazole. In reality, the dispensed medication was generic omeprazole purchased at big-box warehouse retail stores. In addition, to maximize profits, Thompson’s pharmacies put in place certain protocols to dispense omeprazole as though a doctor had prescribed the drug even when there was no prescription.

The jury convicted Thompson and Ahmad of one count of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and two counts of defrauding Medicaid. They face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on the conspiracy charge and each health care fraud charge. A sentencing date has not yet been set. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker for the Southern District of Ohio, Special Agent in Charge Orville O. Greene of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Detroit Division, Acting Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Mimura of the FBI Cincinnati Field Office, Special Agent in Charge Mario M. Pinto of the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General (HHS-OIG) Chicago Region, Special Agent in Charge Jeff Krafels of the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General (USPS-OIG) Mid-Atlantic Area Field Office, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, and Director Steven W. Schierholt of the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy Executive made the announcement.

The DEA, FBI, HHS-OIG, USPS-OIG, Ohio Medicaid Fraud Control Unit, and the State of Ohio Board of Pharmacy investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Kathryn Furtado and Leslie Fisher of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section leads the Criminal Division’s efforts to combat health care fraud through the Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program. Since March 2007, this program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in 27 federal districts, has charged more than 5,400 defendants who collectively have billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $27 billion. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with HHS-OIG, 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.

Source: US FBI

CINCINNATI – A local, self-identified “Incel” was sentenced in U.S. District Court today to 80 months in prison for attempting to conduct a mass shooting of women.

Tres Genco, 24, of Hillsboro, Ohio, admitted he plotted to commit a hate crime, namely, a plan to shoot women at a university in Ohio. He was arrested by federal agents in July 2021 and has remained in custody since.

“Genco intended to carry out a devastating mass murder of innocent women in this state for no other reason than the fact that he hated them. Everybody deserves to live without threats of violence or fearing acts of terror,” said U.S. Attorney Kenneth L. Parker. “Genco’s sentence reflects the need to protect the community from him for a significant period of time. I thank each of our law enforcement partners for working together to keep our community safe.”

“Genco plotted to violently attack women and was motivated by his personal hatred,” stated FBI Cincinnati Acting Special Agent in Charge Cheryl Mimura. “Law enforcement, working together, stopped his deadly attack from happening. The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force will continue to work closely with our law enforcement and community partners to disrupt threats and prevent violence in our community.”

Genco identified as an Incel or “involuntary celibate.” The Incel movement is a predominantly male online community that harbors anger towards women, fueled by their inability to convince women to engage in sexual activity with them.

According to court documents, Genco maintained profiles on a popular Incel website from at least July 2019 through mid-March 2020 and posted more than 450 times on the site. More than 3,000 items on Genco’s two phones contained the word “Incel.”

In one online post, Genco detailed spraying “some foids [women] and couples” with orange juice in a water gun. Genco compared his “extremely empowering action” to similar conduct by known Incel Elliot Rodger. In May 2014, Rodger killed six people and injured 14 others, including shooting individuals outside a University of California, Santa Barbara sorority house. Prior to his mass attack, Rodger shot a group of college students with orange juice from a water gun. Rodger also emailed a 107,000-word manifesto to multiple media outlets before his mass shooting.

Genco wrote a manifesto, too, stating he would “slaughter” women “out of hatred, jealousy and revenge…” and referring to death as the “great equalizer.” The investigation revealed that the day he wrote his manifesto, Genco searched online for two sororities, including one at The Ohio State University. His Google searches included “sorority osu” and “ohio state university sororities.”

As part of this investigation, law enforcement agents discovered a note of Genco’s that indicated he hoped to “aim big” for a “huge!” kill count of 3,000 people with a reference to the same date as Elliot Rodger’s attack. The note said Genco intended to attend military training.

In 2019, Genco purchased tactical gloves, a bulletproof vest, a hoodie bearing the word “Revenge,” cargo pants, a bowie knife, a skull facemask, two Glock 17 magazines, a 9mm Glock 17 clip, and a holster clip concealed carry for a Glock.

Genco attended Army Basic Training in Georgia from August through December 2019. He was discharged for entry-level performance and conduct.

On Jan. 11, 2020, Genco wrote a note on his phone entitled “isolated” that he described as “the writings of the deluded and homicidal.” Genco signed the document, “Your hopeful friend and murderer.”

On Jan. 15, 2020, the defendant wrote another note on his phone that appears to document surveillance of an unidentified school. He wrote: “10:53 am, fairly busy, Wednesday, Students seem fairly nerdy, some hipster dull kids as well. The track is primarily unused. Ages vary. The average appears to be early 20s. Car quality is generally mid lower tier. Some sort of building behind the college look into it. They have no check of any sort entering the building. I wasn’t questioned at all. Backpacks are very common.”

That same day, Genco searched online for topics including “planning a shooting crime” and “when does preparing for a crime become an attempt?”

On March 11, 2020, Genco screenshotted information on his phone about radio codes for Columbus police and The Ohio State University police. He also accessed the Facebook pages for one of the university’s sororities.

The next day, on March 12, 2020, Highland County sheriff’s deputies responded to Genco’s residence. At the residence, in the trunk of Genco’s vehicle, police officers found, among other things, a firearm with a bump stock attached, several loaded magazines, body armor and boxes of ammunition. Inside the residence, police officers found a modified Glock-style 9mm semiautomatic pistol, with no manufacturer’s marks or serial number, hidden in a heating vent in Genco’s bedroom. As part of his plea, Genco admitted that he possessed both firearms in furtherance of his plot.

Genco pleaded guilty in October 2022 to one count of attempting to commit a hate crime.

Kenneth L. Parker, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Cheryl Mimura, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Cincinnati Division; Daryl S. McCormick, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF); and Highland County Sheriff Donnie Barrera announced the sentence imposed today by Senior U.S. District Judge Susan J. Dlott. Assistant United States Attorneys Megan Gaffney Painter and Timothy S. Mangan are representing the United States in this case.

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Source: US FBI

CHICAGO — A member of a violent Chicago street gang has been sentenced to 34 years in federal prison for murdering a man to maintain and increase his position in the gang.

DIONTAE HARPER, 25, of Chicago, admitted in a plea agreement that he murdered Paul Harris on May 13, 2020.  Harper and another man fired multiple shots at Harris as he sat in a vehicle at a gas station in the 8600 block of South Halsted Street in Chicago’s Auburn Gresham neighborhood. Harper stated in the plea agreement that he committed the murder to maintain and increase his position in the Faceworld street gang, a criminal organization based on the South Side of Chicago whose members engaged in violent crimes and trafficked narcotics.

While Harper was detained in law enforcement custody earlier this year, he made threatening statements directed toward a witness.

Harper pleaded guilty in January to a federal charge of discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, causing Harris’s death.  U.S. District Judge Manish S. Shah imposed the 34-year prison sentence during a hearing on May 8, 2025, in federal court in Chicago.

Harper’s sentence was 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, and Larry Snelling, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julia Schwartz, Sushma Raju, and Matthew Moyer.

Two other individuals – the other shooter of Harris and the getaway driver – pleaded guilty to committing murder in aid of racketeering and are awaiting sentencing.

Source: US FBI

WASHINGTON – An eight-count indictment was unsealed in the Southern District of Georgia charging 30 defendants – all alleged Sex Money Murder (SMM) gang members and associates – with crimes including racketeering (RICO) conspiracy, murder in aid of racketeering, conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and related firearm and drug trafficking crimes.

According to court documents and statements in court, SMM members and associates engaged in extreme violence to retaliate against fellow members for perceived violations of gang rules. For example, SMM members killed one member who wanted to leave the gang and attempted to kill another by repeatedly stabbing him for alleged homosexual activities while in jail. SMM members profited from trafficking large amounts of deadly drugs, including methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin, throughout the Savannah metropolitan area. They also made money participating in sophisticated fraud schemes targeting federal COVID-19 relief and unemployment benefit programs that resulted in intended losses of over $850,000.

“As alleged, the Sex Money Murder gang, a derivative of the nationally known Bloods gang, brutally enforced its purported rules, killing a 19-year-old member, and engaged in rampant drug trafficking and federal program fraud to enrich themselves,” said Matthew Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “We will not rest until every criminal organization like SMM that wreaks havoc on our streets and prison systems and exploits programs meant to support vulnerable populations are dismantled. Thank you to every federal, state, and local law enforcement agency that came together to dismantle this criminal enterprise.”

“Today’s indictment is an important step in ending gang violence on our streets and in our prisons,” said Acting United States Attorney Tara M. Lyons. “My office will continuously work with our law enforcement partners to ensure public safety.”

“The violence and crime this gang committed across our region contributed to an epidemic in our nation. Our hearts go out to the victims and their families who suffer because of this gangs’ activities,” said FBI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Paul Brown. “The FBI works with our law enforcement partners every day to crush violent crime in Georgia and our nation.”

“This case demonstrates the relentless coordination and commitment among our law enforcement partners to dismantle violent criminal enterprises like Sex Money Murder,” said ATF Assistant Special Agent in Charge Beau Kolodka. “ATF is proud to have played a critical role in targeting the illegal firearms and narcotics trafficking that fueled this gang’s deadly reach both inside and outside prison walls.”

“This indictment represents a significant step forward in our continued efforts to dismantle violent criminal enterprises operating within Georgia communities and correctional facilities,” said Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) Director Hosey. “The GBI remains committed to working alongside our federal, state, and local partners to hold gang members accountable and protect the safety and wellbeing of all Georgians.”

“The use of contraband cell phones as a tool to carry out gang activity and other crimes from behind prison walls will not be tolerated and we are proud of our Agents for their role in assisting our law enforcement partners in stopping these individuals from jeopardizing the safety of the public and the operations of our facilities,” said GDC Commissioner Tyrone Oliver. “This indictment is a great example of partnerships at every level, ensuring the job of public safety remains paramount.”

According to court documents, on February 24, 2020, Byron Hopkins and other SMM members intercepted a young victim a few hours after he stepped off his school bus. They drove him to a rural residential neighborhood where Hopkins shot him to death. The victim had reportedly expressed a desire to leave the gang after accusing Hopkins of having sexual relations with a minor female who became pregnant. To lure the victim, his, “big brother” in the gang – a person he trusted – sent him a text message claiming there was an important gang meeting he needed to attend. Believing this, the victim willingly got into the vehicle, unaware he was being taken to the site of his execution. This is just one example of SMM’s deadly violence against a member that questioned authority or violated gang rules.

According to court documents and statements made in court, SMM is a subset of The Bloods gang, which originated in Los Angeles in the early 1970s. The SMM subset has spread from the Bronx and New York to areas across the East Coast, including Georgia, where it operates inside and outside prisons and jails. The indictment alleges an extensive criminal enterprise in which SMM members, including inmates within the Georgia Department of Corrections (GDOC), orchestrated numerous crimes, including murders, attempted murders, attempted robberies, drug trafficking within and outside of GDOC facilities, and wire and bank fraud. Seven of the defendants allegedly committed or ordered the charged crimes from prison.

If convicted, the defendants face penalties including up to life in prison or death for the murder in aid of racketeering and using a firearm in the commission of a murder; up to life in prison for the racketeering conspiracy and drug conspiracy; up to 30 years for the wire fraud conspiracy; and up to 20 years for the conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, U.S. Department of Labor, U.S. Army Criminal Investigation Division, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and Georgia Department of Corrections are investigating the case, with valuable assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Federal Bureau of Prisons, the Georgia Department of Community Supervision, the Georgia State Patrol, Hinesville Police Department, Liberty County Sheriff’s Office, Dodge County Sheriff’s Office, Chatham County Police Department, Chatham Couty Counternarcotics Team, Savannah Police Department, McRae-Helena Police Department, Police Department, DeKalb Police Department, Brunswick Police Department, and Richmond Hill Police Department.

Trial Attorney Lisa M. Thelwell of the Criminal Division’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section (VCRS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank M. Pennington III for the Southern District of Georgia are prosecuting the case.

The indictment is a result of Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigations. The OCDETF mission is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States, using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency task force approach. OCDETF synchronizes and incentivizes prosecutors and agents to lead smart, creative investigations targeting the command-and-control networks of organized criminal groups and the illicit financiers that support them. Additional information about the OCDETF Program may be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

An indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
 

Source: US FBI

Tampa, Florida – United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe announces the  unsealing of an indictment charging Esequiel Maldonado (46, Texas), Martin DeJesus Maldonado, Jr. (46, Fort Myers), Ron Ramirez, Jr. (23, Texas), and Schuyler Jordan Thompson (31, Virginia) with conspiracy, distribution of 500 grams or more of cocaine, and use of communication facilities in the commission of drug trafficking crimes. If convicted on all counts,Esequiel Maldonado and Martin DeJesus Maldonado, Jr., because of their prior convictions for serious drug felonies, face a minimum penalty of 10 years, up to life, in federal prison. Ramirez and Thompson each face a minimum penalty of 5 years, up to 44 years, in federal prison.   

According to court documents, each of the charged individuals played a distinct and critical role in the conspiracy. Esequiel Maldonado was the Texas-based leader of the drug trafficking organization (DTO). He authorized sales of kilogram-quantities of cocaine, served as the DTO’s broker, and set cocaine prices. Ramirez handled logistics and communications. On behalf of Esequiel Maldonado, Ramirez recruited and paid a courier, Thompson. Ramirez arranged for Thompson to fly to Florida and get cocaine supplied by (according to Martin DeJesus Maldonado, Jr.) Los Chapitos, known to law enforcement as a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel, and to deliver it to Martin DeJesus Maldonado, Jr. The cocaine was then distributed by Martin DeJesus Maldonado, Jr. in the Middle District of Florida. Martin DeJesus Maldonado, Jr. also arranged for drug proceeds to be paid back to Esequiel Maldonado. 

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, and the Virginia State Police. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher F. Murray.

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 (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).