Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
George Bernard Shaw, 53, of the District of Columbia., was arrested and charged with first-degree murder while armed, for the killing of Adeyinka Aderemi in the early morning of July 4, 2026, in Northeast Washington, announced U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Donald Coty, 40, and his wife, Megan Coty, 38, both of Conesus, NY, were arrested and charged by criminal complaint with production of child pornography, conspiracy to produce child pornography, and possession of child pornography. The charges carry a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
A federal jury in the Middle District of Florida convicted an Oklahoma business owner and chiropractor yesterday for his role in a yearslong scheme that attempted to bilk Medicare, TRICARE, and the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) out of over $30 million by purchasing patient information, medical practitioners’ signatures, and doctors’ orders for orthotic braces and glucose monitors that patients did not want or need.
“The defendant turned private medical data into a pipeline for personal profit,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “Every fake doctor’s order generated was a direct attack on systems built to care for some of our nation’s most vulnerable. Yesterday’s verdict makes clear that if you exploit our seniors and military families to fill your own pockets, you will answer for every dollar stolen.”
“The defendant bought patient data and used it to generate sham medical orders, targeting seniors and people with disabilities for exploitation. This scheme sought to drain millions from federal health care programs meant to support Americans in need,” said Miranda L. Bennett, Acting Deputy Inspector General for Investigations at the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General. “This verdict makes clear that HHS OIG and our law enforcement partners will hold accountable anyone who tries to defraud these programs or prey on the people they serve.”
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Mark Loftis, 39, of Cushing, Oklahoma, paid over a million dollars to marketers who worked with call centers to persuade elderly and disabled Americans to provide their personal information, including their health insurance information. Loftis and his co-conspirators then used that information to obtain signed orders for orthotic braces and continuous glucose monitors that were generated by telemedicine doctors and nurse practitioners who never examined, and often never spoke to the patients. Loftis and his co-conspirators used these doctors’ orders to bill federal health care programs. Loftis also concealed a conspirator’s management role in his company and his billing of claims generated by other unenrolled medical suppliers. In total, Loftis obtained over $8 million from the false and fraudulent claims. Loftis continued the scheme for three years despite receiving a steady stream of complaints from beneficiaries and family members of beneficiaries who reported that their elderly parents suffered from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, making them especially vulnerable to the sales tactics of Loftis’s conspirators.
Office of Back Pain Home Supplies, one of Loftis’s medical supply companies in Drumright, Oklahoma
The jury convicted Loftis of conspiracy to commit health care fraud and wire fraud. He is scheduled to be sentenced on October 7, 2026, and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
HHS-OIG, FBI, DCIS, and VA-OIG investigated the case.
Acting Assistant Chief Catherine Wagner and Trial Attorney Raymond Beckering III of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section prosecuted the case.
On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the 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.
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 Criminal Division
Ocala, Florida – Today, Alexander Nolasco-Hernandez (41, Honduras), Ruben Marcos-Santiago (30, Mexico), and Celedonio Plancarte-Perez (38, Mexico) pleaded guilty to illegal reentry by a previously deported alien. Each faces a maximum penalty of two years in federal prison. Sentencing dates have not yet been set. United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.
Source: United States Department of Justice
Ocala, Florida – Today, Alexander Nolasco-Hernandez (41, Honduras), Ruben Marcos-Santiago (30, Mexico), and Celedonio Plancarte-Perez (38, Mexico) pleaded guilty to illegal reentry by a previously deported alien. Each faces a maximum penalty of two years in federal prison. Sentencing dates have not yet been set. United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Theresa Mitchell, 44, formerly of Navarre, Florida, pleaded guilty Monday in federal court to one count of conspiracy to produce and distribute child pornography, two counts of production of child pornography, one count of receipt of child pornography, one count of possession of child pornography, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to court documents, between 2023 and 2025, Theresa Mitchell conspired with Christopher Buckeridge to produce and sell images of minor children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Mitchell sold and distributed those images and videos to customers on social media platforms, messaging applications, and subscription-based websites. Buckeridge also sent Mitchell hundreds of images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of minors, including material that depicted the sadistic sexual abuse of prepubescent children. Ultimately, Mitchell received hundreds of thousands of dollars from selling images and videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
On March 17, a federal magistrate judge issued a warrant for the arrest of Mitchell and Buckeridge. Mitchell was arrested by federal agents in central Pennsylvania on March 19 and remains in custody.
Mitchell faces a minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison on the child pornography production and conspiracy counts. Mitchell also faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on the child pornography receipt and possession counts, as well as the money laundering conspiracy count. If convicted, Mitchell will be required to pay restitution to her victims and to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). A U.S. district judge will determine Mitchell’s sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Oct. 14.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney John “Jack” P. Heekin for the Northern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Jason Carley of the FBI Jacksonville Field Office, and Acting Special Agent in Charge Nicholas Ingengo of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) made the announcement.
The case is being jointly investigated by HSI, IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), and the FBI. Trial Attorney Eduardo Palomo of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney David L. Goldberg for the Northern District of Florida are prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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
Tampa, FL – Kimberly Williams (44, Orlando) has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. She faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not yet been set. United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe made the announcement.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Franklin Gillespie was sentenced by United States District Judge Brian M. Cogan to 52 years’ imprisonment for multiple crimes related to his high-ranking membership of the Bully Gang, a violent street gang based in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. Among other serious crimes, Gillespie committed two murders, including the murder of a potential witness, as well as two armed robberies, while on supervised release for multiple federal firearms convictions.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – A federal grand jury in Salt Lake City returned an indictment today charging two illegal aliens from Honduras, residing illegally in Utah, with drug crimes after law enforcement allegedly located and seized approximately 7,500 fentanyl pills for distribution in the District of Utah.
Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division
Jesus Hernandez Ortiz, 38, of Puerto Rico, pleaded guilty today in the District of Vermont to one count of conspiracy to illegally bring aliens to the United States and one count of illegally bringing at least one alien to the United States for the purpose of private financial gain.
Hernandez Ortiz and a co-defendant, Francisco Antonio Luna Rosado, were charged on Jan. 29. According to court documents, as early as September 2023, Hernandez Ortiz was added to an encrypted chat platform that coordinated drivers for long distance trips, including the pick-up of aliens illegally crossing into the United States from Canada. In mid-September 2023, Hernandez Ortiz agreed to such a trip. Hernandez Ortiz rented a commercial van in New Jersey and drove the van to the designated pick-up location in Holland, Vermont, at the assigned time. Hernandez Ortiz’s co-conspirators updated him on the exact location and time of the pick-up. Once there, Hernandez Ortiz picked up a group of twelve, including two young children, who had just entered the United States illegally. Hernandez Ortiz expected payment of $400 per alien ($4,800 total) upon arrival in New York City.
Images of the rented Home Depot van, which Hernandez drove during a smuggling event, that law enforcement stopped.
Text messages between Luna Rosado (left side in blue) and Hernandez (right side in green), with translations into English, discussing the alleged smuggling operation.
“The defendant joined a sophisticated illegal alien smuggling network, which spanned at least three continents, and even smuggled young children,” said Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division. “Smuggling illegal aliens over our borders — whether southern or northern — puts both aliens and the American people at risk and violates the sanctity of our laws and our national security. The Department of Justice will continue to aggressively prosecute alien smugglers to enforce our criminal laws against illegal immigration and keep the American people safe.”
“The northern border is incredibly dangerous and anyone encouraging or facilitating the smuggling of aliens, especially children, across the border in these remote locations is putting lives at risk,” said Acting Deputy Executive Associate Director Matthew Millhollin of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). “Hernandez Ortiz has admitted to smuggling aliens for profit and now he’s facing real prison time. HSI and our law enforcement partners are using intelligence-focused investigations to secure our borders and stop alien smugglers in their tracks.”
The Swanton Sector Intelligence Unit assigned to the U.S. Border Patrol Newport Station and the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New England Office led U.S. investigative efforts, with assistance from HSI’s Human Smuggling Unit in Washington, D.C. and CBP’s National Targeting Center International Interdiction Task Force.
Trial Attorneys Jake Drucker and Emily Cohen of the Criminal Division’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section, Trial Attorney Alexandra Skinnion of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Eugenia Cowles for the District of Vermont are prosecuting the case.
The Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section’s (MNF) mission is to take the profit out of crime, eliminate drug cartels, and protect the U.S. financial system. MNF pursues criminal prosecutions and criminal and civil asset recovery actions involving: financial facilitators who launder profits for criminals; financial institutions and their officers and employees whose actions threaten the U.S. financial system and financial institutions; international money launderers who support transnational organized crime; and the top command and control of international drug trafficking organizations.
MNF’s Money Laundering and Forfeiture Unit investigates and prosecutes sophisticated money laundering schemes involving financial facilitators, gatekeepers, and other individuals and entities laundering criminal proceeds, and litigates complex civil forfeiture cases to recover assets on behalf of victims.
The investigation and charges are supported and prosecuted by Joint Task Force Alpha (JTFA), the Department’s lead effort in combating high-impact human smuggling and trafficking committed by cartels and Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs). A highly successful partnership between the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), JTFA investigates and prosecutes human smuggling and trafficking and related immigration crimes that impact public safety and border security. JTFA’s mission is to target the leaders and organizers of Cartels and TCOs involved in human smuggling and trafficking throughout the Americas. The Attorney General has elevated and expanded JTFA to target the most prolific and dangerous human smuggling and trafficking groups operating not only in Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras, but also in Canada, the Caribbean and the maritime border, and elsewhere. Led by the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and supported by the Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section, the Office of International Affairs, and the Office of Enforcement Operations, among others, JTFA has dedicated Assistant United States Attorney-detailees from the Southern District of California; District of Arizona; District of New Mexico; Western and Southern Districts of Texas; Southern District of Florida; Northern District of New York; and District of Vermont. JTFA also partners with other USAOs throughout the country and supports high-priority cases in any district. All JTFA cases rely on substantial law enforcement resources from DHS, including ICE/ HSI and CBP/BP and OFO, as well as FBI and other law enforcement agencies. To date, JTFA’s work has resulted in more than 465 domestic and international arrests of leaders, organizers, and significant facilitators of alien smuggling and/or trafficking; more than 419 U.S. convictions; more than 363 significant jail sentences imposed, and forfeitures of substantial assets.