Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Guodeng Chen, and Didi Huang, both of Pittsford, NY, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci, Jr to transportation of stolen goods in interstate commerce, which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
RYAN FITZGIBBONS, 44, of Killingly, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport to a fraud offense stemming from his theft of more than $775,000 from nonprofit organizations in Windham and Middlefield.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Today, Florida United States Attorneys Jason A. Reding Quiñones, Gregory W. Kehoe, and John “Jack” P. Heekin, and Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier convened the inaugural meeting of the Florida Anti-fraud Task Force (“FATF”), a federal-state task force formed with a mandate to eliminate fraud within federal government benefit programs in Florida.
Source: United States Department of Justice
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – The United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Puerto Rico, Héctor Ramírez-Carbó, Acting United States Attorney, in conjunction with our partner agencies in the Homeland Security Task Force (“HSTF”) announce the following prosecutorial results for the week of August 31 through September 4, 2026. The HSTF is a permanent, interagency law enforcement task force created by executive order to combat transnational criminal organizations—including cartels, trafficking networks, and foreign terrorist organizations.
Source: United States Department of Justice
An Inglewood woman has been arrested on a 15-count federal grand jury indictment charging her with defrauding venture capital funds out of more than $13 million by lying about her credentials and her now-defunct tax compliance startup company’s revenue, then using investors’ money to purchase a home, a Tesla, and pay for her wedding in the Caribbean, the Justice Department announced today.
Source: United States Department of Justice
BROOKLYN, NY – Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Zakia Kahn was sentenced by United States District Judge Natasha C. Merle to 76 months in prison in connection with her leadership role in carrying out a $64 million Medicaid fraud and illegal kickback scheme at her two social adult daycare centers and a home health care company. In August 2025, Khan pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud and conspiracy to defraud the United States and pay health care kickbacks. As part of her sentence, Kahn was also ordered to pay over $56 million in restitution and to forfeit $5 million in fraud proceeds, including two properties, cash, and gold jewelry seized during a search of her home, as pictured below.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jamie McDonald announced today that NOSSON SKLAR, a/k/a “Nathan Sklar,” was sentenced to 38 months in prison for engaging in a scheme to defraud health benefit programs through the submission of more than $20 million in fraudulent claims.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
SAN DIEGO – James Soriano, a former public official at the Naval Information Warfare Center in San Diego, was sentenced in federal court today to 72 months in prison for accepting hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes. According to his plea agreement, Soriano admitted he accepted bribes from defense contractors in the form of lavish meals, employment opportunities for family members and friends, and tickets to premier sporting events. In exchange, he used his position to help the contractors secure and maintain hundreds of millions of dollars in government contracts.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
SAN DIEGO – Chad Oso of La Mesa was sentenced in federal court today to 121 months in prison for kidnapping his estranged wife and violently tearing her away from their two young children, who were left home alone as he forced their mother into his vehicle and drove away. Oso was convicted of kidnapping by a federal jury in March. According to evidence presented at the trial, Oso showed up at the victim’s La Mesa home on September 17, 2024, unannounced and uninvited. Oso made demands of the victim, but she rejected them. Oso became increasingly aggressive, escalating the confrontation to the point where the victim left the apartment in an attempt to alert a nearby neighbor.
Source: United States Department of Justice
The U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division (DOJ) and the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announced today joint investigative findings that the University of California, Berkeley School of Law (Berkeley Law) deliberately discriminates against white and Asian students in its admissions process. Berkeley Law’s discriminatory conduct violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race or color, and the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (SFFA), which banned race discrimination in higher education.
“Berkeley Law School’s deliberate efforts to circumvent the Supreme Court’s decision in SFFA demonstrate a complete disregard for the rule of law,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “The Department will continue to aggressively pursue compliance from schools who attempt to racially manipulate their student bodies in violation of federal law.”
“Title VI is clear: no student should be advantaged or disadvantaged in admissions because of the color of their skin,” said U.S. Department of Education Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey. “The Supreme Court made equally clear that universities cannot evade the law by finding new ways to make race a factor in admissions decisions. Today’s findings demonstrate that the Trump Administration will work to hold institutions accountable and ensure students are judged on their individual merit, not their race.”
The Department’s investigation found that post-SFFA, Berkeley Law uses race, essay prompts, and other tactics to further its admissions diversity goals. For instance, Berkeley’s application asked applicants to specify their racial identity, so that admitted students could be “grouped” with others of the same “primary identity” in class. In other words, Berkeley Law intentionally separates admitted students by race.
The data produced by Berkeley Law demonstrates a strong bias against Asian and white applicants, with a corresponding bias in favor of black applicants. In 2024 and 2025 (combined), half of Berkeley Law’s admitted black applicants had LSAT scores that were below 95% of the admitted white applicants. Worse, more than one-third of admitted black applicants (37%) had LSAT scores below 99% of admitted white applicants. The Department’s analysis further revealed that in 2025, black applicants had 5.8 times higher odds of admission than comparable white applicants.
As recipients of federal financial assistance, law schools are subject to federal non-discrimination laws. The Department will continue to investigate their compliance with Title VI, as interpreted by SFFA’s prohibition on race-conscious admissions. Where a violation has been found, the Department will engage in settlement negotiations to ensure the school’s admissions practices are brought into compliance. If those efforts fail, the Department will file suit.
Members of the public may report possible civil rights violations at www.civilrights.justice.gov/.
Note: Read the Department’s Findings Letter here.