Category: Security

Source: US FBI

What does it mean to make room at the table? Why does it matter?

I am a firm believer in making room at the table for other women. It is both empowering and inspirational that women are occupying more roles in the FBI than ever before. Still, I have been at many tables, both in law enforcement and private sector settings, where I am the only female. At one such table, I remember confronting a subject on a particular inconsistency in his story. In that moment, I understood the weight of the responsibility that I was carrying. Not only was I representing the Bureau, but I was honoring the women who came before me and setting the stage for women who would follow. I am mindful of this and encourage other women to accompany me on engagements, whether it is another agent, intelligence analyst, forensic accountant, or professional staff.

It is important for everyone to see women succeed in and be authorities in these roles. I have also learned to advocate for the things I believe in, without worrying about ruffling feathers, and believe me, I’ve ruffled feathers! Everyone brings unique and varied experiences to any position. That diversity of thought only serves to strengthen the whole community, which ultimately leads to amazing results.

What is the best career or life advice you’ve been given?

Family first. I care deeply about my cases, and complex case investigations require long hours and intense work. I want my cases to be prosecuted; I want to see justice served and a remedy for victims. But there is also a trade-off because when I’m knee-deep in interviews and financial records, I’m spending less time with my family. I miss games, competitions, school events, and I’m conducting surveillance on Mother’s Day.

I have learned to thoughtfully evaluate situations as they arise and consider the time investment required before accepting, negotiating, or declining opportunities. Shifting into the private sector coordinator position affords me the flexibility to be more intentional with my time. This helps me feel better about my “mom guilt” because when I’m at the end of my life, I know I’m not going to say, “Boy, I wish I had spent less time with my family.”

Describe your most memorable case or investigative success.

My most memorable case was the investigation into Daylon Pierce. He was a convicted felon who represented himself as a stockbroker on dating websites to meet women and scam them. He defrauded multiple women out of nearly $2 million and spent it all. He bullied these women into silence, and they felt that they had no recourse.

But when two of them came forward to the FBI, we were able to arrest him. The arrest and subsequent indictment received a lot of media attention, which prompted other women to come forward. The brazen nature of the fraud, and the number of women who had been victimized, was very unsettling to me.

I felt like this investigation made a difference to those women who were victimized. Their voices were heard in court, and they helped secure a lengthy prison sentence. The case was subsequently covered on a television show, and my hope is that women who may have been victimized in a similar fashion will see it and find the courage to come forward.

Source: US FBI

Source: US FBI

The Justice Department unsealed an indictment charging U.S.-Iranian national Jeffrey Chance Nader, 68, with crimes related to the illicit export of U.S.-manufactured aircraft components, including components used on military aircraft, to Iran in violation of U.S. economic sanctions and other federal laws. Nader was arrested yesterday in California. 

“This action demonstrates the Justice Department’s commitment to keeping military-grade equipment out of the hands of the Iranian regime,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “We will aggressively investigate, disrupt, and hold accountable criminal networks that supply sensitive technology to hostile and repressive governments in contravention of U.S. sanctions.” 

“Attacks by Iran and its proxies on U.S. allies in the Middle East and its ongoing supply of Russia with drones and other technology to be used in its illegal war against Ukraine demonstrate why we must do all that we can to stop Iran from acquiring U.S. parts, services, and technology,” said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. “The charges announced today represent the latest step in our ongoing effort to hold accountable those who illegally funnel goods and services to Iran and to deter others from doing the same.” 

“Iran has no business using U.S.-manufactured parts and components to keep their planes and drones in the sky,” said Assistant Secretary for Export Enforcement Matthew S. Axelrod of the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security. “Stopping these items before they get to our adversaries – like we did here – reflects the real-world impact we’re having through the Disruptive Technology Strike Force.” 

“This indictment highlights the FBI’s commitment to enforcing export laws by holding those accountable who allegedly try to smuggle U.S.-origin military equipment to the benefit of Iran,” said Executive Assistant Director Robert Wells of the FBI’s National Security Branch. “Any circumvention of U.S. export control law is unacceptable, and the FBI works diligently with its partners across the globe to seek out and bring to justice those who violate export laws along with any shell companies that support such activities.”

According to the indictment, beginning at least in 2023, Nader and other associates, conspired to purchase and illegally export – and attempted to export – from the United States to Iran four types of aircraft components, totaling nearly three dozen individual pieces. Some of these components are for use on military aircraft operated by Iran’s armed forces, including the F-4 fighter jet. 

Nader, acting on purchase orders he received from customers in Iran, coordinated the purchase of relevant aircraft components with business associates in Iran, by which Nader and his Iran-based associates would reach out to U.S.-based suppliers of such components. In several instances, Nader falsely identified himself and his company, California-based Pro Aero Capital, to the U.S.-based suppliers as the end user of the items.  

Once Nader obtained the aircraft components, he attempted to export the items on multiple occasions to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The items were then to be transshipped to the ultimate customer in Iran. The items discussed in the indictment, however, were detained by a Special Agent with the Department of Commerce, and none were successfully exported from the United States. 

The FBI Washington Field Office and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security is investigating the case, with assistance provided by the FBI Los Angeles Field Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven B. Wasserman for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Sean Heiden of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case. Significant assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California.  

This prosecution is being coordinated through the Disruptive Technology Strike Force, an interagency law enforcement strike force co-led by the Departments of Justice and Commerce designed to target illicit actors, protect supply chains, and prevent critical technology from being acquired by authoritarian regimes and hostile nation states. Under the leadership of the Assistant Attorney General for National Security and the Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement, the Strike Force leverages tools and authorities across the U.S. Government to enhance the criminal and administrative enforcement of export control laws.  

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

Korbein Schultz, a U.S. Army soldier and intelligence analyst, pleaded guilty today to all charges against him in the indictment returned by a federal grand jury in March 2024 charging him with conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information, exporting technical data related to defense articles without a license, conspiracy to export defense articles without a license, and bribery of a public official.  

“The defendant abused his access to restricted government systems to sell sensitive military information to a person he knew to be a foreign national,” said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department’s National Security Division. “By conspiring to transmit national defense information to a person living outside the United States, this defendant callously put our national security at risk to cash in on the trust our military placed in him. Today’s guilty plea is a stark reminder that those who would betray their sworn oath for personal gain will be identified and brought to justice.”  

“This defendant sold national defense information to a foreign actor and conspired to corrupt other members of our military,” said U.S. Attorney Henry C. Leventis for the Middle District of Tennessee. “In doing so, he violated his training and his oath as a member of the armed services and he compromised our national security. Today’s guilty plea to all of the charges in the indictment ensures that he will be held fully accountable for his crimes.” 

“The defendant has admitted guilt in a case that should send a strong message to any U.S. service members thinking about betraying their country,” said Executive Assistant Director Robert Wells of the FBI’s National Security Branch. “The U.S. is governed by the rule of law and when persons placed in a position of trust violate that trust, the FBI and our partners will hold them accountable.  Governments like China are aggressively targeting our military personnel and national security information and we will do everything in our power to ensure that information is safeguarded from hostile foreign governments.” 

“This Soldier swore an oath to faithfully discharge his duties, to include protecting national defense information. Not only did he fail in his sworn duty, but he placed personal gain above his duty to our country and disclosed information that could give advantage to a foreign nation, putting his fellow Soldiers in jeopardy,” said Brigadier General Rhett R. Cox, Commanding General of the Army Counterintelligence Command. “Army Counterintelligence Command, with our partners at the FBI, Department of Justice, and the greater intelligence community will ruthlessly pursue those who commit acts such as these. Let this case serve as a warning: if any member of the Army, past or present, is asked for classified or sensitive information, they should report it to the appropriate authorities within 24 hours or be held fully accountable for their inaction.”

According to charging and plea documents, Schultz – an enlisted intelligence analyst in the U.S. Army who held a Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information (TS/SCI) security clearance – conspired with an individual who lived in Hong Kong and whom Schultz suspected of being associated with the Chinese Government (Conspirator A) to collect national defense information, including classified information and export-controlled technical data related to U.S. military weapons systems, and to transmit that information to Conspirator A in exchange for money. Schultz entered into this conspiracy even though, as part of his official duties in the Army, he was required (1) to protect national defense information, classified information, and controlled unclassified information (CUI); (2) to train other members of his unit on the proper handling, storage and dissemination of classified information and information marked CUI; and (3) to report suspicious incidents, including attempts by anyone without authorization to receive classified or sensitive information about U.S. military operations, organizations, equipment, or personnel.

During the conspiracy, Conspirator A told Schultz the specific information that Conspirator A wanted Schultz to gather and send to him, including sensitive information related to missile defense and mobile artillery systems. Before he was arrested, Schultz sent Conspirator A dozens of sensitive and restricted (but unclassified) U.S. military documents regarding a variety of U.S. military weapons systems and U.S. military tactics and strategy, including documents containing export-controlled technical data. Among the items that Schultz collected and transmitted to Conspirator A were: (1) a document discussing the lessons learned by the U.S. Army from the Ukraine/Russia war that it would apply in a defense of Taiwan; (2) an operations order outlining the deployment of  the defendant’s unit to Eastern Europe in support of NATO operations; (3) an Air Force Tactics, Techniques and Procedures (AFTTP) document relating to the HH-60 helicopter, which included a banner warning that the document contained technical data subject to export controls; (4) an AFTTP manual relating to the F-22A fighter aircraft, which included a banner warning that the document contained technical data subject to export controls; (5) an AFTTP manual relating to the operation of Intercontinental Ballistic Missile systems, which included a banner warning that the document contained technical data subject to export controls; (6) a publication related to the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft; (7) a document describing modifications of the B-52 aircraft; (8) documents describing tactics to counter unmanned aircraft systems and the use of unmanned aircraft systems in large-scale combat operations; (9) documents relating to Chinese military tactics, the Chinese military’s preparedness, and the People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force; (10) documents relating to rocket, missile, and artillery weapons systems, including the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense missile defense system; (11) documents relating to military exercises and U.S. military forces in the Republic of Korea and the Philippines; and (12) a document relating to U.S. military satellites. In exchange for all of this information, Schultz was paid approximately $42,000 by Conspirator A.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Jan. 23, 2025. Schultz faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison for conspiracy to obtain and transmit national defense information; 20 years in prison for exporting technical data related to defense articles to the People’s Republic of China without a license; 20 years in prison for conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR); and 15 years in prison for bribery of a public official. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI and U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command are investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Josh Kurtzman for the Middle District of Tennessee and Trial Attorneys Adam Barry and Christopher Cook of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.

Source: US FBI

On August 12, 2024, the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting Program released Motor Vehicle Theft, 2019-2023, on the FBI’s Crime Data Explorer at cde.ucr.cjis.gov. This special report provides information concerning motor vehicle theft and trends on carjacking.

Incidents of motor vehicle theft included in this report are from the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). Participation in NIBRS is voluntary for non-federal law enforcement agencies but mandatory for federal law enforcement agencies. As of 2023, 14,039 agencies submitted their crime data to NIBRS, covering a population of 278,449,430 people.

From 2019 to 2023, as more agencies began participating in NIBRS, the population covered by NIBRS reporting agencies increased by 79.7 percent. In this analysis, the total number of incidents are reported alongside rates per 100,000 people to allow for comparison between years.

Both the total number of reported incidents per year and the rate of incidents per 100,000 people steadily increased from 2019 to 2023.

From 2019 to 2023, the nationwide rate of motor vehicle theft incidents rose from 199.4 incidents per 100,000 people to 283.5 incidents. From 2022 to 2023, incident rates declined in the Midwest by 4.8 and the West by 7.3. The rate of offenses committed by juveniles increased in 2022 and 2023, while the rate of offenses committed by adults decreased during that time. In addition, between 2022 and 2023, the rate of reported carjacking incidents declined from 7.5 to 6.6 per 100,000 people.

The top three types of motor vehicles stolen from 2019 to 2023 were automobiles at 78.1 percent, trucks at 12.2 percent, and other motor vehicles at 8.0 percent.

Reporting data on motor vehicle thefts and carjackings allows the public to gain insight and may aid law enforcement agencies in creating strategies to reduce and prevent similar offenses in the future.

Source: US FBI

Director Christopher Wray has named Douglas M. Goodwater as the special agent in charge of the Oklahoma City Field Office. Mr. Goodwater most recently served as a section chief in the Office of Public Affairs at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C. 
 
Mr. Goodwater joined the FBI as a special agent in 2007. During his first assignment in the Oklahoma City Field Office, he investigated gangs and drug trafficking organizations as part of the Safe Streets Task Force and worked on violent crime investigations. 
 
In 2013, Mr. Goodwater transferred to the Guam Resident Agency, a satellite of the Honolulu Field Office. In Guam, Mr. Goodwater investigated financial crimes and public corruption and participated in the Drug Enforcement Administration Task Force. In 2015, Mr. Goodwater was promoted to supervisory special agent in the Counterterrorism Division at FBI Headquarters, where he worked in a regional operations unit supporting international terrorism investigations. 
 
Mr. Goodwater transferred to the Houston Field Office in 2016 as supervisory special agent overseeing international terrorism investigations. He later supervised Houston’s Transnational Organized Crime – Western Hemisphere squad, which was co-located with the multi-agency Houston Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Strike Force. 
 
In 2020, Mr. Goodwater was selected to serve as an assistant special agent in charge in the Chicago Field Office, overseeing the Criminal Enterprise Branch. Later in 2020, he assumed the position of Chicago’s deputy special agent in charge and was responsible for the Executive Services Branch, which included SWAT, security, internal audit, community outreach, media, and training. 
 
Mr. Goodwater was promoted in 2022 to chief of the Media and Engagement Section of the Office of Public Affairs at FBI Headquarters, where he had oversight of the National Press Office and the Community Relations Unit, with responsibility for the FBI’s media and community relations programs. 
 
Mr. Goodwater earned a bachelor’s degree in business from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Nebraska Omaha. 
 

Source: US FBI

A federal grand jury in Oklahoma City returned an indictment, which was unsealed today, charging Sioux Erosion Control, Inc. (Sioux), its vice president and another employee with a price-fixing conspiracy targeting over $100 million in publicly-funded transportation construction contracts across Oklahoma.

According to court documents, it is alleged that Vice President BG Dale Biscoe, Randall David Shelton and Sioux conspired with their competitors in the erosion control industry to raise and maintain prices for products and services from approximately September 2017 through April 2023. Erosion control products and services, including sod, are used to control runoff of soil or rock on highway construction and repair projects. In addition to conspiring to raise prices for sod, it is alleged that the defendants and their co‑conspirators agreed to divide up contracts across different areas of Oklahoma and rigged bids for particular projects by submitting intentionally high-priced bids or outright refusing to bid.

“Protecting competition for taxpayer-funded infrastructure projects remains a priority for the Antitrust Division,” said Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “This indictment shows the Justice Department and its Procurement Collusion Strike Force partners’ commitment to protecting taxpayer dollars throughout Oklahoma and across the country from brazen collusion.”

“My office is committed to root out price-fixing, collusion and fraud in taxpayer-funded projects,” said U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester for the Western District of Oklahoma. “We are proud to work with our law enforcement partners in this effort to protect integrity in publicly-funded ventures and preserve the public trust.”

“Today’s announcement represents the FBI’s commitment to protecting competitive markets from those who try to cheat the system,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Joseph Skarda of the FBI Oklahoma City Field Office. “We will continue to work alongside our law enforcement partners to uncover these harmful schemes and hold the perpetrators responsible.”

“Violations of the nation’s antitrust laws will be taken seriously and those who circumvent federal bidding and contract regulations will be held accountable,” said Special Agent in Charge Joseph Harris of the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (DOT-OIG), Southern Region. “This investigation demonstrates our commitment to working with our law enforcement and prosecutorial partners to uproot and expose brazen fraud schemes devised purely for personal gain.”

Four individuals — including a former Sioux employee — previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the charged conspiracy. Those individuals have not yet been sentenced.

Biscoe, Shelton and Sioux are charged with a violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act. The maximum penalty for individuals is 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine. The maximum penalty for corporations is a $100 million criminal fine. If convicted, a federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The DOT-OIG and FBI Oklahoma City Field Office investigated the case.

Trial Attorneys Bethany Lipman, Matthew Grisier and Marc Hedrich of the Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Brown for the Western District of Oklahoma are prosecuting the case.

Anyone with information about this investigation or other procurement fraud schemes should notify the Procurement Collusion Strike Force (PCSF) at www.justice.gov/atr/webform/pcsf-citizen-complaint. The Justice Department created the PCSF in November 2019. It is a joint law enforcement effort to combat antitrust crimes and related fraudulent schemes that impact government procurement, grant and program funding at all levels of government – federal, state and local. For more information, visit www.justice.gov/procurement-collusion-strike-force.

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

A former executive of a steel distributor in San Juan, Puerto Rico, pleaded guilty today to conspiring with competitors to fix prices for sales of reinforcing bar, or rebar.

According to court documents filed in the U.S. District Court in San Juan, Juan Carlos Aponte Tolentino (Aponte), of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, was Interim President of a steel distributor in Puerto Rico. The company was one of the leading wholesale distributors of rebar in Puerto Rico. Rebar is commonly required for residential and commercial construction projects on the island, and nearly all rebar distributed in Puerto Rico is imported from other countries or the continental U.S. Collectively, Aponte’s company and two other competitors controlled approximately 70% of the wholesale rebar market in the Commonwealth.

Between 2015 and 2022, including the period of reconstruction following Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017, Aponte conspired with competing companies and individuals to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing prices for steel products, including rebar, which were distributed to hardware stores, building contractors and other businesses and individuals in Puerto Rico, resulting in substantial profits to the conspirators.

Among other communications, Aponte and his competitors exchanged WhatsApp chat messages in which they agreed on specific rebar prices, including price increases. For example, in December 2020 an executive at a competing company sent Aponte a chat message with the price of Turkish rebar, and Aponte responded, “The position is the following: Platform $33.95, 10 bundles $34.50, Fewer than 10 bundles: $34.95” before asking, “The question is are we on the same page?” The competing executive responded, “Yes, that is what I am doing.”

In the plea agreement filed today, Aponte admitted that more than $100 million in sales by his company were affected by the conspiracy.

“In pleading guilty, this defendant admitted to fixing prices — for nearly a decade — on rebar, an essential part of the supply chain for the reconstruction of Puerto Rico following the 2017 hurricanes,” said Deputy Assistant Attorney General Manish Kumar of the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “This guilty plea demonstrates the Antitrust Division’s continued commitment to holding accountable individuals who collude to raise construction prices and harm consumers and businesses in Puerto Rico. We and our law enforcement partners will continue to prosecute the people responsible for this type of anticompetitive criminal conduct.”

“We are satisfied with the outcome in this case as it sends a clear message that price-fixing and taking advantage of communities in crisis will not be tolerated,” said Special Agent in Charge Joseph Gonzalez of the FBI San Juan Field Office. “In the FBI, we remain committed to disrupting this illegal practice and bringing justice for all those affected by such unethical practices.”

Violating the Sherman Act, which is a federal criminal antitrust statute, is a felony. The maximum penalty for individuals convicted of violating the Sherman Act is 10 years in prison and a $1 million criminal fine. The maximum penalty for corporations is a $100 million criminal fine. The fine may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime if either amount is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

The court set Aponte’s sentencing hearing for Nov. 8. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Antitrust Division’s Washington Criminal Section investigated the case, with the assistance of the FBI San Juan Field Office.

Trial Attorneys April Ayers-Perez, Alison Friberg and Taylor Bernhardt of the Washington Criminal Section, and Senior Litigation Counsel John Davis of the Antitrust Division’s Litigation Program, are prosecuting the case.

Anyone with information in connection with this investigation should contact the Antitrust Division’s Complaint Center at 888-647-3258 or visit www.justice.gov/atr/report-violations.

Source: US FBI

TOLEDO – Whitney Durant, AKA Soren Monroe, age 20, of Worthington, Ohio, was sentenced to two years of probation and a $2,000 dollar fine by Magistrate Judge Darrell A. Clay, after pleading guilty to one count of intentionally damaging a reproductive health care center, a violation of the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act (the “FACE Act”). Durant vandalized HerChoice, a reproductive health services clinic located in Bowling Green, Ohio, because the clinic offers pregnancy counseling, free pregnancy testing and ultrasounds, but not abortion services.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on April 15, 2023, Durant defaced the clinic’s building, spray painting the words, “LIARS,” “FAKE CLINIC,” “Fund Abortion,” “Abort God,” and “Jane’s Revenge.” Durant was a Bowling Green State University student at the time of this conduct.

“The United States Attorney’s Office is committed to neutrally enforcing federal laws that protect uninterrupted access to all clinics providing reproductive health services, whether those clinics provide women with options that include abortion care or whether they solely encourage women to consider non-abortion alternatives,” said U.S. Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko for the Northern District of Ohio. “This prosecution and sentence demonstrate that we will not tolerate efforts to impede patient access to the reproductive health care of their choice by someone who intentionally defaces or otherwise damages a clinic providing such services. The First Amendment protects peaceful protests, not blatant vandalism.”

“Today’s sentencing serves as a reminder that intentionally damaging or destroying the property of a facility because it provides reproductive health services is a federal violation of the FACE Act,” said FBI Cleveland Special Agent in Charge Greg Nelsen. “The FBI and its local, state, tribal, and federal law enforcement partners will protect access to reproductive healthcare services for every American, thoroughly investigate FACE Act violators, and continue to aggressively pursue all violations of the statute.”

The FBI Cleveland Field Office, Toledo Resident Agency and Bowling Green Police Department investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Angelita Cruz Bridges and Wood County Prosecutor and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Dobson for the Northern District of Ohio prosecuted the case.

Anyone who has information about incidents of violence, threats and obstruction that target a patient or provider of reproductive health services or damage and destruction of reproductive health care facilities, should report that information to the FBI at https://tips.fbi.gov/.

For more information about clinic violence, and the Justice Department’s efforts to enforce FACE Act violations, please visit www.justice.gov/crt/national-task-force-violence-againstreproductive-health-care-providers.

Source: US FBI

CLEVELAND – Federal, state, and local law enforcement officials announce the unsealing of a superseding indictment charging 15 members of the Fully Blooded Felons, a criminal street gang that was active in Northeast Ohio and in the Ohio prison system. The gang members were charged for their roles in a drug trafficking conspiracy involving their importing and distributing fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and buprenorphine in Northeast Ohio, and their illegal possession of firearms. Three defendants have been in federal custody since December 2023. Authorities have arrested several newly charged defendants. They transported several of them to federal court in Cleveland, while the others are in custody elsewhere.

This announcement is made by United States Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko, FBI Special Agent in Charge Gregory Nelsen, and Cleveland Division of Police Chief Dorothy Todd.

“The indictment alleges that Raven Mullins and other members of the Fully Blooded Felons operated an open-air drug market, distributing the deadliest types of drugs sold on Cleveland’s streets. This organization is charged not only with peddling such poisons in Cleveland’s Cedar Estates neighborhood, but also with actively plotting to recruit persons to infiltrate the Ohio prison system to distribute drugs there so gang members could reap the profits,” said United States Attorney Rebecca C. Lutzko. “This indictment and these arrests are a product of the dedication, cooperation, and tireless efforts of Northern District of Ohio federal, state, and local law enforcement partners who, working together, identified and disrupted this criminal organization. Because of these efforts, the many law-abiding members of the Cedar Estates neighborhood have a real opportunity to come together and make positive changes.”

“This operation and subsequent arrests underscore the FBIs mission to investigate, disrupt, and dismantle gangs not only in the larger cities across America, but also right here in northern Ohio,” said FBI Cleveland Special Agent in Charge Greg Nelsen. “Identifying criminal networks takes careful coordination and collaboration. We are proud to partner with the agencies that make up the FBI Safe Streets Gang Task Force, which includes the Cleveland Division of Police, Ohio Adult Parole Authority, and the Ohio Investigative Unit. In addition, the United States Marshals Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Cleveland’s Third District played a major role in this operation. We thank them as well as our other federal, state, and local partners who work seamlessly together to protect our communities and keep offenders off the streets.”

The following defendants are charged in the 33-count superseding indictment:

Raven Mullins, aka Dunny, aka Dun, 34, Cleveland, Ohio
Henry Burchett, aka Noodles, aka Noo, 39, Cleveland, Ohio
Cortez Tyree, aka Seed, 34, Cleveland, Ohio
Rodney Linson, aka Scrap, 37, Willoughby Hills, Ohio
Elijah Johnson, aka Loon, 36, Unknown
Demarcus Elliott, aka Moo, 37, Westlake, Ohio
Dontez Hammond, aka Donny, 35, Cleveland, Ohio
Jeffrey Lee, aka Fatty, 23, Cleveland, Ohio
Jerrell Jones-Ferrell, aka Ruga, 25, Cleveland, Ohio
Jerry Mullins, aka B. Money, 32, Cleveland, Ohio
Devonte Johnson, aka D Nut, aka Nut, 31, Cleveland, Ohio
Jerome Williams, aka Jay, 29, Cleveland, Ohio
Christepher Horton, aka Cam, aka Killa, 40, Erie, Pennsylvania
Deeundra Perkins, aka Drizzy, 32, Unknown
Deon Blackwell, aka White Boy, 37, Cleveland, Ohio

The defendants were all charged in a conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. Additionally, six defendants were charged with possession with intent to distribute controlled substances offenses, five defendants were charged with illegal possession of firearms, and five defendants were charged with possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking crimes. One defendant was charged with interstate travel in aid of racketeering, and 11 defendants were charged with using a communications facility to facilitate a felony drug offense.

The superseding indictment alleges that between as early as January 2022, and continuing through April 2, 2024, the defendants did knowingly and intentionally conspire with each other to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute mixtures and substances containing fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance, methamphetamine, a Schedule II controlled substance, cocaine, a Schedule II controlled substance, cocaine base (“crack”), a Schedule II controlled substance, and buprenorphine, a Schedule III controlled substance.

According to court documents, Raven Mullins and other defendants operated an organized gang hierarchy that committed violent acts, possessed and transferred firearms, and distributed controlled substances in Northeast Ohio. The Fully Blooded Felons used two apartments at the Cedar Estates in Cleveland, Ohio, to store controlled substances and firearms and to distribute different controlled substances to customers. Subordinate gang members used a grassy area immediately adjacent to the Cedar Estates, and the area surrounding the 28th Street Liquor Store, to distribute controlled substances to customers at the direction of Raven Mullins and other high-ranking members. The superseding indictment alleges that Elijah Johnson travelled to Texas and Arizona to obtain kilogram quantities of pills containing fentanyl, which he then supplied to Fully Blooded Felon members for distribution in Northeast Ohio. Additionally, the superseding indictment alleges that the Fully Blooded Felons operated a drug smuggling and distribution ring inside numerous Ohio state prisons and federal detention centers.

An indictment is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.

If convicted, each 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 prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (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 consists of agents and officers from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Marshals Service, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Border Patrol, and the Cleveland Division of Police. The prosecution is being led by the Office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

The investigation preceding the superseding indictment was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Safe Streets Task Force, the Cleveland Division of Police’s Third District and Gang Impact Unit, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Ohio State Highway Patrol, the Ohio Adult Parole Authority, the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, and the Ohio Investigative Unit. The United States Marshals Service coordinated the arrests of those defendants apprehended.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert J. Kolansky and Paul E. Hanna, with assistance from Trial Attorneys Brian W. Lynch and Alyssa Levey-Weinstein of the Justice Department’s Violent Crime and Racketeering Section.