Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
David Joseph Yama, 42, of Reedley, pleaded guilty today to possession of fentanyl and alprazolam (commonly known as Xanax) with intent to distribute, three counts of being a felon in possession of ammunition, and one count of carrying a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking offense.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – United States Attorney David I. Courcelle announced that on July 24, 2026, a federal grand jury indicted TINO PIERRE, (“PIERRE”), age 25, of New Orleans, for being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Sections 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(8).
Source: United States Department of Justice
Thomas C. Goldstein, a prominent appellate attorney who argued more than 40 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and co-founded the widely read legal website SCOTUSblog, was sentenced to 72 months in prison today for tax crimes and mortgage fraud. The Court additionally revoked Goldstein’s bond and remanded him into custody.
“This sentence holds Thomas Goldstein accountable for cheating the tax system and lying to mortgage lenders,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “Mr. Goldstein concealed millions of dollars in income, disguised income with foreign bank accounts, and manipulated his law firm’s books– all to fund his gambling and lifestyle. He then repeatedly chose not to pay taxes owed. There is no tax case too big, no scheme too complex, and no hiding place too remote for the Fraud Division.”
“Thomas Goldstein built a distinguished legal career arguing that the rule of law matters. Yet, as the evidence at trial showed, he repeatedly chose to violate that very principle for his own financial benefit,” said U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland. “Every taxpayer is expected to play by the same rules, and this sentence shows that those who deliberately cheat the system and lie for financial gain will be held accountable. We thank our law enforcement partners for their work on this case, and their unwavering commitment to protecting the integrity of our tax and financial systems.”
“Public prominence doesn’t entitle anyone to break financial rules or secure an unfair advantage over those who follow them,” said Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Tyler of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division. “The mortgage industry exists to serve hardworking, honest Americans, and the FBI will bring anyone who tries to exploit the system for personal gain to justice regardless of their social status.”
“Today’s sentencing is a significant step towards holding the defendant accountable for his role in abusing our tax system,” said Executive Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (CI), Washington, D.C. Field Office. “IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agents and our law enforcement partners will vigorously pursue those who attempt to defraud our tax system and financial institutions.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Goldstein, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, was the sole owner of Goldstein & Russell, P.C., a boutique law firm specializing in appellate litigation, including litigation before the U.S. Supreme Court. Goldstein was also a high-stakes poker player, frequently playing in games involving tens of millions of dollars.
Between 2016 and 2024, Goldstein repeatedly chose not to pay taxes on time, as required by law. He also assisted in the preparation of false tax returns for himself and his law firm, and he engaged in a scheme to evade taxes for 2016. Goldstein carried out the scheme by hiding millions of dollars in poker winning from the government and his accountants, diverting legal fees to his personal bank account to satisfy poker-related debts, directing people to pay his creditors instead of sending payments directly to him, channeling gambling winnings through foreign bank accounts and causing personal payments for poker debts to be falsely classified as “legal-fee” expenses on the firm’s books and records. As a result, Goldstein underreported his income and did not pay much of the taxes that he owed, while spending millions on personal expenses such as poker, travel, and luxury goods.
In 2021, Goldstein submitted false mortgage applications to two separate mortgage lending companies, seeking financing to purchase a $2.6 million dollar home in Washington, D.C. On those mortgage applications – which required Goldstein to list all his liabilities and debts – Goldstein omitted millions of dollars of liabilities, including more than $14 million he owed for poker-related debts, as well as taxes he owed the IRS. Goldstein’s false statements to one of the mortgage lenders enabled him to obtain a $1.98 million loan.
On Feb. 25, a federal jury convicted Goldstein of tax evasion, assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, willful failure to timely pay taxes and making false statements to mortgage lenders.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby for the District of Maryland ordered Goldstein to serve five years of supervised release, pay $3,103, 427 in restitution, and ordered forfeiture but at an indeterminate amount.
IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI investigated the case.
Senior Litigation Counsel Sean Beaty and Trial Attorneys Emerson Gordon-Marvin and Hayter L. Whitman of the Criminal Division’s Tax Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Adeyemi Adenrele for the District of Maryland, prosecuted the case.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
Source: United States Department of Justice
Thomas C. Goldstein, a prominent appellate attorney who argued more than 40 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court and co-founded the widely read legal website SCOTUSblog, was sentenced to 72 months in prison today for tax crimes and mortgage fraud. The Court additionally revoked Goldstein’s bond and remanded him into custody.
“This sentence holds Thomas Goldstein accountable for cheating the tax system and lying to mortgage lenders,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “Mr. Goldstein concealed millions of dollars in income, disguised income with foreign bank accounts, and manipulated his law firm’s books– all to fund his gambling and lifestyle. He then repeatedly chose not to pay taxes owed. There is no tax case too big, no scheme too complex, and no hiding place too remote for the Fraud Division.”
“Thomas Goldstein built a distinguished legal career arguing that the rule of law matters. Yet, as the evidence at trial showed, he repeatedly chose to violate that very principle for his own financial benefit,” said U.S. Attorney Kelly O. Hayes for the District of Maryland. “Every taxpayer is expected to play by the same rules, and this sentence shows that those who deliberately cheat the system and lie for financial gain will be held accountable. We thank our law enforcement partners for their work on this case, and their unwavering commitment to protecting the integrity of our tax and financial systems.”
“Public prominence doesn’t entitle anyone to break financial rules or secure an unfair advantage over those who follow them,” said Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Tyler of the FBI Washington Field Office’s Criminal Division. “The mortgage industry exists to serve hardworking, honest Americans, and the FBI will bring anyone who tries to exploit the system for personal gain to justice regardless of their social status.”
“Today’s sentencing is a significant step towards holding the defendant accountable for his role in abusing our tax system,” said Executive Special Agent in Charge Kareem Carter of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation (CI), Washington, D.C. Field Office. “IRS Criminal Investigation Special Agents and our law enforcement partners will vigorously pursue those who attempt to defraud our tax system and financial institutions.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Goldstein, of Chevy Chase, Maryland, was the sole owner of Goldstein & Russell, P.C., a boutique law firm specializing in appellate litigation, including litigation before the U.S. Supreme Court. Goldstein was also a high-stakes poker player, frequently playing in games involving tens of millions of dollars.
Between 2016 and 2024, Goldstein repeatedly chose not to pay taxes on time, as required by law. He also assisted in the preparation of false tax returns for himself and his law firm, and he engaged in a scheme to evade taxes for 2016. Goldstein carried out the scheme by hiding millions of dollars in poker winning from the government and his accountants, diverting legal fees to his personal bank account to satisfy poker-related debts, directing people to pay his creditors instead of sending payments directly to him, channeling gambling winnings through foreign bank accounts and causing personal payments for poker debts to be falsely classified as “legal-fee” expenses on the firm’s books and records. As a result, Goldstein underreported his income and did not pay much of the taxes that he owed, while spending millions on personal expenses such as poker, travel, and luxury goods.
In 2021, Goldstein submitted false mortgage applications to two separate mortgage lending companies, seeking financing to purchase a $2.6 million dollar home in Washington, D.C. On those mortgage applications – which required Goldstein to list all his liabilities and debts – Goldstein omitted millions of dollars of liabilities, including more than $14 million he owed for poker-related debts, as well as taxes he owed the IRS. Goldstein’s false statements to one of the mortgage lenders enabled him to obtain a $1.98 million loan.
On Feb. 25, a federal jury convicted Goldstein of tax evasion, assisting in the preparation of false tax returns, willful failure to timely pay taxes and making false statements to mortgage lenders.
In addition to the term of imprisonment, U.S. District Judge Lydia Kay Griggsby for the District of Maryland ordered Goldstein to serve five years of supervised release, pay $3,103, 427 in restitution, and ordered forfeiture but at an indeterminate amount.
IRS Criminal Investigation and the FBI investigated the case.
Senior Litigation Counsel Sean Beaty and Trial Attorneys Emerson Gordon-Marvin and Hayter L. Whitman of the Criminal Division’s Tax Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Adeyemi Adenrele for the District of Maryland, prosecuted the case.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (“Fraud Division”). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud supports President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
Source: United States Department of Justice
Rodger Githens, 48, of West Sacramento, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Jill A. Otake to 18 years and six months in prison, for attempted enticement of a minor and receipt and distribution of child sexual abuse material.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A California man was sentenced today to 222 months in prison and 10 years of supervised release for attempted coercion and enticement of a minor and for distributing and receiving child sexual abuse material (CSAM). He was also ordered to pay a fine of $75,000. Restitution will be determined at a later date.
Rodger Githens, 48, of West Sacramento, was convicted by a federal judge on May 1 after a stipulated bench trial. In March 2023, Githens initiated contact with a Grindr account controlled by an undercover agent. Githens quickly encouraged the undercover agent to establish a Telegram account, which he considered more secure. Githens told the agent he had taboo thoughts every day and was into “babies.” Githens stated that he “would love to have a dad or uncle invite me” and then described in graphic detail what he would like to do with the undercover agent and the agent’s fictional 7-year-old niece. Several times Githens discussed traveling to meet the agent and the fictional niece. On April 19, 2023, law enforcement served a search warrant at Githens’s residence and seized multiple electronic devices. Agents discovered numerous Telegram chats on Githens’s phone including several in which he was exchanging videos of the sexual abuse of young children.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division; U.S. Attorney Eric Grant for the Eastern District of California; and Acting Special Agent in Charge Brian Tosh of the FBI’s Sacramento Field Office made the announcement.
The FBI’s Fresno resident agency investigated the case. Valuable assistance was provided by the West Sacramento Police Department.
Trial Attorney McKenzie Hightower of the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (“CEOS”) and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gappa of the Eastern District of California prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A Texas businessman, a Kentucky doctor, and a Kentucky woman were sentenced to prison for their roles in fraudulently billing Medicare and Kentucky Medicaid over $4.8 million through a series of addiction treatment facilities.
Today, Michael Bregenzer, 53, of Houston, Texas, was sentenced to 48 months in prison, followed by 3 years of supervised release.
In February 2026, José Alzadon, M.D., 62, of Paintsville, Kentucky, was sentenced to 60 months in prison.
In January 2026, Barbie Vanhoose, 63, of West Van Lear, Kentucky, was sentenced to 24 months in prison.
All three defendants were ordered to pay restitution of $812,881.09.
According to evidence presented at trial, Bregenzer, Alzadon, and Vanhoose orchestrated their health care fraud scheme through Kentucky Addiction Centers or KAC, which operated in Winchester, Paducah, Paintsville, and London, Kentucky. As part of his role as KAC’s medical director, Alzadon prescribed Suboxone, a controlled substance that is used to treat opioid addiction. Bregenzer served as KAC’s CEO and Vanhoose as KAC’s billing manager.
Together, Bregenzer, Alzadon, and Vanhoose ran a scheme that falsely billed taxpayer-funded health programs like Medicare and Medicaid for medical services that were not provided or were billed as more complex and expensive services than the services patients actually received. They also conspired to falsely bill for services in the name of Alzadon’s elderly father when the services either were not provided at all or were provided by Alzadon — who was unable to bill certain health plans as he was not credentialed as a provider with those plans. Bregenzer, Alzadon, and Vanhoose also conspired to use Alzadon’s father’s prescribing credentials, including his DEA registration number and electronic prescribing token, to prescribe Suboxone, even though Alzadon’s father had not seen the patients for whom he was supposedly issuing prescriptions.
In March 2025, Bregenzer, Alzadon, and Vanhoose were each convicted at trial of conspiracy to commit health care fraud, eight counts of health care fraud, and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances using the registration number of another person. Alzadon and Vanhoose were also convicted of two counts of aggravated identity theft.
Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division; Special Agent in Charge Robert J. Scott of the DEA Louisville Division; Special Agent in Charge Olivia Olson of the FBI Louisville Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Kelly Blackmon of the Department of Health and Human Service Office of the Inspector General (HHS-OIG); Regional Director Joe Rivers of the Department of Labor Employee Benefits Security Administration (DOL-EBSA); and Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman made the announcement.
The DEA, FBI, HHS-OIG, DOL-EBSA, and the Kentucky Medicaid Fraud Control Unit investigated this case.
The Winchester Police Department provided substantial assistance during the investigation and trial.
Trial Attorneys Dermot Lynch, Sarah Edwards, and Samad Pardesi of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division (Fraud Division). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department’s work to combat fraud support President Trump’s Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.
The Department of Justice’s Health Care Fraud Strike Force Program, currently comprised of nine strike forces operating in federal districts across the country, has charged more than 6,200 defendants who collectively billed federal health care programs and private insurers more than $45 billion since 2007. In addition, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, working in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, 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: United States Department of Justice
A San Gabriel Valley man was sentenced today to 87 months in federal prison for his role in a drug trafficking organization that attempted to export more than one metric ton (2,204.6 pounds) of methamphetamine concealed inside shipment containers and destined for Australia.
Source: United States Department of Justice
Rodney Bennett, 20, of the District of Columbia, was sentenced today in the Superior Court for the District of Columbia for two robberies in 2024 and one assault with a dangerous weapon while confined in a D.C. Correctional Facility in 2025, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Derrick Gladden, 55, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced to 96 months in prison today in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia for shooting Christopher Seward during a dispute in April 2024, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.